Essential for industrial growth
Kolkata: People checking land records before buying a plot, verifying property details or dealing with land-related paperwork in Bengal may find it easier to identify their plots’ broad categories after the state segregates existing plot classifications under 16 heads and introduces a separate ‘Supra Category’ column in the Record of Rights (RoR). The 16 broad categories are Industrial, commercial, agricultural, agri-allied, water body, public utility, institutional, orchard, religious, residential, forest, river, fallow land, ground/field, tea plantation and others. For people dealing with land transactions or record verification, the additional column is expected to offer a clearer picture of the broad classification of a plot. But it should not be mistaken for a change in the plot’s legal status: the new Supra Category will not, by itself, alter ownership, plot area or land-use rights, nor will it authorise a change in the use of the property. For instance, traditional classifications such as Shali, Shuna, Danga, Aus and Aman will be grouped under agricultural. Bastu land, houses, buildings, townships, housing complexes, quarters and hostels will come under residential. Rice mills, cold storage, factories, crushers, sawmills and industrial parks will be classified as industrial. Schools, colleges, hospitals, libraries, post offices, railway stations, power stations and police stations will fall under institutional, while roads, bridges, bus stands, parks, cremation grounds, burial grounds and dumping grounds will be grouped under public utility. Ponds, lakes, canals, wetlands, jhora, nayanjuli will come under water body. The circular allows district-level land records authorities, including district land and land reforms officers (DL&LROs), to propose changes, corrections, additions or deletions to the classification framework.