Land Reforms

Property ownership by women

Land and property are capital assets and women’s legal claim to land results into their control over resources, production process and income. This boosts their bargaining power and social status. However, societal, legal and institutional biases limit women’s ability to inherit assets and property. Despite constituting over 60% of agricultural labour force, women hold only 13.96% of agricultural land as per Agricultural Census 2015-16. Hence, new land reforms must focus on property and land ownership by women.

Significance of Land ownership for women empowerment:

Property ownership by women can transform their role and position in society in following ways:

• Economic self-reliance and Poverty alleviation: Land can be used for cultivation or monetised by sale. It can also be used as collateral to avail formal credit. This can help reduce feminisation of poverty. Also, ownership of property brings a sense of security, self-confidence and increases bargaining power.
• Decision making authority: An ADB study titled “Women's Land Title Ownership and Empowerment: Evidence from India” found land ownership increases women’s participation in family decisions.
• Better Health and Lesser exploitation: Research studies found that women’s economic empowerment through land rights help prevent the spread of diseases like HIV, by reducing their vulnerability to some forms of gender-based violence and exploitation, unsafe sex, and other AIDS-related risk factors.
• Prevents Systemic exclusion: Governments recognises only legal landholders as farmers. Hence legal rights to land ownership will bring women under the definition of “farmer” which will ensure their access to government benefits like Kisan Credit Cards, input subsidies, and crop insurance schemes. It will increase their productivity and agricultural output.
• Brings Gender Equality: Greater autonomy, and economic independence, and greater participation in the community will ensure real implementation of Article 14 and 15 of the constitution for gender equality.

Given such a huge significance of land and property ownership in empowering women, policymakers must make it a priority component of any land reform strategy.

However, before adopting any strategy, policymakers must focus on barriers to female land ownership. There are legal, societal, and institutional barriers which must be kept in mind while framing a policy.

The new land reform strategies can look for following key reform areas:

• Define ‘farmer’ to include cultivators: This will allow increased recognition of women’s contribution and improve women farmer’s access to government benefits.
• Reform States’ Revenue Codes: despite recognition of women inheritance right to property under Hindu Succession Act, the revenue codes of many states like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh don’t allow daughters and sisters to inherit agricultural land. State revenue codes in consistency with the Hindu Succession Act, 2005, needs to be brought about for countrywide applicability.
• In-built gender justice components in Land record system: : Gender bias affects local institutions. Various field studies have documented biasness of patwaris and tehsildars in usually neglecting women successors’ claims. To check this, recently launched

SVAMITVA Scheme to map inhabited land ownership in rural India can incorporate gender justice by requiring joint property registration between husband and wife.

Property right is important for women’s social, economic, and political empowerment. It will also enhance agriculture productivity, increase female participation in economic activity and give an overall boost to the economy. It will also be critical for realization of gender equality under UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG-5).

Land Reforms and Social Justice

• Land reforms refer to the redistribution of property rights in land for the benefit of small farmers and agricultural labourers. It includes institutional changes relating to agrarian relations and the size of the unit of cultivation. Since land constitutes the main asset of the society, distributing it equally would ensure social justice.

According to UN on third report of Progress on Land reforms, there are some of the objectives of social justice. These have been achieved through land reforms in India in the following way:

• Setting the pattern of ownership of land in just and rational manner – To achieve this, the government passed an important legislation to abolish the Zamindari system in 1950. It has:
• Removed the intermediaries between the cultivators and the government and strengthened around 2 crores actual cultivators of the land.
• Brought more land under the possession of government. It helped in distribution of this land in landless farmers.
• Cultivable waste land and private forests has come under the State which could be redistributed to the landless people.
• Changed the land relationship and establishes a new agrarian structure- Its purpose was increment in agricultural productivity. For this, along with the Abolition of Zamindari Act, Tenancy reforms introduced.
• It regulated the rent and provided security to tenants by fixing it at 20% to 25% of the gross produce level in all except some the states like Punjab, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh.
• Its radical implementation in West Bengal, tenancy protection was combined with effectively implemented anti-eviction legislation.
• Providing equal opportunity- In agrarian society, through the Land Ceiling Acts provided equal opportunity to the farmers. In 1962, all states have passed the Act. It limited legal land holding by an individual of farm household intending to decrease the concentration of land holding. It helped in taking the surplus land and redistribute among the landless population.
• Reducing the poverty and inequality- Land consolidation through redistribution of surplus land could help in reduction inequality and poverty. The land donated voluntarily and redistributed amounted to 0.7 million ha by 2004, with focus on Bihar, Orissa, and Uttar Pradesh.
• Increasing investment and expansion of land usage- the sense of ownership of land can create the necessity to invest more to produce more. Also, it can bring industrial investment and expansion under cooperative structure to increase the production.

The pace of these reforms is slow as the land reform is the state subject. However, the objectives of the social justice have been achieved in notable manner.

Still major issues related to land hinder entrepreneurship, access to credit and higher growth in its market.

