GUWAHATI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the lives of lakhs of people in Assam would be better as they were offered land “pattas” (allotment certificates) by the government.
“It is sad that after so many years since independence, lakhs of indigenous families in Assam did not have legal rights to their land. They remained landless. But their lives will now be better,” Modi said after taking part in the distribution of over one lakh land pattas at a programme at Jerenga Pathar in Assam’s Sivasagar.
Over 2.5 lakh others were given the certificates earlier. When the BJP government was installed in the state in 2016, there were over six lakh such families with no legal rights to their land.
“They can enjoy the benefits of several central government schemes such as PM KISAN Samman Nidhi, Kisan Credit Card, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and other schemes and easily avail loans from the banks,” he said.
The PM commended the state’s BJP-ruled government for the new land policy of 2019. He said the adoption of the policy showed government’s commitment to the landless indigenous families.
Modi said the government’s aim is to give legal rights to land for the state’s indigenous population. “Land is not just about trees, grasses and rocks. To us Indians, land is our mother,” the PM said.
He also said that peace had returned to a large area of Assam after the signing of the historic Bodo Accord and that the workers of tea gardens were linked to the banking system for the first time in the state.