The Assam government is planning to curtail sale of land surrounding 'heritage structures' by declaring the area as protected. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday that transactions of such pieces of land can be between families residing there for three generations or more.

"A 5 km area around a heritage structure -like a Mandir or a Namghar which is at least 250 years old-will be declared as a protected area.This implies that land in the area can be transacted only b/w families who have resided there for 3 generations or more," the Chief Minister's Office informed via a social media post.

For this, the Assam cabinet meeting held today decided to amend the Assam Land Revenue Regulation Act, 1886. Sarma told reporters, "We are going to incorporate Chapter 12 of the Act to create heritage block surrounding iconic structures. If there is any heritage structure which is at least 250 years old, then five kilometer area around that structure will be declared as a protected area."

"This will mean that land purchase and sale can happen between families who have been residing there for three generations. We have identified three heritage sites for now - Barpeta, Borduwa, and Majuli. In future, we will incorporate more such sites," he added.