Land reforms in the history of India have been a crucial and transformative aspect of the country’s socio-economic development. Initiated to address historical injustices, reduce economic disparities, and promote agricultural productivity, land reforms have evolved over the years with varying degrees of success and challenges

Land reforms have been a critical component of socio-economic development in India, and Karnataka has played a pivotal role in implementing and shaping land reform policies. The state has witnessed a transformative journey marked by the implementation of various measures aimed at addressing land inequalities, empowering marginalized communities, and promoting agricultural development

Need of land reforms – Benefit tenants and marginal sections of society through Redistribution of land

Objectives of the government in undertaking land reforms – Transfer of land ownership to the cultivator + Achieving equality in income and wealth + Increasing agricultural efficiency

HISTORY OF LAND REFORMS IN INDIA

1. Post-Independence Era (1947-1960s):

In the immediate aftermath of independence in 1947, land reform emerged as a priority for the Indian government. The aim was to dismantle the feudal agrarian structure inherited from the colonial era and ensure equitable distribution of land. Key measures during this period included:

• Abolition of Zamindari System: The Zamindari Abolition Acts were enacted to eliminate the intermediary landlord system, known as This move aimed to transfer land directly to the tillers, thereby ending the exploitative system.
• Tenancy Reforms: States introduced tenancy reforms to protect the rights of tenants and sharecroppers. These reforms aimed to regulate rent, provide security of tenure, and prevent arbitrary eviction.
• Ceiling on Land Holdings: To prevent concentration of land in the hands of a few, states implemented land ceiling acts. These acts aimed to set limits on the maximum amount of land an individual or family could hold.

2.  Green Revolution and Challenges (1960s-1980s):

The Green Revolution, starting in the 1960s, brought about a significant increase in agricultural productivity through the adoption of high-yielding varieties of crops. However, it also brought to the forefront issues of land ownership and access. Some key aspects during this period include:

• Consolidation of Holdings: In many states, efforts were made to consolidate fragmented landholdings, making them more viable for modern agricultural
• Challenges and Backlash: The implementation of land reforms faced challenges, including resistance from entrenched landowning classes and lack of political In some cases, implementation was uneven, and loopholes were exploited.

3.  Economic Liberalization (1990s Onward):

With economic liberalization in the 1990s, there was a shift in policy focus. While land reform continued to be a subject of discussion, the emphasis shifted towards market-oriented reforms. States adopted varying approaches based on their specific socio-economic contexts.

• Tenure Security and Computerization: Some states initiated measures to provide tenure security to farmers and introduced computerization of land records to reduce disputes and streamline the administration of
• Forest Land and Tribal Rights: Discussions around land rights extended to forest land, with a focus on recognizing and securing the rights of tribal communities and forest

LAND IN MODERN KARNATAKA REFORMS

Characterized in two parts or two stages 1. From 1947-1956

2. After 1956

FROM 1947-1956

Compared to the pre-independence period

Upon the independence of India, in December 1947 the Gundappa Gowda Committee was constituted with the purpose of reviewing the existing tenancy laws, simplifying the existing framework of tenancy, and determining the fair compensation for inam landholders to abolish inamdari, the system that bestowed land titles as grants or gifts (inam) in recognition of their service to the ruler or the princely state

The Gowda Committee recommended abolition of inam lands, and consequently, the inamdari system was brought to an end, first with the passage of the Mysore (Personal and Miscellaneous) Inams Abolition Act, 1954 and then the Mysore (Religious and Charitable) Inams Abolition Act, 1955

Mysore Act I of 1955

• Properties acquired by religious institutions in the form of donations were lost due to Ishaas
• Only those who had leased for a period of more than 12 years had the right to own land
• Exploitations between landlords and tenants decreased
• Some tenants got the title of land owners
• Temples and mathas had to give up their endowment lands

AFTER 1956

• Unification of Karnataka – 1956
• Different provinces like Madras, Mumbai had different laws – so it became inevitable to bring similar land laws as in All over Karnataka

1. D Jatti Samithi -1957

• Formed in 1957
• Aim – study and report on the Agricultural Land Acts in force
• Was called Mysore Tenancy and Agricultural Laws Committee
• Conducted a survey of prevailing system in the poor parts of the state

Issues to be addressed:

