GUWAHATI: Altogether 14 tribal organisations under the banner of the Coordination Committee of the Tribal Organisations of Assam (CCTOA) have demanded the Assam government to roll back the decision of state cabinet to empower deputy commissioners of Kamrup Metro and Kamrup districts for transfer of land in protected belts and blocks (tribal belts and blocks) in the two districts of the state.
The CCTOA will stage a statewide protest against the decision of the state cabinet on November 22 with a dharna in front of each DC and SDO headquarters.
On November 4, a meeting of the state cabinet held under the presidentship of chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma allowed DCs of Kamrup Metro and Kamrup districts to transfer land in protected belts and blocks without prior approval of the state government.
“After Murkcheleng and Sadiya Protected Tribal Belts, the government is eyeing South Kamrup Protected Tribal Block. We demand the government to roll back the cabinet decision. We also want a resolution to be passed by the Assam Legislative Assembly so that no tribal land can be transferred to non-tribals in these protected belts and blocks,” said Aditya Khakhlary, secretary general of the All Assam Tribal Sangha (AATS).
The cabinet also decided to remove Para 17.5 of Land Policy 2019 for expeditious disposal of land transfer permission proposals in protected belts and blocks in Kamrup Metro and Kamrup districts.
“We discussed this issue in a meeting today. We urged the government not to abolish Para 17.5 from the Land Policy 2019,” Khakhlary said.
“If this para is abolished, non-tribal people will take the advantage of the situation and manage to get land allotment in these protected belts and blocks,” he said.
The CCTOA also opposed the decision of the government to recognize Gorkhas as a protected class.
On July 7, the state cabinet notified the Nepali Graziers and Cultivators’ mentioned in the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation, 1886, as “Gorkha Community” in Tribal Belt and Blocks of Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) and Sadiya Protected Tribal Belt.
“We demand the government to recognize Nepali Graziers and Cultivators as a protected class. Otherwise, higher cast people of the community will take advantage of the situation and get land alloted in these protected classes,” he said.
In a meeting held on September 8 with the representatives of the Coordination Committee of the Tribal Organisations of Assam (CCTOA), chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma assured of the constitution a minister-level committee for monitoring the tribal issues of the state. The committee has not been formed even after the passing of two months, Khakhlary said.
“We also demand the government for a survey in the protected belts and blocks. No survey has so far been conducted on protected belts and blocks since Independence,” he added.
All Rabha Students Union (ARSU) president Nripen Khanda also reacted sharply to the state cabinet’s decision granting power to DCs of Kamrup Metro and Kamrup district for transfer of land in protected belts and blocks.
“By relaxing the policy of prior approval, the land policy will be circumvented without the knowledge of the tribal people. It has already been done even after having an elected government, bureaucracy is even more inaccessible to the tribes,” Khanda said.
“There is always a hue and cry over the implementation of Clause 6 of the accord for the protection of Assamese people. “Clause 10 of the Assam Accord speaks about strict protection of tribal belts and blocks,” he added.
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