RTC issue hits ex-gratia payment

Mysuru: Kodagu district officials after assessing crop loss during last year’s landslides and rains,  had presented a memorandum to the Central government and received Rs 93 crores of NDRF funds but have not been able to make payment of Rs 47 crore to the beneficiaries as the RTC (record of rights, tenancy and crops) is not in the name of the land owners.  Many people in Kodagu do not have the RTC of their land because of the unique land tenure system prevailing in the district where the family owns property like Jamma or Baane land leading to legal issues in selling and dividing property. 

Though there have been several High Court and Supreme Court judgements in this regard, there has to be a policy decision to ease this woes of land owners, revenue department sources said.  The family of Kushalappa from Nidavattu village in Madikeri taluk in Kodagu had written to the PM seeking permission for mercy killing after they were denied ex-gratia for the crop loss they suffered in six and a half acres of land in August last year, because the RTC of the property was not in their name as per NDRF guidelines. This is not just the case of Kushalappa, there are over 100 others (who do not have RTCs in their names)  who have been  denied ex-gratia as there is provision to give it only to the owner of the land who possesses RTC.  

"The compensation is not given via a manual system but through an automatic software Parihara linked to Bhoomi software which generates payments to RTC owner and credits to the beneficiary’s account", DC Ms Annies explained.  When Deccan Chronicle, brought the issue to the notice of Revenue Minister R.V. Deshpande, he promised to take a policy decision on the RTC issue.