Land reform in India

Land Reform                    

India is an agrarian country. A large part of income comes from the agriculture sector. Though the agrarian structure was not so good in India and considers the main obstacle to economic development. The main hindrance which was considering the impediment of agriculture sector is ……..

1) existence of intermediaries between the state and the cultivators.2) tenants are very much insecure here, due to huge pressure of debt, absence of ownership rights, minimum  subsistence level output remain in their hand.. 3) Small and fragmented land hindering to implement of techniques for better production. 4) Uneven distribution of land holding create miserably huge difference   between upper and lower section of the society.5) foremost lack of effective organization of the peasantry.

Objectives of land reforms

The main objectives of land reform are to growth oriented of agriculture sector. According to planning commission of India this objectives may be achieved through different measures. 1) Abolition of intermediaries.2) Tenancy reforms.3) consolidation of land holding. 4) Co-operative farming.5) Updating of land records. 6) Ceiling of land holding.

1) Abolition of intermediaries

There were three different types of land system prevailing during the time of independence (1947).Zamindari system, Ryotwari system, and Mahalwari system. In this three system cultivators own the land and cultivates the land but they are not the owner of the land, and also they are not responsible for paying land taxes to the government.

In this three system cultivators suffers a lot. In Zamindari system Zamindar mainly snatched the surplus above the minimum subsistence level. In Mahalwari and Rayotwari system cultivators lend money from the Mahajon and slipped out their valuable land. So the condition of agrarian structure in this era miserable once and consider the main stagnant point in the economy.

Government gave top priority to abolish the intermediaries system on the eve of the independence.

2) Tenancy reforms

The second aspect of land reform was tenancy reform .Without strengthen the tenant and gave them proper security it was impossible to transform the agrarian structure.

a) Fixation of rent-Planning commission suggested that rent payable by cultivating tenants to the landlord should not exceed one fifth - one forth to the total produce.

B) Conferring the ownership right on tenants-Tenants need some ownership to produce more and to work on land more effectively. In some states tenants are enabling the ownership right on land after the payment of land revenue out of net income from the land to the land owner.

c) Security of tenure-Several states promoted legislation to secure the tenants. Such as 1) prevention a large scale ejection of tenants.2) a minimum amount of land assured for the tenants in case of resumption.

3) Ceiling of land holding-To reduce the huge difference in the agrarian structure in India, government had taken these steps. Ceiling of land holding means fixation of the maximum size of holding land. Beyond this maximum size all land belonging to the land lord taken over by the government to redistribute among the landless laborers.

4) Consolidation of holding-Consolidation holding means pooling together all the scattered pieces of land belonging to a single land owner. These steps minimize the waste, resulting from the fragmentation of land holding. Fragmentation and sub-division of holding lead to wastage of land in the form of boundaries. Small size of holding land prevent farmer to apply better quality inputs and technology. More over human and cattle energy is also waste in small piece of land.

5) Co-operative farming- Co-operative farming means organize the cultivated land. ie. Pooled the fragmented land in to a single unit. Management of land carried on jointly and they are paid jointly.Net profit distributed among the members after deducting money for building up resources and for security.

6) Updating land records- Non availability of land records are the main hindrance to implement the land reform activities. After the green revolution and adoption of new technology it has become very necessary to maintain proper records.

Conclusions- land reform consider a very significant instrument to change the rural disparities and to develop the agrarian system. But we point out some obstacle and poor performance of land reform like lack of political will, absence of correct land records, absence of pressure and unorganized farmer unable to claim their legal rights. Overall economic backwardness is another reason for proper implementation of land reform in the country.