Yogana English October 2011

YOJ ANA October 2011 1
Our Representatives : Ahmedabad: Amita Maru, Bangalore: B.S. Meenakshi, Chennai: I. Vijayan, Guwahati: Anupoma Das, Hyderabad: V. Balakrishna,
Kolkata: Antara Ghosh, Mumbai: Minakshi Banerjee, Thiruvananthapuram: VM Ahmad.
YOJANA seeks to carry the message of the Plan to all sections of the people and promote a more earnest discussion on problems of social and economic development. Although
published by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Yojana is not restricted to expressing the offcial point of view. Yojana is published in Assamese, Bengali,
English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.
For new subscriptions, renewals, enquiries please contact : Business Manager (Circulation & Advt.), Publications Division, Min. of I&B, East Block-IV, Level-VII,
R.K. Puram, New Delhi-110066, Tel.: 26100207, Telegram : Soochprakasan and Sales Emporia : Publications Division: *Soochna Bhavan, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road,
New Delhi -110003 (Ph 24365610) *Hall No.196, Old Secretariat, Delhi 110054(Ph 23890205) * 701, B Wing, 7th Floor, Kendriya Sadan, Belapur, Navi Mumbai 400614
(Ph 27570686)*8, Esplanade East, Kolkata-700069 (Ph 22488030) *A Wing, Rajaji Bhawan, Basant Nagar, Chennai-600090 (Ph 24917673) *Press road, Near Govt. Press,
Thiruvananthapuram-695001 (Ph 2330650) *Block No.4, 1st Floor, Gruhakalpa Complex, M G Road, Nampally, Hyderabad-500001 (Ph 24605383) *1st Floor, F Wing,
Kendriya Sadan, Koramangala, Bangalore-560034 (Ph 25537244) *Bihar State Co-operative Bank Building, Ashoka Rajpath, Patna-800004 (Ph 2683407) *Hall No 1, 2nd
foor, Kendriya Bhawan, Sector-H, Aliganj, Lucknow-226024(Ph 2225455) *Ambica Complex, 1st Floor, above UCO Bank, Paldi, Ahmedabad-380007 (Ph 26588669) *KKB
Road, New Colony, House No.7, Chenikuthi, Guwahati 781003 (Ph 2665090)
SUBSCRIPTION : 1 year Rs. 100, 2 years Rs. 180, 3 years Rs. 250. For neighbouring countries by Air Mail Rs. 530 yearly; for European and other countries Rs. 730 yearly.
No. of Pages : 64
Disclaimer :
l The views expressed in various articles are those of the authors and not necessarily of the government.
l The readers are requested to verify the claims made in the advertisements regarding career guidance books/institutions. Yojana does not own responsibility
regarding the contents of the advertisements.
EDITORIAL OFFICE : Yojana Bhavan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi-110001 Tel.: 23096738, 23042511.
Tlgm.: Yojana. Business Manager (Hqs.) : Ph :24367260, 24365609, 24365610
October 2011 Vol 55
Chief Editor : Rina Sonowal Kouli
Editor : Manogyan R. Pal
Production Offcer : V.K. Meena
Cover Design : Manjula Patel
E-mail (Editorial) : yojanace@gmail.com

