Farmers seek ownership rights of chakauta, shamlat land

Tribune News Service

Shimla, August 29

Farmers, under the banner of the Laghu Kisan Ekta Himachal Pradesh (LKEHP), on Wednesday staged a protest in front of the Vidhan Sabha, demanding ownership rights of both chakauta and shamlat land without any condition.

They sought the removal of all flaws and errors in the Ownership Rights Scheme- 2015.

The protesters later submitted a memorandum of demands to Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur demanding that the issue should be discussed at the Cabinet meeting.

They said only two per cent of farmers had got the ownership right of chakauta land under the scheme, while the remaining were making the rounds of DC offices to get the same.

“Our main demand is that all farmers should be granted the ownership rights of chakauta land given to them by their respective gram panchayats,” they demanded.

State president, LKEHP, Daleep Singh said, “Farmers of Solan district are entitled to 20 bighas of chakauta land under the scheme without any condition. However, they have been denied rights till today and the government has been dilly-dallying on the issue on the one pretext or the other.”

He demanded that the government should remove all “flaws in land allotment and charges fixed for five bighas given to them by the respective gram panchayats.

“The farmers have got the ownership rights of the chakauta and shamlat land as per the Punjab Gram Shamlat Land Revenue Act, 1961. All flaws should be removed as it is the matter of the livelihood of small and marginal farmers,” said Kanti Prakash, president of the Solan unit.