Politics should not come in the way of solving the issues of people and those related to the projects aimed at bringing about development, Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran has said.
He was speaking at the inaugural of the second phase distribution of title deeds at a ‘pattaya mela' organised here on Friday evening. The Minister said that it was the joint decision of the Departments of Forests and Revenue to file an affidavit before the Supreme Court that finally paved the way for issuing condition-free title deeds.
He said that the title deeds issued in 1993 had to be made legally valid documents. So the government decided to study the issue at the grassroots level and hold official and non-official discussions to solve the issue. He said that it was a stern step towards solving the issues faced by farmers who had cultivated the land for more than two to three generations.
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The government also provided houses to the estate workers who lived in estate lanes and turned homeless once they retired from work. About 3,000 estate workers had already been given land to make houses of their own, he said.
The Minister said that two more ‘pattaya mela' will be held in the district within two weeks to distribute new title deeds and condition-free title deeds. He said that the Cabinet will soon take a decision on issuing title deeds to the farmers, who cultivate in the areas, which had been acquired for a hydroelectric project that was abandoned later.
The Minister said that nearly 10,000 title deeds have already been given and the government is committed to issuing title deeds to all deserving farmers. Without solving the basic need of having a place to live, any move on the development front is meaningless, he said.
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He congratulated the officials of the Revenue Department for working hard to issue the condition-free title deeds in a time-bound manner.
The Minister said that the government has made available 60 acres of land to the Centre for setting up a Border Security Force centre in the State. He also announced that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the International Transhipment Terminal at Vallarpadam on February 11. With this, a long-cherished dream of the State will be realised, he said.
On Friday, 30 title deeds were distributed and 2,137 farmers of Idukki, Kanjikuzhy and Thankamani villages will be given title deeds in the second phase.