A significant controversy has erupted in the Madhya Pradesh legislative assembly over the alleged exclusion of numerous new habitations from official revenue records. The issue, which deprives residents, primarily from Scheduled Caste communities, of essential government benefits, was raised forcefully during the Question Hour on Thursday.
Allegations of Neglect in Nagada-Khachrod
The matter was first highlighted by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from the Nagada-Khachrod assembly seat, Tej Bahadur Singh Chouhan. He brought attention to the plight of a large number of new settlements within his constituency that remain officially unrecognized. "Most of these new settlements are inhabited by scheduled caste communities," Chouhan stated in the House.
He elaborated on the severe consequences of this administrative gap, explaining that because these villages are not included in the official population count, their residents are systematically excluded from state welfare programs. "All these brothers and sisters are deprived of the benefits of govt schemes," he asserted. "They neither get electricity nor the benefits of PM Awas Yojana."
Chouhan directed his query to the state's Revenue Minister, Karan Singh Verma, seeking clarity on the number of villages in Nagada-Khachrod tehsil with pending cases for recognition. He revealed a stark discrepancy: while the minister's written reply acknowledged only four new settlements, the ground reality, according to the MLA, involves 25 submitted applications awaiting action.
Minister's Response and Complicated Process
In response, Revenue Minister Karan Singh Verma maintained that proposals for reserving additional land for habitation in four specific villages are currently under consideration at the level of the additional collector's office. This official stance, however, was immediately challenged by opposition members who pointed to a much wider problem.
Senior Congress MLA from Badnawar, Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat, intervened to underscore a systemic failure. He alleged that many new habitations across the state are missing from revenue records. Shekhawat pinpointed the root cause as an excessively bureaucratic and slow-moving verification process.
"To find out the population of the village, the process is so complicated that these cases remain pending for 2-3 years," Shekhawat argued. This prolonged delay has a direct and damaging impact on community development. "These villages remain deprived of funds meant for development," he concluded, painting a picture of administrative neglect leading to the denial of basic infrastructure and rights.
Broader Implications for Welfare and Inclusion
The exchange in the assembly highlights a critical governance issue with profound implications for social welfare and inclusive development. The failure to formally recognize new settlements creates an invisible population—citizens who are effectively off the grid of state accountability and support.
The consequences, as outlined by the MLAs, are severe and multifaceted:
- Exclusion from Central Schemes: Residents cannot access flagship programs like the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) for housing.
- Lack of Basic Infrastructure: The path to obtaining essential utilities like electricity becomes nearly impossible without official recognition.
- Stalled Development: Villages cannot receive allocated funds for local area development, roads, sanitation, and other civic amenities.
- Social Inequity: The fact that these communities are predominantly from Scheduled Castes raises serious concerns about equitable access to state resources and social justice.
The debate underscores an urgent need for the revenue department to streamline and expedite its process for surveying and recording new habitations. Until this bureaucratic hurdle is cleared, thousands of citizens in Madhya Pradesh will continue to live in a limbo of official non-existence, denied their rightful entitlements and basic dignities.