Website : www.yojana.gov.in
Let noble thoughts come to us from every side
Rig Veda
(Circulation) : pdjucir_ jcm@yahoo.co.in
CONT E NT S
DO YOu KNOw?
CREDIT RATING...........................................................................35
LAND RECORDS MODERNIzATION IN INDIA
Surendra Kumar ..............................................................................38
TRIBAL LAND QUESTION AND
LAND REFORMS IN KERALA
Raju Narayana Swamy ....................................................................42
NEW BILL TO FOCUS ON LIVELIHOOD RIGHTS
AND REHABILITATION
Dhurjati Mukherjee .........................................................................48
LAND REFORM A PANACEA FOR AGRICULTURAL
DEVELOPMENT
H R Uma .........................................................................................52
J&K wINDOw ...........................................................................55
RELEVANCE OF PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP
Angshukana Datta ...........................................................................57
DRAFT LAND ACQUISITION AND REHABILITATION AND
RESETTLEMENT BILL (LARR) 2011
J airam Ramesh ..................................................................................5
INHERITANCE RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN AGRICULTURAL LAND
N C Saxena .....................................................................................12
SHODHYATRA
ELECTRIC SHOCK PROOF CONVERTER ................................16
LAND REFORMS AND THE INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISM FOR
ITS EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION
Prabhudayal Meena .........................................................................19
NORTH EAST DIARY ................................................................23
LAND REFORMS: J AMMU AND KASHMIR SHOWS THE WAY
George Mathew ...............................................................................24
BEST PRACTICES
A COLLECTIVE APPROACH TO OFF SEASONAL
VEGETABLES VALUE CHAIN ...................................................28
IMPACT OF LAND DISTRIBUTION ON THE RURAL POOR IN
UTTAR PRADESH
Ajit Kumar Singh ............................................................................30
2 YOJ ANA October 2011
Y
E
-
1
3
8
/
2
0
1
1
L
and is the basis of all economic activity. Land problems in India have attracted
equal attention from both policy makers and academicians. This interest in land
issues stems from the impact of liberalization and opening of the economy and
in the context of economic transition in rural areas. Land policy initiatives in India
went through different phases and are characterized by various interventions on behalf
of the State which have brought a fundamental change in the entire approach towards
development. In the years following India's independence a conscious process of nation
building considered the problem of land with a pressing urgency. The national objective
of poverty alleviation envisaged stress on high productivity and equitable distribution.
Immediately after independence, four important components of land reform were thought
of as major policy interventions in building the land policy. These included the abolition
of intermediaries, tenancy reforms, fxing ceiling on land holdings and consolidation of land holdings. Land
policy has been one of the important components since the frst fve year plan.
Women in India have traditionally been deprived of property rights and their property rights still meet with
strong social opposition. Gender equity in land rights is promoted on the basis of welfare, effciency equity
and empowerment. The concept of land as a commodity also comes into confict with traditional concepts of
common property such as those of tribal societies and in the process of development and modernization, land
rights of these communities are deprived and they face widespread displacement. It is therefore important that
the unique existence of the tribal communities be understood especially in view of the ongoing indigenous
struggles for ethnic identity in various parts of the country.
Land and agricultural administration are separate wings of the Government and this vision makes decision
making diffcult and the land policy implementation has been one of the main problems to confront with.
The Land Resources Department of the Union Rural Development Ministry addresses issues relating to land
administration and works as an advisory and coordinating body for the implementation of land reforms. In recent
years, the thrust of the Government has been on modernization of land management with reference to updating of
land records through computerization and digitization of land records, proper recording of land rights, tenancy,
analyses of agrarian and related cause of rural unrest, alienation of tribal land, and recommending measures to
prevent sale and purchase of agricultural land for speculative and non-agricultural purposes.
The draft bill on Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement recently placed in the Lok Sabha
is another law that tries to bridge the gaps in the existing system through a radical overhaul of a century old
legislation. The Bill has been welcomed by various quarters as it has combined rehabilitation and resettlement in
a single piece of legislation. With the frst meeting of the National Council of Land Reforms under Chairmanship
of the Prime Minister scheduled shortly, it is expected that the much needed thrust would be given to various
critical and sensitive issues in land reforms.
The current issue of Yojana focuses on these aspects of land reforms with experts bringing their views on the
subject. q
About the Issue
Y
E
-
1
4
2
/
2
0
1
1
NFRASTRUCTURE
ACROSS the country
must expand rapidly.
I ndustri al i sati on,
especially based on
manufacturing has also to accelerate.
Urbanisation is inevitable. Land is
an essential requirement for all
these processes. Government also
needs to acquire land for a variety
of public purposes.
In every case, land acquisition
must take place in a manner that
fully protects the interests of land-
owners and also of those whose
livelihoods depend on the land
being acquired.
Under our Constitution, land is
a State subject but land acquisition
is a Concurrent subject. So far,
the basic law governing the land
acquisition process has been
the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.
Although it has been amended from
time to time, it is painfully evident
that the basic law has become
archaic.
Draft Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation
and Resettlement Bill (LARR) 2011
laND REfORMS
Jairam Ramesh
OVERViEW
In every case, land
acquisition must
take place in a
manner that fully
protects the interests
of land-owners and
also of those whose
livelihoods depend
on the land being
acquired
Land markets in I ndia are
imperfect. There is asymmetry of
power (and information) between
those wanting to acquire the land
and those whose lands are being
acquired. That is why there has to
be a role for the government to put
in place a transparent and fexible
set of rules and regulations and to
ensure its enforcement.
L and A cqui si ti on and
Rehabilitation and Resettlement
(R&R) need to be seen necessarily
as two sides of the same coin. R&R
must always, in each instance,
necessarily follow upon acquisition
of land. Not combining the two
R&R and land acquisition within
one law, risks neglect of R&R. This
has, indeed, been the experience
thus far.
The Land Acquisition and
(LARR) Bill seeks to balance
the need for facilitating land
acquisition for various public
purposes including infrastructure
development, industrialisation
I
The author is Union Rural Development Minister.
and urbanisation, while at the same
time meaningfully addressing the
concerns of farmers and those
whose livelihoods are dependent
on the land being acquired.
The issue of who acquires land
is less important than the process of
land acquisition, compensation for
land acquired and the R&R process,
package and conditions.
TheLARR Bill 2011 introduced
in Parliament, specifes these quite
irrespective of the ratios of private
and government acquisition. The
objective is to make the process of
land acquisition easy, transparent
and fair for both sides in each
instance. This Bill covers all cases
(0-100 percent, 50-50 percent, 70-
30 percent, 90-10 percent, 100-0
percent and all other possible
combi nati ons i n between),
irrespective of the ratios and leads
to equal treatment of equals in
R&R, irrespective of who acquires
their land, government or private
parties.
The Bill puts in place a new
institutional mechanism to ensure
that the R&R provisions are
implemented effectively as an
integral part of land acquisition.
The draft Bill is fully compliant
with the provisions of (i) PESA,
1996; (ii) Forest Rights Act, 2006;
and (iii) Land Transfer Regulations
in Schedule V (i.e., tribal) areas. It
also gives the State the right to have
their own Land Acquisition Policies
and Acts as long as they are not in
violation of the Central Act.
Finally, it must be pointed out
that the Bill does not preclude
private companies buying land
directly from farmers and others.
What the Bill proposes in such
cases beyond a threshold is that
a fair R&R package be offered.
The Bill also suggests that multi-
cropped, irrigated land be acquired
only as a demonstrable last resort,
and sets limits on how much land
can be acquired.
TheBill was placed in the public
domain as part of a pre-legislative
consultative process before it was
taken to cabinet and introduced
in parliament. It has benefited
from several useful comments and
inputs.
Following are some of the key
features of the draft LARR bill
which has been tabled in Lok Sabha
on September 7, 2011.
Need For A New Law
Public Concern
l Heightened public concern on
Land Acquisition issues
l Absence of a national law to
provide for the rehabilitation &
resettlement and compensation
for loss of livelihoods
Outdated Law
l While multiple amendments
have been made to the Original
Act, the principal law continues
to be the same i.e. the Land
Acquisition Act of 1894
Need for Balance
l Addressing concerns of farmers
and those whose livelihoods
are dependent on the land
being acquired
l Whi l e faci l i tati ng l and
acquisition for industrialisation,
infrastructure and urbanisation
why a Combined Law
1. L and Acqui si ti on and
need to be seen necessarily as
two sides of the same coin
2. Rehabilitation and Resettlement
must always, in each instance,
necessari l y fol l ow upon
acquisition of land
3. Not combining the two R&R
and land acquisition within
one law, risks neglect of R&R.
This has, indeed, been the
experience thus far
4. This is the first National/
Central Law on the subject
of Rehabi l i tati on and
Resettlement of families
affected and displaced as a
result of land acquisition
Scope of LARR, 2011
Both LA and R&R Provisions
will apply when:
1. Government acquires land for
its own use, hold and control
2. Government acquires land
with the ultimate purpose
to transfer it for the use of
private companies for stated
public purpose (including PPP
projects but other than state or
national highway projects)
3. Government acquires land for
immediate and declared use by
private companies for public
purpose
Note I: Public purpose for 2. & 3.
above, once stated, cannot be
changed
Note II: Land Acquisition under
2. & 3. above can take place
provided 80 percent of the
project affected families give
prior informed consent to the
proposed acquisition.
Only R&R provisions will
apply when:
l Private companies buy
land for a project, more
than 100 acres in rural
areas, or more than 50
acres in urban areas
Only LA provisions will apply
to the area to be acquired but R&R
provisions will apply to the entire
project area even when:
l Pri vate company
approaches Government
for partial acquisition for
public purpose
Salient Features of the Draft
Bill
Defnition of Public Purpose
1. Land for strategic purposes
relating to armed forces of the
Union, national security or
defence, police, safety of the
people;
2. Land for railways, highways,
ports, power and irrigation
purposes for use by Government
and public sector companies or
corporations;
3. Land for the project affected
people;
4. Land for Planned development
or improvement of village or
urban sites or for residential
purpose to weaker sections in
rural or urban areas;
5. L and f or Government
administered educational,
agricultural, health and research
schemes or institutions;
6. Land for persons residing
in areas affected by natural
calamities;
7. L and acqui red by the
Government for;
(I) use by government itself
for purposes other than
those covered under (1),
(2), (3), (4), (5) and (6)
above,
(II) public sector companies;
or
(III) PPP projects for the
production of public
goods or the provision
of public services;
8. Land for private companies
for the production of public
goods or provision of public
services;
Under (7) and (8), consent
of at least 80 Percent of the
project affected families shall
be obtained through a prior
informed process.
urgency Clause
The Urgency Clause can only be
invoked in the following cases:
1. National defense and security
purposes
2. R&R needs in the event
of emergencies or natural
calamities
Defnition of Affected Families
l Land Owners:
1. Family or company whose land/
other immovable properties
have been acquired;
2. Those who are assigned land
by the Governments under
various schemes;
3. Right holders under the Forest
Rights Act, 2006.
l Livelihood Losers:
1. Over the last three years, a
family whose livelihood is
primarily dependent on the
land being acquired, including
agriculture labourers, tenants
or sharecroppers;
2. Over the last three years,
families which are dependent
on forests or waterbodies for
their livelihoods when these
are acquired; including forest
gatherers, hunters, fsher folk
and boatmen;
3. Over the last three years, any
family whose livelihood is
dependent primarily on the
land being acquired in the
urban areas or any family who
is residing on the land being
acquired in the urban areas.
Defnition of Land
Land includes benefts to arise
out of land, and things attached to
the earth or permanently fastened to
anything attached to the earth.
Safeguarding Food Security
1. Multi-crop irrigated land will
not be acquired except as
a demonstrably last resort
measure, which in no case
should lead to acquisition
of more than 5 percent of
multi-crop irrigated area in a
district.
2. Wherever multi crop irrigated
land is acquired an equivalent
area of culturable wasteland
shal l be devel oped for
agricultural purposes.
3. In districts where net sown
area is less than ffty per cent
of total geographical area, no
more than ten per cent of the
net sown area of the district
may be cumulatively acquired
under all land acquisition
projects put together in that
district.
1. and 2. above shall not apply
in the case of linear projects
(such as Railways, highways,
Major District Roads, power
lines, and irrigation canals)
Minimum Compensation for
Land
A Comprehensive Compensation
Package (Schedule I)
1. Market value of the land:
(a) the minimum land value,
if any, specifed in the
Indian Stamp Act, 1899
for the registration of sale
deeds in the area, where
the land is situated; or
(b) the average of the
sale price for similar
type of land situated
in the immediate areas
adjoining the land being
acquired, ascertained
from fifty per cent of
the sale deeds registered
during the preceding
three years, where higher
price has been paid; or
whichever is higher:
Provided that the market value
so calculated for rural areas
shall be multiplied by at least
a factor of two. This will be
specifed in schedule I. (And
not in the Act per se).
2. Value of the assets attached to
land: Building/Trees/Wells/
Crop etc as valued by relevant
govt. authority;
Total compensation =1+2
3. Solatium: 100 percent of total
compensation;
4. Where land is acquired for
urbani sati on, 20 percent
of the developed land will
be reserved and offered to
land owning project affected
families, in proportion to their
land acquired and at a price
equal to cost of acquisition
and the cost of development.
In case the project affected
family wishes to avail of this
offer, an equivalent amount
will be deducted from the
land acquisition compensation
package payable to it;
5. The Company for whom land
is being acquired may offer
shares limited to 25 percent
of the compensation amount.
In case the project affected
family wishes to avail of this
offer, an equivalent amount
will be deducted from the
land acquisition compensation
package payable to it.
Minimum R&R Entitlements
A Comprehensive R&R Package
(Schedule II)
For Livelihood losers (including
landless):
1. Subsistence allowance at Rs.
3000 per month per family for
12 months;
2. The affected families shall be
entitled to:
(a) Mandatory employment
for one member per
affected family where
jobs are created through
the project,
or
(b) Rupees 5 l akhs per
family;
or
(c) Rupees 2000 per
month per family as
annuity for 20 years,
with appropriate index
for inflation shall be
provided;
This choice of (a) or (b) or (c)
shall be that of the affected
family.
3. I f a house is lost in rural
areas, a constructed house shall
be provided as per the Indira
Awas Yojana specifcations. If
a house is lost in urban areas,
a constructed house shall be
provided, which will be not
less than 50 sq mts in plinth
area.
In either case the equivalent
cost of the house may also be
provided in lieu of the house
as per the preference of the
project affected family;
This beneft will also extend to
those who are homeless.
4. A one-time Resettlement
Allowance of Rs 50,000;
5. Rs 50,000 for transportation.
Special Provisions for SCs/STs
I n addition to the R&R
package, SC/ST families will be
entitled to the following additional
benefts: (Schedule II)
1. 2.5 acres of land or extent
of land lost to each family
in every project, In case of
irrigation project 1 acre in the
command area;
2. One time fnancial assistance
of Rs. 50,000 per family;
3. Families settled outside the
district shall be entitled to an
additional 25 percent R&R
benefts;
4. Payment of one third of the
compensation amount at very
outset;
5. Preference in relocation and
resettlement in area in same
compact block;
6. Free land for community and
social gatherings;
7. In case of displacement, a
Development Plan is to be
prepared;
8. Continuation of reservation
and other Schedule V and
Schedule VI area benefts from
displaced area to resettlement
area.
Infrastructural Amenities under
R&R
(Schedule III)
25 infrastructural amenities to be
provided in the Resettlement area,
including:
l Schools and playgrounds;
l Health Centres;
l Roads and el ectri c
connections;
l Assured sources of safe drinking
water for each family;
l Panchayat Ghars;
l Anganwadis providing child
and mother supplemental
nutritional services;
l Places of worship and burial
and/or cremation ground;
l Village level Post Offces, as
appropriate, with facilities for
opening saving accounts;
l Fair price shops and seed-cum-
fertilizer storage facilities.
R&R in case of Private Purchase
of Land
1. Where a private company is
purchasing land for a project
which is more than 100 acres in
rural areas or more than 50 acres
in urban areas through private
negotiations, the Company
shall fle an application with
the District Collector notifying
him of:
(a) Intent to Acquire;
(b) Purpose of Purchase;
(c) Particulars of lands to be
purchased
2. Collector shall refer the matter
to the Commissioner R&R for
the satisfaction of all relevant
provisions under this Act
related to R&R
3. Based upon the R&R Scheme
approved by the Commissioner
R&R, the Collector shall pass
individual awards covering
R&R entitlements
Retrospective Effect Clause
This Bill proposes that LARR
2011 will apply to all cases of Land
Acquisition where before date of
commencement of LARR Act 2011
either:
a) Award has not been made
under LA Act 1894;
or
(b) Possession of land has not been
taken
I n both these cases, LA
proceedings under 1894 Act
will be considered lapsed upon
commencement of LARR Act
2011.
Compliance with other Laws
The Provisions of the New Law
shall be fully compliant with other
laws such as:
l The Panchayats (Extension
to the Scheduled Areas) Act,
1996;
l The Scheduled Tribes and
Other Tradi ti onal Forest
Dwellers (Recognition of
Forest Rights) Act, 2006;
l Land Transfer Regulations in
Schedule V Areas.
Safeguards against
indiscriminate acquisition
l Social I mpact Assessment
made mandatory;
l Chief Secretary Committee/
Del egated Commi ttee to
approve public purpose and
approve the SIA report if area
is above 100 acres (Otherwise
to be reviewed by Delegated
Committee so designated);
l Draft Notifcation to include:
- Summary of SIA;
- Particulars of Administrator
for R&R who prepares
R&R scheme;
l Draft Declaration to include:
- Summary of R&R
package;
l No Change of Purpose: No
change from the purposes
specifed in the Land Use Plan
submitted at the time of land
acquisition will be allowed;
l Change of Ownership: No
change of ownership without
speci f i c permi ssi on of
Appropriate Government is
allowed;
l Land not Used: Land that is
not used within 10 years in
accordance with the purposes
for which it was acquired at
the time of acquisition, shall
be transferred to the State
Governments Land Bank;
l Sharing appreciated value:
Upon every transfer of land
without development, 20
Percent of the appreciated land
value shall be mandatorily
shared wi th the ori gi nal
owner whose land has been
acquired.
Transparency Provisions
l Social Impact Assessment
- Gram Sabha to be
consulted
- Summar y of SI A
notifed along with Draft
Notifcation
- SI A document made
avai l abl e for publ i c
scrutiny
l R&R Scheme
- Summary notified along
with Draft declaration
- Made available for public
scrutiny
l Individual Awards passed
l Public Disclosure
- All documents mandatorily
to be made available in the
public domain and on the
website
Penalties
Stringent and Comprehensive
Penalties Regime for Companies
and Government:
l Puni shment f or f al se
information, mala fde action,
etc.
l Penalty for contravention of
provisions of Act.
Awards
Collector passes 2 types of
Awards:
1. Award for Land Acquisition
- Award made in respect of
every affected family whose
land is being acquired and
containing details of LA
compensation as listed in
Schedule I;
2. Award for R&R
- Award made in respect
of every affected family,
regardless of whether they
may be losing land or not,
containing details of R&R
entitlements as listed in
Schedule II.
Time lines
1. Compensation will be given
within a period of three
months from the date of the
award;
2. Monetary R&R entitlements
will be provided within a
period of six months from the
date of the award;
3. I nf r astr uctur e R&R
entitlements will be provided
within a period of eighteen
months from the date of the
award;
4. No involuntary displacement
wi l l take pl ace wi thout
completion of R&R;
5. In irrigation or hydel projects,
R&R shall be completed six
months prior to submergence.
Special Provisions for the States
1. The LARR Bill 2011 allows all
States to enact any law or policy
related to LA&RR, provided
the same does not contradict or
reduce the entitlements under
LARR 2011.
2. Any State can therefore confer
higher compensation or make
provisions for rehabilitation
and resettl ement whi ch
enhance or go beyond those
provided for under the Bill.
3. If any existing State policy or
law provides for entitlements
that are greater than those
listed in the LARR Bill then
the State is free to continue
with those.
4. The proportion in which States
can acquire land for private
parties has been left entirely
to the discretion of the States
i.e. States can step in and
acquire land for private parties
after any percentage of total
acquisition has taken place.
5. The only conditions are that
at the very least the land
acquisition provisions of
LARR 2011 will apply to that
part of the land that is acquired
by the State Government and
the R&R provisions of LARR
2011 will apply to all of the
land already purchased by
the private party as well as
the remaining part of the land
to be acquired by the State
Government.
Impact on Existing Legislations
1. There are 16 Acts of the Central
Government in force that allow
for land acquisition. These are
listed in schedule IV of the
Act (and include legislations
relating to National Defence,
National Highways, Railways
etc).
2. The provisions of LARR 2011
can be applied to the existing
16 Acts by a notifcation of the
Central Government.
3. The provisions of the LARR
Bill 2011 are in addition to
and not in derogation of any
other Central or State law in
force. q
a
n
a
m
i
k
a
VAJIRAM & RAVI
9-B,Bara Bazar Marg, Old Rajinder Nagar, New Delhi-110060
Phone : 011-25820000, 25734058 Visit us at : www.vajiramandravi.com
Classes for GENERAL STUDIES commence on 17th October 2011
and for Optional Subjects on 1st November 2011
Correspondence course offered for the Main Exam only
in GENERAL STUDIES and PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION.
I.A.S.-2012
The art of making a critical judgement is crucial to your success
Under the guidance of its Director, P. S. RAVINDRAN, VAJIRAM & RAVI
has secured over 400 selections in the 2011 IAS Examination results,
including 4 ranks in the top 10 ( 2, 3, 6 & 10 ). VAJIRAM & RAVI announces
the commencement of the PRELIM-CUM-MAIN and MAIN Examination
courses for the Civil Services Examination in
AT VAJIRAM & RAVI IT IS ONE OF THE SKILLS THAT YOU LEARN
Online registration opens on 5th Oct. 2011
Admission for PRELIM TEST SERIES 2012 in
GENERAL STUDIES & CSAT will commence in Nov.2011
PHILOSOPHY
PSYCHOLOGY
COMMERCE
GEOGRAPHY
SOCIOLOGY
POLITICAL SCIENCE
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
GENERAL STUDIES & CSAT
Y
E
-
1
4
4
/
2
0
1
1
O M E N S
I M P ORTA NC E
i n agri cul tural
production both as
workers and as farm
managers has been growing in
the last two decades, as more men
move to non-farm jobs leading
to an increased feminization of
agriculture. Today 48 percent of
all male workers are in agriculture
as against 75 percent of all female
workers, and this gap is rising.
Further, an estimated 20 percent
of rural households are de facto
female headed, due to widowhood,
desertion, or male out-migration.
These women are often managing
land and livestock and providing
subsistence to their family with little
male assistance. Hence agricultural
producti vi ty i s i ncreasi ngl y
dependent on the ability of women
to function effectively as farmers.
However ownership of land
is concentrated mostly in male
hands in our patriarchal society. It
has been estimated that in India,
landownership in favour of women
Inheritance Rights of Women in
Agricultural Land
laND REfORMS
N C Saxena
PERSPECTiVE
the clinching
argument in
favour of land
titles to women is
the stability and
security it provides
and the protection
it affords from
marital violence
is not more than 2 percent (Agarwal
1995). Lack of entitlement to
land (and other assets such as
house, livestock, and so on) is a
severe impediment to effciency in
agriculture for women cultivators
because in the absence of title
women cannot get credit or be
entitled to irrigation and other
inputs, especially technology.
Womens working on land without
title has led to creation of a new
form of zamindari (landlordism),
as their operation is divorced from
ownership. It may be recalled that
zamindari was abolished some
sixty years back on considerations
of both effciency and equity. The
discrepancy between the ownership
and operation of land was regarded
as one of the basic maladies of
agrarian structure that acted as
a built-in-depressor. It led to
not only ineffcient utilisation of
given scarce resources but also
stood in the way of augmenting
these resources. Thus in every
state the policy of abolishing all
intermediary interests and giving
ownership to the actual operator
w
The author is a Member of the National Advisory Council.
on land was adopted soon after
independence. Time is ripe now to
do so for women farmers too.
I n addi ti on to i mproved
production, the clinching argument
in favour of land titles to women
is the stability and security it
provides, the protection it affords
from marital violence, and the
bargaining power it gives women
in household decision making
and in the labour market for
wages. However without title to
land, women are not recognized,
even by the state, as clients for
extension services or as candidates
for membership in institutions such
as co-operative societies.
why land is important for
women
- Land access can reduce a
households risk of poverty,
but for persistent gender
inequalities land solely
in mens hands need not
guarantee female welfare.
- Direct land transfers to
women are likely to beneft
not just women but also
children. Evidence both from
India and from many other
parts of the world shows
that women, especially in
poor households, spend
most of the earnings they
control on basic household
needs, while men spend a
signifcant part of theirs on
personal consumption, such
as alcohol, tobacco, etc.
- Women with assets such
as l and have greater
bargaining power, which can
lead to more gender-equal
allocations of benefts even
from male incomes.
- Women without independent
resources are hi ghl y
vul nerabl e to poverty
and destitution in case
of desertion, divorce, or
widowhood. I n parts of
western and northwestern
I ndia, not uncommonly,
rural women even from
rich families, deprived of
their property shares when
widowed, can be found
working as agricultural
labourers on the farms of
their well-off brothers or
brothers-in-law. The fate
of deserted and divorced
women is worse.
- Tenure securi ty, and
especially titles can empower
women to assert themselves
better with agencies that
provide inputs and extension
services.
- Women are often better
informed than men about
traditional seed varieties
and the attributes of trees
and grasses. I f they had
greater control over land
and farming, this knowledge
could be put to better use.
Land laws in post-Independent
India
Before 1956 devolution of both
acquired and inherited property
was governed by the personal laws
of the community. Although equal
rights were granted to women
in acquired property through the
Hindu Succession Act of 1956,
rights in inherited agricultural land
were specifcally exempted from
the Act, and were made subject to
tenancy and land reform laws of the
states. In India, agrarian reforms
through the 1950s and later took
place at a time when gender equality
was marginal to the policy agenda
and womens organisations lacked
their current visibility. Hence,
in most government land reform
programmes and land transfers,
womens land rights remained a
non-issue.
From the 1980s onwards gender
equality was talked about, but
restricted only to land distributed
by government. The Plans called
for titles to spouses in productive
assets, houses, house sites and
directed state governments to
register government allotted
wasteland/ceiling surplus lands in
joint names, but remained silent
on the inequities in devolution laws
as regards women. However, the
potential of wasteland distribution
in future is extremely limited, as the
cultivable waste has already been
allotted or encroached. Hence the
main source of land title in the years
to come is not through distribution
of government land or leasing,
but through inheritance. The main
source of tenure has always been
through inheritance, and will be
more so in future, and therefore we
need to examine the tenancy laws
and the extent of discrimination
inherent in such laws.
Tenurial laws for agricultural
land
As already stated, the Hindu
Succession Act left the question of
devolution of inherited agricultural
land and property to be decided by
the respective state tenancy laws.
For example, in the tenurial laws
of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,
Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Delhi
and Uttar Pradesh, the specified
rules of devolution show a strong
preference for agnatic succession,
with a priority for agnatic males. In
all these states the tenancy develops
in the frst instance on male lineal
descendants in the male line of
descent. The widow inherits only
in the absence of these male heirs.
In addition, in the frst four states
mentioned, daughters and sisters
are totally excluded as heirs. In
Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, daughters
and sisters are recognised but come
very low in the order of heirs.
States where the tenuri al
laws explicitly mention that the
devolution of tenanted land will be
according to personal law are very
few, and include Rajasthanand
Madhya Pradesh where the personal
law applies for all communities.
Also in the Telangana region of
Andhra Pradesh, the commentary
following Section 40 of the relevant
Act clarifes that for Hindu tenants
the Hindu Succession Act will
apply. In practice, however, even
in Rajasthan daughters have
been recognised as heirs only in
some judgements, while in others
male heirs alone have received
recognition. In addition, there are
states which do not specify the order
of devolution in their laws dealing
with tenancy land, such as Gujarat,
the Bombay region of Maharashtra,
West Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala, the
Andhra region of Andhra Pradesh
and Tamil Nadu. In these states
we can presume that the personal
laws automatically apply. Then
there are states such as Bihar and
Orissa for which the tenancy acts
specify that occupancy rights shall
devolve in the same manner as
other immovable property, subject
to any custom to the contrary.
This leaves open the possibility of
admitting gender inegalitarian
customs if established, especially
for the tribal communities in these
regions.
According to the Hindu Personal
Law, sons and daughters are entitled
to equal shares in the deceased
mans notional share in Mitaksara
joint family property. But sons, as
coparceners in the joint family
property additionally had a direct
birth right to an independent share;
while female heirs (e.g. daughter,
widow, mother) had claims only in
the deceaseds notional portion.
This meant that if a man had four
acres of land and a son is born, he
is left only with two acres and the
rest has notionally gone to the new
born son. But if a daughter is born
she gets nothing unless her father
dies, that too from the remaining
two acres of land of which the son
will also get his share in addition to
two acres that was his since birth.
Also, sons could demand partition;
daughters could not. In actual
practice, daughters get nothing, as
mutation of land is generally done
in favour of male heirs. In some
cases they are asked to give a letter
in favour of the sons.
Changes in 2005
Little effort was made until 2005
to do away with these discriminatory
laws. Finally after 50 years of the
1956 Hindu Succession Act (HSA),
the Government addressed some
persisting gender inequalities in
the HSA by bringing in the Hindu
Succession (Amendment) Act,
2005. One of the most signifcant
amendments in the 2005 Act is
deleting the gender discriminatory
Section 4(2) of the 1956 HSA.
Section 4(2) exempted from the
purview of the HSA significant
interests in agricultural land, the
inheritance of which was subject
to the devolution rules specifed in
State-level tenurial laws. The 2005
Act brings all agricultural land on
par with other property and makes
Hindu womens inheritance rights
in land legally equal to mens across
States, overriding any inconsistent
State laws. This can beneft millions
of women dependent on agriculture
for survival.
The second major achievement
lies in including all daughters,
especially married daughters,
as coparceners in joint family
property. They can also demand
partition in the life time of their
father just as sons could. Third, the
Act deletes Section 23 of the 1956
HSA, thereby giving all daughters
(married or not) the same rights as
sons to reside in or seek partition of
the family dwelling house. Section
23 did not allow married daughters
(unless separated, deserted or
widowed) even residence rights
in the parental home. Unmarried
daughters had residence rights but
could not demand partition.
Fourth, the Act deletes Section
24 of the 1956 HSA, which barred
certain widows, such as those of
predeceased sons, from inheriting
the deceaseds property if they
had remarried. Now they too can
inherit.
On the debate against equality
the risk of fragmentation is an oft-
repeated argument. This contention
is misleading and cannot justify
selectively disinheriting women
(Velayudhan 2009). Fragmentation
can occur even when sons inherit.
In practice, many rural families
continue to cultivate jointly
even when parcels are owned
individually. Another argument is
that women migrate on marriage.
But one might ask: if men retain
their claims despite job-related
migration, why shouldnt women
on marriage-related migration?
They could lease out the land to
their family or someone else, or
cultivate it cooperatively with other
women. This would give women
some economic security, however
small.
If her marriage breaks down, she
can now return to her birth home by
right, and not on the sufferance of
relatives. This will enhance her self-
confdence and social worth and
give her greater bargaining power
for herself and her children, in both
parental and marital families.
Even though the l egal
framework has been amended
in favour of women as recently
as 2005 with the deletion of the
gender discriminatory clause on
agricultural land, women often
forgo their claims in anticipation
of support from their natal family
in case of marital problems or their
marriages breaking up, even though
such support may not actually
materialize. Women also face
impediments in operationalising
the statutory codes and getting their
names included in the records. Also,
ownership does not always translate
into control, as is the experience of
matrilineal societies of Meghalaya
where control is exercised by the
maternal uncle. Even when women
have mutations of land in their
names, they may not have actual
control over that land. Decision
making in cropping patterns, sale,
mortgage and the purchase of land
or the instruments of production
remains in the hands of the men of
the household.
Thus the issue is not only legal,
it is also cultural. As womens
control over loans, income and
assets goes down, their access to
social resources such as knowledge,
power and prestige diminishes.
Disparity in gender status gets
intensified with the emergence
and deepening of other forms
of stratification. Subordination
and seclusion of women is more
noticed in communities where
social differentiation and hierarchy
based on ownership patterns or on
prestige is more pronounced.
Rural women may be aware of
the necessity of getting separate
legal rights over land, but they
lack the wherewithal to claim their
rights through the tedious and
harassing process of approaching
bureaucracy and the courts. They
are exploited by their husbands and
even by their sons but they would
not consider challenging them.
They generally like to view their
husbands as comrades and friends
whose good wishes and advice
they would like to cherish. They
keep fasts for their husbands long
life, and aspire to die as Suhagan
(in their husbands lifetime). They
divide men in the neat category of
good husbands and bad husbands,
without realising the inherent
exploitation in the very institution
of patriarchy and property customs
(Ellis 1988: 170). These norms
serve as barriers to womens ability
to exercise direct control over the
land they may inherit in their natal
village. Thus along with initiating
legal rights over land to women
one would have to conscientise
them about the existing realities of
power inequities within the family,
which would require a great deal of
political courage.
Asset redistribution is superior
to income redistribution. It provides
a basis for overcoming distortions
in the functioning of markets and
for restructuring gender relations
in the felds of property rights,
access to technology, healthcare
and governance. Asset ownership
and control rights are preferable to
numerous policy alternatives for
womens empowerment. These
are likely to bring in changes
in public opinion about gender
roles and social cultural norms
of deep-seated social inequalities
of women such as the household
division of labour, restraints on
womens speaking in public,
constraints on womens mobility
and pervasi ve gender-based
violence within the home and
outside (Kelkar 2011). q
(E-mail: naresh.saxena@gmail.com)
YOJANA
Forthcoming
Issues
November 2011
Non-Governmental Organizations
December 2011
North East, Focus: ASSAM
November 2011
&
December 2011
N E L E C T R I C
shock occurs when
a person comes into
direct contact with an
electrical energy source.
K. Nickolson Singh
(28) has developed an innovative
device, which converts all electrical
lines to shock-free power lines. If
accidentally someone touches these
lines, then also s/he does not feel
any shock.
Nickolson was born to a poor
family at Wangkhei Khuman
Leikai, Imphal in 1981. He had his
early studies in local government
schools. Since his early childhood
days, he had always been a diffcult
child with a very inquisitive mind
who always wanted to do things in
his own ways.
Nickolsons father used to repair
all kinds of electrical appliances at
home, and he joined his fathers
electrical repairing work to give
him a helping hand. He was
taught by his father all the basics
of electrical components, and more
importantly the precautions one
needs to take to avoid any possible
electrical shock while dealing with
repairing works. His father also
bought many electronic books
to read so that Nickolson could
Electric Shock Proof Converter
ShODhYaTRa
this aspect is found
advantageous for
domestic purpose for
shockproof working
of appliances without
any loss of current.
this is a very useful
device for every
household/
commercial
establishment with
electrical installation
also learn theoretical part of it. To
upgrade his skill level, he was sent
to a private electronic centre for
four months. After acquiring his
basic skills, he again branched out
to learn power transmission system.
Again, it was his father who came
to his rescue and taught him the
fundamentals.
Genesis of the idea
After retirement of his father,
together they opened an electrical
repairing store in Uripok, Imphal. In
one of those repairing sessions he got
a serious electric shock. From then
onwards he started thinking about
electronic equipments, without the
danger of having electric shocks.
He frst consulted his father about
availability of such devices, but got
no defnitive answer.
He was told that he had not
come across any such device that
protects from electric shock. That
was the trigger for Nickolson to
come up with a device that would
solve problems of all electrical
devices users and provide answers
to his unresolved questions.
There are many shock control
devices available in the market.
But these devices do not convert
the electrical current to a shock-
A
free current. His father had bitter
experiences of purchasing such
devices for RIMS, and failing
miserably on many occasions. He
even started work on such machines
to correct the faws in the system.
Unfortunately, he was not very
successful though he did fnd out
where the possible fault lay.
Both father and son had
discussions on this issue on many
occasions and concluded the only
possible way to prevent electric
shock was to prevent the output
phase electron flow or earthing
energy passing through to any
living body.
Ni ckol son then started
experimenting on his new concept
for years and finally he came
up with the frst device in 2003.
Though he had used the device in
his workshop he was afraid to do
a thorough test or tell others about
the machine. And in fact it was his
father who found out the device
frst. One day his father came to
the store for some repairing work;
he kept the switches on and started
working. Accidentally he touched
on the live wires but felt no electric
shock. Till then he didnt know that
his son had developed the device
and the line he was working on was
the output line of the device.
Then he called Nickolson and
informed him about his experience.
Nickolson also repeated the same
process and realized that the live
wires didnt have any shock.
Both father and son were very
excited having achieved their long
cherished dreams and the first
prototype of electric shock proof
device was born.
The shock free converter
It is an electronic system attached
to the main electricity board of the
house, which converts all electrical
lines to shock free power lines.
National Innovation Foundation
NIF, facilitated the testing of his
device at IIT Guwahati, which
evaluated it and has explained it
as below.
The working of this device can
be explained in three stages:
At the input stage a Multiphase
change over through Automatic
swi tch i s bui l t i n. Thi s
comprises three relays and three
transformers. Purpose of this
mechanism is to automatically
provide single phase output
from three phase input when
any phase fails or all the phases
are active but we need only
single phase output as is the
case with most of the domestic
appliances. Signifcance of this
phase is that input voltage has
been reduced to low output
voltage so that it will not cause
electric shock.
Output from stage 1 i. e.
Mul ti phase change over
through Automatic switch is
fed to second stage called as
Double phase/High Voltage
vs. Normal Voltage device. In
this device one relay and two
transformers are used. Here
in case of high voltage due to
mixing of two or more phases
of input supply is taken care of.
Also if there is any touch by
human being at the fnal output
stages on the live wire, its relay
immediately switch the phase
to no current stage and prevent
electric shock.
Output stage uses a specially
fabricated transformer with
winding for both primary
and secondary coils. This
transformer steps up the voltage
to usable voltage of 220 volts.
So when there is a contact of
human being at the output stage
even with the live wire, due to
the relay in the second stage,
electricity circuit becomes
open through the relay. Hence
there is no electric shock. If a
human being touches both the
wires in the output stage, he
gets shock. This aspect is found
advantageous for domestic
purpose for shockproof working
of appliances without any loss
of current and also applicable
for electric heaters etc. drawing
high current compared to
electric lights etc.
The device can be constructed
rugged enough to withstand poor
current characteristics that can
facilitate its use in conjunction with
captive electric generator source
too without manual change over
and in rural areas where current
quality is poor with low voltage,
higher fuctuation. This is a very
useful device for every household/
commercial establishment with
electrical installation.
However, the experts at IIT have
suggested a few changes before
commercializing the innovations.
The various stages of the device
can be integrated with a Single
Protective cover for the machine
to be aesthetically attractive. The
quality of the material could be
improved, which would increase
the durability and reliability.
Nickolson is a prolifc innovator
and has many other innovations
to his credit like the reuse of
fused tube lights, longer lasting
modified tube light choke, and
movable solar energy panel. Given
his innovative pursuits, he was
invited to participate in the Third
Inventors of India workshop at
IIM, Ahmedabad in October 2006
where he described his innovations
to other invited innovators of the
country. He was also nominated
for a workshop at Centre of Bits
and Atoms, MIT, Massachusetts,
USA in 2007.
He was also provided a scouting
fellowship briefy to look for other
innovators like him from different
parts of Manipur. Nikolson provided
a lot of help in organising the
regional workshop of grassroots
innovators in Imphal in J uly 2007.
He identified more than half a
dozen grassroots innovators from
the region and helped them bring
them to NIF fold. q
(E-mail : campaign@nifndia.org,
www.nifndia.org)
SAROJ KUMARS IAS ERA
Mob.: 9910415305,9910360051
Email:- sarojkumarsiasera@gmail.com
Mukherjee Ngr. Centre:- . A-14, M-1, Mezzanine Floor, Comm Complex, Bhandari House, Dr. Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi-110009
Delhi University Centre:- 1/9, Roop Nagar, G.T. Karnal Rd., Near Shakti Ngr.Red Light, Above. P.N.B. Delhi - 110007
Dr. veena Sharma
SAROJ KUMAR
With
(fgUnh & English Medium)
NITISH KUMAR
RANK
78
BIHAR
SANJAY Kr. AGGARWAL
1
RANK IN IAS 2002-03
in fganh ek;e
Highest Rank in 2009-10 Highest Achivement Highest Achivement in IAS 2009-10
BPSC TOPPER 2010
Jahanabad, Bihar
SANJAY KR. SINGH
UPPCS TOPPER 2010
POONAM SIROHI
Amroha (U.P.)
Highest
Mark
408/600
in History
MANU HANSA
JAMMU & KASHMIR TOPPER 2011
(JAMMU)
Our Topper of 2010-11 PCS Our Toppers of 2010 IAS
Din Dayal Mangal
Handicaped/fodykax
AGRA (UP)
RAKESH KR. VERMA
HAATHRAS (U.P.)
Nitin Tagade
MAHARASHTRA
MANU HANSA
(JAMMU)
MAINS SPECIAL - 1 Month
2
1
GEOGRAPHY-GENERAL STUDIES, HISTORY, ESSAY
GEOG., G.S., HISTORY, ESSAY, PUBLIC ADMIN., CSAT.
GS & CSAT - 3 Months
FOUNDATION COURSE & ALL PCS - 6-8 Months
COMP. ENGLISH & fgUnh - 1 Month
TEST SERIES
SPECIAL BATCH FOR GRADUATION I Year or II Year
SPECIAL CLASSES FOR WORKING PEOPLE EARLY MORNING OR EVENING
POSTAL COURSE FOR GEOGRAPHY, G.S., HISTORY,CSAT & ESSAY
SEPARATE HOSTEL FOR BOYS & GIRLS
Batch Starts from
10th Sept.,10th Oct., 20th Dec. & 10th Jan
RAS TOPPER 2011
RAJENDRA
PENSIYA
Ganga Nagar ( Raj.)
th
8

