Govt. gesture to farmers

By Our Principal Correspondent

RAIPUR, JUNE 3. Over 200 farmers of a settlement near Rajiv Sagar dam

in Khudia village of Bilaspur witnessed a revolution of sorts in their settlement.

A system initiated by the Britishers was changed by the State Government on June 1. These villagers received ``pattas'' or ownership rights of the land they had been cultivatingfor the past 70 years.

Khudia village in the Lormi block is the only ``irrigation village'' shown in the revenue records. It is neither a forest village nor a revenue village, since it is situated close to a 70-year-old dam which falls under the Water Resources Department.

As a result, the villagers could not get the ``pattas'' because of which they were neither entitled to bank loans nor Government facilities.

On June 1, the records were changed and the proprietorship of the village handed over to the Revenue Department following which 200 villagers received ``pattas''.

Over 709 acres of agricultural land was handed over by the Water Resources Department of which ``pattas'' for 312 were handed over on the same day.

For several decades, the villagers used to ``buy'' their land at government auction for a small amount, cultivate it and then hand it over to the Department.

Though the system of auctioning had been stopped about five years ago, the farmers could not get the ``pattas'' due to legal hassles since the land was not with the Revenue Department.

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Section  : National
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