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Guwahati, Assam<\/strong>: The Assam government has announced that it will implement a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that will require the state’s permission for land transfers between people of different religions. This move is part of the government’s broader efforts to scrutinize such transactions, citing concerns about “fraudulent” and “illegal” land transfers and their potential impact on the state’s social fabric and national security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Guwahati, Assam: The Assam government has announced that it will implement a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that will require the state’s permission for land transfers between people of different religions. This move is part of the government’s broader efforts to scrutinize such transactions, citing concerns about “fraudulent” and “illegal” land transfers and their potential…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6097,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-assam"],"yoast_head":"\n
According to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the state cabinet has approved the new SOP. He stated that if a land transfer proposal is between individuals of the same religion, the SOP will not be applicable. However, in cases of inter-religious land transfers, such as between a Hindu and a Muslim, the proposal will undergo a strict examination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Details of the Scrutiny Process
Under the new procedure, when a land transfer proposal is made to the Sub-Divisional Officer, it will be sent to the Revenue Department and then to the Special Branch of the Assam Police. The Special Branch will investigate several key factors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
After the Special Branch completes its investigation and submits a report to the government, the Deputy Commissioner will make the final decision on whether to approve the land transfer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Chief Minister Sarma has stated that the new SOP is necessary for a “sensitive state like Assam” and is aimed at curbing what he has referred to as “land jihad.” He has also announced that the same procedure will be applicable to NGOs from outside the state that intend to purchase land in Assam for setting up educational or healthcare institutions. He mentioned that in the last six months, several land transfer cases have been pending with the government, and the new SOP will now allow them to take a decision on these cases.
The move has been criticized by opposition parties and legal experts as discriminatory and unconstitutional. Critics argue that the law targets a specific religious community and could be a tool for political gain. However, the government maintains that the new measures are essential to protect the land rights of indigenous communities and to prevent illegal activities that could threaten the state’s security.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"