Abstract –
India is a nation where approximately 70% of the population is dependent upon the land for agriculture. Agricultural activities are a basis for survival for myriads in our country. Thus, in a country where survival is based on such primary activities, reformation of land is an absolute necessity for the overall development of the country in every term. Therefore, this research paper highlights the meaning as well as the importance of Land reforms In India. However, this improvement is still elusive due to the apathetic and unperturbed behaviour of the political parties of the country. The constitution enshrines the directive principles, which mandates the state to inculcate such reforms that aid agricultural activities and develop the nation as a whole. This solemn objective still appears hard to achieve, and hence, the paper aims to discuss the recalcitrance shown by the political parties that acts as an impediment to the land reforms.
Further, this paper seeks to highlight the effects of such an attitude towards land reforms. Lackadaisical political structure contributes to vitiating the economy and the developmental practices of the nation. Hence it is a dire need to opt for determined and responsible actions that work towards the betterment of the country. Therefore towards the conclusion, the paper suggests measures to improve the conditions of land reforms in India.
Keywords – Agricultural activities, Land Reforms, Lack of Political Will, Government Structure
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INTRODUCTION –
India’s economy is primarily based on agricultural practices. For this purpose, land and its acquisitions are mostly a state-based jurisdiction. Hence reformation of land differs from state to state. Consequently, there are considerable variations in the conditions of the land in the states of India. Improvement and refurbishment of land conditions are imperative not only for the production of agricultural goods but also for the overall development of the nation. Since the majority of the population depends upon agrarian activities for their survival, it is very important to cultivate a patterned system and inculcate measures to improve the land system in our country. Land reform generally implies reforms of institutional factors related to land. The primary purposes of land reforms refer to the rise in agricultural production and increase the level of income and standard of living of the cultivators; therefore, institutional factors, along with technical elements, are playing an essential role in the fulfilment of the required purposes. Land reform practices, such as land tenure system, land holdings, faring structure, land distributors and intermediaries are the methods that aim at procuring the required level of standards for the people living in our country.
However, this objective appears elusive, and there are various reasons for the poor performance of land reforms in India. It is evident that the growth of the economy is stumbling, and the developmental activities are meandering. One of the significant issues is the lack of political will and bureaucratic apathy that vitiates the reformative land practices. As already mentioned, the political structure affects the land and its process and affects the economy as well as the well-being of citizens as a whole. Irrespective of hurdles, it is the responsibility of the Government to inculcate policies as well as rules and regulations that aim at not only enriching the economy but also helps the cultivators to achieve a decent standard of living and income. For proper agricultural growth, there is a dire need of some disciplined patterned that nudges towards achieving a proper agrarian growth in the economy. Lacking political will and bureaucratic apathy defies such objectives and butches this development.
The repercussions of such behaviour are not only catastrophic towards the economy but also endanger the social upliftment of citizens of our country. This inept political structure has to be ameliorated, so that the society levels up in every term. It becomes indispensable for such public officers and members of a political party, to be responsible for their duties and should only work for improving the standard of life for the citizens of their country. The Government, which is chosen, cannot show apathy and cannot withdraw from their responsibilities towards citizens. To ensure this, it is essential for all the political party members to recognize their duties and to understand the demands and requirements of the state. It is necessary to inculcate a developmentally oriented government that acts for the betterment of the nation at large.
MEANING OF LAND REFORMS
Land reform refers to the measures that help in improving the economic conditions of agricultural tenants/workers. These refer to the efforts that are put in to reform the regulation and ownership of land in India or those lands which are redistributed by the Government from the landholders to landless people for agriculture or special purpose known as land reforms. [1]
Land reform is essentially a broad term. It generally refers to those institutional factors that aim at altering the existing pattern of ownership, tenancy, and management of land.
It entails “a redistribution of the rights of ownership and/or use of land away from large landowners and in favour of cultivators with very limited or no landholdings.”[2]
Therefore land reform implies an improvement in agro-economic institutions. It includes measures and policies relating to redistribution of land, regulation of Rent, improving the conditions of the economy, cooperative organization, agricultural education, and so on.
