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Abdur Rezzak Mollah, the Land and Land Reforms Minister, said the amendment to the present act will protect tribals from the land shark. There are reports that in several parts of the state a section of stone crusher owners are taking tribal land for dolomite mines.
“The law will protect tribals. If any one wants to use tribal land for different purposes, the affected tribal should be provided with same size of land,” Mollah told the House while presenting the bill.
Meanwhile, the Opposition walked out of the House in protest against the government move to pass the bill.
Partho Chatterjee, the leader of the Opposition said the government is trying to hush up all the misdeeds of the past 34 years.
“The tribals have been deprived of land by a section of land sharks. The government has allowed them to exploit the innocent tribals,” said Chatterjee.
Land department sources said the reports are that tribal land in Birbhum, Bankura and Purulia districts has been grabbed by local businessmen for setting up stone crushers. There is a law that tribal land cannot be transferred without the permission of the district magistrate. But in fact tribal land has been forcibly acquired and no compensation was paid. In this situation, the government wants to bring up a stringent law to protect the interest of tribals, said a senior official of the land department.
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