Open Space Reserve land parcels will be recovered by local bodies in three months time, says Coimbatore Collector

Govt to register all OSR areas in local bodies' names in 3 months. Priority sector lending to be given thrust. Select infrastructure works to be completed before monsoon. Second phase of Western Bypass Road to be completed by Dec 2023. Grievance redressal of MSME units once in three months under consideration.

All Open Space Reserve (OSR) areas will be registered in the names of the local bodies within the next three months, District Collector Kranthi Kumar Pati said on Friday.

Citing instances of unsuspecting persons purchasing sale of such lands at the end of multiple transactions, the Collector said the local bodies had not been able to keep track of the extent of OSR land in view of the sequential transitioning from panchayats to town panchayat, and municipalities.

A public notice will be issued by the Revenue department instructing occupants of such land to submit documents of ownership, and subsequently, the land under illegal occupation will be taken back by the government and registered in the names of the respective local bodies, the Collector said.

Briefing mediapersons on the recent consultations Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had with Collectors, and district-level police and officials, Mr. Kranthi Kumar said the focus would be on scaling up reach of flagship schemes including Pudumai Penn, Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance (CMCHI), breakfast for schoolchildren, Nammai Kaakkum 48, and credit for women self-help groups. Since there was no upper limit for these schemes, the aim would be to get past the target, the Collector said.

Elaborating on the CMCHIS, the Collector said increasing the beneficiary base of eligible families, identified on the basis of annual income of less than ₹ 1.2 lakh per annum, will also be of utility to the government hospitals as there was a provision for reimbursement of expenditure incurred on patients covered under the scheme. Empaneled private hospitals with lesser specialities have been advised to send patients to the Government hospitals, Mr. Kranthi Kumar said.

Priority sector lending will be given a thrust, in particular, extending assistance to differently-abled, and SC/ST for making the process inclusive. For education loans, the emphasis will be on bringing in more number of first-generation graduates as beneficiaries, he said.

On infrastructure, the Collector said works that need to be completed before monsoon will be prioritised for completion without causing disturbance to the public.