Land reform is the part of the country’s heritage freedom movement since the agrarian structure that we inherited from the British at the time of independence was of the feudalistic exploitative character. Zamindaris- intermediaries-moneylenders played a big role in exploiting the masses.
Therefore land reform does not only aim at Raising agriculture productivity but also supports social upliftment.
The major objectives as recognized under the 8th plan are –
- Restructuring of agrarian relations to achieve an egalitarian structure
- Elimination of exploitation in land relations
- Actualization of the goal of “land to the tiller
- Improvement of socio-economic conditions of the rural poor by widening their land base
- Increasing agricultural production and productivity
- Facilitating land-based development of rural poor
- Infusion of a considerable measure of equality in local institutions
LACK OF POLITICAL WILL AND ITS IMPACT
As believed, there is a great need for land reforms, especially in a country like India, where the majority of the population still depends upon agriculture for their survival. One of the main reasons behind the backwardness of Indian Agriculture is the defective land policies followed in the country. Various researches, as well as projects on Indian agriculture, are a tell-tale example which observed that the rudimental obstacle to rural progress was not actually technical but the institutional framework of Indian Agriculture and therefore there were number of defects in the land policies pursued in India. Land Reform policies are consequently very important for the overall development in India. It creates financial holding through redistribution of land to small and marginal farmers. Not only this, but it also provides incentives by removing intermediaries and tenancy system and increases productivity and production activities. It also establishes a link between Government and farmers, thereby ensuring social justice.
However, these policies are failing to fulfil the objectives. Despite well- instituted principles and objectives, these reformative activities are not being properly implemented. Various reasons contribute to the poor performance of land reforms in India. One of the significant problems is the issues in legislations where it has specific inbuilt faults such as the unsatisfactory definition of personal cultivation, unlimited retention of land for personal cultivation, and various other issues. Sometimes land reform policies in India are being implemented at a slow pace and also in a much uncoordinated manner. The laws related to land reforms are distinct in different states, which have resulted in a slow pace of implementation in land reforms and have also made it discriminatory.
Another problem that contributes to the failure of land reform measures is the faults and defects in the laws related to land reforms and have resulted in a growing number of litigation, which has hampered the spirit of changes and resulted in delayed implementation. Land records collected by the state government are incomplete. Another reason behind the poor performance of land reforms is the lack of effective implementation of these measures. Non – participation of people in government programs also contributes to the same. However, the essential reason that acts as a dampener to the land reforms is the lackadaisical attitude of bureaucratic officers and lacking the political will to land reforms. Strong political will determination and courage are very much crucial for the implementation of land reform measures related to restructuring property relations. But unfortunately, this is very much absent in the Indian context, which leads the land reform measures into an almost mere slogan.
The Report of Task Force on Agrarian Relations, in this connection, observed, Enactment of progressive measures of land reforms and their efficient implementation call for hard political decisions and adequate political support, direction and control.
In the context of the socio-economic conditions prevailing in the rural areas of the country, no tangible progress can be expected in the field of land reform in the absence of the requisite political will.
The sad truth is that this crucial factor has been wanting. The lack of political will is amply demonstrated by the significant gaps between policy and legislation and between law and its implementation. Considering the character of the political power structure obtaining in the country, it was only natural that the political will necessary was not forthcoming. Thus, so long the required political will is not forthcoming; implementation of land reform measures in true spirit will be challenging.
Bureaucratic obstacles are also another impediment in the path of implementation of land reform measures in India. Sometimes, enthusiastic administrators are demoralized by the political losses. The bureaucracy always tried to play safe by following a ‘lukewarm’ attitude. In some cases, even administrators have joined hands with the politician to grab the surplus land (declared).
In this connection, Wolf Ladejinsky observed, “These are officers and public men who have taken the law into their own hands; misused their authority and influence and have occupied large areas by terrorizing the local population, forcibly evicting the existing tenants and occupant in collision with police and field revenue staff. The local population is so scared of them, particularly of the officers, that they were not willing, to tell the truth to the members of the Committee when they inspected the farms set up by some of them.” Thus, the rich peasant power is dominating in every layer of Government, and they are subverting the land reforms in such a manner that the implementation of land reform measures is becoming more and more difficult.
