Mission Basundhara (Assam Land Records and Settlement Mission)

What is Mission Basundhara?

Mission Basundhara is the land-rights and land-records programme of the Revenue & Disaster Management Department, Government of Assam. Mission Basundhara does two things at once: it settles government land with the people already occupying it, converting informal occupation into recorded, transferable ownership; and it digitises and corrects Assam's land records so that the resulting titles are reliable.

Mission Basundhara has run in phases: Mission Basundhara 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0, each opening a defined set of settlement services for a fixed application window. Alongside those windows, a group of everyday land services runs perpetually, and those are the ones a citizen can use today.

The scale is visible on the portal's own dashboard. Mission Basundhara 1.0 services under ARTPS received 48,89,318 applications and disposed of 46,33,746. NOC-Composite services received 5,15,243 and disposed 3,92,420. Ekhazana services received 13,99,154 and disposed 13,49,274. On the survey side the portal shows 772 villages to be resurveyed with 40.84% overall resurvey progress, and 1,074 SVAMITVA villages with 40.08% overall SVAMITVA progress.

Which services were offered under Mission Basundhara 3.0?

Mission Basundhara 3.0 listed eight services, aimed largely at land categories that earlier rounds could not resolve:

1. Settlement of unsettled erstwhile Bhoodan/Gramdan lands. Land donated under the Bhoodan and Gramdan movements and now vested with the state is formally recorded, converting it into recognised, transferable holdings.
2. Ownership rights to occupancy tenants in town lands that were formerly rural. Granted under the Assam (Temporary Settled Areas) Tenancy Act, 1971.
3. Reclassification suits. For landholders whose land use has changed, for example agricultural land now used for residential, commercial or industrial purposes.
4. End-to-end digitalisation of Annual Patta to Periodic Patta conversion with rationalised rates in towns and their peripheral areas. Annual patta holders, whose rights are limited to yearly leases, convert to Periodic Patta by paying a rationalised premium and gain long-term ownership rights.
5. Limited conversion of tea grant land to periodic patta. Tea estate land sold and repurposed for residential or commercial use can be legally converted to Myadi Patta, subject to premium, where a registered deed exists on or before 31 December 2022.
6. Digitalised settlement of land to non-individual juridical entities; government bodies, educational, religious and socio-cultural institutions.
7. Settlement of land in surveyed Non-Cadastral (NC) villages under SVAMITVA, granting conclusive land rights in un-surveyed NC villages, with the stated aim of an "NC Village Free Assam".
8. Review of Mission Basundhara 2.0 cases pending for clarification, categorised district-wise and service-wise.

Which services were offered under Mission Basundhara 2.0?

Mission Basundhara 2.0 covered settlement categories that define who can gain land under the programme, and the ceilings are set by Land Policy 2019, as amended:

• Settlement of khas and ceiling surplus land, government khas and ceiling surplus land in the occupation of indigenous landless people is settled for homestead and ordinary purposes.
• Settlement of occupancy tenants under the Assam (Temporary Settled Areas) Tenancy Act, 1971.
• Settlement of special cultivators: small tea growers and other special cultivators such as rubber and coffee growers get 30 bighas, with any additional settlement capped so the aggregate does not exceed 75 bighas, after realisation of premium.
• Settlement of hereditary land of tribal communities: up to 50 bighas.
• Settlement of AP transferred land from the original AP holder. Where Annual Patta land is transferred, the Annual Patta is cancelled, the land becomes government land, and it is then settled with eligible occupiers.
• Regularisation of PGR/VGR land: up to 1 bigha of Professional Grazing Reserve or Village Grazing Reserve land is settled with eligible occupiers for homestead purposes, subject to an administrative mandate prior to 1 January 2011.
• Online payment of land revenue.

Who is eligible under Mission Basundhara, and who is not eligible?

Mission Basundhara does not run on a single income or age test. Eligibility is service-specific and turns on the class of land and your relationship to it.

Categories that can be covered

• Indigenous landless people in occupation of khas or ceiling surplus land, for homestead and ordinary purposes.
• Occupancy tenants, including those in town land that was formerly rural.
• Small tea growers and special cultivators registered with the designated state or central board.
• Tribal communities holding hereditary land.
• Eligible occupiers of PGR/VGR land with an administrative mandate before 1 January 2011.
• Recorded pattadars in Dharitree, for the Digital Patta service and for the perpetual record-correction services.
• Non-individual juridical entities: government bodies, educational, religious and socio-cultural institutions — for land allotment or settlement.

