Bhubaneswar: The state Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today decided to withdraw its earlier decision to amend Odisha Scheduled areas Transfer of Immovable Property Regulation, 1956.
The state Cabinet had approved a proposal to amend the Odisha Scheduled Areas Transfer of Immovable Property (By Scheduled Tribes) Regulation, 1956 (Odisha Regulation 2 of 1956) on November 14 last year.
The state government had planned to amend the regulation to facilitate transfer and mortgage of landed properties of Scheduled Tribe people to non-tribals in Odisha.
However, the state government put the proposal on hold after facing severe criticism in this regard from the Opposition parties.
While giving its nod to the amendment proposal, the state Cabinet argued that the tribal people were facing difficulties to sell or mortgage their landed properties for financing the education of their children and other developmental activities.
However, the Opposition BJP and Congress opposed the move by terming it as a conspiracy to hand over the landed properties of tribal people to industrialists.
