The Assam government on Wednesday approved a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for inter-religious land transfer in the state.
Briefing over the decision Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that "all such transfers will come to the government".
"In a sensitive state like Assam, land transfer needs to be carefully handed over. All such transfers will come to the government and we will scrutinise all the transfers. We will look at the source of funds of the person who is buying, whether that land sale will affect the social fabrics of that locality, whether any national security threat is involved in certain cases, accordingly the District Commissioner will take the final decision" Mr Sarma said.
"The designated Nodal Officer within that Department would then transmit it to the Special Branch of the Assam Police. The Special Branch of the Assam Police will examine the proposal to identify any elements of fraud, coercion, or illegality, verify the source of funds used for the purchase, assess potential implications for social cohesion, and safeguard national security. Thereafter, the proposal would be returned to the government, with the District Commissioner taking the final decision," he added.
This decision is seen as yet another bold step by Assam government to check transfer of land from indigenous communities to illegal settlers.
"NGOs outside Assam sought land to establish insitutions, we will examine similar land sale prospects for national secuirty purpose, no such procedure for local NGOs" the chief minister added.
The SOP includes a frame work which will ensure that inter-religion land transfers will undergo a rigorous verification process.
According to the SOP, the inter-religious land sale proposals will first have to be submitted to the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of the districts, the Deputy Commissioner will check it and forward it to the Revenue Department for scrutiny by a designated nodal officer, then the proposals will go to the Police Special Branch, which will conduct a thorough investigation to determine whether the transfer was fraudulent, coerced, or illegal, assess the source of funds, and examine the social and security implications of the transaction.
One key factor that Special Branch will also analyse if such a transfer has any adverse effect on the local social fabric or poses a national security concern. The report will be sent back to the Deputy Commissioner, who will take the final call on whether to approve or decline the proposal.