Who is not eligible or cannot apply

• Anyone applying for a settlement round that has closed. The portal states plainly that the last date for application in Mission Basundhara is over.
• Applicants beyond the ceilings. A tribal hereditary claim above 50 bighas, or a special-cultivator claim taking the aggregate past 75 bighas.
• Tea grant land conversions without a registered deed on or before 31 December 2022, which fall outside the limited conversion window.
• For the Digital Patta service specifically, the portal sets four conditions: the applicant must be a recorded pattadar in Dharitree; land revenue records must be updated with a digital revenue receipt available; the land must be free from ownership disputes or stay orders; and a ULPIN must be generated or capable of generation. Aadhaar authentication is voluntary.

Who gets a concession on the premium?

Mission Basundhara settlements usually involve paying a premium. The portal records an additional concession of 25% on the payable premium for four categories:

• Scheduled Castes
• Scheduled Tribes
• Persons with disabilities who do not have a regular source of income
• Widows having no earning member in the family

On caste documentation, the portal is specific: for any service under Mission Basundhara 2.0, applicants in the SC and ST categories must submit a caste certificate, while no document is required for general-category applicants. SC, ST, OBC and MOBC applicants may apply with an old caste certificate, but the process then redirects them to the Bhumiputra portal to apply for the Bhumiputra certificate.

What documents are required for Mission Basundhara?

How to apply on the Mission Basundhara portal

1. Open basundhara.assam.gov.in and switch the language to English or Assamese using the toggle at the top of the page.
2. Pick the exact service you need from the Services menu. Mission Basundhara is not one application, each service has its own guideline and its own document list, and applying under the wrong service is the commonest cause of rejection.
3. Read the Service Guidelines and Documents Required shown against that service before you start, and collect every listed paper first.
4. Log in or register, then use Apply Now against the service. Citizens who are not comfortable applying themselves can use a Sewa Setu common service centre (CSC) or Public Facilitation Centre (PFC) instead.
5. Upload the documents and submit, then pay the premium or user fee online where the service carries one. Claim the 25% concession at this stage if you fall in an eligible category.
6. Save the acknowledgement, and use Apply Now / Track Application or the Dashboard link on the portal to follow the status of applications submitted under Dharitree.

Which Mission Basundhara services are free and open all year?

A group of everyday record services runs perpetually and, importantly, several carry no user fees at all:

• Mutation by right of inheritance, transfer from the recorded owner to the legal heir under Section 53A(1), ALRR 1886. No user fees.
• Mutation after deed registration; recording the new owner after sale or transfer. No user fees.
• Partition for undisputed cases; division of a revenue-paying estate. No user fees.
• Reclassification of agricultural land to non-agricultural below 1 bigha. No user fees.
• Conversion from Annual Patta to Periodic Patta, no user fees for rural areas. Once converted, the owner has a permanent, heritable and transferable right of use and occupancy.
• Allotment certificate to Periodic Patta conversion, after possession is verified for the stipulated period.
• Striking out of name from patta under Rule 116, ALRR 1886, after each case is heard.
• Digital Patta service, mobile number updation, and legacy data updation covering name correction, area correction and remark updation in the Jamabandi.

How do you check status or complain about Mission Basundhara?

1. Use the Dashboard link on the Mission Basundhara portal to find the status of applications submitted under Dharitree.
2. Use Search Occupier/Khatian on the portal, selecting your district, circle and village and entering the Dag number, to look up the record itself.
3. Use the Claim/Objection Portal if a tea garden acquisition affects you, the portal allows tea gardens to submit objections or claims regarding the acquisition.
4. Call the helpdesk on 1800-345-3574, the Sewa Setu toll-free number printed on the Mission Basundhara site. Sewa Setu currently notes on its own site that this line is temporarily unavailable and directs queries to sewasetu.queries@gmail.com.
5. Raise corruption complaints with the Grievance Section of the RTPS Portal. The portal states that if any official involved in service delivery asks or demands an undue favour in cash or kind, it must be reported to the RTPS grievance section or the helpline so that corrective measures can be taken.