Bengal govt issues notification to hand out homestead pattas
Darjeeling: The department of land and land reforms, Government of West Bengal, in an order (memo number - 3078 - LP/IA-03/17 dated 01-08-2023), to the district magistrates of six districts of North Bengal, has sent a proposal for granting homestead patta (land right document) on surplus/ unutilised resumed land of tea garden to the eligibile beneficiaries through a scheme. Homestead pattas will be granted to the eligible families upto the extent of 5 decimals of land. For the selection of beneficiaries, priority will be given to families headed by female members.
The scheme is to distribute homestead pattas among landless tea garden labourers in the districts of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, Alipurduar, Cooch Behar and North Dinajpur. The order stated: “The state government has been contemplating to resolve the age old problem of the landless tea garden labourers by distributing homestead pattas. For this scheme, the unutilised/ surplus land of the tea garden may be resumed and distributed among the eligible beneficiaries.”
The DM and collectors of the mentioned districts will conduct survey of the unutilised/ surplus land of the tea gardens. Proposal for resumption of the unutilised/ surplus land of the tea garden will be sent by the DM and collectors with all necessary particulars with NOC of the tea gardens (where tea garden is being run on the basis of valid lease deed) and other pertinent documents. The pattas granted to eligible families upto the extent of 5 decimals of land shall be heritable but not transferable, stated the order. Retiring and /or retired landless labourers and long term occupiers of tea garden land in the aforesaid districts of North Bengal will be eligible for the pattas.
Settlement (patta) shall be executed in the name of the female member of the family in case she is the head in other cases it will be executed jointly in the name of male and female member of the family jointly. Only in the absence of a female member, will the settlement be executed in the name of a male member, stated the order. A Khatiyan shall be mandatorily opened in favour of each settlee before handing over of patta.
“For the selection of beneficiaries, it is necessary to focus and prioritise on the families headed by female members,” stated the order. A list of families of landless/ homeless tea garden workers from available sources (pay role of employer, department of Labour) will be drawn up for the selection of beneficiaries. Physical verification will then take place whether the families identified fulfill the criteria of getting homestead patta as per WBLR Act.
A cluster approach will be adopted wherein land will be identified that is large enough to provide homestead plots to a minimum of 10 to 15 families arranged in a cluster and also large enough to provide basic amenities like housing, drinking water, sanitation, internal roads, drainage, street lights and livelihood extension services under various development schemes.
