Mail News Service
Jamshedpur, Oct 6: The demand for granting land ownership rights to residents of over 86 settlements in Jamshedpur has intensified, with political activity picking up pace.
On Monday, Jamshedpur East MLA Purnima Sahu wrote to Chief Minister Hemant Soren, urging the later to grant full ownership rights to settlement residents.
She termed the issue as one of immense public interest and a long-pending sensitive matter.
In her letter, Sahu highlighted that lakhs of people have been residing in these settlements for decades, and their long-standing demand has been for ownership of the land on which their homes stand.
She stressed that granting ownership would ensure a secure, dignified, and stable life for these families.
She further pointed out that during the Tata lease renewal in 2005, the Jharkhand government had taken a policy decision to reserve around 1,800 acres of land for these 86 settlements.
Later, in 2018, the then NDA government introduced a land lease policy, allowing 10 decimals of residential land to each household — a move Sahu described as “historic.”
Sahu also reminded the CM that both the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Congress Party had made clear promises in their manifestos and election rallies to provide land ownership rights to slum residents.
In fact, in November 2024, during an election rally in Jamshedpur, JMM leader Kalpana Soren had publicly announced that once the JMM government was in power, residents of Birsanagar and other settlements would be granted ownership rights. She also attached newspaper clippings containing these political assurances along with her letter.
The MLA stated that since the JMM-led coalition government is currently in power, this is the most appropriate time to fulfill those electoral promises.
She recalled that she had also raised this issue through an attention motion during the 2025 budget session of the Jharkhand Assembly, but the government’s response was neither clear nor concrete.
Sahu has requested the Chief Minister to take a prompt decision on this humanitarian and public issue.
She emphasized that granting land ownership rights to settlement residents would bring about significant improvements in their social, educational, and economic conditions, ensuring a safer and more dignified life for thousands of families.
