Siddaramaiah government regularises housing by STs and backward castes on private land

BENGALURU: The Karnataka assembly on Friday passed unopposed a law granting ownership of houses to agriculture labourers living in unrecorded habitations on private land. The new Act will largely apply to scheduled tribes and micro backward castes, who have been deprived of housing rights so far.

With this, an estimated two lakh people living in Lambani thandas, Gollarahattis, Vaddarahattis, Kurubarahattis, Nayakarahattis, Majaregramas, Haadis, Doddis, Palyas, Camp and Colony, all belonging to the poorest segment of society will come under the revenue department’s purview. It also fulfils in part the Congress 2013 manifesto promise of converting unrecorded hamlets into revenue villages, underlining the party’s image as the flagbearer of the poor, ahead of the state assembly polls in April-May 2018.

Chief minister Siddaramaiah said: "This is a major revolutionary decision taken after the famous 'land to the tiller' legislation was passed four decades ago. Whoever is residing in hamlets will henceforth become the owners of the houses in which they are staying. These are people who have been oppressed for years. Today they are liberated.”

Revenue officials said that about 300 such habitations on government land were already being converted into revenue villages. “The Act passed on Friday applies to people living in private land. There is some provision for compensation to private owners, but most of these people have been living on these lands for 30-40 years. The Act is, however, applicable to anyone living in an unrecorded village on private land on the date that it was passed,” a senior official explained.


Revenue minister Kagodu Thimmappa said agricultural labourers can submit an application to the deputy commissioners or other authorised revenue officials. "We will make it hassle-free process for the beneficiaries," he declared.

Congress MLA from Mayakonda in Davanagere district, K Shivamurthy, who is an ST and one of the main votaries of the amendment, said; "The people in these hamlets will now get title deeds. They will also become eligible for bank loans and for all government schemes, which they have been deprived of, so far.”

Activists, however, pointed out that the amendment, however, does not give blanket permission to all categories of agricultural labourers. The issues raised by the recent agitation at Diddahalli in Kodagu district, where tribals living as agriculture labour in coffee plantations demanded permanent housing away from their workplace, have not been addressed. Also, dwellers within forest areas have not been given the same rights.