Minister for Revenue V. Srinivas Prasad on Wednesday told the Legislative Council the government was considering issuing final notification regarding granting ownership rights to farmers over ‘Kumki’ lands.
Replying to BJP member Kota Srinivas Poojary during Question Hour, Mr. Prasad said that already the draft notification had been issued in this regard. He explained that Kumki land was government land adjoining the agricultural fields, in which farmers were allowed to take up activities supporting agriculture, such as stocking wood, using trees and grass grown in these lands. But the farmers did not have right over these Kumki lands, which are located only in the two coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi. The government wanted to tread carefully in this matter as legal issues were involved, he said.
While Mr. Prasad made it clear that it had not been possible to ascertain the number of farmers who would benefit by Kumki lands as no survey had been undertaken, Leader of the Opposition D.V. Sadananda Gowda said this would benefit nearly three lakh farmers. He claimed that legal hurdles too had been cleared for granting the rights over these lands to farmers.
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Following the suggestion by Council Chairman D.H. Shankaramurthy, the Minister assured the House of convening a meeting of the legislators from these two districts to discuss how to go about the final notification.