Jharkhand government agrees to withdraw proposed changes to land laws

Ranchi, July 3 (IANS) In the face of stiff protest from opposition parties as well as from within the party, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government on Monday agreed to withdraw the amendments to the two land acts.

The decision to withdraw the amendment was taken after consensus eluded a meeting of the Tribal Advisory Committee (TAC), headed by Chief Minister Raghubar Das, here on Monday.

After the meeting the Chief Minister told reporters: "The state government has agreed to withdraw Section 21 of the Chotangapur Tenancy Act (CNT) and Section 13 of the Santhal Pargana Act (SPT)."

He said: "Confusion has been created by the opposition parties and people who are against development. The state government will consider the concern raised by the Governor while returning the amendments. We will study the 192 points raised before the Governor with regard to the proposed amendments and in future take any decision considering the views of the people."

The Section 21 and Section 13 of the CNT and SPT acts, respectively, pertain to the nature of land.

The next meeting of advisory committee has been scheduled for August 3.

Jharkhand Governor Draupdi Murmu had returned the amendment bills for changes to the two land acts on June 25 with a query: "How the amendments will benefit the tribal people?"

In November last year, the Jharkhand government had forwarded the proposed amendments to the acts to the Governor for her assent, after getting those passed in the state assembly.

The BJP government had managed to pass the amendment bills by voice vote amid stiff protests from the opposition parties in the assembly. The angry opposition members while resisting the amendments had even misbehaved with Speaker Dinesh Oraon when the bills were tabled.

Apart from the opposition parties, the changes to the acts were also opposed by ruling alliance partner All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) and even by some BJP legislators and Lok Sabha members.

The Governor had kept the legislations on hold since November last year. The opposition parties, Cardinal Telesphore Toppo and other tribal leaders, had separately met the Governor and requested her not to clear the amendment bills.

After the amendments are effected, an agriculture land could be used for non-agricultural purpose. The amendments propose that the land could be acquired for development work, infrastructure and other such works by the state government.