Land and Gold are the assets that every Indian finds emotional attachment and wants to have tenure security around them. This could be the reasons for resistance to the proposed land leasing reform by many state, says Dr Ashok Dalwai , Secretary, Government of India.
Land Reforms is an important mandate of Government of India since independence. There is a need for reforming the land leasing system in the current context. The objective is to get better productivity and higher production. The tiller of the land should to be sure of the security of his tenancy. The model draft act on Agriculture Land leasing drafted by Niti Aayog has tried to capture the new essence of land leasing in the current context providing comforts to both land owners and tillers. The union budget 2018 has announced Land Cultivators Licence Act. This provides equal rights to the landless or the tiller of the land as of land owner where all the benefits and entitlements will go to the tiller.
MP shows the way
Madya Pradesh has legislated the land leasing act protecting the interest of both lessee and lessor. The new act overrides previous provisions of transfer of ownership of land to the lessee after completion of three years of continuous leasing. This has provided a comfort to both the parties and expected to increase the area under agriculture and the ensuring entitlements to tiller provisioned by the government.
A Win Win Situation
Land leasing is highly restricted or prohibited in most of the states in the post-independence era where land were concentrated in the hands of few and the tillers were insecure about the tenure security. The model act would be a win win situation for both the land owner and the tiller. It will eradicate the insecurity of land owner for losing land and build the confidence of the tenant farmer to increase invest in agriculture. It will also be a winning situation for the political parties bringing land leasing acts in the state as more landless and marginal farmers will be benefited from it. There are fears that liberalising land leasing laws will take us back to the feudal system with abuses of tenant farmers. But checks and balances can be placed reitertaed T. Haque.
Agriculture development is incumbent upon farmers welfare. Farmer welfare will be through increase in income which requires all land to be utilized through tenure security and gender equality, emphasized Dr Ashok Dalwai Secy, GoI. He shared that Government of India is now considering to bring in model Land cultivators license bill to provide tenants equal landrights as the owner to help them access all legal benefits.
There is a need to bring in the Land Cultivation Act that gives them (tenants) equal access as the landowners (for banking formalities, government services etc.)
@ Ashok Dalwai
There’s no way to increase in income of the tenant farmers if you don’t formalise it. This is Important because a lot of farmers are tenant farmers.
@ Dr. T. Haque
Land Leasing Reforms: State Experiences
