Bhubaneswar : In yet another 5-T initiative, the State government has resolved a long pending issue by paving the way for creation of more than 4000 hamlets as revenue villages, thereby ensuring these revenue units to get the benefits of government’s developmental schemes and programmes.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has approved a proposal of the Department of Revenue and Disaster Management (DoR&DM) for streamlining the process of creation of new revenue villages out of hamlets.
Principal Secretary, DoR&DM Bishnupada Sethi has asked the district collectors to follow the guidelines approved by the Chief Minister in this regard.
As per the new guidelines, the hamlet to be declared as new revenue village is to be located at more than half-a-kilometre from the mother revenue village with a population of 250 or more.
Similarly, a hamlet to be declared as new revenue village lying within half-a-kilometre from the mother village should have a population more than 300. Hamlet separated from mother village by a natural barrier can be reorganised as a new revenue village even if the population of the hamlet is less than 250.
The Principal Secretary DoR&DM has categorically asked the district collectors not to insist upon reservation limit for Gochar and Communal land for creation of new revenue village out of existing mother village. However, residents of the newly carved out village shall still have access to existing Gochar and Communal land situated in mother village, he said clarifying that all Communal as well as Gochar lands etc. shall be Common Property Resources (CPR) for both the villages.
Under the existing revenue laws, there is no specific provision for reservation of land upto a particular extent for Gochar & Communal purpose in connection with creation of a new revenue village out of a hamlet. The matter of creation of new villages has been agitated several times in the Legislative Assembly and other forums. Most of the proposals were not being considered in view of shortage of Gochar & Communal land. Certain executive instructions issued long back for reservation of land in course of settlement and consolidation operation have been misinterpreted by field officers when considering creation of new revenue village. By not creating new Revenue Villages, the state was also being deprived of resources which would have been otherwise available under different Government grants/ schemes. “By not insisting upon reservation limit, State will now create approximately 4000 new villages which would benefit the people,” said Sethi while informing the district collectors that these directives shall supersede all previous instructions of the government in this matter.
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