Mumbai, July 8 (IANS) Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Wednesday announced that tribal families holding land under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) will be issued independent land registry documents, a move expected to benefit over two lakh families across the state.

Announcing this in both Houses of the state Legislature, the Minister said eligible beneficiaries will now receive separate Satbara Utara (7/12 extract) entries through newly introduced Form 7E and Village Form 12E, enabling them to establish direct ownership records for lands allotted under the FRA.

Minister Bawankule pointed out that until now, after a forest land patta (title deed) was approved, the names of tribal farmers were only recorded under the ‘Other Rights’ column of the Satbara document. The primary ownership column still read ‘Government of Maharashtra – Forests.’

Due to this technical glitch, tribal farmers faced immense practical hurdles in obtaining a ‘Farmer ID’, securing agricultural crop loans from banks, accessing schemes run by the Agriculture Department, and claiming compensation during natural disasters.

To find a permanent solution to this issue, a special committee was formed under the guidance of the Chief Minister and chaired by the Revenue Minister. Based on the committee’s recommendations, the government has introduced a special provision to create independent Satbara Form 7E and Village Form 12E documents specifically for forest land patta holders.

The name of the respective forest land patta holder will be registered directly as the primary holder, and Village Form 7E and Village Form 12E will be used to record the crops grown on that specific land.

The Minister said that tribal farmers will now be able to access all government agricultural benefits, including ‘AgriStack’, much more easily and swiftly. In regions where forest land pattas have been granted within clustered ‘Forest Blocks’, the Land Records Department will immediately conduct a survey. Once this survey is complete, official entries will be promptly made in the independent Satbara Form 7E and Village Form 12E, the Minister confirmed.

The Revenue Minister appealed to all public representatives, “All MLAs representing tribal regions should immediately hold meetings in their respective assembly constituencies and implement this ‘7E and 12E’ document process to help our tribal brothers and sisters get their rights.”

Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar expressed his satisfaction over the announcement, stating that the long-standing demand for independent land records for tribals is finally being fulfilled.

Congress leader Nana Patole also welcomed the decision, congratulating the Revenue Minister while simultaneously demanding the re-appointment of ‘Village Forest Rights Committees’.

Responding to this, the Revenue Minister clarified that while tribals are definitely getting their independent land records, the government — following instructions from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis — is also highly positive about forming the ‘Village Forest Rights Committees’ and a swift review of the matter will be undertaken.

–IANS

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