The President signed the revolutionary amendment Bill declaring the dweller as the owner under the Karnataka Land Reforms Act 1961, by converting 58,000 dwelling places as revenue villages, reported Kannada Prabha.
The Bill was passed by the State Cabinet on March 25 but the Governor had referred it to the President for approval. In this regard a delegation headed by MLA K Shivamurthy Naik had met the former President Pranab Mukherjee and the present President Ramanath Kovind and appealed to both to approve the Bill. President Kovind accordingly signed the Bill on 8Tuesday before starting to the State.
The Bill aims at converting 58,000 dwelling places like Gollara hatti, Lambani tanda, Vaddara hatti, kurubara hatti, Nayakara hatti, Majare village, Doddi, palya, camp, Gouli doddi, colony and such other residing regions of tribal and nomads into revenue villages. Like the land to the tiller Act, the Bill aims at providing shelter to lakhs of homeless people.
The amended Bill provides an opportunity for the landless people residing without documents at 58,000 dwellings to become owners of the houses they are residing in. Anybody residing at a specific location prior to 1979 will become the owner of the place and areas surround it.
Some of them are residing on private lands, some on industrial areas. However, not all illegal occupants within City limits can claim ownership under this Act. Only agriculture labourers residing prior to 1979 at hatti, thanda, majare, doddi, palya, camp and colony are eligible to claim their rights. Once the 58,000 dwelling places are converted as revenue villages, they are eligible to the village status.