HOW IS LACK OF POLITICAL WILL AND BUREAUCRATIC APATHY AFFECTING LAND REFORMS
Lack of political will towards reformative practices does not only affect individual members of the society but also disrupts the overall pattern of functioning of the society. Therefore, the effect of such recalcitrance is:
- OUTDATED LAND RECORDS
Political apathy and uninterested political structure hampers with the development of an agricultural basis as a whole. Before independence, the Government directly collected land revenue from the farmer. So, district officials kept up to date land records for assessment and collection of land Revenue. Village Accountant (VA) had to update the entries every year. The superiors in the hierarchy closely supervised the work of the VA.
The records showed who owned the different plots of land in the village, the area and boundaries of each plot, who cultivated it, what crops were grown, and how much was payable to the Government as land revenue. But after independence, this system fell into disarray.
There was no practice of the annual updating of records. But after independence, the state government did not pay attention to land records. Gradually In most States, villages, and field maps, records of rights and land measurement records have become obsolete. Tenancy reforms can only be implemented if there are proper written records of tenancies and land ownership. This was not always available because most of the time, land leased on the oral agreement- nothing on paper.
Outdated land records = land disputes, land grabbing, court cases, landowners evade ceilings=> Land reform remains
- LACK OF BUDGETARY SUPPORT
Lackadaisical political structure creates a problem with monetary bodies related to land reforms. Cost of collecting land revenue (paperwork, staff-salary, electricity etc.)= higher than the actual cash received under land revenue. Therefore, many states don’t even bother collecting land Revenue. Land revenue administration falls under “non-plan” expenditure = doesn’t get much budgetary allocation. As a result, the administration suffers because the department won’t hire many officers/employees, won’t bother building new offices, buying new photocopiers, GPS survey devices, jeeps, etc. In many places, Village accountants don’t have a separate office. Lack of copiers, computers, land records not appropriately maintained. Many Tahsildars didn’t have telephones and jeeps. So they were out of touch from day-to-day bribery and mismanagement by pat Wari at the village level.
- INSUFFICIENT LEGISLATION/LAWS
The laws related to land reforms are compensatory and not satisfactory. This affects the land reform practices and gravely hampers with the development of agro-industrial edifices and their functioning.
- LACK OF PROPER MONETARY BODIES
Another major problem with such political behaviour is that, with such an attitude, there lacks enthusiasm, support, and will to benefit the society. Thus, it hampers with the establishment and functioning of those relevant bodies that are paramount for the working of land reform measures. Hence, lack of proper regulatory as well as monetary bodies hampers with the execution of land reform measures.
- BEURACRTIC APATHY
Another major impact of the lack of political will is the recalcitrant officers. When the whole political structure is unwilling and infringes on the developmental policies, the officers take advantage of such behaviour and omit from their duties and responsibilities towards the society. Officers live in cities, today, many patwaris, village officers, Mandal officers, revenue inspectors, etc. have settled in small towns/cities with their families. They sign files from home, run office through phone, and rarely visit the villages. They inquire reports without doing spot inspections in the town. Villagers have to visit the town to get their problem resolved=costly affair. Revenue officers are trained better in court procedures than in dispute-resolution in a humane manner. Hence they give more emphasis on form rather than content, on the letter rather than the spirit. They rely on documents, stamp papers, affidavits, but don’t bother to make field visits, talk with people to find the ground reality. Today, District officers (namely DM & SDM) mainly focused on
- Conversion of Agri-land into industrial land
- SEZ/industrialization related matter
- law and order maintenance
- How to chow down money from MNREGA, IAY, etc. (or prevent it)
Hence, land reform programs=low priority for senior officers at the District level. They tend to ignore the Tehsildar/Patwari’s inefficiency/corruption. Many state departments keep their land-database e.g., Agriculture, drinking water, irrigation, animal husbandry, forest, etc. But there is no linkage amongst these different databases. This shows a lack of coordination amongst officers
- POWERLESS PANCHAYAT
Panchayats don’t have sufficient revenue sources of their own.
Money flow: Centrally sponsored DRDA departments
Panchayats are too weak to do anything about land reforms. The proxy influence of rural elites stonewalls any land reform initiatives.
SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE IMPLEMENTATION OF LAND REFORMS [3]
To implement the land reform measures successfully, the following suggestions are worth mentioning:
(i) Effective Implementation
To attain success in land reform measures, steps are taken by the Government for implementing these measures efficiently and also in the most effective manner. For this purpose, a time-bound program should be chalked out.
(ii) Efficient Administrative Machinery
For implementing the land reforms at a quicker pace, the administrative machinery of the Government should become capable up to district and tehsil level. The officials engaged in the department must acquire adequate knowledge of the laws related to land reforms for their smooth and speedy implementation.
(iii) Up-to-date Records
For successful implementation of land reforms, up-to-date land records should be prepared, and steps also are taken to update the land records continually through computerization.
(iv) Simplifying Legal Methods
For speedy and smooth implementation of land reform measures, the legal provisions relating to it should be simplified. Special courts may need to be set up for quick disposal of cases in a most economical manner.
(v) Land Reform Laws
Land reform laws should be made unchallengeable. Raj Krishna Committee has suggested, in this connection, that the rules relating to land reforms should be incorporated in the Ninth Schedule of the constitution to make it more firm and unchallengeable.
(vi) Popularising Laws
To simplify the laws relating to land reforms, there should be comprehensive publicity of such acts among the rural people. These laws should be published in different languages and be distributed through Block Development officials. This sort of advertising would arouse the consciousness of the poor farmers about their rights and duties related to the implementation of land reform measures.
(vii) Quick Distribution of Acquired Land
Adequate steps must be taken to distribute the acquired ceiling surplus land quickly amongst the poor and landless cultivators for its best possible uses.
(viii) Lessening political Interference
Political Interference prevailing in the implementation of land Reform should be reduced to the minimum level so that land reform laws can serve for the best interest of the country.
(ix) Village Societies
Steps would be taken for setting up village societies for the effective and efficient implementation of land reforms. Members, enrolling their names in such communities can take adequate suitable steps for the implementation of land reforms.
(x) Financial Assistance
Farmers getting ceiling surplus land should get adequate financial assistance for the proper use of their property. The Agriculture Department should also provide necessary knowhow and other aid for the best utilization of such land.
Thus, the main challenge before the land reform program is to dislodge the vested interests on land and legal support offered by the judicial system to those vested interest groups in the guise of the sanctity of private property.
CONCLUSION
The main incentive of these land reforms is to act as an incentive for the farmers and the cultivators of the land. If the Government can assure their protection (from exploitation) and provide them financial help, these farmers are willing to do the hard work. Once he is granted ownership, he can raise credit and cultivate his land to the full potential. Land reform laws are not uniform throughout India. They are different in different states. This also accounts for the slow progress of land reform measures. Emergence of new Agriculture Technology and the new seed-cum-fertilizer technology, for its successful adoption, needs ample resources and dynamic entrepreneurship. Only large farmers can fulfill these conditions. The introduction and implementation of land reforms in India had the twin-fold objective of increasing agricultural productivity on the hand and changing exploitative agrarian relations in rural India. To meet these objectives, four features were developed under land reforms, namely – abolition of intermediaries, tenancy regulation, land ceiling, and consolidation of disparate landholdings. Land reforms were the key to address questions of land related to rent, ejectment and possession so that the rural masses of India (the kisans/peasantry) could be economically and socially empowered.
Consequently, it was expected that it would generate an agricultural surplus in the hands of the peasantry. This, in turn, would create a solid foundation for industrialization in India by making internal demand for industrial goods by the rural masses. However, due to a variety of social, economic, and political reasons, land reforms could not be adequately implemented in India, which has led to continued economic and social inequality in the country.
[1] Thorner, Daniel. 1976. Agrarian Prospect in India. New Delhi: Allied Publishers
[2] http://www.economicsdiscussion.net/land-reforms-2
[3] http://www.economicsdiscussion.net/essays/land-reforms-essays/essay-on-land-reforms-in-india/17607
Disclaimer: This article has been published in Legal Desire International Journal on Law, ISSN 2347-3525, Issue 22 ,Vol. 7
ANCHITA SAXENA
Amity Law School, Noida, Amity University Uttar Pradesh
