ANANTAPUR: District Collector D. Kadmiel has asked people to voluntarily handover Government-assignment lands in their (non-beneficiaries) possession, if any, by April 28 to avoid prosecution. If any person or organisation continues to hold assigned land transferred by original beneficiaries, he or she will be prosecuted after the deadline, he said. In statement, he explained that the State Government had brought an amendment to the AP Assignment Lands Act No. 9/1977 in the form AP Assignment Lands (Ban on Transfers) Amendment Act No. 8/2007 banning transfer of the Government-assigned lands from original beneficiaries to others. The Amendment Act came into effect on January 29, 2007. As per Section IV of the Amendment Act, the new clause of banning transfer of assigned lands was added to Section VII Sub-Section (1)a(i) of the original Act IX of 1977. The Collector stated that 5,98,402 acres of Government land had been distributed among 1,96,633 landless poor in the district since the law was made. An examination of records pertaining to 1,01,279 beneficiaries involving 2,71,006 acres of assigned lands had revealed that 5,078 acres of land belonging to 1,602 beneficiaries was in others' possession. Accordingly, 85.62 acres of land had already been restored to 38 original beneficiaries by the district administration by acting against trespassers or those holding assigned lands of original beneficiaries illegally. The remaining 4,970.76 acres lands were reclaimed by the Government and were distributed among 1,558 new landless poor. Another 23.11 acres of reclaimed lands were allotted to other public purposes. However, nobody had surrendered any assigned land taken from the beneficiaries as per the Amendment Act banning transfer of assigned lands so far.

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