Shillong, Nov. 12 (IANS): In a historic development, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Friday has transferred land ownership rights to tribal households of Reserve Gittim village in West Garo Hills despite Meghalaya not having clear land titles unlike other parts of India.
At a function, Sangma awarded 'Land Patta' to 100 tribal households fulfilling decades old demands of the land owners.
Officials said that due to unique and traditional agrarian systems of "Jhum cultivation" (burn and shifting method of agriculture) and distinctive social structure, the northeastern state did not have clear land titles.
After the reorganisation of states and award of statehood to Meghalaya in 1972, tribals of Meghalaya have been requesting recognition of their rights over the land.
Meghalaya, where over 86 per cent of the total of three million populations are tribals, was formed by carving out two districts from the state of Assam.
With the rising modern farming, the demand for a clear demarcation of land and its ownership increased.
On August 19, 2018, a memorandum was presented to Chief Minister Sangma demanding to resolve the challenge faced by the people, a Meghalaya government official said.
The absence of land records and formal documentation further posed a challenge in identifying the rightful owners.
The official said that despite the Covid-19 pandemic, all legal hurdles over the land right related matters were overcome during the past two years to fulfil the much-needed demarcation of lands.
The Chief Minister said: "Right over land is key to the tribal identity of our people. Hence the transfer of land rights to the rightful owners is one of our topmost agendas.
"In the past four and a half years of our tenure, we have done everything to help the people of Reserve Gittim, we have made legal provisions to award legal rights over land to the tribal people of Meghalaya. Going ahead we plan to help tribal people across the state who are facing similar challenges."
West Garo Hills district Deputy Commissioner Swapnil Tembe said that settlement process is very important. For every application, including bank loan, land documentation, land settlement process is important.
The Congress-led UPA government at the Centre had enacted the Forest Rights Act, 2006 to recognise individual rights, community rights and other forest rights of tribal and forest-dwelling communities who had possession of forest land on or before December 13, 2005.