System of Land Tenure

The system of land tenure governs

the traditional or legal rights
individuals or groups have to land
and the resulting social
relationships among the rural
population. Its components are the
system of land ownership and
system of labor organization.
In accordance with the existing conditions,
many different land tenure systems have
developed throughout the world, whereby
both natural conditions (climate, soil
conditions, topography) as well as social
factors (socio-cultural values, political
ideology, level of technological
development, population trend, changes in
the cost price relationships, etc.) played a
role.
Land tenure is an institution, i.e., rules
invented by societies to regulate
behavior. Rules of tenure define how
property rights to land are to be allocated
within societies. They define how access
is granted to rights to use, control, and
transfer land, as well as associated
responsibilities and restraints. In simple
terms, land tenure systems determine
who can use what resources for how
long, and under what conditions.
Development of Land Tenure System
India's invasion by the British brought about, in
the course of time, a complete transformation in
the country's land tenure system. They were
assigned areas as "jagir to collect tax. The
decisive breakthrough came when, in 1765, the
office of 'dewan' for Bengal, Orissa, and Bihar,
namely the financial sovereignty for these areas,
was assigned to the Company with the
concession for levying taxes.
After some time of experimentation, in
1793, Cornowallis' Permanent
Settlement brought a final regulation of
the procedure for levying taxes, which
led to decisive changes in land tenure.
The British did as if all the land
belonged to the state and was thus at
their disposal.
They registered the local tax collectors,
who were called zamindars, as owners
of the land in their district. These
zamindars had to collect and deliver the
taxes; the amount was fixed at the
beginning and remained the same
permanently. To give them an incentive,
they were free to decide how much to
demand from the cultivators.
Types of Land Ownership
State Ownership of Land
As a consequence of conquest,
purchasing, gifts, and seizure, land
belongs to the state in many countries
in the same way as other areas belong
to private people. In the USSR, the
majority of the land has been turned into
state property. In other socialist
countries, land is owned by the state. In
some countries, the church likewise has
a great deal of landed property.
Land Grants
In Islamic countries, land is granted to
schools, mosques, orphanages, and
similar institutions. This type of grant is
often called a "waqf."
Collective and Communal Ownership
In this type of ownership, the right of
disposition is in the hands of kinship or
political groups that are larger than a single
family. In the forms of communal ownership
found in Africa (a widespread phenomenon
south, of the Sahara), the land rights are
generally controlled by the tribe.
Private Ownership of Land
In non-socialistic countries, the right of
disposition is often in private hands
regarding agricultural land, less so in the
case of forests. In face of the positive
experience in European history and its
great ability to adapt to changing
economic and technological systems,
private ownership of land was introduced
in many of the former colonies.
Important of land tenure
1. In response to concerns for food security and
poverty alleviation, development agencies and
organizations are introducing strategies that
help to build assets and promote the self-
reliance of poor people and communities.
2. In many cases, responses to
concerns of environmental
sustainability, social conflicts, and
food security of the vulnerable are
affected by land tenure and have an
impact on land tenure.
3. Eradicating hunger requires
increasing the access to food of a
person or family. People who have
extensive rights to land are generally
more able to enjoy a sustainable
livelihood than those who have only
limited rights to land; those who have
limited rights are, in turn, often better
off than those who are landless.
4. Land tenure is important in rural
development interventions which
place an emphasis on building
people’s endowments of assets so
they can enjoy sustainable
livelihoods.
5. Land tenure is also important in
rural development interventions
that use a rights-based approach
to programming. Such
programming should ensure that
causes which prevent people
from enjoying their rights are
eliminated or reduced.
6. Land rights are often a vital element when
rural households balance their capabilities
and assets, and determine their resulting
strategies to cope with their daily production
and food security. However, rights to land are
not just a source of economic production, but
are also a basis of social relationships and
cultural values, and a source of prestige and
often power.
Limitations of Land Tenure System in
Bangladesh
Imbalance land ownership distribution
Landlessness
Defective Borga System
Distribution of land and fragmented land
Unskilled cultivation
Presence of unproductive class
Defective utilization of land
Khash land
Waqfu land