Rank
RANK IN
SC & ST 1
Y
E
-
1
4
3
/
2
0
1
1
R O U N D 7 0
PERCENT of the
countrys population
lives in rural areas.
Accessibility to land is
not only economically important to
them; it also leads to a host of other
benefts. As land is a State subject
under the Constitution, different
States have evolved differently
in the feld of land management.
I n fact there may be different
systems in different regions of
the same State also. The Central
Government has only a limited
role to play in this regard. But
surprisingly most of the initiatives
have come from the Central level
only. The Central Government
persuades and incentivizes the
States through schemes or policy
initiatives.
I ndi a f aces tremendous
challenges on the issues related to
land governance. The following
data will make it clearer:
India has approximately 2.16
million sq. km. of cultivable area;
Land Reforms and the Institutional
Mechanism for its Effective Implementation
laND REfORMS
Prabhudayal Meena
OVERViEW
By addressing all
uses of land in an
integrated manner,
it is possible to
minimize conficts,
to make the most
effcient trade-offs
and to link social
and economic
development with
environmental
protection and
enhancement
l India has about 18 percent of
worlds population;
l 15 percent of worlds live stock
population is to be supported
from this land;
l India has about 2 percent of
worlds geographical area
and 1.5 Percent of forest and
pasture land;
l The per capita availability
of land has declined from
0.89 hectares in 1951 to 0.37
hectares in 1991;
l The average agriculture land
holding has declined from
0.48 hectares in 1951 to 0.16
hectares in 1991;
l 95.65 percent of the farmers are
within small and the marginal
category owning about 62
percent of the land, while the
medium and the large farmers
who constitute 3.5 percent own
about 37.72 percent of the total
area;
l Most of the cases pending
in the Courts relate to land
disputes;
A
The author is Additional Secretary, Deptt. of Land Reforms, Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India.
l 7.9 million persons are without
dwelling units to live in;
l In the rural areas alone, there
are more than 140 million land
owners, owning more than 430
million records;
l There are approximately 55
million urban households;
l I n most of the States last
cadastral survey was done
around 70 to 80 years ago. In
fact in some States, e.g., North
Eastern States this survey has
not been done till now.
The issues related to land may
be described in following five
divisions.
1. Land Reforms
As stated above, access to land
is of critical importance in large
parts of India. Agriculture and
primary sector activities based on
land and other natural resources
are the primary source of livelihood
for a vast majority of economically
vulnerable rural population of
Indian. So, land reforms initiatives
have been undertaken to ensure
equitable distribution of the land.
First major initiative was taken
by the abolition of the zamindari
system after independence of the
country. Second round of major
initiatives were taken in the year
1972 with the enactment of land
ceiling laws in majority of the
States. These initiatives in land
reforms can be broadly categorized
into the following felds:
l Land Ceiling- Ceiling limits
have been prescribed by the
States, above which a family
can not own the land. The
surplus land is taken over by
the State Government and
distributed to the land less
persons.
l Bhoodan Lands- The land
owners who had l arge
quanti ti es of l and were
persuaded to surrender some
parts of their lands voluntarily
during the time of Shri Vinoba
Bhave. These lands were also
distributed to the land less
persons.
l Tenancy Reforms- Many
land owners do not practice
agriculture themselves. They
lease out their lands to other
needy persons on written or
oral agreement for agriculture.
Some States have enacted laws
to protect the interest of the
tenants in such cases.
l Common Property Resources-
The village commons are used
by the community for various
purposes like pasture lands,
for collection of minor forest
produce and fuel wood etc.
Some States have conferred
ri ghts to the communi ty
over such resources through
enactments.
l Waste Lands- States also
distribute the wastelands
available with them to the land
less persons.
l Tri bal Land Al i enati on-
Scheduled Tribes living in
various parts of I ndia are
particularly in a vulnerable
position as their lives are
intertwined with the land. Most
of the States have enacted
laws to protect their rights
on the land. They cannot sell
their lands to non STs. I f
land is alienated fraudulently
from them, then the States
proactively pursue such cases
so that the land is restored to
the tribals.
The issues related to land
reforms are being considered by
the Government of India at the
highest level. In order to evolve
a comprehensive policy on the
matter, two very high level bodies
have been formed as follows:
i) A Committee on State Agrarian
Relations and the Unfnished
Task in Land Reforms under
the chairmanship of Minister
of Rural Development, and
ii) A National Council for
Land Reforms under the
chairmanship of the Prime
Minister.
The composition, terms of
reference, etc. of the Committee
and the Council were notifed in
the Offcial Gazette on 9
th
J anuary,
2008.
The Committee has submitted
its report for consideration of
the National Council. I n the
mean time, it has been decided
that the recommendations of the
Committee may be examined
by an appropriate Committee of
Secretaries (CoS) before they
are placed for consideration of
the National Council for Land
Reforms. The CoS has submitted
its recommendations on the Report
which are being placed before
the Council. The decisions of the
Council on various land reforms
issue will give a fresh impetus to
the land reforms programmes in
the States.
2. Land Management
Land figures as Entry 18 in
the State list of the Constitution
as Land, that is to say, right in or
over land, land tenures including
the relation of landlord and tenant,
and the collection of rents; transfer
and alienation of agricultural land;
land improvement, and agricultural
loans; colonization. Entry 45 in the
State list is Land revenue, including
the assessment and collection
of revenue, the maintenance of
land records, survey for revenue
purposes and records of rights, and
alienation of revenues.
So, the land and its management
fall in the exclusive domain of the
States. Each State has a different
set up for land and land records
management. In most of the States
Revenue Department handles the
land records along with the other
issues related to land management.
Survey Department deals with the
survey of lands, Consolidation
Department deal s wi th the
consolidation of the lands, and
Gram Panchayats do undisputed
mutations in some States. The
change of the land records by any
one of them makes the records of
another obsolete. So, the records
are out of date in most of the States
and they do not refect the ground
reality.
Before i ndependence, the
revenue from the lands was a
major consideration for the proper
management of land and land
records. But after independence as
revenue from the lands dwindled, the
land and land records management
was also neglected. In fact in some
of the States the land revenue has
been abolished altogether. The
surprising fact is that the States
hardly give any priority to this
subject and most of the initiatives
have been taken from the Central
Level.
3. Land Records Modernization
As stated above, the result of the
decline of land revenue as a major
source of revenue for the States
was a declining investment in this
sector through the Plan funds. This
led to a gross neglect of the survey
and maintenance of land records,
making them hopelessly out-of-
date and, therefore, unreliable.
With the advent of the industrial
and commercial sectors, land
emerged as an important economic
resource. For development to
take place at a rapid pace it was
imperative to have updated and
accurate land records at all times.
However, the traditional manual
methods of maintenance of land
records could not keep pace with
the requirements of the modern
State. It was the advent of modern
technol ogy whi ch made the
availability of real-time records an
achievable objective.
Modernization of land records
was first suggested by State
Revenue Ministers in a Conference
held in New Delhi in 1985. As a
consequence, two programmes
were launched by the Central
Government, viz.:
(a) Strengthening of Revenue
Administration & Updating of
Land Records (SRA&ULR), in
1987-88.
(b) Computerization of Land
Records (CLR), in 1988-89.
Under these schemes, support
was provided to the States and
Union Territories for strengthening
of the land records maintenance
infrastructure, adoption of modern
survey and information technology
for updating and computerization
of both textual and spatial records,
digitization of maps, training and
capacity building.
The way the schemes were
framed, the exit modes were not
defned; nor were technology options
for survey frmed up; neither was the
system of monitoring emphatically
spelt out. Further, both the schemes
of CLR and SRA&ULR excluded
interconnectivity, geographic
information system (GIS) mapping,
connectivity with banks and
treasuries, and Registration the
last of which is a vital link in
updating the land records.
Progress was uneven across
the country; some States moved
forward rapidly, pooling together
the Central Government support
and their own resources and
initiatives, e.g., Karnataka and
Goa; others lagged behind, or made
progress only in some areas, such
as, computerization of outdated
textual records.
Keeping in view the above
position, the Cabinet approved
on 21
st
August, 2008, the merger
of these two Centrally-sponsored
schemes of CLR and SRA&ULR,
and thei r modi fi cati on and
replacement with the Centrally-
sponsored scheme of the National
Land Records Modernization
Programme (NLRMP).
The NLRMP combines the key
components of the two schemes,
adds new components such as
integration of textual and spatial
records, computeri zati on of
Registration and inter-connectivity
between Revenue and Registration
systems, fi rmed up modern
technology options for survey
and core GIS. This integrated and
enhanced scheme has as its goal
the introduction in the country
of conclusive titling with title
guarantee and indemnification,
instead of the present land titling
system which provides merely
for Registration of deeds and
documents and presumptive
property titles.
The NLRMP has four major
components (i) computerization
of property records; (ii) survey and
preparation of maps using modern
technologies, (iii) computerization
of the Registration process and
(iv) training and capacity building.
The NL RMP i s bei ng
implemented in a methodical
manner and all the districts in the
country are expected to be covered
by the end of the 12
th
Plan. Further,
the activities are being undertaken
in a systematic manner, which are to
converge in the district and district
is the unit of implementation.
So far 206 districts in 29 States/
UTs have been covered under the
programme and funds to the tune of
Rs.518.63 crore have been released
towards Central share.
4. Land Acquisition
Land is required for various
devel opment purposes. The
Government uses the provisions
of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894
to acquire land in such cases. The
indiscriminate use of this Act has
caused various agitations and
social unrest in the country. The
main objections have been that
the good agricultural land is being
acquired which is endangering the
food security of the country, excess
land is being acquired for a project
which is further sold at a premium,
market rate is not provided to the
land owners, farmers are paid the
rate of agricultural land while the
land is used commercially, adequate
rehabilitation and resettlement of
the displaced persons is not being
ensured etc.
To address these issues, the
Central Government has notifed
a comprehensi ve Nati onal
policy 2007(NRRP-2007) on 31
st

