The YSRCP government has taken a historic decision to give complete rights to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) over the assigned lands that they have been enjoying for more than 20 years, says Social Welfare Minister M. Nagarjuna.
Addressing the media here on Friday, Mr. Nagarjuna said that the A.P. Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, 1977, prevented the transfer of assigned lands. The idea was to prevent others from taking over the lands from the poor and depriving them of the benefit. However, it prevented the beneficiaries from selling their land to meet their monetary needs, the Minister said.
Realising this, the government had taken a decision to ensure that full rights on the assigned lands, which were given to the poor more than 20 years ago, would be vested with the beneficiaries.
The proposal, approved by the Cabinet, would enable 15,21,160 beneficiaries to sell 27,41,698 acres of land to raise funds for their needs.
Mr. Nagarjuna said prior to the bifurcation of the State, SCs and STs were given agricultural lands under the land purchase scheme, and the beneficiaries mortgaged the lands in banks to raise loans.
On coming to know that the beneficiaries were unable to pay interest on the loans taken, the government decided to pay the interest, get the lands released from the banks, and also bear the costs for registration of the lands in the names of the beneficiaries.
About 16,123 acres of land would be given to 14,023 beneficiaries, and the government would bear ₹2 crore towards registration charges, the Minister said.
A decision was also taken to allot lands for burial grounds for the SCs in view of their necessity at different places. Government land would be given, wherever it was available, and based on the need private land would be purchased and allotted to the community through the District Collectors, he said.
