JEYPORE: After decades of delay, land owners in the town will finally get “pattas” or record of rights (RoRs). The Revenue department is set to start the exercise for providing the RoRs to the rightful land owners soon.The residents had been deprived of this right since 1986 due to a clause inserted by the Government in old land records. The town was under Madras Presidency before the Zamindari Abolition Act, 1952. In 1956, the State Government had initiated land settlement of town residents where locals were given pattas for their residential plots.
Till 1986, these residential lands were transferable from one owner to other as per norms and land records were given accordingly after every transaction. However, in 1986, the Revenue department added a “non-transferable”clause. Since then, the pattas have not been renewed despite several transactions of residential land in the town.
Though transactions were done as per norms in the local registrar office, purchasers of land were issued pattas due to this clause. Despite transactions, land records still held the previous owner’s name. Due to this inconsistency, residents have been facing difficulty in availing bank loans and other property-related transfer deals in the past 33 years. Several agitations have been organised by different political parties for removal of the clause. The matter was even raised in the Assembly several times.
To resolve the sitituation, Collector Madhusdan Mishra instructed the Revenue officials to start a process to give new land records to present land owners. Accordingly, Jeypore Tehsil Office directed RIs of different areas to identify the pattas where the clause has been applied via application forms from the land holders .
Additional Tehsildar MR Patnaik who initiated the move for deletion of the clause informed that the department will delete the non- transferable clause in two months’ time. “About 5200 residents would be benefitted after the clause is done away with,” he said.