Vinod M Jain
*Providing housing sites to the poor is our Government’s top priority.
*Identify land sufficient for 50,000 housing sites in every district.
*Government aims to distribute 15.50 lakh housing sites across the State.
*Complete process for declaration of revenue villages and submit proposals.
*Expedite digitisation of land records: Dr.G. Parameshwara.
Deputy Chief Minister and Revenue Minister Dr.G. Parameshwara today held a progress review meeting at Vikasa Soudha through video conference with all Deputy Commissioners on various programmes of the Revenue Department and issued necessary directions.
“Providing the poor with the right to a housing site is one of our Government’s top priorities.As you know, countless people in the State do not even have a place they can call their own.
We must immediately identify land in every district sufficient for at least 50,000 housing sites.The land should be suitable for habitation and have access to roads and water.As far as possible,land close to villages should be identified and developed,”he directed.
He made it clear that the housing-site distribution programme should not be treated as a routine Ashraya scheme.
“Providing sites to the poor is a special initiative of the Government. In the first phase, at least 5 lakh sites must be distributed before December.Suitable land must be identified and the sites prepared accordingly,”he said.
A proper list of people without houses or housing sites must be prepared, with priority given to Dalits, backward classes, minorities, persons with disabilities, widows, sexual minorities and other vulnerable groups.
The Government’s target is to distribute 15.50 lakh housing sites across Karnataka.Land for this purpose must be identified by September 15, he instructed.
Dr.Parameshwara said the declaration of revenue villages is one of the Government’s pilot projects. A total of 10,896 villages are to be declared as revenue villages across the State, but so far only 3,354 villages have been declared.
At present, 5,768 proposals for preliminary notification and 702 proposals for final notification are pending with Deputy Commissioners.
He directed the concerned DCs to send proposals for preliminary notification to the Government within the next 15 days.Wherever final notification can be issued, the process should be completed without delay.
Of the 2,05,175 title deeds distributed so far, only 1,55,575 have been registered, while the remaining registrations are pending.This process must also be completed by September 30, he said.
Reviewing the digitisation of land records, he said the task has been completed in 10 districts, while 21 districts remain.
Against a target of 71,78,55,342 pages in these 21 districts, 47,35,43,778 pages have been digitised so far, leaving 24,43,11,564 pages pending.
“It appears that Deputy Commissioners in several districts have not given this important work the attention it requires.This should not happen,”he cautioned.
A target of digitising 9,600 pages per day had been fixed, but some districts have achieved less than the prescribed target.
The concerned Deputy Commissioners must explain the shortfall and ensure that the work is completed by the end of September, he said.
MLAs have also urged that cases relating to missing land-record files be resolved quickly.Cases that can be settled immediately should be disposed of,while cases that need to be rejected should be rejected without delay.
He directed the Additional Chief Secretary of the Department to examine whether such cases could be converted into appeals and disposed of accordingly.
Under the Bagair Hukum scheme, a total of 14,37,181 applications have been received.Of these, 4,11,290 applications have been verified at the Village Administrative Officer level and taken up for consideration for grant,while 3,02,274 applications have been rejected at the Deputy Commissioner level.
Another 6,98,933 applications remain pending for disposal, while 24,684 applications are still awaiting action at taluk offices.
Tahsildars must fix monthly targets and dispose of these applications without delay,he directed.
Referring to fodder availability, Dr.Parameshwara said, “There has hardly been any rain in Vijayanagara district, yet it has been reported that fodder stocks there are sufficient for 47 weeks.
All Deputy Commissioners must examine fodder availability with greater care.Districts with stocks sufficient for less than 30 weeks must exercise particular caution and prepare an action plan immediately.The Government will not tolerate any lapses.”
Fodder seed kits are already being distributed through KMF, and the Government is now providing ₹25 crore for the distribution of fodder seed kits to farmers. The Animal Husbandry Department should begin distributing these kits immediately, he said.
He pointed out that areas with high levels of dairy farming have not received normal rainfall.In districts such as Kolar,Chikkaballapur,Tumakuru,Bengaluru Rural, Mandya,Hassan,Mysuru, Chamarajanagar,Chitradurga and Ballari,sowing itself has been inadequate.
“This will lead to fodder shortages.In 2023,even though crop yields were poor, there was no shortage of fodder. That situation was described as a ‘green drought’.This time, the situation is different.Officials must understand this and take adequate precautionary measures,”he directed.
Senior officials including Rajender Kumar Kataria,Manoj Kumar Meena,Meena Nagaraj,Venkataraj and M.N. Anucheth,along with other officers,were present at the meeting.
