Draft Tribal Policy proposes change in laws to check land transfer

New Delhi, July 11 (UNI) The draft National Tribal Policy proposes several changes in the state and Central laws to remove various lacunae in them that has allowed illegal transfer of tribal landholdings to non-tribals.

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs will study the loopholes in the state laws and come up with a model legislation for both restoration of lands to tribals and checking further trasnfer.

The Policy underscores the need of changing the Indian Registration Act, which is a central Act, to prevent registration of transfer of specified land from tribals to non-tribals in the tribal areas.

The policy also proposes to set up special fast track courts in Scheduled Areas to deal with cases of tribal land transfer and make legal aid available to tribals at all stages of litigation.

The judiciary will be asked to consider adopting a time-limit of two or three years, for disposal of a case of tribal alienation.

Moreover land record in the Scheduled Tribal areas will be computerised and updated.

Efforts will be made to allocate at least one hectare of land to each landless family.

In the case of transfer of land, the relevent documents will require to be accompanied by an affidavit of the transferee indicating whether or not the transferee is a member of Scheduled Tribes, or a registered society composed solely of members of Scheduled Tribes.

The process of restoration of land would be carefully monitored.

A high-level empowered committee at the level of Chief Secretary in states with at least two members from civil society with experience of working in tribal areas will supervise transfer.

A note accompanying the draft policy underlines that alienation of tribal land was the single most important cause of pauperisation of tribals.

Of even greater concern is the fact that the lands lost are usually most productive, leaving tribals to cultivate poor quality land that is extremely vulnerable to vagaries of weather, it said.

The total effect of land transfers has been devaststing to the fragile tribal economy.

The population of the tribal communities scheduled in the Constitution is 84.3 million as per the 2001 census and accounts for 8.2 per cent of the country's total population.

These tribes are scattered all over the country except in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and the union territories of Pondicherry and Chandigarh.

UNI NAZ VA KP0958