Vijayawada, May 18, 2023: In a move that will benefit over 97,000 farmers in Andhra Pradesh, the state government has permanently de-notified more than 2 lakh acres of British-era ‘dotted lands’ from a prohibited list, restoring full rights to farmers owning them. The farmers will now be able to sell and pledge these lands, besides enjoying other normal rights as owners of the land, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy said.
‘Dotted lands’ are lands under dispute, with the government and an individual or individuals claiming rights over them. The practice of categorising lands as ‘dotted lands’ began in the British era with the government placing dots in the ‘pattadar’ (land ownership passbook and document) column to indicate their disputed status. In spite of cultivating the lands for decades, thousands of farmers could not sell or mortgage the lands for loans as they were deemed disputed on the title deeds.
