A Cabinet decision allowing tribals to transfer their land to non-tribals by way of amending the Orissa Scheduled Areas Transfer of Immovable Property (By Scheduled Tribes) Regulation, 1956 (OSATIP) triggered a massive controversy, forcing the Naveen Patnaik Government to put the two-day-old decision on hold on November 16.
The decision made on November 14 says, “a scheduled tribe person may, with the written permission of the sub-collector, make a gift or exchange for public purposes or obtain a loan by securing a mortgage in a public financial institution for agriculture, construction of residential house, higher studies of children, self-employment, business or establishment of small scale industries or transfer the same in favour of a person not belonging to scheduled tribe for the above purpose.”
The permission for transferring land from tribals to non-tribals was granted with a rider that after such a transfer, the tribal seller or mortgagor should not be landless or homestead-less.
