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Chhattisgarh government has granted permanent patta (land deed) of 99 years to the 134 families who had migrated to India in mid sixties during civil war in the erstwhile eastern Pakistan now known as Bangladesh.
The families have been staying in the refugee settlement colony under Mana Nagar Panchayat area at the outskirts of the capital city. Chief Minister Raman Singh distributed patta to the beneficiaries at a function held at his residence office Wednesday.
The state government officials said that the revenue department had provided permanent patta for commercial purpose at nominal and token rate of Rs 1 only.
The initiative of state government would bestow safe abode to the families. They could also use the land for commercial purpose.
Singh said being called 'migrants' was deeply painful for the families who had been living here for generations. The state government had taken the initiative to remove the tag and grant them permanent right on the land they had been staying on, he said, adding that state government had overcome all the legal complications to guarantee a secured future to them.
The chief minister said five decades ago amid extremely difficult situation, they had to migrate from their birthplace in Bangladesh to India. Now Chhattisgarh has become their 'karmabhoomi' (home land). They have an important role to play in development of the state, Singh added.
The families presently residing in Mana Camp near Raipur had left their native place following unrest and civil war in 1964.
Under the settlement policy, the state government had built house-cum-shops but failed to provide permanent rights of land. Each family has been provided with patta of 369 sq ft of land.
