Bhopal, Oct. 12 -- The Madhya Pradesh government has granted legal protection to patwaris executing its Rs.3,800-crore land reform scheme, aimed at formally registering five million informal houses and making them bankable assets, after revenue officials refused to implement it over fears of future litigation. The Swamitva Adhikar Abhilekh Nishpadan evam Panjiyan Yojana 2026 was launched on September 17 by BJP national president Nitin Nabin. However, the registration drive stalled for 24 days after patwaris demanded written protection against prosecution arising from their work. An order issued by the revenue department on Saturday said prosecution sanction under Section 218 of the BNSS would not be granted for lawful execution under the scheme. A senior revenue officer said records issued under the Centre's Swamitva scheme were often not accepted by banks as proof of legal ownership, limiting beneficiaries' access to loans, mortgages and property partition. Land Records commissioner Nidhi Nivedita said formal registration would make houses transferable, inheritable and eligible to serve as collateral. Patwaris, responsible for field verification and preparing ownership records, feared being dragged into civil disputes over boundaries and family claims. Ashwini Saini, leader of the Patwari Association, said officials would resume work only after the suspension of 200 patwaris and termination of 49 probationers were revoked. The registry drive is likely to restart from Monday. Political analyst Girija Shankar said the scheme's success would depend on implementation, adding that legal protection was necessary but execution would remain challenging....