Dumka, Jan. 31: A section of residents of Santhal Pargana staged a dharna at the court compound today, demanding ownership rights on land that had been transferred to them on the basis of danpatras (donation letters).
The agitators, under the aegis of Jharkhand Danpatri Raiyati Sangh ' an organisation of people residing on jamabandi land ' also submitted a four-point charter of demands to the deputy commissioner. This comes close on the heels of another controversy surrounding land with Jharkhand High Court recently setting aside a controversial order of the government that had overturned provisions of the Chotanagpur Tenancy (CNT) Act. According to the high court order, the deputy commissioner's permission will now be mandatory for transfer of land belonging to other backward classes across the state.
In Santhal Pargana, the problem is of different kind. Here, a large number of outsiders, including government employees, settled over the years by occupying jamabandi (non-saleable) land from original raiyats (owners). However, the ownership status of such plots remains non-transferable as per provisions of the Santhal Pargana Tenancy (SPT) Act.
As a result, holders of jamabandi land continue to be deprived of governmental benefits.
"Apart from being denied ownership rights of our plots, we have been deprived of residential and caste certificates. Our children cannot bag government jobs as they are unable to produce the requisite residential and caste certificates issued by respective block offices," complained Mohammad Manir, district president of Jharkhand Danpatri Raiyati Sangh.
"We are treated like refugees in our own country," added Devendra Prasad Poddar, secretary of the organisation. He blamed all the political parties for not taking a strong stand for suitable amendment of the SPT Act to facilitate transfer of ownership rights.
Poddar warned that if the political leadership failed to address their grievances, they would launch a massive drive to mobilise residents so that they abstained from voting in the next election.
Notably, the Dumka Municipal Council has written to the urban development department, urging it to provide ownership status to occupants of jamabandi land under its jurisdiction so that it could collect holding tax.
"The civic body is incurring huge losses as it is not able to collect holding tax from jamabandi households because of the ownership issue. On the other hand, these residents are enjoying all basic amenities, including roads, drains, drinking water and electricity, without shelling out a penny," chairman of the municipal council Amita Rakshit said.
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