Land purchase scheme a big hit among SC community members

Corporation to seek more funds from NSFDC for purchase of land in 2015-16

As land prices skyrocket, there is rise in demand for ownership of land from members of the Scheduled Caste (SC) under the land purchase scheme of the State-run Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Development Corporation.

More than 3,000 SC people have sought financial aid from the corporation to buy dry or wetland under the scheme since 2010-11.

Eligibility

Only the landless agricultural labourers from the Scheduled Caste are eligible to purchase land from non-SC/ST landholders.

As much as 1,630 acres have been distributed to 888 SC beneficiaries in 2014-15 under the scheme while in 2013-14, 975.66 acres were allotted to 733 beneficiaries, officials in the corporation told The Hindu .

Though the corporation receives applications from all districts, it is difficult to purchase land from non-SC/ST landholders in Bengaluru Urban, Rural, Ramanagaram districts and the Malnad region owing to steady rise in land prices. The cost per acre of dry land in north Karnataka districts is about Rs. 3 to Rs. 4 lakh as against Rs. 5 to Rs. 6 lakh in rural areas of southern districts of Tumakuru, Kolar and Chickballapur districts, officials said.

A committee headed by an MLA identifies beneficiaries. The land identified should be within five-km radius from beneficiary’s residence. Beneficiary gets financial aid without much difficulty if land identified is located near the road besides having potential for growing commercial crops and being used for commercial purposes, officials said.

The next step

The corporation has planned to seek more financial assistance from the National Scheduled Caste Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC) for purchase of land in 2015-16. Owing to procedural delays, it received Rs. 40 crore from NSFDC in 2014-15.

Under the scheme, since its inception in 1990-91, two acres of dry land or one acre of wetland is purchased and registered in the name of woman beneficiary of the family. Fifty per cent of the subsidy and 50 per cernt term loan with six per cent rate of interest is given to the beneficiary, who has to repay the loan in 20 annual instalments.

A study conducted to assess the relevance of the scheme revealed that 97 per cent of beneficiaries utilised land effectively for agricultural purposes and improved their standard of living, officials said.