Panchayati Raj successful in land reforms: Paper

New Delhi, Jun 25: Implementation of land reforms has been weak in those states where grass root mobilisation is negligible, says a paper presented at the three-day Panchayati Raj workshop which concluded here today.

Conversely, successful implementation of land reforms in the country has been possible where grass root mobilisation and peasant movement have been strong.

Not surprisingly, the Panchayati Raj programme has also been more successful in those states where grass root mobilisation has been very strong, such as West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura, says the paper on 'Role of Panchayati Raj Institutions in the Implementation of Land Reforms' by Prof K Gopal Iyer, Sociology Professor, Punjab University, Chandigarh.

Different land reform programmes such as zamindari abolition, distribution of surplus ceiling lands, and tenancy reforms have been implemented in Kerala and West Bengal, notes the author.

However, zamindari abolition has only been partially implemented in Uttar Pradesh, but has failed in Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and other states.

In fact, only 54.03 lakh acres of ceiling surplus land has been distributed at the all-India level until March 31, 2004while 19 lakh acres is pending in litigation in different courts. Even among this, one-third of the land distributed is not in possession of the vulnerable sections and in another one-third cases pattas have not been issued to the new owners.

The situation was particularly acute in the states where semi feudal holds are strong such as Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa and Asom, the report says.

The Panchayati Raj institutions have not only been successful in implementing land reforms but also in implementing the poverty alleviation programme, notes the paper presented at the workshop on "Writers and Thinkers on Local Governance and Panchayati Raj". This is borne out by the spread of the naxalite movement and rural unrest in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and now enveloping the adjacent states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and parts of Madhya Pradesh as well as Maharashtra due to land inequality and big companies.

Several studies also corroborate the fact that wastelands, which are part of the common property resources, should be redistributed among the vulnerable sections and not made available to the corporate agencies. Such policies of the state threaten the process of democratic decentralisation and Panchayati Raj.

Distribution of government waste land at the all-India level has been up to 147 lakh acres which is at least two and a half time that of the land ceiling programme. Lots of government waste lands are available for distribution to the weaker sections.

Up to March 2004, 39.16 lakh acres of bhoodan land had been donated of which 21.75 lakh acres had been distributed. In Bihar and Jharkhand, still 17.41 lakh acres remained to be distributed.

With regard to the rights for tenants, including ownership rights, until March 2004 124.22 lakh tenants had been given rights in 156.30 lakh acres. However, the rate of success varied with West Bengal, Kerala, Tripura and Karnataka implementing it and other states lagging in this matter.

UNI

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