• poor quality of land records
• framework of restrictions on the transferability of land rights
• complex administrative procedures that create impediments hampering the smooth functioning of the land market
• high volume of property litigations etc.

To resolve these issues, some fundamental reforms are necessary. These are as follows:

• Land recording is done through Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme. It aims to improve the quality of land records, and make them more accessible. However, its pace has been slow. From 200-2017, 64% of the funds released under DILRMP have been utilised.
• The Registration Act, 1908 and state revenue laws require the completion of two separate processes to affect a land transfer. Amendment in this act with improving the state’s capacity will be the necessary step to take here.
• To address issues with land records, conclusive titling has been proposed by NITI Aayog. In this system, the government provides guaranteed titles, and compensation in case of any ownership disputes.
• To achieve this, it requires shift towards a system of registered property titles as the primary evidence of ownership, and having clear and updated land records.
• To focus on easing restrictions on land transfers, the NITI Aayog’s expert committee proposed the liberalization of the land leasing market.
• It drafted a model law (Land Title Act, 2019) for consideration and adoption by states but on this count. While Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh now permit leasing, other states need to move in this direction with speed.
• T Haque Committee also recommended a Model Land Lease Act (2016) to reform the land institution.
• Andhra Pradesh’s Land Licensed Cultivators Act has provided suitable channels to deliver loans, subsidies, crop insurance and relief support by issuing eligibility cards to tenants, who raise crops with the explicit or implied permission of the owners. This can be implemented in other states with necessary local changes.

Reforms in land markets have been pending for a long time due to lack of political will. Thus, with an aspirational goal of India becoming a $5-trillion economy by 2025 the urgent need of today is to unleash the power of land and reap fruits by bringing about the much-needed Land Reforms which are waiting to see the light of the day. These land reforms can ensure an inclusive growth for India.

Digital Land Records

• Ministry of Rural Development about 90 per cent of villages in India have computerised the Records of Right (RoR) and about 53 per cent of survey maps showing boundaries and ownership of land have been digitised.
• Telangana and Maharashtra top the list of states with 99% computerisation of land records data followed by Andhra Pradesh at 98%.
• some States in the North East, Kerala at 43.24% and Jammu and Kashmir at 9.32% are lagging behind in the computerisation of land records.

Land ownership in India

• Land title is a document that determines the ownership of land or an immovable property.  Having a clear land title protects the rights of the title holder against other claims made by anyone else to the property.
• In India, land ownership is determined through various records such as sale deeds that are registered, property tax documents, government survey records, etc.
• However, land titles in India are unclear due to various reasons such as legacy issues of the zamindari system, lack of unified legal framework to implement policies between centre and state (land is a state subject) and poor administration of land records.
• This has led to several legal disputes related to land ownership, and affected the agriculture and real estate sectors and have highlighted the importance of having clear land titles, and a well organised digital land records system.

Advantages of land digitisation

• Reduction in litigations and burden of cases: land disputes on average take about 20 years to be resolved. Land disputes add to the burden of the courts and impact sectors and projects that are dependent on these disputed land titles.
• Promoting agricultural credit:  disputed or unclear land titles inhibit supply of capital and credit for agriculture
• Development of new infrastructure:are witnessing delays, with land related issues like non-updation of land records
• Urbanisation and housing: Easier online approvals of plans and occupancy certificates will provide clarity over ownership status
• To check benami transactions: Unclear titles and non-updated land records enable carrying out property transactions in a non-transparent way.

Government initiatives

• Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP): to usher in a system of updated land records, automated and automatic mutation, integration between textual and spatial records, inter-connectivity between revenue and registration, to replace the present deeds registration
• The respective States/UTs would undertake the implementation of the programme with the financial and technical aid of the Department of Land Resources, under Ministry of Rural Development.
• The unit of implementation will be the districts where all activities under the programme will converge
• Some state governments initiative to digitalise land records
• Bhoomi project: Karnataka to computerize all the records of the land in Karnataka
• Bhudhaar: Andhra Pradesh each land parcel will be given an 11-digit Bhudhaar number. 
• Mahabhulekh: Maharashtra government to issue digitally signed 7/12 and land record.

Ease of Doing Business report (2015) observed that the pace of modernisation of records and bringing them to an online platform has been slow. From 2008 till September 2017, 64% of the funds released under DILRMP have been utilised.

Way Forward

• clarifying the policy and establishing clear criteria and accountability mechanisms for allocation of central funds on this;
• identifying and publicising best practices on technical and legal issues,
• promoting exchange and communication among technical staff across states;
• administrative changes at the state level that streamline collection and maintenance of land data  

SWAMITVA Scheme

Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas

• on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj.
• Central Sector Scheme that aims to provide an integrated property validation solution for rural India, engaging the latest Drone Surveying technology, for demarcating the inhabitant (Aabadi) land in rural areas.
• aims to update the ‘record-of-rights’ in the revenue/property registers and issue property cards to the property owners in rural areas.
• collaborative effort Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) (Nodal Ministry for implementation of the scheme), State Panchayati Raj Departments, State Revenue / Land Records Departments and Survey of India (technology partner for implementation).

