Nod to UP law empowering Dalits to sell land to non-Dalits

Dalits in Uttar Pradesh will now be able to sell their land to non-Dalits with Governor Ram Naik today giving assent to an ordinance which seeks to amend the original pre-British era revenue law.
Naik gave his assent to UP Revenue Code (Amendment) Ordinance 2015, a Raj Bhawan spokesman said here.
The amendment, which allows Dalits to sell their lands to non-Dalits even if they are left with less than 3.5 acre of land, drew instant flak from Opposition BSP, which accused the ruling SP of robbing poor Dalits of whatever land holding they have.
SP, however, termed it as a landmark move as it would save Dalits from 'distress selling' of their land.

The government was likely to introduce the amendments as a bill in the winter session of the state assembly, but since it is unlikely to meet soon, the state government issued an ordinance in this regard.
Existing land revenue laws did not allow Dalits to sell their land to OBCs and upper castes if their remaining holding is less than 3.5 acre.

With assembly elections just about a year away, the BSP is planning to make it a big issue to appeal to its core voters.
BSP leaders have already started calling the amendment a "conspiracy to weaken and further marginalise Dalits".

Leader of the Opposition in the UP assembly, Swami Prasad Maurya strongly opposed the amendment in the revenue code.
BSP leaders allege that the ordinance is based on the report of just one committee headed by additional advocate general R B Yadav without doing any ground survey.
"No ground-level survey was done to ascertain whether Dalits were actually indulging in distress sale or it is an artificial situation created with political interests," one of the leaders claimed.