Guwahati, Feb 22 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday distributed land documents to 38,223 people of various indigenous communities in Dhemaji district.

As part of the state government's Mission Basundhara 2.0 scheme, Sarma distributed 'pattas' ceremonially at two programmes held at Dhemaji and Jonai towns in the district.

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Mission Basundhara includes land-related services such as mutation, updating of land records and delivery of services to the people at their homes.

'Members of the indigenous communities in the state did not have land records documents to legally claim their possession over the plot of land under their possession since time immemorial. Realising this irony, the state government amended the Land Rights Act. This led the government to decide on providing land rights to the landless indigenous people,' the chief minister said.

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These land documents will enable the land-holders to record ownership of their land and empower them to use them as collateral, he said.

The digital form of pattas would enable the beneficiaries to trace those in the Digi locker in case those are lost or misplaced, Sarma added.

'The land rights will also enable the beneficiaries to enjoy the benefits of other government schemes and Mission Basundhara is a manifestation of the government's commitment towards safeguarding the land rights of the people of the state,' he said.

The chief minister said the distribution of land records is also an initiative on the part of the government to empower people, with 84 per cent of the beneficiaries under this scheme belonging to the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and other backward communities.

The government has taken many revolutionary steps to wipe out the menace of the middlemen in land dealings, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)