October 2007. The Policy provides
for basic minimum requirements
which must be extended to all
the affected families, while the
States, Public Sector Undertakings
or agencies are free to put in
place greater benefit levels than
those prescribed in the policy. To
give legal backing to the above
policy, the Central Government has
introduced the Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill
in the Lok Sabha on 7
th
September,
2011.
5. Land use Planning
Impacts due to poor land use
are being highlighted in terms of
river pollution, industrial hazards,
conficts in land use etc. Acute
problems of drinking water, disposal
of industrial waste on land and
water have become hazardous to
human well being in rural areas
of many States. In recent years,
conflicts between farmers and
proposed industrial projects have
been reported from various States.
The land use/land cover pattern has
also been signifcantly changing
over a period of time and land
suitable for one purpose is being
used for other purposes. The prime
agricultural land producing three
crops are being used for industrial
purposes whereas large stretches
of waste lands not far off from the
proposed site continue to remain
unproductive for both purposes
of industry as well as agriculture.
Land use planning is, therefore,
essential all the more for the
country to meet the requirements
of socio-economic development by
safeguarding the environment and
food security. Land use planning
is also essential in physical
environmental management as well
as bio diversity conservation.
Some States have done good
work in this feld. One example of
Gujarat may explain the benefts of
the land use planning. In Gujarat,
all the cadastral maps have been
digitalized and around 600 GIS
layers of 20 Department have been
place over these digitized maps.
Based on these layers only, State
Government could locate the land
for NANO plant of TATAs and give
them possession within 72 hours.
The yardsticks for the selection of
the area were that the land should be
government wasteland; it should be
near the Highway and availability
of power etc.
Therefore, we need a proper,
integrated land use policy for the
country which may cover usage of
land for various purposes such as
agriculture, industry, commerce,
forests, housing infrastructure,
urban area settlements, mining, etc.
By addressing all uses of land in
an integrated manner, it is possible
to minimize conficts, to make the
most effcient trade-offs and to link
social and economic development
with environmental protection and
enhancement.
Today, we have modern
technology of remote sensing
which includes both aerial as well
as satellite based systems which
allows us to collect physical data
rather easily, with speed and on
repetitive basis, and together with
GIS helps us to analyze the data
spatially, offering possibilities of
generating various options of
modeling, thereby optimizing
the whole planning process.
These information systems also
offer interpretation of physical
(spatial) data with other socio-
economic data, and thereby provide
an important linkage in the total
planning process and making it
more effective and meaningful.
So, in a nut shell proper and
scientific plans for the land use
are essential. The Department of
Land Resources (DoLR) is already
working in this feld and it proposes
to have a National Land Use Plan
in place. The States will also be
helped by the DoLR to prepare
the State Land Use Plans. In fact
the vision is go down up-to the
village level with such plans. Such
land use plans will capture the
overarching concerns: ecological,
food production, livelihood and
allocating land for the industry and
developmental purposes. q
(E-mail:aslr@nic.in)
NORTh EaST DiaRY
HYDEL POwER GENERATION AND GROwTH OF TOuRISM
TECHNOLOGY MISSION IN ARuNACHAL
T
he Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region is ramping up its developmental efforts to
boost employment in the region by focusing especially on hydel power generation and the growth
of the tourism sector in the region. The eight northeastern states offer a blend of picturesque
landscapes, age-old cultures, exotic food and vast tracts of few world-renowned wildlife and bird
sanctuaries to their visitors.
Their remoteness has meant that not much is known about them to the outside world. It offers vast
opportunities for investment in tourism and allied sectors to open up the region. Tourism is another sector,
which is fast growing and has the potential of creating vast avenues for self-employment.
Northeast is the powerhouse of the country and the region has the maximum avenues of for harnessing
hydropower, which is eco-friendly and economical. It is a perennial source of power. It has been said that
the Northeast has the potential to "light up half of India". One of the hydel power projects in the region
include-Khandong (50 MW) and Kopili I and II (225 MW) in Assam, Ranganadi (405 MW) in Arunachal
Pradesh, Doyang (75 MW) in Nagaland and Loktak (105 MW) of Manipur, Ranjeet (60 MW), Teesta Stage
V and Teesta Stage IV of 510 MW and 520 MW each and three power plants in Mizoram, generating a total
of 1,526 MW.
It is expected that the Northeast will generate 70,000-mw, once all the projects take off. North Eastern
Electric Power Corporation Ltd. (NEEPCO) and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation are working in
coordination to promote the region as a powerhouse of the country. q
T
he little-known Lower Dibang Valley District of Arunachal Pradesh is emerging as the fruit bowl
of the state with its farmers making optimum use of the Centre's Technology Mission. The state's
Horticulture Department has capitalised on the favourable sub-tropical and temperate climate in
the valley and through the Technology Mission has achieved a bountiful crop of orange, pear, jack fruit,
banana, pineapple, peach, kiwi and plum in the last few years. Particularly successful is the valley's orange
cultivation which is spread over an area of approximately 2,000 hectares. The total production of oranges
in the current fnancial year amounts to 800 metric tonnes, which in itself is a record in the region.
The Technology Mission has helped growers like Dature Miuli, who owns 13,500 orange plants and
Thusi Pulu and Miranda Miuli who own 3000 plants each. "Orange production even in a small garden gives
good returns every season. Therefore, I have been gradually increasing my area of cultivation,"says Dature
Miuli. The region around Kornu-Injono-Simari-Balek-Abango and Samak Nalah are high yielding areas and
contribute more than 50 percent of the total orange produce in the district.
According to District Horticultural sources, in not too distant future, people here would become self-reliant
by producing suffcient oranges. The department has a citrus nursery at Balek, about 10 kms from Roing. The
nursery also imparts technical know-how for enhancing orange Production. Besides oranges, the Department
is also aiming to encourage and propagate production of ginger in the area.
Till now at least 2,500 hectares had been brought under ginger cultivation. The production recorded this
year is a whopping 6.250 metric tonnes. In addition, the department is also concentrating on promoting
cultivation of medicinal plants such as aloe vera, cinnamon, amla, brahmi and arjuna. However, lack of
proper marketing facilities is hampering the development of horticulture in the district. q
HEN ONE thinks of
land reforms in India,
the first state which
comes to mi nd i s
Kashmir. It all began
with a movement of the peasants in
1931 under the leadership of Sheikh
Abdullah. Then came in 1944 the
Magna Carta of social change, the
Naya Kashmir (New Kashmir)
resolution, in which land reform
was an integral part. The resolution
promised abolition of landlordism,
land to the tiller and co-operative
association of tillers to regulate
production and sale of crops and
agricultural goods.
Sheikh Abdullahs ideals and
leadership kept aloft along with the
ideals of secularism and socialism,
Kashmirs long drawn struggle
against autocracy and feudal system.
Sheikh Abdullah championed land
reforms and decentralised planning
under the banner of the political
party the Muslim Conference in
Land Reforms: J ammu and Kashmir
Shows The Way
laND REfORMS
George Mathew
PERSPECTiVE
the remarkable
achievements
of Jammu and
Kashmir in land
reforms must be
used to enhance
the quality of life of
the people through
good governance
the beginning and later changed
to National Conference. He raised
peasants issue through the doctrine
of Land to the Tiller.
History of Land Reforms in the
state
Till 1931, the land in Jammu and
Kashmir was under the control of
Maharaja. The peasants and landless
artisans movement began then
culminates in the 1944 charter The
New Kashmir. The Quit Kashmir
Movement led by Sheikh Abdullah
and the National Conference Party
on 10 May 1946 drew its strength
from the exploited peasantry. The
movement was stronger in the
Kashmir region than in J ammu.
Immediately after coming to
power in 1948, Sheikh Abdullah
implemented the land reforms,
which was in conformity with
the basic principles of agrarian
programme as outlined in the
New Kashmir. All Jagirs and
w
The author is Chairman, Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi.
Maufs were abolished during the
first phase within a few months
(April 1948 October 1948) and
tenants rights were protected.
Then came the Big Landed Estates
Abolition Act (October 1950)
which transferred the land to the
tiller. The Act puts a ceiling on
holding of land with a ceiling limit
of about 22.5 acres of land.
When the most drastic piece of
land reform in India was passed,
J awaharlal Nehru became envious
of the government of Kashmir
for its speed and clarity. He said,
I confess that I look with some
envy on the speed and clarity with
which they (Kashmir Government)
have performed this task there,
considering the enormous trouble
we have had in the various States
of I ndia, the difficulties, the
obstruction and the delays that we
had to face, and so, I became a little
envious when I saw this was done
in Kashmir.
The Big Landed Estates Abolition
Act, 1950 had extraordinary results
for the landless. According to M.
Aslam, as many as 9000 and odd
landowners were dispossessed
of 4.5 lakh acres of land held
in excess of the ceiling. Out of
this 2.31 lakh acres of land were
transferred with ownership rights
to cultivating peasants free of any
encumbrance.
Several social scientists and
historians see the action by Sheikh
Abdullah as historic and a crucial
step for the development of Kashmir.
For instance, Ramchandra Guha
says, Within Kashmir Abdullah
gave top priority to the redistribution
of land. Under the Maharajas
regime a few Hindus and fewer
Muslims had very large holdings,
with the bulk of rural populations
serving as labourers or as tenants
at will. In his frst year in power
Abdullah transferred 40,000 acres
of surplus land to the landless. He
also outlawed absentee ownership,
increased the tenants share from 25
percent to 75 percent of the crops
and placed a moratorium on debt.
His socialistic policies alarmed
some elements in the Government
of India, especially as he did not pay
compensation to the dispossessed
landlords. But Abdullah saw this as
crucial to progress in Kashmir.
Thus J ammu and Kashmir has
the unique distinction of introducing
the most radical land reform in
India. It was a watershed in the
history of J ammu and Kashmir and
a measure, the frst of its kind in the
sub-continent, lauded by different
sections of society and people
belonging to different walks of life
in the country. The land reform
greatly helped the marginalized
sections, especially the scheduled
castes to become land owners.
According to the research done by
Dr. Ashish Saxena in Jammu, during
1950s-70s out of the total surplus
land of 672 Kanals mainly taken
away from Rajputs and Mahajans,
70.24 percent was allotted to SC
tenants. A radical intergenerational
shift in the occupation pattern of the
SCs in terms of landless agricultural
labourers to land owning peasants
from grandfathers generation
(nil) to 47.1 percent in the present
generation has taken place in the
region.
I t must be stated here that
the vision of Naya Kashmir and
the radical land reforms in the
early years of independence laid
the foundation for decentralized
governance in the state.
In 1963 the Government set up
a Land Commission to fnd out the
various discrepancies which had
crept in the land tenure pattern.
The recommendations of this
commission formed the basis of
J &K Agrarian Reform Act 1972
which was further amended as the
J &K Agrarian Reform Act, 1976.
Under the Act the rights in a holding
of land of any person not cultivating
it personally were extinguished
and vested in the State. The ceiling
of holding in all other cases was
reduced from 22.5 acres to 12.5
standard acres which could be
higher than 12.5 acres depending
on different categories of land of
low quality and as low as 8 acres in
the case of the best quality irrigated
land.
On Feburary 9, 2007 the J ammu
and Kashmir assembly passed the
Roshni Bill. The bill was aimed at
providing ownership of 16.6 lakh
kanals to farmers. The ownership
of Government land which is under
farmers cultivation would be given
to them at a meagre rate of 10
percent of the rate prevailing in their
respective areas. The total ceiling of
the agriculture land owned by a
farmer including his proprietary
land and the Government land,
which can be purchased by him,
shall not exceed 100 kanals as
prescribed under the Agrarian
Reforms Act.
Tenancy Reforms
One area of land reforms in
which States record is indeed
creditable is tenancy reforms.
Incidence of tenancy, both in terms
of number of households leasing-
in/leasing-out land and leased-in/
leased-out as percentage of area
owned, has sharply declined in the
State between 1971 and 1981. The
achievement in the area of tenancy
reform can be attributed to the
various Acts enacted in the State
from time to time. The Act of 1976
made comprehensive provisions that
with a few exceptions which are in
general public interest, ownership
follows personal cultivation. The
Act prohibits the creation of new
tenancy and extinguishes existing
tenancy except in certain cases.
Decrease in the incidence of tenancy
has had a positive impact on land
distribution.
As per Government of India
report, total 6,10,000 tenants have
been conferred ownership upto
September 2006.
The Impact of Land Reforms in
Jammu and Kashmir
I travel l ed extensi vel y i n
Kashmir during the recently held
panchayat elections in the state.
My study showed that there was
perfect social harmony during
the hotly contested elections to
the halqa panchayats. The main
reason attributed to it was that
the violence by the all powerful
landed gentry against the landless
was totally absent. That is to say,
the land reforms since 1950 and
the pro-poor ethos the then leaders
generated, had created a congenial
atmosphere for democratic elections
and working of panchayats. While
in many states the landlords and
feudal elements are responsible for
violence during local government
elections, the 2011 May-J une
elections in J ammu and Kashmir
presented a different picture with
more than 80 percent voting without
any incident of violence.
Land Reforms and working of
Panchayats
Why panchayats are not working
in most states as institutions of
self-government? This question
troubles all concerned. The main
reason is: for panchayats to be
effective land reforms is an essential
pre-requisite.
On the other hand it has to be
seen as a dialectical process as
well.
While land reform is a necessary
condition for effective panchayats
and peoples participation, the
powerful panchayats can contribute
to make land reforms effective.
The best case is West Bengal.
The state initiated land reform in
1977 by recording the names of
sharecroppers and giving them
permanency of tenure and also
redistributing ceiling-surplus vested
land among the landless. The new
generation of panchayats came
into existence in 1978. According
to experts, i n West Bengal
implementation of land reforms
with the help of the panchayats has
been somewhat unique in the
country. The aim was, according
to the Minister-in-charge, total rural
development through Panchayats
and elected peoples representatives
by providing the landless and
the destitute with cultivable and
homestead land for his sustenance
and habitation so that the landless
could stand on his own without
depending on landed gentry in
rural Bengal. The three decades
story of West Bengal on these two
counts viz. panchayats and land
reforms have a lot to tell to the rest
of India.
Conclusion
The long journey of land
reforms in J ammu and Kashmir
has transf ormed a f eudal
and hierarchical society. The
experience of capitalizing on the
powerful property instinct and
motivation of propertyless peasants
to transform an unjust and non-
egalitarian agrarian structure in a
democratic framework was indeed
an important milestone in the states
tryst with modernization and social
justice.
The remarkable achievements of
Jammu and Kashmir in land reforms
must be used to enhance the quality
of life of the people through good
governance. That is possible only
through the panchayats. Now that
the panchayat elections are over,
34,000 women and men are elected
to the 4130 halqa panchayats in 143
blocks. Today there is a tremendous
possibility to take forward the
social capital created out of the
land reforms, through these local
governments. When and how the
state government will do it is the
big question. q
(E-mail:gemathew@yahoo.co.in)
Y
E
-
1
4
5
/
2
0
1
1
A Collective Approach to Off Seasonal
Vegetables Value Chain
Kamlesh Gururani
Kavita Gururani
u
The authors are Manager, Federation Development (ULIPH) and Faculty, D.S.B. Campus Kumaon University, Nainital,
Uttarakhand respectively.
TTARAKHAND HAS
its unique geographical
and climatic advantage
f or off seasonal
vegetables. Most of the
production felds have
good road connectivity, sometimes
it may be blocked due to heavy
rainfall and land slides but if a
collective approach is introduced
to manage the complete value chain
in identifed locations then it will
be a major source of livelihood for
the deprived communities in rural
Himalayas.
The Government of Uttarakhand
has implemented the Uttarakhand
Livelihoods Improvement Project
for the Himalayas (ULI PH),
commonly known as Aajeevika
(meaning Livelihoods in Hindi),
from October 2004 with fnancial
assistance from the International
Fund for Agricultural Development
(IFAD). The project is managed
by the Uttarakhand Gramya Vikas
Samiti (UGVS), and is supported by
a Social Venture Capital Company
(SVCC)-UPASaC that provides
business development services.
The project intends to provide
opportunities to create or enhance the
livelihoods of the poor households
by applying the principle of self-help
and utilizing the self-help groups
(SHGs) and developing community
institutions and investing in their
capacity to take livelihood decisions,
and by providing a range of support
services and linkages. The project
is covering 959 villages of 17
development blocks in 5 districts of
Uttarakhand where approximately
40 percent of the total population in
each selected block is covered under
the project interventions. The project
has formed 3962 community-based
organizations: Self-Help Groups,
Van Panchayats and Federations.
Over the period of 8 years ULIPH
(Aajeevika) has developed networks
in 5 districts with around 36,000
households. Since the inception
of the UPASaC every year a good
amount has been invested in input
supply in horticulture activity and
especially in off seasonal vegetables
and this intervention has lead to
development of various income
generation activity and Micro
Enterprise leading to the question
BEST PRaCTiCES
the project
intends to provide
opportunities to
create or enhance
the livelihoods to
the poor households
by applying the
principle of self-
help and utilizing
the self-help groups
what next? Ineffcient input supply
system, strong intermediary nexus
and lack of proper supply chain
management is a major constraint
to small holders and poor farmers.
Due to these constraints producers
are dependent upon middlemen for
seeds, fertilizers as well as fnancial
input.
This is the marketing channel and
their nearest market is Dehradun,
Vikasnagar, Saharanpur and Rorkee.
The overall communication between
farmers and Mandi has been done
by local agent or agglomerator. The
role of local agent is very critical in
value chain and it is a big challenge
to minimize his role in the lives
of the farmers. The agent not only
provides seeds, pesticides, gunny
bags, transportation etc., but he acts
like a Sahukar (money lender) and
fulflls the need of producers at the
time of fnancial crisis and therefore
agents have found a suitable place
in value chain as an operator and
supporter as well.
and identifed cluster Gangtari in
Yamuna Valley managed by Saptrishi
Swayat Sahkarita, registered under
Self Reliant Cooperative Act 2003
of Uttarakhand. Efforts have been
made by the Aajeevika Project with
support of the Telecommunication
department under which 30 identifed
farmers received SMS on Mandi
information as per the selected
commodities and preferred Mandi.
Earlier same efforts of SMS based
information had been introduced
by the German I nternational
Cooperation in the selected project
locations. Besides Federation
has made their own system of
communication to wholesellers at
Dehradun, Saharanpur, Roorkee,
Vikasnagar and Chandigarh.
The whole value chain is quite
complex in nature from input supply
to end consumer and this complexity
leads to reducing the proft margin
of producers. In October 2010,
ULIPH started with timely supply
of inputs through Federation in
form of Pea (Arkil)
seeds in selected
locations. The seed
was purchased from
NAFED. Farmers
were trai ned
i n techni ques
of vegetabl e
cul ti vati on, the
establishment of
demonstration plots
and the organization
of farmer feld days.
To start the initiative
ULI PH provided
weighing machines
and demonstration
fund to Federation
for market l i nkage. Besi des
establishment of Aggregation
Centre, purchase of gunny bags
and transportation was managed by
Federations itself. The objective of
this initiative to strengthen the value
chain with maximum involvement
of farmers, built their trust and sense
of ownership towards Federation
and above all developed Federation
as a business entity which can take
lead as a business mentor after the
withdrawal of the project.
Results
With the help of two Aggregation
Centres, Saptrishi Swayat Sahkarita
was able to sell 1129 bags of Pea for
Rs. 4,49,000 to Dehradun, Vikas
Nagar and Chandigarh Mandi.
Though the Federation has not
received any big advantage in
terms of money but this initiative
increased the active participation
of farmers in Federation activity.
Some farmers outside the project
area showed interest in Self Help
Group formation and share holding
of Federation. There was also
increased participation of female
members of households as earlier
the major advantage of crops in
terms of money went to male
members of the family.
The Road Ahead
The collective approach has
shown high growth in the mountain
region if.
l Initially ULIPH had distributed
seeds and other inputs in
subsidized mode as per the
guidelines issued but now
for next year the Federation
has decided that no inputs for
cash crops will be subsidized
and this will be the biggest
challenge for the federation.
l Nexus of intermediaries are very
strong and it will be another
challenge to the Federation to
minimize their involvement the
in value chain.
l As the fnancial linkage with
FFIs is very low and not very
supportive, so it would be
the priority of the Federation
to develop its own micro
credit system for enterprising
purpose. q
(E-mail: kg0011@rediffmail.com,
gururani_kavita@rediffmail.com)
uLI PH I nt e r ve nt i ons i n
uttarkashi district
With help of technical consultant
a small exercise has been done
in district management unit to
identify the prominent cluster of
off seasonal vegetable, made a plan
with cluster team and federation
member to experience the pea crop
I STRI BUTI ON OF
land to the landless and
rural poor has been an
important plank of the
strategy for poverty
alleviation and rural development.
The frst phase of land reforms in
post Independent India started with
abolition of intermediaries. Uttar
Pradesh also passed the zamindari
Abolition and Land Reforms Act in
1950. In the second phase of land
reforms the issue of imposition of
land ceilings and redistribution
of surplus land to the rural poor
was taken up. The U.P. Imposition
of Land Ceiling Act was passed
in 1960. The Act put the ceiling
limit at 40 acres. It defned family
in a liberal manner and allowed a
large number of exemptions. The
provisions of the Act were widely
misused and its implementation
was lackadaisical with the result
that the Act hardly made an impact
on the land distribution situation
in the State. The shortcomings of
the land ceiling acts in different
Impact of Land Distribution on the Rural
Poor in Uttar Pradesh
laND REfORMS
Ajit Kumar Singh
aNalYSiS
the land distribution
programme had
a positive impact
on the economic
and social status
of the allottees and
has brought about
qualitative change
in their life and
contributed to better
health and education
of children
states led to fresh thinking about
the provisions of the land ceiling
Acts and need for amendment in
the Act itself. As a follow up UP
amended its Land Ceiling Act in
1973. The amended Act brought
down the ceiling limit and removed
many of the exemptions given in
the earlier act. According to the
revised ceiling act ceiling was fxed
at 7.3 hectare of irrigated land for a
family of fve in UP. An additional 2
hectare area was allowed for every
additional family member. Land
ceiling for single cropped irrigated
area was kept at 10.95 hectare and
for unirrigated area was kept at
18.25 hectare.
Even the amended land ceiling
act of UP failed in its basic objectives
as by that time big landlords had
also distributed their land in several
names to escape the provisions of
the Act. A large number of cases
were also fled by the land holders
to whom notices were issued under
the ceilings act. Till 31
st
March
2008 an area of 7.93 lakh hectares
D
The author is an economist and presently Director, Giri Institute of Development Studies, Lucknow
was declared surplus and notices
were issued to 48,466 land holders.
However, 83853 cases were fled
before the designated authority, out
of which 50,334 cases were decided
till 31
st
March 2008. Still about half
of the area to be acquired is under
dispute.
Till 31st March 2008 only
2,44,524 hectares of land was
distributed to 2.89 lakh benefciaries
in UP. This amounted to hardly 1.36
percent of total operational area of
179.8 lakh hectare in the state. Thus,
land ceiling legislation has failed to
bring about any noticeable change
in the structure of distribution of
land in the state. Nearly 69 percent
