People's Democracy

Redistribution of Land in

Urban Areas Commences

THE Bengal Left Front government leads by far the rest of the state governments in terms of seizing ceiling-surplus land in rural areas and redistributing them amongst the poor. 

Presently, a plan has been drawn up for a similar land redistribution among the poor and the needy, especially refugee families in the cities and townships.

The following are the chief characteristics of the programme:

�                    Refugee families would receive unconditional proprietorship of land

�                    The families who are not refugees but are living on refugee land shall receive long-term lease-based land rights

�                    Those of the urban poor who have been residing in unused khas land for two decades or more shall get proprietorship of the land plots at the cost Re one for a period of 99 years

�                    The thika tenancy act has been suitably modified to benefit the poor further

�                    Housing estates are built to provide shelter to the urban poor and for the people belonging to the lower-income groups

�                    It is now a legal right of the people living in slums and of the urban poor in general to claim benefits of better services and infrastructural facilities

(BP)