The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday signed an agreement with Sutra Consultation Private Limited, a private agency, for a survey to identify genuine beneficiaries of land rights among slum dwellers.
The survey called Urban Slum Household Area (USHA) will be conducted in 436 slums under the state government’s Jaga Mission to provide land rights to slum dwellers. The agency will work for four years and go on submitting its survey report in phases to the BMC.
A sub-committee will scrutinise the survey reports thoroughly. The report will contain all the details of existing slum residents including ration, Adhaar card, land (if any), condition of living, employment and educational details, among others.
The survey will cover more than one lakh households under BMC limits. The land rights will be given to the slum residents as per Odisha Land Rights to Slum Dwellers Act, 2017 and the Odisha Municipal Corporation (amendment) Act, 2022, said BMC deputy commissioner Ramesh Jena.
BMC officials said every landless person occupying land in a slum under BMC area before the cut-off date (the government is yet to decide), will be eligible to get land rights.
“If a person residing in a slum is relocated from a place, he or she will be eligible to get 30 sq metres of land or house. If a person possesses 30 sq metres of land, he can can land rights of maximum 45 sq metres. If a person has less than 30 sq metre of land, he can get land rights of 30 sq metre, “BMC officials said.
The agency will complete the process of survey on completion of 24 months since signing day of the agreement. Thereafter, the process of doling out land documents to the eligible dwellers will start, which will take 12 months.