of distributed land was given to
SC and about 31 percent to other
categories. Very little land was
distributed to ST, as they constitute
a very nominal proportion of state
population.
The successive state governments
have been following the policy of
distribution of Gram Samaj land to
the landless, which they fnd a softer
option than strict implementation
of ceilings. In fact, the total area
of Gram Samaj land distributed
by the government is much larger
than that distributed under the land
ceiling act. Till March 2008 a total
of 11.68 lakh hectares of Gram
Samaj land was distributed to 36.83
lakh persons in the state. Per person
allotted land comes to 0.32 hectare.
Of the total land allottees in the
state 56.0 pecent belonged to SC,
0.08 percent to ST, 26.0 percent
to OBC and 16 percent to other
categories.
Survey Findings
This paper presents the fndings
of a feld study carried out by the
Giri I nstitute of Development
Studies to examine the impact of
the land distribution programme on
the rural poor in 2008 and the issues
related to the implementation of
land distribution programme. The
feld work was carried out in fve
districts of the state representing
the di fferent agro-economi c
regions, namely, eastern region,
western region, central region,
Bundelkhand and tarai region.
From each region one district was
selected where highest amount
of land was distributed. The fve
selected districts were Etah, Hardoi,
Sultanpur, Lakhimpur Khiri and
J hansi. From the selected districts
one tehsil was selected where
maximum land has been distributed.
From each teshsil two villages
where selected where maximum
land has been distributed. Finally
from each village a minimum of
25 land allottees were selected
randomly for detailed interview.
Thus, the sample consisted of 5
districts, 5 tehsils, 10 villages and
279 benefeciaries.
The survey revealed that 1204
hectare land was distributed to 933
persons in the surveyed villages
under land ceiling act. Per person
land distributed comes to 1.29
hectare. But it varied from 0.66
hectare in Sultanpur to 2.81 ha. in
J hansi. 21 allottees (2.25 percent)
could not get possession of their
allotted land so far. 51 allottees
(5.5 percent) had sold the land
allotted to them. About half of
these allottees belong to Sultanpur
district where land allotted per
person was very small. 29 allottees
(3.1 percent) were found to belong
to non-eligible category.
Total Gr am Samaj l and
distributed in the sample districts
till March 31, 2008 amounted to
40,048 hectare in Lakhimpur Khiri,
49,000 hectare in Hardoi, 22,531
in Sultanpur, 44,110 in Etah and
34,374 hectares in J hansi. The
number of allottees was 119140,
128160, 122733, 84710 and 49092
in the fve districts respectively.
Average land allotted comes to
0.34, 0.38, 0.18, 0.52 and 0.70
hectare. Proportion of SC allottes
varies from 37.66 in Lakhimpur
to 63 percent in Hardoi. Similarly,
proportion of OBC allottees varies
from 19.3 percent in Sultanpur to
44.3 percent in Lakhimpur.
Soci al Charact eri s t i cs of
Allottees
46.3 percent of respondents
belonged to SC, 47.7 to OBC
and 4 percent to ST category.
Only 1.4 percent belonged to
other social groups. 87 percent
respondents were Hindu and 13
percent Muslim. About 45 percent
of the land allottees were below 45
years of age, 34 percent were in
the age group 45-60 and remaining
23 percent were above 60 years.
The average size of the family
of sample households was 6.7.
About 52 percent of respondents
were illiterate. 9.3 percent of the
allottees were simply literate and
29.4 percent had received education
upto upper primary level. About 7.5
percent respondents were educated
upto middle level and 1.4 percent
had done graduation.
Househol d Income of t he
Allottees
The majority of the allottees
(42.7 percent) were working as
non-agriculture labour. The other
main beneficiary category was
that of farmers (41 percent). A
surprising fnding is that very few
agricultural labourers were allotted
land. About 9 percent allottees were
engaged in self employment and
about 3 percent in services.
Total household income of
the allottees from all sources was
estimated at Rs. 28,598 per year.
Per capita income came to Rs.
4294 only. Agriculture contributed
about 43 percent of household
income. Income from cultivation
of the allotted land was reported
at Rs. 7158 or 25 percent of total
household income. About 37 percent
of household income was derived
by working as non-agricultural
labour.
The analysis of household
income data suggests that most of
the respondents were living near
or below the poverty line. Income
from cultivation on allotted land
helps in their subsistence, but it is
far from adequate for survival and
has to be supplemented by other
sources of livelihood.
Own and Allotted Land
Average land owned by the
allottees was 0.21 acres and average
land allotted was 1.41 acre. About
two thirds of the allotted land was
irrigated. Average land cultivated
per allottee is 1.48 acre. Allotted
land as percent of total land was
86.6 percent. Allottees could not get
possession of about 6 percent land
allotted to them. This was mainly
due to the fact that the land allotted
was food affected area near the
river bed. In some cases land was
under possession of other persons
and could not be handed over to
the allottees. Almost 95 percent of
allotted land was reported under
cultivation.
Period of Distributed Land
Nearly 88 percent allotted land
was gram samaj land and only 12
percent land was ceiling surplus
land. Land allotment was only for
cultivation purpose. Against the
policy of distributing minimum
1.5 acre land to allottees, about 22
percent of the allottees were given
less than 0.5 acre of land, while
26 percent allottees were given
between 0.5 and 1 acre of land.
About one third allottees received
1 to 2 acres of land and only 18
percent above 2 acres.
Most of land allotment was
made in the seventies and the
eighties. About 19 percent allottees
were given land 10-15 years back;
18 percent got land 15-30 years
back and 43 percent got land over
30 years back. Only 13 percent
allottees were given land during last
5 years and about 13 percent during
last 5-10 years.
Problems in Obtaining Land
Patta
Under rules land allotment notice is
given through drum beating in the
village. But only 42 percent of the
sample allottees said this was so.
54 percent allottees were informed
about allotment by the Pradhan
and 4 percent by Lekhpal. Rules
require that Lekhpal will give the
patta to the allottee by visiting his
house. Only 25 percent allottees
reported that pattas were delivered
at their home. 64 percent of sample
allottees mentioned that they were
given patta by pradhan in gram
sabha meeting. About 11 percent
allottees had to go to tehsil offce
to get their land patta.
Majority of allottees did not report
harrassment in obtaining patta.
Nearly 90 percent allottees said that
they could get the patta by meeting
Lekhpal once or twice. About 7
percent had to run to Lekhpal 3 to
5 times and about 3 percent had to
make numerous turns to Lekhpal
or tensil to obtain the patta. Nearly
80 percent allottees could get
the patta within two months of
allotment as provided under rules.
But 13 percent allottees said that
they had to wait for patta for 2 to
6 months and 7 percent had to wait
between 6 to 12 months. 55 per of
allottees were handed over vacant
land identifed for them. Another 36
percent were given possession by
removing unauthorized possession
by others. However, 10 percent
allottees could not get possession
of land so far.
Problems Faced in Getting
Possession
About 69 percent respondents
reported that they were allotted
cultivable land. In 12 percent cases
the allotted land was sodic land.
Gypsum was distributed to the
allottees, who had sodic land. In 19
percent cases the allotted land was
unlevel, wasteland, waterlogged
or sandy land not suitable for
cultivation.
Of the total allottees 14.3 percent
reported that they had to face
problems in getting possession of
land. The main reasons given were
that the land was under possession
of powerful people of the village,
demand of bribe by government
offcials and lack of support from
government functionaries. Three
percent of total allottees complained
that either the possession of full
land was not given or allotted land
was not at one place.
utilisation of Allotted Land
The survey revealed that 90
percent land allottees are cultivating
the land allotted to them. But
7 percent of the allottees were
not cultivating land as the land
allotted was usar or wasteland. In
a few cases whole or part of the
allotted land has been sold by the
allottees.
The land allottees are facing
many problems in cultivating the
allotted land. 63 percent mentioned
problems related to irrigation such
as irregular power supply, absence
of government tubewell, high
charge of water, etc. 58 percent
allottees complained about the
lack of availability of seed and
fertilizer and their high prices. 14
percent respondents complained
about problems in ploughing or
threshing. About 10 percent faced
problems due to uneven surface
of allotted land. About 80 percent
allottees said they have not received
any assistance from government
for cultivation. However, about
20 percent allottees did receive
assistance in the form of cash
fertilizers, seed and gypsum.
Respondents were asked to give
their suggestions for improvement
in agriculture. 59 percent allottees
wanted better irrigation facilities
and 56 percent wanted supply of
seed and fertilizers at reasonable
prices. 29 percent wanted credit
facilities. About 17 percent wanted
levelling of land and help in making
tractor and thresher available.
Impact of Land Allotment on
Allottees
In view of the fact that the land
allotment in most of the cases
was done 20 to 30 years back it
is not possible to directly assess
the impact of land distribution
on agricultural productivity and
incomes. Therefore, we have tried to
assess the impact of land allotment
by examining the difference in
the productivity and income from
own land and allotted land. The
analysis did not include J hansi as
all the allottees in the district were
landless and had no land of their
own earlier to facilitate comparison.
Net agricultural income per allottee
was reported to be Rs. 12,000 per
year, out of which 57 percent was
contributed by allotted land and 43
percent by own land.
The number of days of
employment of the allottee in
agriculture has more than doubled-
from 84 days to 181 days as they
have more land to cultivate now.
Consequently the number of days
of employment in non-agricultural
activities has declined. Taken
together the number of days of
employment has gone up from 257
days to 304 days in case of allottees
and from 133 days to 222 days for
the family members.
The benefts of land allotment
were not confned to improvement
i n i ncome and empl oyment
but also resulted in significant
improvement in quality of life. 60
percent respondents reported large
impact on social prestige. Nearly
90 percent found it easier to obtain
credit. The allottees reported that
they were able to construct a pacca
house after land allotment. Keeping
milch animal became easier for
them. Reduction in harrasment by
local goons was also reported. A
good proportion reported signifcant
improvement in health status and
education of children.
Opinion about the Process of
Land Allottment
said that land has been allotted to
non-eligible persons. 16 percent
respondents were critical of the
working of the Land Management
Committee. About 22 percent
respondents said that the land
allotted has been sold by the
allottees. This proportion was much
higher in Lakhimpur and Hardoi
district. Thus, many defciencies
in the implementation of the
programme were found at the feld
level.
were of the view that good quality
land suitable for cultivation should
be distributed. About 47 percent
respondents were of the view
that possession of land should be
ensured at the time of giving patta,
as the allottees fail to get possession
of land even after getting the patta.
Nearly half of the respondents
said that there is need to keep a
check on the working of the Land
Management Committee as the
Pradhans misuse their position to
distribute land to their favourites. A
high proportion felt that the presence
of higher level offcials at the time
of selecting the benefciaries would
ensure proper distribution of land.
About 27 percent allottees want
that allotted land should be given
at one place rather than as scattered
plots. Nearly 40 percent want
that government should provide
assistance for cultivation of land
thorugh irrigation facilities and
distribution of seeds, gypsum, etc.
It was found during the feld visit
that Pradhan and Lekhpal take
money ranging from Rs. 2500 to
Rs. 5000 from the land allottees for
giving patta. No wonder 41 percent
allottees demand that corruption
related to land distribution should
be checked. Around 40 percent
allottees demand that land should
Y
E
-
1
4
7
/
2
0
1
1
be given only to the eligible persons
and around one ffth want control
on sale of land by the allottees.
Conclusion and Suggestions
The study shows that land
distribution to the landless labourers
and marginal farmers is an effective
instrument of social justice and rural
development. The land distribution
programme had a positive impact
on the economic and social status of
the allottees and has brought about
qualitative change in their life and
contributed to better health and
education of children. At the same
time several deficiencies in the
implementation of the programme
have been observed such as
improper selection of non-eligible
persons, discriminatory attitude
of Land Management Committee,
delay in getting possession of land,
distribution of poor quality of
land, demand for illegal payment,
lack of government assistance for
cultivation, etc.
The following suggestions are
made for removing the defciencies
in the implementation of the
programme:
l Normally land suitable for
cultivation should be allotted.
If degraded land is acquired
for distribution, government
should make the land cultivable
by measures like leveling,
treatment of sodic soil, creation
of irrigation facilities, etc.
l Early possession of land
to the allottees should be
ensured by the government
officials by removing the
adverse possession by village
strongmen.
l Land allotted to a person
should be in the form of a
single plot rather than scattered
plots.
l Tehsil and district level offcials
should exercise effective
supervision in identification
of benefciaries and working
of the Land Management
Committee.
l The process of land distribution
should be transparent and
hassle free.
l Resale of land by the allottee
should be prohibited.
l Government should provide
adequate support in terms of
inputs, equipment, credit, etc.
to enable the land allottees to
properly cultivate the land. q
(E-mail: aksingh101@rediffmail.com)
DO YOu KNOW?
what is Credit Rating?
A credit rating evaluates
the credit worthiness of an
issuer of specifc types of debt,
specifically, debt issued by a
business enterprise such as a
corporation or a government.
It is an evaluation made by a
credit rating agency of the debt
issuers likelihood of default.
Credit ratings are determined by
credit ratings agencies. The credit
rating represents the credit rating
agencys evaluation of qualitative
and quantitative information
for a company or government;
including non-public information
obtained by the credit rating
agencies analysts. Credit ratings
are not based on mathematical
formulas. Instead, credit rating
agencies use their judgment and
experience in determining what
public and private information
should be considered in giving a
rating to a particular company or
government. The credit rating is
used by individuals and entities
that purchase the bonds issued
by companies and governments
to determine the likelihood that
the government will pay its bond
obligations.
Are Credit Ratings and Credit
Scores the same? If not, what
is the difference between the
two?
Credi t rati ngs are often
confused with credit scores.
Credit scores are the output
of mathematical algorithms
that assign numerical values to
CREDIT RATING
information in an individuals
credit report. The credit report
contains information regarding the
fnancial history and current assets
and liabilities of an individual. A
bank or credit card company will
use the credit score to estimate
the probability that the individual
will pay back loan or will pay back
charges on a credit card. However,
in recent years, credit scores have
also been used to adjust insurance
premiums, determine employment
eligibility, as a factor considered in
obtaining security clearances and
establish the amount of a utility or
leasing deposit.
A poor credit rating indicates
a credit rating agencys opinion
that the company or government
has a high risk of defaulting,
based on the agencys analysis of
the entitys history and analysis
of long term economic prospects.
A poor credit score indicates that
in the past, other individuals with
similar credit reports defaulted
on loans at a high rate. The credit
score does not take into account
future prospects or changed
circumstances. For example, if an
individual received a credit score
of 400 on Monday because he
had a history of defaults, and then
won the lottery on Tuesday, his
credit score would remain 400 on
Tuesday because his credit report
does not take into account his
improved future prospects.
An individuals credit score,
along with his credit report, affects
his or her ability to borrow money
through financial institutions
such as banks.
The factors that may infuence
a persons credit score are:
l ability to pay a loan
l interest
l amount of credit used
l saving patterns
l spending patterns
l debt
what are different types of
credit ratings?
1. Corporate credit rating
The credi t rati ng of
a corporation is a financial
indicator to potential investors
of debt securities such as bonds.
Credit rating is usually of a
financial instrument such as
a bond, rather than the whole
corporation. These are assigned
by credit rating agencies and
have letter designations such as
A, B, C.
2. Sovereign credit rating
A sovereign credit rating is
the credit rating of a sovereign
entity, i.e., a national government.
The sovereign credit rating
indicates the risk level of the
investing environment of a
country and is used by investors
looking to invest abroad. It takes
political risk into account.
Short-term rating
A short-term rati ng i s
a probabi l i ty factor of an
individual going into default
within a year. This is in contrast
to long-term rating which is
evaluated over a long timeframe.
In the past institutional investors
preferred to consider long-term
ratings. Nowadays, short-term
ratings are commonly used.
First, the Basel II agreement
requires banks to report their one-
year probability if they applied
internal-ratings-based approach
for capital requirements. Second,
many institutional investors
can easily manage their credit/
bond portfolios with derivatives
on monthly or quarterly basis.
Therefore, some rating agencies
si mpl y report short-term
ratings.
what is the difference between
Credit Bureaus & Credit Rating
Agencies?
Credit bureaus and credit
rating agencies
Credit scores for individuals
are assigned by credit bureaus
(US; UK: credi t reference
agencies). Credit ratings for
corporations and sovereign debt
are assigned by credit rating
agencies.
In India, commercial credit
rating agencies include CRISIL,
CARE, ICRA and Brickwork
Ratings. The credit bureaus for
individuals in India are Credit
Information Bureau (India) Limited
(CIBIL) and Credit Registration
Offce (CRO).
In the United States, the main
credit bureaus are Experian,
Equi fax, and TransUni on. A
relatively new credit bureau in
the US is Innovis.
In the United Kingdom, the
main credit reference agencies
for individuals are Experian,
Equifax, and Callcredit. There is
no universal credit score as such,
rather each individual lender credit
scores based on its own wish-list
of a perfect customer.
I n Canada, the main credit
bureaus for individuals are Equifax
and TransUnion
The l argest credi t rati ng
agencies (which tend to operate
worldwide) are Dun & Bradstreet,
Moodys, Standard & Poors and
Fitch Ratings
A Credit rating agency (CRA)
is a company that assigns credit
ratings for issuers of certain types
of debt obligations as well as the
debt instruments themselves. In
some cases, the servicers of the
underlying debt are also given
ratings.
I n most cases, the issuers
of securities are companies,
special purpose entities, state
and local governments, non-
proft organizations, or national
governments issuing debt-like
securities (i.e., bonds) that can
be traded on a secondary market.
A credit rating for an issuer
takes into consideration the
issuers credit worthiness and
affects the interest rate applied
to the particular security being
issued.
what are the uses of ratings ?
Cr edi t r ati ngs ar e
used by investors, issuers,
i nvestment banks, broker-
deal ers, and governments.
For investors, credit rating
agencies increase the range
of investment alternatives and
provide independent, easy-to-
use measurements of relative
credi t ri sk; thi s general l y
increases the efficiency of the
market, lowering costs for both
borrowers and lenders. This in
turn increases the total supply
of risk capital in the economy,
leading to stronger growth. It
also opens the capital markets
to categories of borrower who
might otherwise be shut out
altogether: small governments,
startup companies, hospitals,
and universities. q
Cabinet approves Approach Paper to the Twelfth Five Year Plan
The Union Cabinet has approved the Planning Commissions proposal to place the Approach Paper to
the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17) before the National Development Council (NDC).
The theme of the Approach Paper to the Twelfth Five Year Plan is faster, sustainable and more inclusive
growth. The Approach Paper has proposed a target of 9 per cent-growth for the Twelfth Plan. Health,
education and skill development, environment and natural resources and infrastructure development
will be focus areas in the Twelfth Plan.
Y
E
-
1
6
1
/
2
0
1
1
AND MANAGEMENT
may be understood to
be comprising of sum
total of approaches
to l and i ncl udi ng
recogni ti on and
vesting of land rights to individuals
and communities; creation and
maintenance of Land Records;
enforcement of ceiling laws
curtailing the individual rights and
distribution of ceiling surplus land;
the enforcement of tenancy laws
and the protection to the tenants;
enforcement of the homestead
rights; etc. Management of
land records is just one of the
premises of the whole facet of
Land Management. This article
intends to deal with challenges,
problems and probable course of
remedial actions in the land records
management in India. Historically,
land records management in India,
which started during the Mughal
period and inherited by British,
centred on collection of revenue.
In independent India, despite initial
euphoria of land reforms in 50s
and 60s, the issue of appropriate
management of land records
remained a neglected segment.
Land Records Modernization in India
laND REfORMS
Surendra Kumar
PERSPECTiVE
Land modernization
programme
depend heavily on
technology and
there is need for
building a network
of institutions for
appraisal of the
programme of
computerization of
land records
With the growth in economy, the
land revenue became insignifcant
in quantum. Nowadays, a number
of states even do not bother the
collection as the cost of collection
overtook the meagre land revenue.
With the dwindling importance
of land revenue, land records
management al so became
marginalized in the States scheme
of things.
Challenges
Land is a complex issue in India,
involving several line departments
of the State government. Colonial
British bureaucracy enjoyed a host of
administrative, judicial and political
power and ruled the country to serve
colonial interests. Independent
India made a departure from this
and devolved these functions of
State to different institutions and
departments. At present the issues
related to land are dealt by the
various government departments
including revenue, survey and
settlement and registration. These
departments work in a stand-
alone manner, with little scope of
interdepartmental coordination
L
The author is Deputy Inspector General (Forests), Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development, Govt.
of India.
Land management in India has
remained largely bureaucratically
controlled. The normal argument
is that the sanctity of land records
is inviolate and it is safe only in the
hands of revenue offcials. People
and peoples institutions have
remained out of the ambit of such
managements. Over the years, the
bureaucracy got loaded with host of
other functions and responsibilities
and land management issues were
relegated to the background.
Statutory requirement of periodical
conduct of survey and settlement
operations every 15 years could
not be adhered to in the post-
1947 period. Some of the survey
operations, like one which began
in the districts of Darbhanga and
Bhagalpur in the year 1964, are still
waiting a conclusive completion.
The survey operations are so slow
that they become obsolete before
the operations are concluded. This
is mainly because of adoption of
the conventional method of plain
table with triangulation. This
conventional survey operation
is outdated, time consuming,
man-power oriented, expensive
and vulnerable to encourage rent
seeking behavior of the government
servants involved.
Due to continued handling
for day-to-day administration, a
good part of the records, wherever
it existed, has crumbled and
eventually became unavailable. No
efforts have been made to conduct
resurveys to create up-to-date land
records for villages for which they
are not available, owing to the
expensive and time consuming
nature of the resurvey operations.
It has been observed that there
is an increasing tendency among
the grass root revenue offcial like
patwaris, village offcers, mandal
officers, revenue inspectors etc.
to withdraw from the rural areas
and function from the urban/semi-
urban localities in the district.
Non-availability of these revenue
officials at the work place and
hence their dwindling accessibility
to the rural folks creates obstacles
in smooth revenue administration
and a large number of land disputes
are resolved even without spot
inspections. To add to the misery
of the rural population, majority of
revenue courts continue to function
in English language, a language
little understood in the vast Indian
rural hinterland. At present the
Revenue Courts are choked with
thousands of cases pertaining to
land issues. Inadequate time is
given to Dispute Resolution by
the Revenue Offcials particularly
the top revenue offcials. This is
on account of two factors their
excessive engagement otherwise
and the lack of priority accorded to
this subject. The training given to
the revenue offcials is inadequate.
