New Delhi, Sep 8: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday decided to defer its organisational elections to pave the way for Amit Shah to continue as President until the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

"Organisational elections are a vast exercise and it takes time too. All the workers get involved in it. So, a discussion is going on to defer the organisational polls until the 2019 Lok Sabha polls are completed," West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh told reporters here at the sidelines of two-day National Executive meet.

Sources said that the issue was discussed at the office bearers, state BJP chiefs and General Secretary (Organisation) of the states meeting held under the chairmanship of Shah and a resolution, in this regard, will be passed by the National Executive.

The office bearers meeting takes place before inauguration of the National Executive to set its agenda.

According to the party constitution, any eligible member can hold the post of President for two-consecutive terms of three-years each.

Shah was elected unopposed as the party president on January 24, 2016, for a second term, this time for a full tenure of three years. He had earlier completed Home Minister Rajnath Singh's interrupted tenure as President from July 2014. His second term will end on January 26, 2019.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Shah was incharge of Uttar Pradesh where the BJP won 73 out of total 80 seats. After Rajnath Singh became Home Minister in the Narendra Modi government, Shah was appointed BJP President in July 2014.

Briefing reporters about the office bearers meeting, BJP Secretary Rahul Sinha quoted Shah as saying that the party will contest the 2019 polls on the performance of the Modi government and strength of organisation.

"The opposition parties are trying to spread confusion among the people but they will not succeed. We will win 2019 Lok Sabha polls with a bigger margin," Sinha said.

He said there are 22 crore beneficiaries of the central government's schemes and it has been decided that 9 crore party workers will reach out to them.

"Their (workers) responsibility would be to take these beneficiaries to the polling centres," Sinha said, adding that party's booth level workers has been given responsibility to take voters out from their houses to polling centres.

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Mangaluru (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Saturday said a SIT will be constituted at the district level to identify forest and revenue land and submit a report in compliance with directions of the Supreme Court.

Speaking after inaugurating the Mulki taluk Administrative Centre 'Praja Soudha' near here, the minister said the long-pending issue of classification of forest and revenue land has caused hardship to farmers and the government is taking steps to resolve it on priority.

Joint surveys are being conducted to demarcate forest and revenue land in areas earlier granted to farmers, he said, adding that instructions have been issued to all deputy commissioners in the state to expedite the process.

Gowda said many farmers had faced problems as land granted to them earlier had not been formally regularised. The government has now taken up the task of completing the process. A special investigation team (SIT) will be constituted at the district level to identify forest and revenue land and submit a report in compliance with directions of the Supreme Court, he added.

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Between 2018 and 2023, plotting was completed for 1,948 beneficiaries in the district, while in the last two years, plotting under the 1-5 scheme was carried out for 60,943 beneficiaries, he said. Of these, 23,620 farmers have been issued pahani documents.

He said title deeds have been distributed to 2.20 lakh beneficiaries under the regularisation provisions of certain sections relating to house sites.

Under the e-Pouthi campaign, about 60,000 legal heirs have been granted mutation of land records that were earlier in the names of deceased persons, the minister said.

He also said a special drive has reduced cases pending for over two years in Tahsildar courts from 10,774 to 130, while similar cases in Assistant Commissioner courts have been brought down from 73,624 to 2,299.

Land records are now accessible online round-the-clock, eliminating the need for people to visit offices for certified copies, he said, adding that nearly 73 crore pages of revenue records across the state have been scanned at taluk offices in the past two years.

Gowda said taluk administrative offices have been named 'Praja Soudha' to bring governance closer to people. An additional Rs 1.60 crore has been sanctioned for compound construction and other facilities at the Mulki centre.

State Health and Family Welfare Minister and Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said efforts are being made to boost investment and tourism in the district.

He said the recent state budget has announced a Global Capability Centre for the district and steps will soon be taken to implement it.

A sum of Rs 70 crore has been sanctioned for a new OPD block at Wenlock District Hospital, while discussions are underway with three private medical colleges to strengthen clinical services at taluk hospitals in Moodbidri, Bantwal, Vitla and Belthangady.

Lok Sabha member Brijesh Chowta urged the revenue minister to resolve forest and revenue land issues in Puttur, Sullia, Kadaba and Belthangady taluks and said approval has been given for development of the national highway from Talapady to Kundapur with service roads on both sides.