Key Components of the scheme

• CORS network: Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) network that supports establishment of Ground Control Points, which is an important activity for accurate Georeferencing, ground truthing and demarcation of Lands.
• Large Scale Mapping (LSM) using Drone: of Rural inhabited (abadi) area by Survey of India to generate high resolution and accurate maps based on which, property cards would be issued to rural household owners.
• Information, Education and Communication: Awareness program to sensitize the rural population about the surveying methodology and its benefits.
• Enhancement of Spatial Planning Application “Gram Manchitra”: digital spatial data/maps created under drone survey shall be leveraged for creation of spatial analytical tools to support preparation of Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP).
• Online Monitoring and reporting dashboard
• Program Management Units: implemented through the regular departmental mechanisms, which will be assisted by Programme Management Units at the National and State level.
• Coverage: Pilot Phase 2020-21 six States (Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand) covering approx. 1 lakh villages and CORS network for (Punjab and Rajasthan)
• aims to cover all 6.62 lakh villages in the country by the end of financial year 2023-24.

Intended Benefits of the scheme

• Financial stability to the citizens in rural India: ‘record of rights’ will enable rural households to use their property as a financial asset for taking loans and other financial benefits.
• Enhanced collection of property tax: Updation of property and asset register strengthen tax collection and demand assessment process of Gram Panchayats.
• 2018 Economic Survey estimated only 19% of the potential property tax was being collected by Gram Panchayats
• Making land marketable: help increase liquidity of land parcels in the market.
• Reduction in property related disputes and legal cases: through accurate land records.
• Improved quality of GPDP: GIS maps of Gram Panchayat and community assets
• GIS maps and spatial database would also help in preparation of accurate work estimates, allocation of construction permits, elimination of encroachments, etc. for various works undertaken by Gram Panchayats and other Departments of State Government.
• Aid relief work: Accurate land records will easier in disaster affected areas.

Potential issues in implementation of the scheme

• Reluctance in community: Land and boundaries are sensitive topics among rural poeple, which can discourage them to participate in such policy reforms.
• Exclusion of vulnerable people: Dalits, women, tenant farmers and tribal communities are often excluded from accessing land, even though they may legitimately have a claim.
• Lack of functional market in rural areas for the using land as a marketable collateral

Way Forward

• Engaging the community from the beginning: ensuring high level of transparency can create an environment of greater acceptance of the process and reduce potential for disputes.
• Protecting the most vulnerable people: build safeguards in the implementation process to ensure legitimate claims of the most vulnerable people are not crowded out.
• Establish a grievance redressal system: effectively addresses people’s concerns in a transparent and fair manner and will aid in smooth implementation of the program.
• Enable markets to work: States should simplify the legislative and regulatory procedures to build consumer confidence and encourage transactions in these areas.

Land Resources

Niti aayog strategy @75

Objectives

• Ensuring that land markets function smoothly, through efficient allocation of land across uses, provision of secure property rights and titles.
• Legalize and ease land leasing.
• Consolidate fragmented plots of farmers to enhance efficiency and equity.
• Create a digitized and integrated land records system that is easily accessible in all states.
• Increase efficiency in the management of forest land.
• Convert waste and fallow land to productive uses.

Current Situation

• India is one of the most land scarce countries in the world. Agriculture accounts for the bulk of land use although the sector contributed only 17.45% to the nation’s GDP.
• The total recorded forestland in India is 76.4 million hectares, which is about 23.3 per cent of the total geographical area.
• There is a need to make land available to meet the needs of a fast expanding economy and rising population with a greater thrust on vertical development.

Constraints

• Agricultural tenancy laws passed by various state governments between 1950s and 1970s are highly restrictive discouraging landowners from leasing out land.
• Landholdings in India are small and highly fragmented which not only results in diseconomies of scale, but also makes the task of irrigation management and land improvement difficult.
• Deficient land records and lack of conclusive land title result in costly litigation and adversely affects investment and economic growth.

Way Forward

• Smaller plots of land can be consolidated through pooling to enhance productivity and increase farm incomes.
• Effectively implement the Forest Rights Act (FRA) in all states to strengthen the property rights of forest dwellers, tribal populations and local communities.
• Bring more area under agro forestry using wasteland, non-cultivable fallow lands, etc.
• Encourage trees as a resource for farmers especially by easing restriction on certain species of trees.
• Efforts must be made to update and digitize land records in a user-friendly manner. This will improve real-time information on land, optimize use of land resources, benefit landowners and assist in policy and planning.
• Cultural wastelands, estimated at about 12 million ha, need to be improved and productively utilized as a potential resource.
• Strengthen property rights, plan urbanization and prevent land degradation.
• Prevent land degradation and soil erosion through policies that promote fertilization and organic farming.
• Tools such as land value capture, town planning schemes, and land based taxes like vacant land tax, land value increment tax, etc., can be used to finance rapid and efficient urbanization.