They are trained better in court
procedures than in resolution of
disputes with the result that there
is greater emphasis on form rather
than content. There is an excessive
reliance on documents and oral
evidence administered under oath
while there is little credence given
to knowing the facts by making a
feld visit. Even where the visits
take place, perusals of the records
indicate that the visit note is not
properly recorded and at times there
is deliberate effort to confuse the
real issues whereby the poor person
normally stands to be harmed.
The land revenue administration
is included within non-plan and it
is generally starved of resources
and is placed way low down in
the order of priorities. The other
items under the plan head enjoy a
much better priority because they
are apt to receive resources from
the Planning Commission while
the revenue administration only
consumes resources and is not
prone to giving visible results. The
Government of India has taken
the initiative in strengthening of
revenue administration (SRA) and
updating of land records (ULR)
by providing fund to different
States on equal share of 50:50.
Similarly the Ministry of Rural
Development has also started the
Computerization of Land Records
in 1988-89 and the digitisation of
maps with 100 percent fnancial
assistance. The scheme was taken
up as a full-fedged programme in
the year 1992-93. Since then States
have taken up the computerization
of Land Records in their own way.
It is to be noted that while some of
the States have pushed ahead with
the computerization programme
and have achieved notable success,
other States are yet to catch up.
Particular mention may be made
of the States like Karnataka, Tamil
Nadu, Gujarat, Goa and Andhra
Pradesh amongst others, where the
progress has been noteworthy.
The programme has been slow
to take off and barring few States
others have lagged behind in the
implementation of the programme.
At this pace, it will take the country
another 15 to 20 years to complete
the computerization of land records.
In most States the programme
is being taken as a stand alone
programme and has no linkages with
the other supporting programmes.
There are a number of Departments/
Ministries both in Government of
India and in the State Government
who have created their own rural
data base eg. Agriculture, drinking
water, animal husbandry, education
etc. However, there is no linkage
amongst these different data base
and they do not talk to one another
whereas there is need for integrated
data base.
While in some of the States
the computerization is being
widely used in rest of the States
it still does not have the wide
applicability that one would expect
for a computerized system. It was
expected that the computerization
programme would also push through
a change in the management system
of land. However, that has not
materialized and the management
of the computerization programme
has been accommodated into the
existing system.
Realizing the shortcomings
of two earlier programmes, the
Department of Land Resources in
the Ministry of Rural Development
has formulated a new programme,
National Land Record Management
Programme (NLRMP) as a major
e-governance initiative which is
concerned with computerization,
updation and maintenance of
land records, computerization
of Sub- registrars office and
its linkage with revenue offces,
real-time online mutations etc.
The NLRMP is also designed to
focus on providing citizen centric
services including computerized
RORs with maps, certifcates like
domicile, caste and income etc,
web-based any time any where
access to land data, speedy and
effcient registration etc. But the
State governments could not realize
the full benefits of the central
assistance released under these
programmes. A substantial share of
the assistance remains unutilized.
As per the latest estimate, an
amount of Rs 515 crore, out of
Rs 538 crore released in last three
years under National Land Records
Modernization Programme, remain
unspent.
Probable approach
Issue of land needs to be brought
to the fore front, rather than letting
it hibernate for decades. The
National Land Council should
be reorganised on the lines of the
National Development Council
so as to make it a fully federal
structure. Land Relations and
Agrarian Movements may be
included as an item of review in
the National Development Council
and the Prime Ministers Annual
Meeting with the Chief Ministers
and land relations need to be seen
as a part of larger development
perspective but not law and order
prospective. If the measures for
revitalised Land Management are
to make any headway the State
Governments have to decide on
the allocation of resources as a
matter of States commitment to
this sector and not treat this as
part of the Central Government
allocations as supplements to the
ways-and-means position of the
State Governments. It is also felt
strongly that in order to extricate
land revenue administration from
its present morass it must be placed
under the plan head.
Technology and the balance
between technological and the
human factors is another critical
issue. State-of-the art technologies
are available in the country
which has honed its skills with
organisations like ISRO, Survey
of India, National Remote Sensing
Centre, specialised institutes of the
State and the Central Government,
Forest Survey of I ndia, Space
Application Centres in almost all
States, the All India Soil Survey
Institute etc. Though capabilities
and relevant technologies do exist,
we have been unable to translate
them in to having a robust land
records in our country. We must
resort to extensive capacity building
to achieve the target.
Most States continue to use
plane table triangulation method
using chains or theodolites. These
technologies have been overtaken
by many modern technologies
like the use of GPS or the Satellite
I maginary System. The States
should review the position of
the Survey Operations within
their States and where it is found
that the records so created have
outlived their utility, the Operations
may be concluded as they would
serve little purpose. Advanced
technological methods like satellite
imagery coupled with ground
truthing may also be tried because
it is less expensive and less time
consuming.
There is an urgent need to
evolve Survey Operations which
can be done within a period of
two years by compressing the
stages into three. The Survey of the
entire country should be conducted
within a period of fve years. The
Survey should utilise the latest
technologies for accurate results.
The Settlement of Rent should be
left to the village community to
decided at the Panchayat level and
to be appropriated for their own
purpose. The Khatian should be
approved by the village community
through the Gram Sabha before
its fnal publication. The Survey
Operations should be subject to
Social Audit for reducing rent
seeking behaviour. The States have
to devise a regular method whereby
the updation of record-of-rights
may take place without there being
requirement of Survey Operations
in the present mode. One of the
methods can be combining Sub-
registrars Offce with that of the
Tehsildar so that all the transfers of
land through registered deeds are
immediately mutated and maps are
corrected accordingly.
Land modernization programme
depend heavily on technology and
capacity building of implementers.
There is need for building a network
of institutions for appraisal of the
programme of computerisation
of land records. The network
should be headed by some lead
training- cum-research institution
so that there are alternate streams
of information flow. The lead
institution will involve the training
institutions in the State like the
SIRDs, the ATIs, the Agricultural
Universities, reputed institutions
of the State Government, reputed
Civil Society Based Organisations
for evolution of a core national
format and a State-wise formats
capturing the environment of the
State. q
(E-mail: kumar.surendra@nic.in)
Y
E
-
1
4
6
/
2
0
1
1
URI NG THE two
centuries of British
rule, Indias traditional
l and use patterns
were changed. The
British introduced the zamindari
or permanent settlement system
in 1793, whereby feudal lords
became owners of large tracts
of land against fixed revenue
payments to the government.
Peasants became tenant farmers
and had to pay rent. This system
prevailed in most of northern India.
In the south and west, the ryotwari
system was followed. Individual
cultivators (ryots or raiyats) were
proprietors of land against revenue
payments, with rights to sub-let,
mortgage and transfer land. A third
system under British rule was the
mahalwari system whereby entire
villages had to pay revenue, with
farmers contributing their share in
proportion to their holdings. Land
distribution under these systems
became extremely unequal, and
rural society got polarised into
landlords and rich peasants versus
Tribal Land Question and Land Reforms
In Kerala
laND REfORMS
Raju Narayana Swamy
aNalYSiS
the relationship of
Scheduled tribes
to land is beyond
that of subsistence
cultivation and
extends to the
use of forest
products and their
dependence on
natural resources
for a livelihood
tenants and agricultural labourers
(Land Use and Ownership in
India).
What direction the economy
shoul d take i s the crux of
devel opment. The Nehru
government began its economic
policies with the announcement
of its status quo policy towards
foreign capital providing the latter
all facilities to carry on its business
uninterruptedly. Nehrus idea
was that we must go for modern
technologies. As he says With
medieval techniques, we could not
achieve massive advances within
time limits set by the rapid march of
history. The living people of India
would not wait for that long. So we
opted for modern technologies; and
we completed one of the biggest
dams in the world, involving as
large volume of masonry as the
pyramids and the Taj, in three years,
with the assistance of 2500 persons
(D.H.Butani, 1973, p.88.).
Development in I ndia has
followed a modernizing and
D
The author is Secretary, Youth Affairs Deptt., Govt. of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram.
homogenizing path at the cost
of social diversity and the self-
determination of groups and
communities. The objectives
and strategies of development
were designed by elites without
consultation with those whose
lives would be most immediately
affected by development schemes.
(Sarah, J oseph, 2002, p.301.).
By Independence, about 40
percent of Indias rural population
was working as landless agricultural
labour. India has inherited a semi-
feudal system of land distribution
that followed the social hierarchy.
Most landowners belong to the
upper castes and cultivators to
the middle castes; agricultural
labourers are largely dalits and
adivasis. Landholding distribution
too has become skewed. According
to government data compiled from
sources such as the All India Report
on Agriculture Census 1991-2000, in
1995-96: 1.2 percent of landholdings
in the country accounted for 14.8
percent of the total operational
holdings with large holdings of 10
hectares and above (average holding:
17.21 hectares). 6.1 percent of
holdings accounted for 25.3 percent
of the total operational holdings with
medium holdings of 4 to 10 hectares
(average holding: 5.8 hectares). 12.3
percent of holdings accounted for
23.8 percent of the total operational
holdings with semi-medium holdings
of 2 to 4 hectares (average holding:
2.73 hectares). 18.7 percent of
holdings accounted for 19.8 percent
of the total operational holdings with
holdings of 1 to 2 hectares (average
holding: 1.42 hectares). As many as
61.2 percent of holdings accounted
for only 17.2 percent of the total
operational holdings. On average,
the size of these marginal holdings
was 0.4 hectares.
The development process in India
which included the agricultural,
industrial and technological policies
is tilted in favour of certain regions
and classes at the expense of other
regions and classes. In this political
process there emerged a new social
group as signifcant actor on the
political scene of India. They were
the scheduled castes and scheduled
tribes. They belonged to the non-
capitalist casual and contractual
labourers.
Scheduled Tribes and centrality
of land
Access to land in an agriculture
based rural economy is important
because land is a primary means
and instrument of production.
The social distribution of land
in a village economy determines
the economic position and power
relations between different social
groups in the village (Aparajitha,
Bakshi, p.95.). The relationship of
Scheduled Tribes to land is beyond
that of subsistence cultivation and
extends to the use of forest products
and their dependence on natural
resources for a livelihood. This is
evident given that about 60 percent
of India's forest cover lies in the
187 tribal districts covered by the
Fifth and Sixth Schedules of the
Constitution. The Scheduled Tribes
in India have also been gradually
losing access to their traditional
lands. The largest form of alienation
from traditional land has taken place
due to state acquisition of land for
development. The 10th fve-Year
Plan notes that between 1951and
1990, 21.3 million people were
displaced, of which 40 percent,
or 8.5 million, were tribal people
(Burra, 2008 & Maitrey, Bordia Das
and others).
Development in Kerala
Keral a has a pattern of
development characterized by
high levels of social development.
This achievement in the social
sphere was made possible by
state policies in response to the
series of social movements and
mobilizations by politicized interest
groups (Narayanan, N.C., 2003).
The Aikya Kerala Movement in
the 1950s helped to manipulate
the regional patriotism on an all
Kerala basis. These struggles
embraced the entire spectrum of
social life, with special emphasis
on abolition of untouchability,
land reforms, the rights of workers,
educational advancement and
cultural revival. The EMS Ministry
introduced reforms in the popular
social reform fields like land
reforms, decentralization of power,
educational reforms etc. But land
reforms ended up as a failure.
The Scheduled Tribes of Kerala
The Scheduled Tribe population
is 3,641,89 (2001 Census), which
is nearly 1.1 percent of the state
population. Their population is
steadily increasing from 1981
census onwards, though their
growth rate has declined from
22.75 percent in 1991 to 13.47
percent in 2001. The number of
different ST groups in the state in
1961 census was 38 with some area
restrictions and they constituted
1.26 percent of the total population
of the state. There was no change
in the number of ST groups in the
1971 census and their population to
the total population also remained
the same. In 1981 some changes
were incorporated in the list of
STs reducing the total number of
STs to 35. In 1981, there was 0.23
percentage decline in the proportion
of STs to the total population. This
lower proportion might be due to
changes incorporated as per the
1976 revised list, deleting Pulayas
from the ST list. The Western
Ghats region that dominates the
cultural geography of Kerala is
an area where most of the tribes
live. The district-wise population
of tribes folk in Kerala is shown
in Table-1.
Politics of Adivasi land issue
In post-independent Kerala,
large-scale alienation of tribal
lands took place mainly due to
the immigration of plainsmen to
the hill areas. The Adivasis are
heterogeneous communities that
have had historically different
relations to land and forests.
The post-colonial state created a
scheduled tribe slot in an attempt
to integrate them into mainstream.
But peoples attachment to a place,
involving a sense of place is
also constitutive of their identity,
through history lived in person or
experienced in social memories.
The Kerala Land Reforms Act
1963 with its land to the tiller
policy conferred full ownership on
the tenants in respect of land in their
possession and brought them into
direct relationship with the state
by the abolition of all intermediary
rights. The major component of
the Act is the abolition of house
compound l and tenancy and
conferment of full ownership rights
to 2,69,000 kudikidappukar or
hutmen by dwellers who received
an average of 0.08 acres of land
on which their houses stood
(Srikumar, Chattopadhyay &
Richard, W. Franke, 2006). After
the enactment of KLR Act, the non-
tribal communities who invaded
Attapady and Wayanad behaved
ruthlessly towards the Adivasis who
are the real owners of the land. The
new masters and the government
bypassed the Dalit and Adivasi
labourers by focusing on giving
land rights to tenants only. The
failure to implement land reforms
in the real sense in Kerala fuelled
violent leftist movements. This
pressurised C. Achutha Menon,
the Chief Minister of Kerala to
push forward the land rights for
the Adivasis.
Kerala Scheduled Tribes Act,
1975
The state government headed
by Shri Achutha Menon took some
initiatives for tribal development.
A Bill to restore the tribal land was
unanimously passed as the Kerala
Scheduled Tribes (Restriction
on Transfer and Restoration of
Alienated Lands) Act, 1975. This
was intended to ameliorate the plight
of the neglected tribals. The Act got
the mandatory assent to Entry 6 of
List III of the Seventh Schedule
to the Constitution. It received the
consent of the President of India on
November 11, 1975. Further it was
included in the Ninth Schedule to
immunize it from judicial scrutiny
(Cochin University Law Review).
Table. 1 District-wise details of ST population
(Census 2001)
SL. No District Total Population Scheduled Tribe
Male Female Total Male Female Total
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 Kasaragode 588083 615995 1204078 15132 15206 30338
2 Kannur 1152817 1256139 2408956 9793 10176 19969
3 wayanad 391273 389346 780619 67394 68668 136062
4 Kozhikkode 1399358 1479773 2879131 2924 3016 5940
5 Malappuram 1754576 1870895 3625471 5996 6271 12267
6 Palakkad 1266985 1350497 2617482 19990 19675 39665
7 Thrissur 1422052 1552180 2974322 2293 2533 4826
8 Ernakulam 1538397 1567401 3105798 5079 4967 10046
9 Idukki 566682 562539 1129221 25510 25463 50973
10 Kottayam 964926 988720 1953646 8972 9368 18340
11 Alappuzha 1014529 1094631 2109160 1565 1566 3131
12 Pathanamthitta 589398 644618 1234016 3184 3365 6549
13 Kollam 1249621 1335587 2585208 2447 2743 5190
14 Thiruvananthapuram 1569917 1664439 3234356 9890 11003 20893
Kerala 15468614 16372760 31841374 1801169 184020 364189
Share of Kerala (percent) 2.91 3.31 3.1 0.43 0.45 0.44
Source: Census 2001
A legislative committee was
appointed in 1976 for enquiring into
the issue of landlessness among the
Adivasis. 298 cases were notifed in
Wayanad. Out of this direct seizing
of land of Adivasis by force without
payment accounted for 71 cases. 67
cases involved land transactions for
petty incomes by non-tribals and
14 cases were through cheating. In
1977 another survey was conducted
among the tribes by the project
officer of the Integrated Tribal
Development Project (I TDP),
Attapady. It established that tribal
lands were snatched at throw
away prices ranging from Rs. 20
to Rs. 2400 per acre. By 1976, 61
percent of the Adivasi households
had become landless in Wayanad
district. Large number of Kurichyas
and Kurumas who traditionally
had land, were dispossessed by
the immigrants. Most of them
got reduced to wage-labour.
The proportion of tribal workers
increased from 43 percent in 1961
to 72 percent in 1976. To make the
situation worse, the government
got control of the forests through
legislation. With land under the
control of the settlers and forests
under the government, the Adivasis
were cheated and /or forced out to
their traditional rights over means
of production.
The rules under the Act, 1975
were framed and notified in the
gazette only on 20
th
October 1986,
which is after a gap of nearly
11 years. Finally, in 1986 the
government brought the Act into
force with retrospective effect
from J anuary 1, 1982 and also
framed the necessary rules. Around
8,500 applications seeking land
restoration were received from
tribals. But no action worth the
name was taken thereby reducing
the Act to a travesty. This only
encouraged the encroachers to
continue occupying tribal lands.
It was in this situation that Dr.
Nalla Thampi Thera, a doctor-turned
tribal activist of Mananthavadi
(Wayanad), whose name has now
gone into the archives of Kerala
history as a master litigant of
landless tribals, petitioned the
High Court of Kerala against the
government. The Court issued a
writ of mandamus directing the
state to take utmost steps to execute
the purposes of the Act within
six months, but the government
remained silent. I n 1993, the
Kerala High Court, in response
to a public interest litigation fled
for the enforcement of KSTA,
gave the state government six
months to dispose off applications
of restoration pending with it. The
government in their affdavit said
that it could not implement the Act
as there was organized resistance
from the settler encroachers. In
this context the court issued yet
another direction to the effect that
then properties covered by orders
of restoration against which no
appeals are pending and in which
no compensation is payable be
delivered by the Revenue Divisional
Offcers to the tribals within six
weeks of that order.
The UDF government then in
power attempted to amend the Act
by an Ordinance in early 1996. The
bill was completely unjust because
it made legal all transactions of
tribal land up to J auary 1986.
The government got a major set
back when the Governor Shri
Shiv Shanker refused to sign the
Ordinance.
Th e Ke r a l a S c h e d u l e d
Tribes Amendment Act, 1996
(Restriction on Transfer of Lands
and Restoration of Alienated
Lands)
The LDF government l ed
by Shri E.K. Nayanar was later
faced with the orders of the High
Court to implement the Act before
September 30, 1996. In order to
bypass the Court directives, both
UDF and LDF tried to bring separate
ordinances against the Act. Finally
with the support of the opposition,
UDF, the LDF government passed
the frst amendment against the Act
in September 1996. Thus both ruling
and opposition parties joined hands
in unanimously passing The Kerala
Scheduled Tribes (Restriction on
Transfer of Lands and Restoration
of Alienated Lands) Amendment
Act, 1996 amending the 1975 Act.
The Adivasi issue in Kerala thus
remained as a dismal picture. As the
government remained indifferent,
the Adivasis from time to time
tried to assert their land rights. On
October 4, 1996, the Ayyankali
Pada group of Naxalites held the
then Palakkad District Collector, Dr.
W.R.Reddy, as hostage demanding
withdrawal of the amendment bill
and total implementation of the
1975 parent Act.
Scheduled Tribes Rules of 2001
In 2001, (as an extension of the
Kerala Land Assignment Act of
1960) the Kerala government put
forward a historical settlement of
Adivasi issue. As per this settlement,
government land will be assigned to
Scheduled Tribes for house sites,
personal cultivation and benefcial
enjoyment. The assigned land will
be heritable but not alienable. The
state also agreed to bring Adivasi
areas under Schedule V of the
Indian Constitution. This could help
in protecting the Adivasi land. Tribal
Resettlement and Development
Mission was appointed by the
government for identifying the
issues faced by the landless tribal
families. District wise details of the
landless tribal families are given in
the table below. But the missions
work was a failure and distribution
of land remained on paper only.
Table 2 District wise landless tribal
[as on 1976 & 2001]
District No. of tribal
families
1976 2001
Thiruvananthapuram 111 13
Kollam 420 68
Pathanamthitta * 117
Alappuzha * 68
Kottayam 383 153
Idukki 1104 190
Ernakulam 4 5
Thrissur 3 271
Palakkad 871 5389
Malappuram 629 339
Kozhikkode 6 226
Wayanad * 14031
Kannur 18 1395
Kasaragode * 226
Total 3549 22491
Source: Adivasi Master Plan Committee
Report 2001.
Socio-economic Survey, 1976,
Government of Kerala
Only 1.06 percent of the families
were provided with land (which
came to 2.2 percent of the identifed
land) within the frst four months
of the stipulated 12 months period.
Till 2008 there after, there has not
been any substantial change in
these fgures (Kerala Development
Report, 2008, pp.364-66.). At
this rate it would take another
half century or more for the land
distribution to be completed. This
laxity is yet another example of the
denial of Constitutional obligations
to the Adivasis. The reality is that
unless tribal people get rid of
indebtedness and the accompanying
land alienation, it is unlikely that
any legislation will prevent them
from transferring their land.
Continuing struggles
The land question of tribals
needs to be examined in the wider
context of struggles over land rights
in the control, by outside capital and
the state. As the exchange value
of natural resources expands with
markets for tourism, biotechnology,
more tribal land is being dispensed
to external control, involving
involuntary displacements trends.
This also leads to increasing
conficts over control and access
to such lands and key natural
resources by both domestic and
external forces. The struggle for
survival and denial of livelihood
has resulted in the formation of
many Adivasi organizations in the
tribal belts of Kerala. The history
of Adivasi mobilization in Kerala
dates back to the ffties when the
Communist Party of India was
gradually gaining foothold in the
area by initiating struggles against
landlords for the frst time. Many
Adivasi organizations like Wayanad
Adivasi Sangam, Wayanad Adivasi
Swayam Sevak Sangh, Kerala
Girivarga Sangam, Wayanad
Naxalite Movement etc. gained
popularity and struggled against
landlords and fought for land.
In 1968, the Naxalites attacked
Pulpally (Wayanad) followed by
Kuttiyadi revolt, 1969 and later
Thirunelli revolt, 1970. In 2001
the Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha set
up a refugee camp in front of the
State secretariat and went in for 48
days of struggle. The government
promised to distribute land and
embark upon a programme of
other rehabilitation measures for
them. The agreement included the
following clauses:
l The distribution of fve acres
of land to all Adivasi families
with less than one acre of land
before December 2001.
l A decision to include Adivasi
areas in the Fifth Schedule.
l A guarantee f or the
participation of the Samara
Samithi in all decision making
and implementation processes
relating to the agreement.
However, the government did
not keep its words and the Adivasis
took to the path of struggle in
Muthanga, Wayanad. The Adivasi
action in Muthanga was part of
a state-wide campaign to occupy
land. According to Adivasi leaders,
the movement was both an attempt
to redress the wrongs and an act to
protest against the states failure to
live up to its commitments made
more than a year earlier. They
built huts in the occupied area and
posted pickets to prevent the entry
of forest guards or policemen. But
the state force unleashed a direct
clash upon the Adivasis on the 19
th

