Lawyers plan to challenge bill in High Court

Source: timesofindia

RANCHI: With the state assembly passing the Chotanagpur Tenancy (CNT) and Santhal Pargana Tenancy (SPT) Act Amendment Bill 2016 on Wednesday, the Jharkhand Advocates Association decided to approach the Jharkhand High Court with a writ, claiming it to be unconstitutional.

“Section 21 of CNT Act has been amended by bringing in section 21 (B), wherein, there is provision to convert agricultural to non-agricultural land. The nature of land changes if it is transferred from agricultural to non-agricultural land. The handover of agricultural land is banned under section 46 of the new Act,” advocate Mohammed Mumtaz Ahmad Khan, president of Jharkhand Advocates Association, said.

“With the amendments, both sections 71-A and 46 have been done away with,” Khan added, pointing that the decision will only result in the displacement of a large tribal population of Jharkhand, who will become landless. It will further invite corporate houses to use the tribal land for commercialization, which in turn will financially benefit only politicians and bureaucrats, Khan said. He said, “Earlier, the population of tribals in the state was 51%, which is presently 26%, and this will be reduced to 20% in the future.” As of now, lawyers are waiting to receive the copy of the bill.