Darjeeling/Siliguri: Trinamul has picked up the issue of land
rights, a longstanding demand in the hills, to woo residents ahead of
next year's Lok Sabha polls and prevent the BJP from winning the
Darjeeling seat for the third time in a row.
The Bengal government, in association with the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) led by Binay Tamang, has initiated the
process to hand over land rights to those living in Kalimpong and the
hill tracts of Darjeeling district.
The process was initiated by chief minister Mamata Banerjee in
Mirik last June, just before the agitation for statehood resumed. "The
process suffered a setback because of the agitation. It resumed only
recently. Binay Tamang has also started distributing land rights in
forest villages," said an official.
Around 60 per cent of the hill people, particularly in rural areas,
do not have rights to the land they have been living on for years as
most of these plots are earmarked as tea estates. The growth in
population has shrunk the estates.
The absence of land documents leads to several problems for
these residents, who cannot apply for housing or other loans by
mortgaging the plots. "It's an old issue and was not addressed by the
Left government. If Mamata Banerjee resolves it, her party will
benefit," said an observer.
On Thursday, land rights were provided to over 300 people in
Kalimpong at an event attended by Tamang and state minister Aroop
Biswas. "Trinamul will not leave the matter entirely to the Morcha or
the GTA. It will highlight the fact that the state played a role in
resolving the age-old problem," the observer added.#
The Telegraph
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