VELLORE: Some 6,000 petitions have been received till Monday for the issue of free wasteland pattas in the Vellore district under the State Government's scheme of issuing free pattas to landless farm workers, according to Vellore Collector Dharmendra Pratap Yadav.

Speaking to newspersons here on Wednesday, the Collector said in the first phase, it had been decided to issue free pattas to 1,267 beneficiaries in 105 villages in all the eight taluks in the district. Around 241 persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes, 19 belonging to the Scheduled Tribes, 812 to the Most Backward Classes and 195 to others will be given pattas by PWD Minister Durai Murugan at a function at the Nethaji Stadium on September 17.

Mr. Yadav said beneficiaries in each village panchayat would be identified by a committee comprising the panchayat president and a member belonging to the SC/ST community. If sufficient land was available, pattas would be distributed to all the eligible applicants. If not, eligible beneficiaries would be selected by draw of lots.

Persons cultivating on encroached land would be issued pattas for the particular land subject to a maximum of two acres. If a person was carrying on cultivation on 1.5 acres of encroached land, he would be given patta for the land, in addition to another 0.5 acres of land. He replied in the negative to a question whether a person enjoying more than two acres of encroached land would be dispossessed of the excess land for distribution to other beneficiaries. The Collector said the list of beneficiaries would be displayed on notice boards of all village panchayats on September 16.

If any discrepancy or illegality was brought to the notice of the district administration, action would be taken to cancel the pattas in such cases, he said.

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