Mumbai, September 9 (Daily Kiran) : The Maharashtra government has launched a significant campaign aimed at enhancing land rights for tribal communities. Announced by Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, the initiative will run from September 17 to October 2, coinciding with Prime Minister Modi’s birthday and ending on Gandhi Jayanti.
The campaign’s primary goal is to grant full legal ownership of forest land to tribal families currently engaged in farming but lacking formal documentation or complete rights over their land. Many tribal farmers cultivate large plots but possess ownership only for a fraction of their land, while some have no rights at all despite their farming activities.
To address this issue, the campaign will resolve outstanding claims and issue official ownership certificates. From September 17 to 19, village-level forest rights committees will convene to review and approve claims from tribal farmers who have unrecorded or partially recorded forest land. Following this, special village assemblies will be held from September 30 to October 2 to grant community approval for the verified claims.
Once the village assembly approves the claims, they will be swiftly forwarded to sub-divisional and district-level forest rights committees for final approval within the designated timeframe. Eligible tribal farmers will receive new property cards, 7/12 extracts, and Form No. 12 once their ownership of forest land is confirmed.
Minister Bawankule emphasized that tribal farmers already holding forest land rights will receive extracts from Forms 6 to 12. He assured that no eligible farmer would be deprived of property cards or 7/12 extracts due to administrative or technical errors in the records.
The campaign will also benefit from improved coordination between the revenue and forest departments. This will ensure accurate matching of verified names, survey numbers, and land measurements for issuing official ownership documentation. District collectors will personally oversee the campaign’s implementation, while sub-divisional officers and field staff will be responsible for completing assigned tasks within the set deadlines.
In a related initiative to boost investment and economic development, the Maharashtra government has launched an integrated digital platform named ‘Mahabhumi Stack.’ This system is designed to serve as a unified gateway for land transactions and related administrative tasks, consolidating previously fragmented services into a single portal.
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