Govt working on allocation of nautor land to tribals: Negi
Shimla, June 10
Tribal Development Minister Jagat Singh Negi today said that the state government was actively pursuing the case of the allocation of nautor land to eligible individuals in tribal areas.
He said that a request was made to the Governor on June 7 to exempt tribal areas from the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, to facilitate the allocation of nautor land to the eligible individuals. He added that a similar request was made to the Governor even in 2023 to address the demands of tribal communities for the allocation of nautor land.
Negi, in a statement issued here, said that under the Himachal Pradesh Nautor Land Rules, 1968, provisions were made to allocate 20 bighas of government land to the beneficiaries who possessed less than 20 bighas. This initiative had benefited tribal communities significantly, he claimed.
He said that due to the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, the allocation of nautor land to applicants in the state faced impediments. “On the demand of people, the Congress government had suspended this Act under Article 5 of the Indian Constitution from 2014 to 2018. During this period, the eligible beneficiaries received nautor land,” he added.
Negi lamented that only one beneficiary had been allocated nautor land under this provision since December 2017 though allocations could have continued until 2018. “In 2020, following public protests, the BJP government had implemented nautor land provisions in the state for one year but even then it did not benefit any individual during its tenure,” he added.
The minister said that many nautor land cases were still pending and the state government was working diligently to ensure the allocation of such land to the eligible beneficiaries. —TNS
Request made to Governor
- A request was made to the Governor on June 7 to exempt tribal areas from the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, to facilitate the allocation of nautor land to eligible individuals
- Under the HP Nautor Land Rules, 1968, provisions were made to allocate 20 bighas of government land to those who possessed less than 20 bighas
