Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (JD)
Bengaluru, Nov 3: District in-charge minister Rizwan Arshad has directed officials to address the hurdles faced by residents of Udupi district in securing land grants and regularising houses constructed on government land.
Minister Rizwan Arshad, who also holds the portfolios of food, civil supplies and consumer affairs, held a detailed meeting along with forest minister Ramalinga Reddy, Udupi district legislators and senior officials at Vidhana Soudha on Tuesday to discuss issues concerning the forest and revenue departments.
The meeting primarily focused on the regularisation of houses constructed on government land, delays in the distribution of Bagair Hukum land, extension of lease periods for cashew plantations and hurdles in the deemed forest survey.
During the meeting, MLA V Sunil Kumar highlighted that applications submitted under Section 94C for regularisation of houses constructed on government land were being rejected by officials on various grounds. He pointed out that most of the beneficiaries were from economically weaker sections and that once an application was rejected, applicants were not permitted to submit another application.
He also raised concerns over delays in conducting surveys of Bagair Hukum lands approved by committees headed by legislators.
Responding to the concerns, revenue department additional chief secretary Rajendra Kataria assured that issues related to house regularisation under Form 94C would be addressed on priority.
Following directions from minister Rizwan Arshad, Kataria said a technical committee from the revenue department would soon visit Udupi district to study issues related to land distribution and surveys and recommend appropriate solutions.
Regarding Bagair Hukum land grants, he informed the meeting that a committee headed by the regional commissioner had been constituted to examine genuine applications.
MLA Kiran Kumar Kodgi raised the issue of renewal of lease agreements for cashew plantations in the district, stating that the lease periods of several allotted lands had expired.
In response, Kataria clarified that the government had decided to discontinue leasing government land for cashew plantations at concessional rates, a position also supported by the court. However, those interested in obtaining land on lease for cashew plantations could do so by paying commercial rates.
The meeting also decided to expedite the necessary procedures for allotting an additional 17 acres of land for the Varahi project.
Forest minister Ramalinga Reddy directed officials to complete the deemed forest survey across the state at the earliest and ensure that applications submitted for land grants are processed on priority.
MLAs Yashpal Suvarna, Gurme Suresh Shetty and Gururaj Gantihole, MLC Manjunath Bhandary, Udupi deputy commissioner, zilla panchayat CEO and other senior officials were present at the meeting.