of February 2003. The events that
lead to Muthanga and thereafter
clearly shows that the government
has truly helped the powerful settler
people alone. The majority of the
tribal people are no better off than
they were before and continued
their struggle not only for land, but
also to make both ends meet.
Conclusion
The exclusion of Adivasis
in India in terms of land rights
remains a reality in contemporary
India. In particular, the right of the
Adivasis to productive resources
has generally been left unattained
by the state. Kerala government has
not taken any signifcant efforts to
grant land rights to landless tribal
households. The shift from food to
cash crops and from indigenous to
hybrid seeds have also undermined
the livelihood of these people. q
(E-mail: narayan5@ias.nic.in)
Y
E
-
1
4
9
/
2
0
1
1
HERE HAS been
much discussion and
debate in recent times
over land issues most
of which is related
to acqui si ti on for
purposes of setting up industry or
extending the limits of a city. As is
well known violent protests have
taken place in various parts of the
country with the farmers resisting
the takeover of land without
proper/adequate compensation and
rehabilitation. The whole gamut
of land acquisition clearly reveals
that poor farmers, tribals and others
have been forced to give up land and
the money offered have been below
market rates and not suffcient to
compensate their loss.
Whether it is UP, Odisha,
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana
or West Bengal there have been
serious problems in acquiring land
for various types of projects like
building roads, steel plant, airport or
nuclear power plant. The problems
have arisen in recent years due to
the fact that land had been taken
rather indiscriminately without
New Bill to Focus on Livelihood Rights
and Rehabilitation
laND REfORMS
Dhurjati Mukherjee
aNalYSiS
the problems have
arisen in recent
years due to the
fact that land had
been taken rather
indiscriminately
without proper
rehabilitation
so that the
dispossessed
families could carve
out a living
proper rehabilitation so that the
dispossessed families could carve
out a living. According to a report,
there were protests by farmers in
as many as 40 districts spread over
10 states. What has been at stake is
nearly 4 lakh acres of land, most of
it fertile and under cultivation.
Mahatma Gandhi had, way
back in the 30s of the last century
in a reference to the Tatas, pointed
out: The disposed never got the
exact equivalent (of the land taken).
What is the value of all boons that
the Tata scheme claims to confer
upon India if it is to be at the
expense of even one poor man?
I suggest to the custodians of the
great name that they would more
truly advance Indias interest if
they will defer to the wishes of their
weak and helpless countrymen.
The protests symbolizing rural
anger of land raises some questions
on the merits of any acquisition.
Should the state intervene at all
on behalf of private industry to
acquire land? Or should it play an
active role when land needs to be
T
The author is a Kolkata based journalist and commentator on development and environmental issues.
acquired for public infrastructure
such as construction of highways
and roads? Should the state ensure
that families whose land has been
taken away are rehabilitated in the
proper sense of the term?
An important aspect of the
problem was the need to examine
whether agricultural land, which
yields two crops per year, should
be taken over. The case for such
takeover needed to be outlined
and just satisfying private players
for setting up industries cannot be
reason. As such, it was necessary to
draw up a national plan with regard
to conversion of agricultural land
for industrial purposes, keeping in
view the rehabilitation aspect and
also the future source of livelihood
of the displaced and their families.
Economists and sociologists were
of the opinion that if proper steps
are not taken at the earliest, the
resultant effect in the not-too-
distant future would be large-scale
displacement, migration to the urban
centres in search of employment
and livelihood security which, in
turn, would increase social chaos
and tension in society.
Keeping all these aspects in view,
the new National Land Acquisition
and Rehabilitation & Resettlement
Bill is indeed a landmark legislative
action which has been formulated
and recently approved by the
Cabinet. The government was
seriously considering changing
the age-old Act and coming out
with something that is designed to
protect the interest of farmers and
also to ensure that irrigated, double-
cropped land is not arbitrarily taken
away. Most of the provisions of
the Bill have been formulated
after much discussion and merit
attention. Apart from the provision
that consent from 80 per cent of the
owners for transfer of land would
have to be taken for non agricultural
use, it also has rights of redressal
of the displaced. This obviously
makes for better transparency and
also reduces manipulation of the
process by a few.
The Bill compensates land
losers at four times the market
value, defned as the average selling
price for a similar type of land in the
area. The rate in the urban areas will
be twice the market value.
The National Advisory Council
(NAC), which came out with
some recommendations for land
law a few months back regarding
the new Bi l l , proposed that
landowners should be paid six
times the registered deed value as
compensation and a solatium in case
of compulsory acquisition. It also
made a signifcant recommendation
that compensation should be paid
not just to owners but also to those
who would lose their livelihood
if the land was bought. For them,
the Council went to the extent of
proposing a grant amounting to 10
days minimum wages every month
for 33 years.
Moreover the Union Rural
Development ministry has added
annuity to the Bill. Annuity would
be a fixed amount the farmers
would get periodically after their
land is acquired. As per the annuity
clause, which was opposed by
certain sections, but has rightly
been incorporated, each land loser
family must be paid Rs 2000 every
month for twenty years. This will
be in addition to the compensation
that the farmers get for the land that
may have been acquired.
Annuity per se is expected to
sweeten the compensation in Bill
and make it more acceptable to the
land loser. With states like UP and
Haryana having adopted good
compensation with annuity in
their R & R policies, the Centre has
rightly considered adopting this.
Some proposed amendments
have been considered after the
draft Bill raised serious debate
in some parts of the country. The
Trinamool Congress, which had
spearheaded the movement in
Singur and Nandigram in West
Bengal, was possibly not quite
satisfed with the proposals made
in the draft. The Aligarh face-off
between farmers saw the opposition
argue that the Centres failure
to make necessary amendments
was responsible for states like UP
acquiring land for private players
with impunity. One cannot totally
absolve the government of its
responsibility because nothing had
been done over the past few years
when land acquisition protests had
touched most parts of the country.
It needs to be mentioned here
that an important amendment to the
Bill has been of the West Bengal
Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee,
who suggested that any acquired
plot that remains unutilized for 10
years can be put in a land bank to
be later used for any purpose the
state government deems ft. Other
significant features of the Bill
are dalits and tribals to get land
elsewhere and one job per affected
family and, if no eligible member, a
one time assistance of Rs 2 lakh.
These two features have
genuinely considered the livelihood
security aspect which social
activists were emphasizing on.
Lately the Prime Minister,
understanding the seriousness of the
problem, very aptly mentioned that
we cannot allow the transfer of land
from the poor to the rich without
giving the benefts to the poor.
This is indeed quite significant
which refects a realization that land
cannot be arbitrarily taken over.
And the very fact that tribals would
be given land elsewhere proves
the governments deep concern for
the poor and economically weaker
sections.
It is signifcant to mention that
the government does not act for
private players and that thereshould
be clear definition of public
purpose in the acquisition law.The
NAC proposal stated that public
purposes should cover strategic
and infrastructure uses and social
services like education and health
care. The Bill does well to broadly
defne public purpose, including
industry and infrastructure along
with strategic projects.
It is understood that the Bill
envisages that before any project
starts, the social and environment
impact studies would have to be
completed. Acquisition process
must not begi n wi thout the
concerned villagers consent. It
is well known fact that the old
Land Acquisition Act 1894 had no
provision for obtaining landowners
consent for acquiring land for
any public purpose. Section 5A
of the Act only allows landowners
to fle objections, if any, within 30
days from the date of publication
of notice under Section 4. The
objections will be heard but the
decision of the government shall
be fnal. Questions were raised
about acquisition for the Tata small
car project in Singur as land can
be acquired only for any public
purpose.
There is growing consensus that
compensation and rehabilitation has
to be settled before the acquisition
process starts and this has been
agreed upon. Though industry
has said that compensation in
rural areas at six times the market
rate combined with R&R will
hugely raise project costs, this has
been adhered to. The government,
being a signatory to the Habitat-II
recommendations, held at Istanbul
long back, is of the frm opinion that
eviction or acquisition should be
preceded by a proper rehabilitation
package.
Meanwhile some judgments may
have motivated the government to
ensure proper fnancial package to
the land loser. The Supreme Court
came out with a momentous verdict,
expressing severe concern about the
path of development followed by
depriving landowners of their land
which seemed to be a dreadful
and hateful word that is aimed
at denying them even the source
of their sustenance and right to
livelihood. The Bench of J ustice
Aftab Alam and B. S. Chauhan
in their verdict (of J uly 19, 2010)
said the resistance with which
the states well meaning efforts
at development and economic
growth are met makes one to
think about the reasons for such
opposition to the states endeavours
for development.
In another verdict (of J uly 5,
2011) of J ustices G.S. Singhvi
and A. K. Ganguly, the apex court
pointed out that taking advantage
of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894,
the state (U.P.) is driving poor
people to the wall. This is a sinister
and anti-people campaign started
by many states, including UP, the
bench said. Further it regretted that:
In the name of development, the
governments are acquiring land.
(But) the common mans right is
taken away by instrumentalities
of the state which should protect
them. We can understand if land
is acquitted for building barrage,
canal, or road. You are taking
land from the poor to give it to the
rich.
Keeping in view the controversy
and debate, the Rural Development
Minister, J airam Ramesh, has
done a remarkable job in taking
the Bill forward in such a manner
that the poor and the tribals are
compensated in a proper manner.
Various surveys carried out over
the years have found that most
of those whose land has been
taken away have landed in utter
distress while many have perished
in hunger and poverty. It appears
that livelihood security has been
the prime consideration in evolving
the rehabilitation package so that
the loss of land is compensated in
such a way that the disposed are
not affected and can fnd a new
lease of life.
Though on a suggestion from
states such as Punjab and Haryana,
the provision banning acquisition of
multi-crop land has been dropped,
there is a clause that a maximum of
5 per cent of multi-crop land can be
acquired in a district, provided an
equal area of degraded or wasteland
is developed. This is indeed quite
signifcant.
Land is a very vital asset and
specially in a country like India
where the population growth as
also the population density is very
high.
Moreover as land markets in the
country are imperfect, its judicious
use is very much necessary at
this juncture keeping in view
the interests of the BPL groups
and the economically weaker
sections, which constitute over
45 per cent of the population.
The Bill has thus viewed land not
just as a property but as a means
of livelihood. One can defnitely
say that the whole question of
land acquisition and rehabilitation
has been carefully examined in
fnalizing the Bill and the efforts
of the Rural Development Minister,
himself an acknowledged expert,
in evolving a broad consensus
amongst all political groups needs
to be applauded. q
(E-mail:dhurjatimukherjee54@gmail.com)
Y
E
-
1
4
8
/
2
0
1
1
RODUCTIVITY IN
Agriculture is mainly
dependent on two sets
of factors-technology
and i nsti tuti onal
changes. The institutional reforms
include the redistribution of
land ownership in favour of the
cultivating classes. Land reform
usually refers to redistribution of
land from the rich to the poor.
Land reform involves the
changing of laws, regulations
or customs regardi ng l and
ownership. Land reform may
consist of government-initiated
or government-backed property
redi stri buti on general l y of
agricultural land. Land reform
can, therefore, refer to transfer of
ownership from the more powerful
to the less powerful. Such transfers
of ownership may be with or without
compensation; compensation may
vary from token amounts to the full
value of the land.
India at independence inherited
a semi feudal agrarian system. The
Land Reform a Panacea for Agricultural
Development
laND REfORMS
H R Uma
PERSPECTiVE
In the years
immediately
following Indias
independence, a
conscious process
of nation building
considered the
problems of land
with a pressing
urgency
ownership and control of land was
highly concentrated in the hands
of a small group of landlords
and intermediaries, whose main
intention was to extract maximum
rent, either in cash or in kind, from
tenants.
I n the years i mmedi atel y
following Indias independence,
a conscious process of nation
building considered the problems
of land with a pressing urgency.
I n fact, the national objective
of poverty abolition envisaged
simultaneous progress on two
fronts: high productivity and
equitable distribution. Accordingly,
land reforms were visualized as
an important pillar of a strong and
prosperous country. Indias first
several fve-year plans allocated
substantial budgetary amounts
for the implementation of land
reforms. A degree of success was
even registered in certain regions
and states, especially with regard
to issues such as the abolition
of intermediaries, protection to
P
The author is Associate Professor in Economics, University of Mysore, Mysore.
tenants, rationalization of different
tenure systems, and the imposition
of ceilings on landholdings
In an agrarian economy like
I ndia with great scarcity, and
an unequal distribution of land,
coupled with a large mass of the
rural population below the poverty
line, there are compelling economic
and political arguments for land
reform. Not surprisingly, it received
top priority on the policy agenda
at the time of Independence. In the
decades following independence,
India passed a signifcant number of
land reform legislations. The 1949
Constitution left the adoption and
implementation of land and tenancy
reforms to state governments.
This led to a lot of variation in the
implementation of these reforms
across states and over time.
The most obvious argument in
favour of land reform is equity.
An argument in favour of land
reform is also based on effciency
considerations.
Land reform legislations in India
consisted of four main categories:
abolition of intermediaries who
were rent collectors under the
pre-Independence land revenue
system; tenancy regulation that
attempts to improve the contractual
terms faced by tenants, including
crop shares and security of tenure;
a ceiling on landholdings with
a view to redistributing surplus
land to the landless; and fnally,
attempts to consolidate disparate
l andhol di ngs. Abol i ti on of
intermediaries is generally agreed
to be one component of land
reforms that has been relatively
successful. The record in terms of
the other components is mixed and
varies across states and over time.
Landowners naturally resisted the
implementation of these reforms by
directly using their political clout
and also by using various methods
of evasion and coercion, which
included registering their own land
under names of different relatives
to bypass the ceiling, and shuffing
tenants around different plots of
land, so that they would not acquire
incumbency rights as stipulated in
the tenancy law.
Most studies indicate that
inequalities have increased, rather
than decreased. The number of
landless labourers has risen, while
the wealthiest 10 percent of the
population monopolizes more
land now than in 1951. Moreover,
the discussion of land reforms
since World War II and up through
the most recent decade either
faded from the public mind or
was deliberately glossed over by
the national government of India.
Vested interests of the landed elite
and their powerful connection
with the political-bureaucratic
system have blocked meaningful
land reforms and/or their earnest
implementation. The oppressed
have either been co-opted with
some benefts, or further subjugated
as the new focus on liberalization,
privatization, and globalization
(LPG) has altered government
priorities and public perceptions.
As a result, we are today at a
juncture where landmostly for
the urban, educated elite, who
are also the powerful decision
makershas become more a
matter of housing, investment,
and infrastructure building and
land as a basis of livelihoodfor
subsistence, survival, social justice,
and human dignityhas largely
been lost.
The National Government
since independence has been
continuing to play its advisory
and coordinating role in the feld
of land reforms as the subject is
under exclusive legislative and
administrative jurisdiction of the
States as per Entry No.18 of the
List II (State List) of the VIIth
Schedule of our Constitution. Even
then, agrarian reforms remained
as a central issue of our National
Agenda for rural reconstruction
ensuring social justice to actual
tillers as well as landless rural poor
and thus for creating sustainable
base for the overall growth of
industrial and tertiary sector of our
economy. Generating greater access
to land by the landless rural poor
is also considered as an important
programme for poverty alleviation
in the rural sector.
The Land Reforms (LR)
Division has been, since the First
Plan Period, playing a crucial role
of evolving national consensus
at various stages for taking up
major steps towards effective land
reforms which include abolition of
zamindari and all intermediaries
since the beginning of fifties,
introduction of family ceiling from
mid-fifties, reduction of ceiling
limit in 1972 and monitoring the
progress of distribution of ceiling
surplus land as a part of the 20-Point
Programme of the Government.
But, despite this vision of
the leaders of the nation, there
was inertia, lack of sincerity by
governments and pressure tactics
of powerful land owing class
discouraged land reforms in most
of the states. Moreover, land
demand for industrial development
and other complicated economic
development issues have resulted
in many thousands of marginal
farmers and those who were living
in agriculture oriented cottage
industries were thrown out of their
livelihood drove off their habitats,
who have settled in the outskirts of
big cities making slum clusters.
The UPA governments latest
land acquisition bill is expected
to fill gaps in the archaic 1894
act and streamline the process
of land acquisition and ensure
fair compensation to farmers and
landowners. But even before the
bill was introduced in Parliament,
murmurs of dissents were heard.
The Land Acquisition Bill, piloted
by Rural Development Minister
Jairam Ramesh, has drawn fre from
critics for legitimizing purchase
of vast tracts of land, which could
be used to exploit tribals and
marginal farmers with state and
muscle power. Critics say the
legislation has failed to strike a
balance between development and
displacement and its provisions
are likely to be re-examined in the
standing committee of Parliament.
Pro-farmer critics too feel some
key aspects need to be fxed. For
instance, some say a district level
regulator should be put in place to
resolve any dispute when small and
marginal farmers are either forced
or induced to sell land by powerful
contractors.
On the whole, this bill recognizes
land not only as property but
as a means of livelihood. For
the first time, rehabilitation and
resettlement are part of the land
acquisition process. It is clear on
the rehabilitation and resettlement
issue. No doubt the government
cant dictate how compensation
funds are to be used as it would
mean encroaching on privacy
(stated by Ex RBI Governor Bimal
J alan), but, there is a need to raise
the level of literacy, particularly
female literacy. Studies have shown
that areas where female literacy
is high, there is less wastage in
welfare programmes. Also village-
level institutions should be used
to raise awareness so that farmers
are better informed. Hope this Bill
will help the poor, deserving and
needy farmers and pave way for
a transparent system facilitating
development through empowerment
of the poor. q
(E-mail:umahr_mahesh@yahoo.co.in )
dk' ku foHkkx
i ii -i
iin i
l h- t h- vks- dkWEi ysDl
yks/khj ksM] ubZfnYyh
lni . ;ac,,za lri , zs.as.za
oscl kbV%www.publicationsdivision.nic.in
Hkkj rsUnqgfj ' panzi qj Ldkj &2010
iin rl -i ii nnn i zaa -ii l ll-i i-ln r| i, zaa s l-,
zaa ii l-llin lii ilin -ni,ilin illi -i i l in
d i =dkfj r k, oat ul apkj %r -i lri - i lli -i-i ilni, i, lni, li, -il,
l~-, -i, ii il lin lii -il i i i-ir ilin -ni,illi l
li ini r| ; n - i zFke i qj Ldkj 75]000@& : i ; s] f}r h; i qj Ldkj ] 50]000@& #i ; snii r `r h; i qj Ldkj 40]000@& : i ; s
l in|
[ k j k"Vh; , dr k%i-i ni lin lii lii -ni,illi l i zFke i qj Ldkj 40]000@& #i ; snii
f}rh; i qj Ldkj 20]000@& #i ; sl in|
x efgykfoekZ%-i - -lrii i l-iln lin -i-l lii -lri liii ,ii lii -ni,illi
rn i zFke i qj Ldkj 40]000@& #i ; s] f}r h; i qj Ldkj 20]000@& #i ; sl in|
?k cky l kfgR; %i l lii n; -ni,illi l i zFke i qj Ldkj 40]000@& #i ; sf}r h; i qj Ldkj
20]000@& #i ; sl in|
; ii i l-nn li nii i l-ii i ,ii l gk; d funs_kd jkt Hkk"kk| dejkua342| l wpuk
Hkou] l ht hvksdkWEIysDl ] yks/kh j ksM] ubZfnYyh-110003 ; - ni pub.div.hin@gmail.com -ni i n r i
www.publicationsdivision.nic.in ii l i n r| ii liin - i zfof"V; kai zkIr gksusdhvafre frfFk 17
vDrwcj ] 2011 gS|
FLOATING POST OFFICE ON DAL LAKE
N
ow tourists to J ammu and Kashmir have another
attraction -- a foating post offce on the Dal Lake
in Srinagar, the frst of its kind in the country.
Indias frst foating Post offce was inaugurated in Srinagar
recently and this innovation by India Post will be a boon
for the tourists visiting the lake. Besides offering normal
services, the place will also have a philately museum and a
shop that will sell postage stamps and other products. It is the
frst such post offce in India. It has been made as a tourist
focus post offce on a huge house boat and will provide a
unique and tourist-friendly service to the people of Kashmir
and to tourists from across the world.
The special feature of this post offce is that letters posted
from here will carry a special design which will have the picturesque sceneries of Dal Lake and Srinagar
city. These pictures will reach wherever these letters will be posted and will promote Kashmir as a tourist
destination across the world. Two special postal covers on the Dal Lake were also launched which are a
beftting tribute to the lake, which is one of the most famous and often quoted symbols of Kashmir, and
often referred to as the crown of Kashmir. The postal department currently has 1,693 post offces in Jammu
and Kashmir. q
J&K WiNDOW
TOuRIST ATTRACTION IN GuLMARG
T
he picturesque skiing resort of Gulmarg has a surprise in store for tourists this winter. A new chairlift
likely to be commissioned in the next few weeks, will take tourists on a breathtaking ride from the
Kongdori valley to the Merry Shoulder peak, giving them a view of the Apharwat Mountain peaks, the
Nanga Parbat mountains and the vast frcovered expanse enveloped in ethereal mist and fog. The Kongdori-
Merry shoulder chairlift, apart from being a major tourist attraction, will boost winter sports in Gulmarg,
The Tourism Department is expecting a greater infow of visitors this year as militancy is on the decline in
the state. Germany this year became the frst European Union country to lift travel advisory against travelling
to Kashmir. The lift has 90 chairs fxed to it and each chair can accommodate four passengers. This will
enable to carry around 1700 passengers per hour at a fxed speed of 2.5m/s.
The Kongdori chairlift will run almost parallel to the second section of the Gulmarg Gondola cable
car. According to offcials, the Gulmarg gondola project is the worlds highest passenger ropeway system,
carrying skiers to an altitude of 13,500ft above sea level. It is also Asias longest ropeway with an aerial
distance of 5.10 km. The frst section of the Gulmarg Gondola project, with a carrying capacity of 1,500
people per hour, was commissioned in 1998. The second section, which can carry 600 passengers per hour,
became operational in 2005.
The chairlift will be different from the gondola as it will make travel to the peak much easier and Merry
Shoulder (11,750 feet) is a beautiful slope used for playing winter games. Currently, the skiers are ferried to
the slope either by snow beating machines or snow scooters. But with the commissioning of the Kongdori
chairlift things will change forever. q

