Land Reforms In India Volume 9

This is the ninth volume in a major series which studies the status of land reforms throughout the country. Critically examining the implementation of land reforms legislations in Tamil Nadu, the contributors address all the major issues including land and caste, temple lands, common property resources and absentee landlordism. They show that, due to laxity in implementing legislation, resourceful landowners successfully hold on to their surplus lands using various devious methods. By presenting detailed case studies, various essays explain the reasons why the provisions have not been efficacious and also suggest ways to overcome the problems.

Monograph comprising a literature survey and bibliography of research studies of agrarian reform trends and perspectives in India - covers materials published from the period before independence and up to 1972.

Papers presented at the Symposium on Land Reforms in Karnataka held on 18th March 1982, at the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore.

"All the contributors have endeavored to discuss their chosen subjects with understanding and objectivity. This collection is an excellent example of what useful results can come out if the practical knowledge of the field resting with the administrators is combined with the analytical skills possessed by the academic scholars. The volume is full of information and policy insights, and will prove to be of much help both to students of the Indian economy and policy makers struggling to fashion workable programmes." --The Hindu "There can be no two opinions about the high worth of the volumes for which the editors, contributors and publishers earn kudos. It also needs no mention that the volumes would greatly enrich any public and private library." --Asian Economic Review "This book provides useful insights for those who are concerned about specific issues like ecology, environment development and to those who are debating on the consequences of land reforms in general. The book also provides some insights on the consequences of Land Reforms Amendment Acts that different states are contemplating as a result of liberalization." --Social Action "Land reform was one of the most important instruments of social engineering undertaken by the government since independence.... But there was still a major gap in our understanding of the implementation of land reforms. It was this gap which is sought to be filled by the present book." --The Tribunne "The commitment to increased productivity expressed in this collection is anchored in an analysis of social relations of production and an awareness of ecological sustainability. This is an informed alternative to the narrow based economic view of growth still advocated by proponents of the Green Revolution." --Kate Currie in Journal of Contemporary Asia "The editors of the volume deserve to be congratulated for this effort which is able to fulfill quite admirable the objectives of evaluation and training. The volume would, no doubt, become essential reading for administrative trainee officers." --IASSI Quarterly "The commitment to increased productivity expressed in this collection is anchored in an analysis of social relations of production and an awareness of ecological sustainability. This is an informed alternative to the narrow economistic view of growth still advocated by proponents of the Green Revolution." --Journal of Contemporary Asia "There can be no two opinions about the high worth of the volumes, for which the editors, contributors and publishers earn kudos. It also needs no mention that the volumes would greatly enrich any public and private library." --Asian Economic Review This is the second volume in an important series which studies the status of land reforms throughout the country. Land Reforms in India, Volume 2, focuses specifically on the state of Rajasthan and contains original essays by scholars, activists, and administrators who have in-depth knowledge of the current situation regarding land reforms in this state. The contributors look at six major issues including: land reforms and economic development, implementation of tenancy reforms, status of land ceiling, allotment of government and community lands, computerization of land records, and protection of land and forest rights of the tribals. Land Reforms in India, Volume 2, provides a holistic view of the several programs pertaining to land reforms and also presents issues from a political economy perspective. Avoiding the use of jargon, it brings together the combined knowledge and experience of administrators, experts, and activists to highlight issues from a legal, administrative, and personal point of view. With its admirable presentation of the ground realities, this volume will serve as a sound basis to initiate remedial measures. As such, students of land reform and agrarian change, policy studies, and political economy studies will benefit from reading this volume. In addition, state and central government officials dealing with programs for the rural poor, and others interested in areas such as the political economy of agriculture, problems of rural development, agricultural labor, and social welfare, will find this book of tremendous interest.

Abstract: May 1999 - Access to land is deeply important in rural India, where the incidence of poverty is highly correlated with lack of access to land. The author provides a framework for assessing alternative approaches to improving access to land by India's rural poor. He considers India's record implementing land reform and identifies an approach that includes incremental reforms in public land administration to reduce transaction costs in land markets (thereby facilitating land transfers) and to increase transparency, making information accessible to the public to ensure that socially excluded groups benefit. Reducing constraints on access to land for the rural poor and socially excluded requires five key issues: restrictions on land-lease markets, the fragmentation of holdings, the widespread failure to translate women's legal rights into practice, poor access to (and encroachment on) the commons, and high transaction costs for land transfers. Among guidelines for policy reform the author suggests: Selectively deregulate land-lease (rental) markets, because rental markets may be important in giving the poor access to land; Reduce transaction costs in land markets, including both official costs and informal costs (such as bribes to expedite transactions), partly by improving systems for land registration and management of land records; Critically reassess land administration agencies and find ways to improve incentive structures, to reduce rent-seeking and base promotions on performance; Promote women's independent land rights through policy measures to increase women's bargaining power within the household and in society generally; Improve transparency of land administration and public access to information, to reduce rent-seeking by land administration officers and to strengthen poor people's land rights (and knowledge thereof); Strengthen institutions in civil society to provide the awareness, monitoring, and pressure needed for successful reform and to provide checks and balances on inappropriate uses of state power; In a companion paper (WPS 2124) the author addresses these issues at the level of a particular state - Orissa, one of India ' s poorest states - in an empirical study, from a transaction costs perspective, of social exclusion and land administration. This paper - a product of the Rural Development Sector Unit, South Asia Region - is part of a larger effort in the region to promote access to land and to foster more demand-driven and socially inclusive institutions in rural development.

Abstract: Recognition of the importance of institutions that provide security of property rights and relatively equal access to economic resources to a broad cross-section of society has renewed interest in the potential of asset redistribution, including land reforms. Empirical analysis of the impact of such policies is, however, scant and often contradictory. This paper uses panel household data from India, together with state-level variation in the implementation of land reform, to address some of the deficiencies of earlier studies. The results suggest that land reform had a significant and positive impact on income growth and accumulation of human and physical capital. The paper draws policy implications, especially from the fact that the observed impact of land reform seems to have declined over time.