CHENNAI: The city has witnessed a large-scale eviction of slum habitants to far away places in the last 15 years.
Now, the government has decided to settle patta disputes that are pending for 25 years for residents who have been living in non-objectionable lands which are classified as ‘Natham’ in government records in the city and other parts of the State.
The state government on Friday conferred powers on Revenue Divisional Officers (RDO) to settle over 95,000 pending patta applications which have been pending since 1996. To this effect, the Revenue Department has passed a G.O. appointing RDOs as designated officers for disposing patta cases for one year.
With an objective of regularising government lands, the State government, in 1988, launched ‘Natham settlement scheme’ through which those who possessed the Natham porambokku lands were given pattas for the lands.
The scheme was completed in 1996. However, many patta applications had been put on hold for various reasons. Such lands had been marked for ‘held over’ pattas in the Revenue records since then. There are 94,474 such cases pending across the State.
As engaging assistant settlement officers for attending the pending cases in village and town areas would be time-consuming, the government has decided to confer the powers on RDOs to dispose approximately 94,474 ‘held over’ cases in the State, added the G.O.
“Besides, benefitting the land owners, the disposal of ‘held over’ pattas will put an end to thousands of civil cases pending before various courts,” said a Revenue official. While laying down the guidelines to be followed for the special drive, the government said patta cases in villages which are recently included in Corporations and Municipalities should be considered under ‘Town settlement scheme’.
Only the lands that were classified as ‘Nanjai’ prior to Natham settlement in 1996 are to be taken for disposal, the government added.