Darjeeling MP Raju Bista passionately addressed the Parliament on Friday, raising the issue of granting parja patta (deed of land rights) for the ancestral lands of the people in his Parliamentary constituency.
Mr Bista highlighted a historical concern, explaining how the forest department, established in 1864, is now laying claims to lands that have been used for tea and cinchona cultivation in Darjeeling long before the department’s existence. Tea gardens in the region date back to the 1850s, and cinchona gardens were established in 1861, years before the forest department was even conceived.
“I pointed out how, despite this historical background and the enactment of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, which requires the recognition of traditional land rights, the West Bengal government has consistently refused to comply. The West Bengal Forest Department has yet to implement the FRA 2006 in its true sense in our region. This neglect continues the British colonial practice of denying land documents to the indigenous people,” Mr Bista lamented.
“Seventy-seven years after India’s independence, the West Bengal government has still not granted parja patta land rights to the workers of these tea and cinchona gardens, as well as those living in forest villages and DI Fund land,” Mr Bista further asserted.
Adding to the tension, the West Bengal government has recently erected boards claiming ownership of these ancestral lands, inciting concerns among local communities, he said.
Mr Bista urged the central government to intervene by formulating a national policy to grant parja patta land rights to the ancestral lands of the affected individuals.
He also called on the central government to compel the state government to implement the FRA 2006, in order to resolve this long standing issue and safeguard the rights of the people in the Darjeeling Hills, Terai and Dooars regions.
Mr Bista, who also serves as the national spokesperson for the BJP, concluded his appeal by emphasising the need for immediate action to protect the heritage and rights of the people he represents.