Land reforms in India:
To put it simply, Land reforms are the equitable land allocations with the intention of boosting productivity and reducing poverty. It entails the sale of land from a small number of landowners to a large number of people who lack land or own much too little.
Objectives of land reforms:
• Redistribution of land so that it is not controlled by a small number of individuals.
• A land ceiling that distributes surplus land to marginal and small farmers.
• A reduction in rural poverty.
• Elimination of middlemen
Tenancy reforms
• Increasing production in agriculture.
• The consolidation of land ownership and the avoidance of fragmentation of the land.
• Promoting cooperative agriculture.
• To promote economic parity and social equality.
• Tribal protection by preventing outsiders from claiming their ancestral lands.
• Land reforms were also implemented for industrial and commercial growth.
The elimination of intermediaries that were part of the various British administrations in India has mainly been accomplished. The outcomes for the other goals have been inconsistent and differ across states and extended periods. The implementation of land reforms differs from state to state because they fall under the State List. The largest and most effective changes occurred in Kerala and West Bengal, two communist strongholds. Due to land reforms, there were intercommunity conflicts in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar.
Since its independence, India has undergone four "experiments" to redistribute landholdings. As follows:
• Reforms that come from "above," or via legislation.
• Top-down government reforms accompanied by peasant mobilisation, like in Kerala and West Bengal, where land was acquired and redistributed, as well as to better the conditions of peasants.
• The "land grab" movement as well as the Naxalite movement.
• Reforms that come from "bottom," like as the Bhoodan and Gram Dan movements, which involved farmers marching in peace and making voluntary donations to landlords.
Zamindari Abolition Acts
When these laws first passed in different states, they were initially contested in court as being in violation of the Indian Constitution's protection of property rights. As a result, the Parliament approved legislation that made landlordism illegal. Zamindari abolition laws had been adopted in various states by 1956. This led to the acquisition of ownership rights over 62 lakh acres of land nationwide by about 30 lakh tenants and sharecroppers.
Land Ceilings Act
The term "land ceiling" describes placing a limit on the amount of land that a family or individual may own. Any extra land is given to tenants, farmers, or agricultural workers who are landless.
Tenancy reforms
This emphasized three things:
• Rent control
• Security of tenure
• Giving tenants ownership rights
Outcomes of Land Reforms
• Elimination of intermediaries like landlords
Zamindars and Jagirdars, two strong classes, vanish from existence. This lessened the exploitation of the peasants because they now owned the land they farmed. The Zamindars, who used numerous strategies to get around the law, bitterly opposed this action. They used their relatives' names when registering their own land. In order to prevent renters from acquiring incumbency rights, they routinely moved tenants among other land parcels.
• Land limit
A family or individual could only own so much land, but there was some room for equitable allocation of land. The land reforms would not have been at least partially effective if there had simply been landlord abolition and no land ceiling. Land ceiling prevented wealthy farmers or higher tenants from assuming the role of new avatar Zamindars.
• Possession of land
Land is a source of social stature in addition to economic wealth. Prior to the implementation of land reforms, it was not required to keep ownership documents. Additionally, it is required to record all tenancy agreements.
• Enhanced efficiency
Since tillers themselves became the landowners, more land was put under cultivation, which boosted production.
In the states of West Bengal and Kerala, land reforms were generally successful due to the left-wing administrations' political commitment to effectively putting them into action. In these areas, both the ownership and patterns of landholding, as well as the situation of peasants, underwent a form of revolution. "Land to the tiller" was the rallying cry. Also in Jammu and Kashmir, efforts to redistribute land to labourers without access to it have had some success.
Drawbacks of land reforms
• There are still a lot of small and marginal farmers in India who cling to moneylenders and are perpetually in debt.
• Poverty persists in rural areas.
States have different land ceilings.
• The Land Ceiling Act exempted numerous plantations.
Huge landholdings are owned by a lot of persons under the moniker "benami."
Agrarian reforms, which focus on ways to increase the productivity of land, particularly agricultural land, are another type of land reform. Included in this is the Green Revolution.
• There are still a lot of small and marginal farmers in India who cling to moneylenders and are perpetually in debt.
• Poverty persists in rural areas.
States have different land ceilings.
• The Land Ceiling Act exempted numerous plantations.
Huge landholdings are owned by a lot of persons under the moniker "benami."
Agrarian reforms, which focus on ways to increase the productivity of land, particularly agricultural land, are another type of land reform. Included in this is the Green Revolution.
The Central Land Reforms Committee's suggestions were put into practise in the late 1960s and early 1970s to close several loopholes in the land reforms.
• In accordance with the crop pattern, the ceiling was lowered. It was increased to 54 acres for less desirable dry ground.
• The five-person family was treated as a single unit for legal purposes.
• Priority was given to distributing land, especially to SC and ST populations and landless peasants.
Under the terms of the Land Acquisition Act of 1894, the government was in charge of acquiring land. The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement Act of 2013 took the place of this outdated statute, which was insufficient to answer the concerns of farmers. The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill of 2015, which the government introduced in 2015 together with a few other legal changes, became operative as an ordinance.
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