51,633 Families Living on Encroached Land in Tripura, Says Government

Agartala, January 23, 2020:

Amid ongoing protests in Tripura against the amendment of the Citizensship Act, state Revenue Minister NC Debbarma in the recently concluded assembly session revealed that altogether 51,633 families are staying in 21,019.32 acres of Government land across the state.

Among those, 48,813 families are residing in rural areas, whereas 2,820 families live in urban areas, Revenue Minister informed the house in his written answers against the question submitted by former Minister and present opposition MLA Bhanu Lal Saha.

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Saha had earlier sought a detailed report as to what number of families were residing in the government's lands and what kinds of measures were being taken to give permanent settlement to the 'landless' families.

The Minister wrote that the families under priority household have an annual income up to Rs 11,000 and will be eligible to get a house without any premium. On the other hand, the rest have to pay a premium in accordance with the laws enacted in this regard.

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The measurement of premium, the answer included, is measured as per Tripura land protection and land revenue law, 1960, and Tripura land protection and land Revenue rules, 1980.

On eviction and offer of settlement, the Minister informed that these are continuous processes being run according to the prevailing laws. The District Magistrate had been conferred the power to allot land or initiate eviction drive pertaining to both rules and laws, it noted.

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