Assam government on Thursday invited the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) for a discussion on a recent office memorandum issued by the Revenue and Disaster Management Department by which Deputy Commissioners have been authorised to reclassify plots of land, recorded as agricultural land but in actual practice not fit for agriculture or has not been cultivated for ten years or more, as barren and uncultivable to promote non-agricultural activities like setting up industries, health, educational institutions, housing and others.
A formal invitation was handed out to KMSS president Akhil Gogoi during a protest demonstration by the peasants’ body led by him in front of the Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup (Metropolitan) here after ten days of continuous fast by some KMSS activists seeking withdrawal of the office memorandum.
The KMSS threatened to continue their protest demonstration in front of the DC office till the government either withdrew the office memorandum or invited them for discussion.
One KMSS activist also made a suicide bid during the protest demonstration by slitting a vein. He was immediately rushed to hospital. The State Government has invited a five-member KMSS delegation for discussion with Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management S.C. Das on Saturday.
The office memorandum issued on June 17 states that “there are a large number of plots of land which are recorded as Agricultural land but in actual practice they are not fit for Agriculture or has not been cultivated for ten years or more.”
“It has further come to notice of the State Government in many cases, the present land owners of the land have not been able to utilise the land for non-agricultural activities like setting up industries, educational institutions, health institutions, housing projects etc, or obtain loan from financial institutions for such activities as the same is recorded as Agricultural Land although there has been no agricultural activities for more than ten years or land is unfit for agriculture. In such cases also the Deputy Commissioners can take up reclassification of the land on recommendations of the committees based on quantum of land,” the office memorandum states.
The KMSS chief while announcing the acceptance of the invitation said that they would insist on the government that before any reclassification the government must first try to reclaim the land and make it cultivable and if such efforts fail to yield positive result then public hearing must be held and only when 80 per cent of villagers give consent such land may be reclassified.
