Sample Material of Our IAS Mains GS Online Coaching Programme
Subject: General Studies (Paper 3 - Technology, Economic Development, Bio diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management)
Topic: Land Reforms in India
LAND REFORM
LAND REFORM IN INDIA
Around70 Percent of the country’s population lives in rural areas. Accessibility to land is not only economically important to them; it also leads to a host of other benefits. As ‘land’ is a State subject under the Constitution, different States have evolved differently in the field of land management. In fact there may be different systems in different regions of the same State also. The Central Government has only a limited role to play in this regard. But surprisingly most of the initiatives have come from the Central level only. The Central Government persuades and incentivizes the States through schemes or policy initiatives.
India faces tremendous challenges on the issues related to land governance. The following data will make it clearer:
India has approximately 2.16 million sq. km. of cultivable area;
India has about 18 percent of world’s population;
15 percent of world’s live stock population is to be supported from this land;
India has about 2 percent of world’s geographical area and 1.5 Percent of forest and pasture land;
The per capita availability of land has declined from 0.89 hectares in 1951 to 0.37 hectares in 1991;
The average agriculture land holding has declined from 0.48 hectares in 1951 to 0.16 hectares in 1991;
95.65 percent of the farmers are within small and the marginal category owning about 62 percent of the land, while the medium and the large farmers who constitute 3.5 percent own about 37.72 percent of the total area;
Most of the cases pending in the Courts relate to land disputes;
7.9 million persons are without dwelling units to live in;
In the rural areas alone, there are more than 140 million land owners, owning more than 430 million records;
There are approximately 55 million urban households;
In most of the States last cadastral survey was done around 70 to 80 years ago. In fact in some States, e.g., North Eastern States this survey has not been done till now.