In a major step towards providing houses to agricultural labourer the ongoing Budget Session of the Karnataka Assembly on Friday brought an amendment to the land Reforms Act. The amendment provides landless agricultural labourer the ownership of the house he or she is residing either on Government or private land.
According to Government sources this would pave way for lakhs of landless agricultural labourer in the State to own their own homes where they had been living for long years.
Presenting the Bill, Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa said the amendment had been pending for more than three years for various reasons and it was a historic day for the landless who had been living an uncertain life as the dwelled either on Government or private land.
This will make the Government to announce these habitats as Revenue Villages and about 78,000 habitations across the State where such people, most of them belonging to SC/ST communities will be benefited.
As per the amendment the agricultural labourer is entitled for registration as owner in respect of dwelling house built on land not belonging to him immediately prior to January 1, 1979, by vesting such land in Government on the date of commencement of Karnataka land Reforms (Amendment) Act, 2018. Those habitats that will be converted into Revenue villages include lambani Tanda, Gollarahatti, Vaddarahatti, Kurubarhatti, Nayakarahatti, Majare Grama, Haadi, Doddi, Palya, Camp, Colony or any other such unrecorded habitations. many in the political circles feel that this amendment ahead of assembly polls in 2018 is seen as one more move towards garnering its vote bank and appeasement politics by the ruling congress government.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah hailed this as revolutionary and historic. The Congress manifesto in the 2013 elections had assured to make all those poor residents of such houses as ‘owners’. Siddaramaiah who is also the finance minister has presented an all please budget appeasing the backward classes recently.