In accordance with the earlier decision of the Supreme Court of India, the Tehri dam displaced families rehabilitated in Pashulok and Pathari areas will be granted land ownership rights. Chairing a meet with departmental officials on Monday, the State Tourism Minister Dinesh Dhanai directed revenue department officials to hold a meeting with officials of other departments concerned within a week’s time to facilitate granting of the land ownership rights. Addressing officials, the Tourism Minister directed the revenue officer to organise a irrigation and revenue coordination meeting within one week. The meeting will be presided over by the revenue secretary and other officials including Tehri dam displaced rehabilitation director, district magistrates of Dehradun and Haridwar, along with the divisional forest officers of Dehradun and Haridwar will also be called to the meeting. The Minister said that necessary action should be ensured in accordance with the supreme court decision of August 29, 2006 in order to grant land ownership rights to the dam dislocated rehabilitated in Pashulok and Pathri. The Cabinet Minister said that because the Tehri dam dislocated rehabilitated in Pashulok did not have land ownership rights, they are being deprived of bank loan facility and participation in the Panchayat election with eligible beneficiaries of Government schemes including the social welfare department pension scheme not being able to derive the intended benefit. The Minister said that the irrigation and revenue departments should hold a coordination meeting for facilitating the grant of land ownership rights to the Tehri dam displaced. He also instructed that the process should be started to facilitate transfer of the remaining land registered in the name of THDC to the Gram Sabha so that the benefit of various Government facilities like electricity supply, school education and health schemes can be made conveniently available to the public. On the directions of the Tourism Minister, the irrigation secretary Anand Vardhan had a telephonic conversation with the district magistrates of Dehradun and Haridwar informing them about the decision of the supreme court and directing execution of necessary works in observance of the court decision.