Assam govt suspends NOC for sale of land between people of different religions for 3 months

Guwahati: In a significant move the Assam government has restricted the grant of no objection certificates (NOCs) for the sale of land between people belonging to different religions for three months.

Referring inputs from intelligence inputs indicating attempts to transfer land involving people of different religious communities “by fraudulent means”, a notification issued by the Revenue and Disaster Management (Registration) Department through the State Governor said that the grant of NOCs has been “kept in abeyance” to prevent vested interests from creating communal conflicts during the Lok Sabha elections.

It is significant that elections to the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam will be held in three phases. Polling for five seats in eastern Assam seats, five seats in central and southern Assam, and four seats in central and western Assam will be held on April 19, April 26, and May 7 respectively.

The notification signed by the Principal Secretary to the Revenue Department Gyanendra Dev Tripathi said, “…the Governor of Assam is pleased to direct that all cases for grant of NOC for sale of land under section 21A of Registration Act 1908 where buyer and seller belong to different religion shall be kept in abeyance for a period of 3 months from the date of issue of this notification.”

It further said, “However, if the District Commissioner is of the view that grant of such NOC is absolutely necessary for attending circumstances and will not lead to any breach of law and order, the same may be issued with prior concurrence of Inspector General of Registration, Assam.”

The notification was issued less than a month after the Assam government launched the third phase of Mission Basundhra, a service for the conversion of government-owned land to ‘myadi patta’ over which an applicant belonging to an indigenous community can have ownership rights.

The All India United Democratic Front MLA Ashraful Hussain recently alleged that applications from Muslims under Mission Basundhara were being rejected. In response, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that landless Bengali-origin Muslims – often referred to as ‘Miyan’ in Assam, cannot apply under the mission as they are not indigenous.

“Khilonjia (indigenous) means aboriginal. In Assam, the tribal people such as the Moran, Matak, and Chutia are aboriginal. This is a worldwide recognised definition,” he said.

The 2011 Census says that Assam has 1.06 crore Muslims in Assam, accounting for 34.22 percent of the State’s population. Most of them are Muslims of Bengali origin inhabiting the riverine areas and are often branded as illegal immigrants.

The BJP government has launched Mission Basundhara on May 8, 2022.