MARGAO: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant emphasised that the sale of land allotted under forest right claims will not be permitted and that the government would take strict action if anyone has done so illegally.
Sawant was speaking at a function organised in Margao to commemorate the birth anniversary of Birsa Munda, a tribal freedom fighter, on Tuesday.
“Land is allotted to the claimants as their houses or traditional fields exist on the land and they will not be permitted to sell these lands to others. If you sell the land, your next generation will not benefit from it or use it for traditional agricultural activities. If outsiders start living on these lands, the economics there will get affected,” said Sawant.
He further assured that by the end of the five-year tenure of his government, all the 10,000 claims of land ownership under forest rights will be disposed of.
While acknowledging that there are many pending claims for forest rights, he added that during the past three years of his tenure, 750 claimants have already been issued sanads.
“The State government is serious on forest rights and will clear all sanads to those with proper documentation before our tenure ends,” the CM added further.
The Chief Minister then appealed to the public to avail of the various schemes of the government which will not only help the individuals but also their families and society at large. He said these schemes are available online and that any internet related issue will be solved soon.
