Bhubaneswar: In a significant development Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at a special function on Tuesday distributed record of rights (ROR) or land pattas to 10,000 Sikkim ryots of 26 districts, thus resolving land-related issues of several years.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that resolving the problems of the people has been the top priority of his government.
“The issue of the Sikkim ryots was a long-pending one. Since they had no rights over the land their socio-economic life was affected. They were even unable to avail the benefits of various programmes undertaken by the government for the development of agriculture,” the Chief Minister pointed out.
Describing the resolution of the issues of the Sikkim ryots as historic, the Chief Minister said that the happiness of the people is his biggest prize.
The Chief Minister said that during the visit of 5T and Nabin Odisha Chairman to Kendrapada district, Sikkim Ryots met him and informed him about their problems.
5T and Nabin Odisha Chairman drew the Chief Minister’s attention to this. Later, the Chief Minister directed the Revenue and Disaster Management Department to take steps to resolve the issue.
The Chief Minister said that in Ganjam district, the land issues of Gramkantha and Paramboke were also resolved within a few days. He said that this is proof of his government’s commitment and determination to solve the problems of the people.
By this legal initiative of the state government, the ryots who owned Sikkim land were given hereditary and transferable rights. For this, the Chief Minister expressed joy that the Revenue and Disaster Management Department has resolved all these Sikkim land issues by filing cases suo moto.
5T and Nabin Odisha Chairman Kartik Pandian coordinated the program and said that this Sikkim Rayot problem has been a problem for more than 50 years.
He said applications for resolving this were first received from Kendrapada district during his visit to the district. It was resolved, he added.
He said that he has directed the district administrations to complete the allotment of pattas of remaining land as soon as possible and distribute them transparently with respect.
He further said that Ganjam district was having issues of Gramkantha and Paramboke for more than 100 years. In 2009, the Chief Minister amended the law and resolved the issues. You all benefited from it, he added.
He said the Chief Minister has also resolved the problem of the sale of Chaka land in Jagatsinghpur and Puri districts. He stated that in the Chief Minister’s view, the law is there to serve the people, to empower the people. He said that the law would also be amended for the benefit of the people.
Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak in Kendrapara, Government Chief Whip Prashant Kumar Muduli in Jagatsinghpur, MLA Pratap Kumar Jena in Cuttack, MLA Swarup Das in Balasore, MLA Rajendra Kumar Sahu in Khordha, MLA Subash Chandra Behera in Ganjam and former State Planning Board Deputy Chairman Sanjay Kumar Dasburma in Puri attended the district level functions and distributed land pattas to Sikkim ryots on behalf of the Chief Minister.
In the program, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Sudam Marndi said that due to the strong and visionary leadership of the Chief Minister, the long-pending problem of Sikkim ryots has been resolved today. No matter how much you thank the Chief Minister for this, it will be less, Marndi added.
Around 2,50,000 Sikkim ryots and their heirs in Odisha will benefit from this historic step.
Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management Department Satyabrat Sahu gave the welcome speech and highlighted the problems of Sikkim ryots and the steps taken by the department to solve them.