GEOGRAPHY
by
Prof.MAJID HUSAIN

Prof.Majid Husain M.A.(Gold Medalist), L.L.B, Ph.D. needs no
introduction as the senior most geographer in India with teaching
experience of over 40 years and research experience of 43 years.
Besides he has numerous UPSC exam books to his credit.

We do not believe in fabricated phoney writings, false credential of
teachers and undeserving claims.Rather students express/speak their
experience without any bias about the credibility of any teacher or
institute. We firmly believe in honest and quality teaching and we
need not write about it, for our successful candidates speak about us.
A RESULT ORIENTED CLASS ROOM
PROGRAMMESTARTING ON 8
th
NOVEMBER 2011.
REGISTRATION BEGINS 5
th
OCTOBER 2011.
For admissions and enquiry pleasecontact
PRAGATI CENTER FOR IAS
18/4, 3
rd
Floor, Old Rajendra Nagar Market, (Opp. Aggarwal Sweets), Main
Road. New Delhi- 110060.
Ph : 011-25812124, 9999793649, 8527020751
Or visit our website: www.pragatiias.com
I.A.S. - 2012
Y
E
-
1
4
0
/
2
0
1
1
O MANY peopl e
today, the remedy for
poor governance is
simple: governments
should hand over their
activities to the private
sector, which will do a far more
effcient job. Partnerships are not
necessary, say some, only hand-
over. The reality is that governments
will have a larger role to play in the
future and that they will play that
role increasingly in collaboration
with the private sector. The root
causes for this situation are lack
of appropriate and adequate
technical, operational, management
and financial resources with the
public sector. To overcome these
defciencies, the public sector has
initiated to access the private sector
for these resources and effective
and effcient public service delivery.
This approach has led to public-
private partnership (PPP). PPP
is a way of project development
in which the public and private
sectors cooperate and partner with
each other to create infrastructure
and/or provide services to users.
Generally, PPP projects have
multiple stakeholders involved
such as public sector, citizens,
private sector, and state and central
Relevance of Public Private Partnership
PuBliC PRiVaTE PaRTNERShiP
Angshukana Datta
STuDENTSPEaK
PPP is a way of
project development
in which the public
and private sectors
cooperate and
partner with each
other to create
infrastructure and/
or provide services
to users
governments. These stakeholders
want to achieve different objectives
from the PPP project. While public
sector wants to improve access
to service, improve efficiency
and quality of services, citizens
are interested in lower costs and
improvement in quality of services.
The private sector is keen to achieve
the most optimal balance between
risks taken and profitability
achieved from the project. PPP is a
procurement process for the public
sector to develop, operate, maintain
and manage public infrastructure
facility.
Signifcance of PPP
Where government i s the
dominant institution in a country,
only the government can lead
in envisioning and planning the
policies and support institutions
and infrastructure - physical and
human - for businesses to thrive in
an enabling environment conducive
to private sector investment and
growth. Many areas of policy
impact on business. Particularly
important are policies on trade
and liberalization, deregulation,
pri vati zati on, competi ti on,
education and training, labour,
investment, taxation and the
T
The author is a student of Management.
environment. Unilateral decision-
making by governments in these
felds is a blunt instrument. Greater
realism, precision and effectiveness
are possible by drawing on the
experience of the private sector.
Regulatory reform, for instance,
requires a partnership between
government and the private sector,
so that essential social objectives are
met without killing the goose that
lays the golden eggs. It is observed
that there is a trend towards renewal
and expansion of public consultation
in regulatory development. A well-
designed consultation programme
can contribute to higher quality
regulations, identify more effective
alternatives, lower costs to business,
and achieve better compliance and
faster regulatory responses to
changing conditions. On the other
hand, it slows down administration
and may weaken the authority of
decisions.
In some countries the government
has interacted closely with the
private sector and promoted a sense
of partnership in pursuit of national
goals. This has applied particularly
to partnership with the business
community in order to promote
export-led economic growth.
Stereotypes and misconceptions
of business (we work to serve
the public: they work for proft)
have been replaced by positive
attitudes. At the same time, the
business clamour for subsidies and
tax breaks has been replaced by
attitudes of self-reliance.
I n Malaysia, public-private
interaction, in a formal sense, dates
back at least to the establishment of
the Industrial Advisory Council of
1979 but took off in 1983 under the
banner of Malaysia Incorporated.
The countrys impressive growth
since then has been widely attributed
to this policy.
Benefts and Strengths of PPP
The emergence of PPPs is
seen as a sustainable financing
and i nsti tuti onal mechani sm
with the potential of bridging
the infrastructure gap. PPPs
primarily represent value for
money in public procurement
and efficient operation. Apart
from enabling private investment
fows, PPPs also deliver effciency
gains and enhanced impact of the
investments. The effcient use of
resources, availability of modern
technology, better project design
and implementation, and improved
operations combine to deliver
effciency and effectiveness gains
which are not readily produced in
a public sector project. PPP projects
also lead to faster implementation,
reduced lifecycle costs, and
optimal risk allocation. Private
sector management also increases
accountability and incentivizes
performance and maintenance of
required service standards. Finally,
PPPs result in improved delivery of
public services and promote public
sector reforms.
PPP Communication Strategy
However, PPP being a rapidly
emergi ng concept there are
misconceptions, apprehension
and sensitivities. It is, therefore,
important to introduce good public
communication mechanism to build
public awareness of the benefts and
effectiveness of PPP and to ensure
transparency in PPP transactions.
In this respect, the initiative taken
by Government of Philippines in
respect to Manila Water Supply
project is globally considered as a
best practice.
The Case of Manila water
(Philippines)
Government of Philippines
initiated comprehensive strategic
communications programme to
promote transparency in the PPP
transaction and to educate the
public on the measures being taken
to ensure transparent process of
procurement of PPP.
Accordingly, Government of
Philippines launched a media
campaign months before the
bidding process to explain the
process and the precautions being
taken. The media campaign
focused strongly on the elaborate
security measures which are used
to protect the integrity of the bids
mainly as the public procurements
in the Philippines are commonly
subject to protests, congressional
inquiries and graft investigations.
This highlighted the objective
nature of the evaluation process,
which did not award points for the
quality of the technical approach.
The Government also prepared a
video presentation regarding the
rules for bidding and the procedure
for opening bids, so as to ensure
that media was informed about the
bid process. This was even open to
the public. This medium of comm-
unications and public relations
efforts of the Government resulted
in strong media coverage of the
bid process. No controversy or
opposition was experienced during
prior public procurement process.
The Philippine Government credits
the projects success largely to the
design of a transparent procurement
process and the perception among
stakeholders which was developed
because of the successful media
campaign which maintained the
transparency in the process.
PPP Life Cycle
The lifecycle of a PPP project can
be typically divided into four stages
which include project initiation
or inception, feasibility analysis,
procurement and PPP contract
management. In order to execute
PPP projects, the public sector
needs to perform these defned set
of activities from project inception
to the contract management.
PPP in Infrastructure Sector
I nfrastructure is imperative
for economic development and
poverty alleviation. Traditionally,
infrastructure construction and
public service delivery has been
the exclusive domain of the public
sector. Over a period of time, it
has become evident that there is
substantial infrastructure deficit
in several developing countries,
and poor public service delivery.
The infrastructure gap and its
negative impact on providing
effective and efficient services
have been recognized for many
years. However, the public sectors
have limited financial resources
to devote to the increasing capital
expenditure for improving public
services and face restrictions
on their ability to raise debt.
This is further complicated by
ineffciencies in operation and lack
of proper and timely maintenance
of public infrastructure assets
leading to sub-standard/sub optimal
service levels. PPP is a way of
project development in which
the public and private sectors
cooperate and partner with each
other to create infrastructure and/or
provide services to users. PPP is a
procurement process for the public
sector to develop, operate, maintain
and manage public infrastructure
facility.
Motivation for Engaging in
PPPs
The three main needs that
motivate governments to enter into
PPPs for infrastructure are:
1. To attract private capital
investment (often to either
supplement public resources
or release them for other public
needs);
2. To increase efficiency and
use available resources more
effectively;
3. To reform sectors through a
reallocation of roles, incentives
and accountability.
Especially, in the infrastructure
sector PPP is enthusiastically
encouraged across the globe. For
sustaining the growth of the Indian
economy, enhanced investments
are critical. Government of India
has taken a number of initiatives
to create an enabling framework
for PPPs. These initiatives have
resulted in a large number of
PPP proj ects devel oped and
undertaken in the roads, power,
telecommunication, water supply
and other infrastructure sectors.
Learning from PPP Projects
These PPP projects provide
lessons for building up a robust
way forward in regard to private
sector participation in infrastructure
development. The two instances
di scussed i n the succeedi ng
paragraphs indicate the practices
that lead to success or failure of
PPP projects.
Bui l dOwnOperat e and
Transfer Contract to Develop,
Operate, and Maintain a Toll Road
in Gujarat, India
The contract for thi s 32-
kilometre toll road facility in
Gujarat includes the design and
completion of the project road.
This also includes the pavement,
bridges, cross-drainage works,
tol l faci l i ti es, medi ans and
separators. The project covers
other aspects like management
and operation, maintenance which
covers toll collection, operation
of the toll plaza, traffc regulation
and maintenance of the facility.
The contractor i n thi s case
takes autonomous decision in
determining its work methods and
plans its maintenance. Basically toll
rates are based on a fxed formula
and increase annually in line with
an escalation formula linked to
the consumer price index. A toll
review committee is constituted
to provide a recommendation to
the Government for a higher toll
increase than approved in the
contract, to oversee the contract
agreement and report to the
Government and the contractor an
independent engineer and auditor
are hired respectively. The various
risks are mitigated in this project
which are land acquisition risk,
revenue risk, infation risk, risk
of shortfall in traffic and force
majeure risks.
Borai Industrial Estate Water
Supply Project (Off take from River
Sheonath), Chhattisgarh, India
The Borai I ndustrial Estate
Water Supply Project is a 30 MLD
industrial water supply scheme
in Chhattisgarh, which included
4 MLD take-or-pay clauses. The
company, Radius Water, was
allowed to build an Anicut on
river Sheonath for this scheme.
Radius Water was also given full
rights to 23.5 kms of reservoir
behind the Anicut. The reservoir
was taken over by the company and
local people were prevented from
accessing to the river. The State
Government had assured regulated
water release to the company. The
fnance for the project was provided
by Chhattisgarh State Industrial
Development Corporation (CSIDC)
as an inter-corporation deposit. The
concession period for the project
was for 20 years.
Subsequently, the PPP contract
had to be cancelled by the State
Government because the Public
Accounts Committee reported that
Radius Water Ltd did not conform
to any of the standards relating to
minimum capital and experience
mentioned in the tender inviting
bids for this project. Also, the public
sector agency awarding the PPP
contract did not take the permission
of, or even inform, the irrigation,
revenue, or any other department
of the State Government before
entering into the contract; Further,
the public sector agency awarding
the PPP contract did not have the
authority to hand over an important
responsibility like water supply to
a private company.
PPPs are complex and relatively
infexible structures. Projects must
be undertaken keeping in mind
various factors like political,
legal, commercial viability, etc.
Regulatory effciency must improve
for successful completion of PPP
projects. q
(E-mail: angshukana@gmail.com)
Ultimate Learning Experience (P) Ltd.
7
th

2010 UPSC Final Result, includes 5
th
Rank and in Top 50
5
th
, 11
th
, 13
th
, 14
th
, 18
th
, 23
rd
, 24
th
, 30
th
, 40
th
, 44
th
, 50
th
,Total Selection 69
Highest Marks in Geography past years 2008 (411) 2009(397) 2010 (369)
Y
E
-
1
3
9
/
2
0
1
1

Yogana English October 2011

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

Yogana English October 2011

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Yogana English October 2011

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

YOJ ANA October 2011 1

You might also like