Land distribution on hold due to litigation

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Dec 30: The land and land reforms officials admitted that the department could not regularise land distribution among the erosion-hit victims who are still living on the vested lands due to litigation. The minister for environment and state parliamentary affairs, Mr Sailen Sarkar, pointed out recently that the land and land reforms department could not distribute land to the victims and as a result of this, they had taken refuge in the mango orchards belonging to big landlords. According to Mr Sailen Sarkar, hundreds of erosion-hit victims in Kaliachak II and Manikchak had been rendered homeless due to erosion of the Ganges. “It is a pity that the victims are now residing in mango orchards at Haddatola in Manikchak block under. We could not hand over the record of land rights to them,” Mr Sarkar said. The commissioner of land and land reforms, Mr PK Agarwal, said that recently the department could not vest nearly 6,000 acres of land in Malda owing to litigation in the court.