The Mamata Banerjee government has started regularising refugee colonies on central government land by offering freehold rights to those living on the plots for more than 40 years.

The move is likely to settle the citizenship problem of lakhs of people who crossed over to Bengal from neighbouring Bangladesh.

During an administrative review meeting of West Midnapore district in Kharagpur on Tuesday afternoon, the chief minister herself announced that the process of giving the freehold land rights had already started.

“We have started the process... But it will take some time for people to get the papers,” said Mamata

The move, Trinamul insiders said, would help the ruling party in the forthcoming Assembly polls.

First, this will help Trinamul establish that the party has done something positive for people living in refugee colonies, said a Bengal minister.

“Second, we would be able to counter the BJP’s Citizenship Amendment Act-based campaign as the freehold rights of land would establish the residents’ citizenship and they would not require any other paper,” the minister added.

Recently, the land and land reforms secretary, Manoj Pant, had issued an order to grant freehold land rights to those possessing plots in 119 refugee colonies, many of which are on central government land, across the state.

“After the state cabinet cleared a proposal on September 3, the process of giving freehold rights to the possessors occupying land in 119 colonies has begun. Of these, 40-odd colonies were set up on central government land. Remaining were set up on state government and private land. Similar initiative would be taken for the remaining colonies set up on central government land,” said a senior state government official.

The move by the state government would help 11,986 families living on 973 acres of land spread across 237 refugee colonies set up on central government land.

The initiative to give freehold rights to the residents of refugee colonies holds special significance amid questions on whether the state can regularise the colonies set up on the Union government’s land unless the Centre relinquishes the land to the state.

“We had communicated to the railway authorities seeking permission to give freehold rights to the residents of colonies set up on the land of the central utility. But as we did not get any response from the central agency, we have started giving freehold rights to the residents of these colonies,” the official said.

A section of the senior government officials explained that as the residents had been living on the plots for over 40 years, there would be no legal hassle if they were given freehold rights.

Moreover, officials said there were permanent structures on the plots and it was not possible for any agency to demolish all such structures and evict the occupants.

“So, it is assumed that no central agency would try to oppose the move of giving complete legal rights of land to the occupants. In case any agencies move to the court, the occupants would now have some documents in the form of freehold rights issued by the state to establish their claims in the court,” said another bureaucrat.