The Tamil Nadu Government has issued orders reducing the minimum number of years one must have resided on government lands to be eligible for a house patta from 5 years to 3 years. Chief Minister Mr M.Karunanidhi in a statement issued in Chennai today said the move will benefit lakhs of poor people to get house site pattas.<br/><br/>He said after the DMK government came to power in 2006, the minimum number of years one must have resided on government lands to get house site patta had been reduced from 10 to 5 years and under the schemne over 7 lakh pattas have been distributed to the poor in the last 3 and half years.