MUMBAI: Maharashtra cabinet on Thursday decided to amend the existing land revenue code and return the 4,949 acres of defaulted agriculture land to original farmers from whom these parcels were taken and seized due to non-payment of government dues and taxes.The decision benefits 973 farmers in Maharashtra. Amendments to Section 220 of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code of 1966 were approved, paving the way for returning the defaulted lands to the original owners. The farmers can now get their lands back by paying a quarter of the ready reckoner rate. Also called the circle rate or guidance value refers to the minimum valuation set by the state government for properties in a particular area.These confiscated lands, called Tagai Pad lands, are of class II and are in the possession of respective District Collectors. After 12 years, the lands are auctioned to recover the amount due and interest on it. Any amount remaining goes back to the farmers. It is much more than the amount from the farmers to the government. The government has not been earning much revenue through this conventional procedure for long. That prompted the Cabinet to amend the law and permit farmers to take back their lands by paying a set amount of the reckoner rate. “Once this decision is executed, these confiscated lands will become Category. These parcels will also be re-registered to complete the transfer procedure,” said Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule.He said that the decision would relieve the farmers who had failed to pay the taxes for various reasons like debt, drought, and other difficulties. “This decision was pending before the state government for the last 50 years. And I am happy that, as revenue minister, I made this decision in the larger interest of the farmers. I am grateful to my chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, who supported this decision and approved the amendment in law in the cabinet meeting as well,” the revenue minister said.Meanwhile, CM Devendra Fadnavis has directed the implementation of AI technology to ensure seamless entry for citizens into Mantralaya without compromising on security.The directive comes in response to the high volume of visitors from across the state who visit the administrative headquarters for various official purposes, which puts considerable pressure on the security apparatus.It also created unique identification numbers for infrastructure projects, similar to Aadhar IDs for individuals. It will prevent duplication of development works across departments. Identical to the Aadhaar system that eliminated bogus beneficiaries, all project information will be available on a single dashboard.It will be integrated with PM Gati Shakti Portal, Rural Development Portal, and Maharashtra Remote Sensing Application Center to ensure balanced development and optimal resource utilization.
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