Mayor Firhad Hakim on Saturday reiterated that the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) would approve the construction of buildings on thika land if a thika tenant approaches it and all necessary approvals are obtained.
Hakim referred to amendments in the law that have enabled thika tenants to obtain bank loans to erect new buildings.
The state government had amended the West Bengal Thika Tenancy (Acquisition and Regulation) Act in 2019.
“We will approve the plans to erect new buildings on thika land. The thika tenants have to register themselves and the bharatiyas (sub-tenants) with us. We will forward the application to the land (and land reforms) department. If they give their approval, we will approve the building plan,” Hakim said.
Kolkata has around 2,000 acres of thika tenancy land and Howrah has 517 acres.
An estimate by the land and land reforms department suggests around 20 lakh people reside on such land in the state. Several big slums in south and north Kolkata are on thika tenancy land.
Thika land was originally owned by zamindars but was taken over by the government after the zamindari system was abolished. The government became the owner of the land and those who used to stay there became the tenants.
In the 2019 amendment, the state government decided to lease the thika land to the tenants, which allowed the tenants to obtain bank loans.
Before the amendment, the tenants could not get bank loans for new construction.
A KMC official said that the thika tenants in subsequent years had rented out the structures or parts of the structures to sub-tenants.
On Saturday, Hakim said that the sub-tenants have to be given accommodation in the new structures that will be built.
“When the thika tenants register their names with the KMC, they will also have to register the names of the bharatiyas (sub-tenants),” said Hakim.