1. Regularization of Land Ownership to Engineers
2. Ownership of numerically based releases to families
3. Land that can be retained by the zamindar for own cultivation
4. Compensation to be prescribed for landlords who have lost their land
5. Expropriation of agricultural land by non-agriculturalists Acting on the principle that land belongs to the donor
6. Abolition of Zamindari and Gini system
7. Prohibition of Lease
8. Land for the cultivator himself
9. The zamindars are entitled to recover only so much of their own cultivable land that they cannot acquire all the holdings

B.D Jatti samiti’s proposal was presented in the Vidhan Sabha in 1959 for the opinion of the members. The meeting held deliberations for about ten days before the final decision

LAND REFORMS ACT 1961

Select Committee that studied report of B.D Jatti samiti submitted a report with some minor changes to the government with some recommendations

Passed in the Vidhan Sabha and came out as the Karnataka Land Reforms Act in 1962 with the assent of the President, but was enacted in the form of an Act or draft in 1965, though it was called the 1961 Act

Salient points of this Act

1. No organization can acquire land
2. There is no indication of any change in the amount of gini to be paid by the engineer
3. Filing of dispute within one year if the land owner has to evacuate the petitioners from the lands
4. Land limit per family shall be limited to 27 acres. A family of five can have 216 acres of dry land
5. Land can be acquired only for own cultivation
6. Prohibition of grant of land for mining

7. First acquisition of the mine by the Government and then transfer of its ownership to the concerned
8. Maximum tenure of plantations is 100 acres
9. Opportunity to compensate up to 10000 in one lump sum for those who lost their land due to land reform.
10. Formation of District Magistrate Land Panchayats at District Level
11. Prohibition on non-agriculturists from the acquisition of land
12. Firms and individuals from a non-agricultural or non-farming background, earning income more than 25 lakhs in INR, are not allowed to purchase any agricultural land in Karnataka
13. persons or firms related to farming or agriculturists can purchase, hold and own agricultural land
14. Defined the penalty to be imposed for falsely claiming ownership of agricultural land
15. Barred the transfer of land to non-agriculturists

The exemptions of this Act shall not apply to Minors below the age of eighteen years, their spouses, unmarried daughters and widows, mentally retarded or disabled persons serving in the military and in commercial vessels Classification of Lands

The agricultural lands have been classified under Schedule I, Part A of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961 as A Class, B Class, C Class and D Class. They are as follows:

A CLASS LAND:

Lands having facilities for assured irrigation from Government Canals and Government Tanks capable of supplying water for growing two crops of paddy or one crop of sugarcane in a year.

B CLASS LAND:

• Lands having facilities for assured irrigation from Government Canals and Government Tanks capable of supplying water for growing only one crop of paddy in a year.
• Lands irrigated by such lift irrigation projects constructed and maintained by the State government are capable of supplying water for growing two crops of paddy or one crop of sugarcane in a

C CLASS LAND:

• Lands irrigated from any Government sources of irrigation, including lift irrigation projects constructed and maintained by Government other than those coming under A Class and B Class.
• Lands on which paddy crop can be raised or areca crops are grown with the help of rain
• Lands irrigated by lifting water from a river or Government Canal or government tank where the pumping installation or other device for lifting water is provided and maintained by the land

D CLASS LAND:

Lands classified as dry but not having any irrigation facilities from a Government source. (Lands growing paddy or garden crops not coming under A Class, B Class or C Class shall belong to this class.)

FEATURES OF THE 1961 REVENUE REFORMS ACT

• prohibited the leasing of land
• Agriculturists were ineligible to buy land
• repossession of leased land but provided for repossession of the owner’s land when the tenant failed to pay the lease or when the land was not cultivated for more than two years or when the land was taken over when the tenant did not pay the lease or when the land was leased illegally when the tenant wanted to build a house or farm for himself
• It contained a number of progressive elements, and the policy of delay followed by the government in its implementation did not achieve the desired results for its beneficiaries
• So used From 1961-1971, 18.6 per cent of the 29.20 per cent tenants were amalgamated. As per an estimate, about 19.45 lakh acres of additional land could be available, but in 1981 only 1,76,470 acres of land was acquired

1974 REVENUE REFORMS AMENDMENT

• Central government tried to make land reforms more effective and directed the state governments to re- examine the 1961 Act
• In 1972, national guidelines were issued with ceiling limits varying from region to region, depending on the kind of land, its productivity, and other such factor
• 1974 Act of Karnataka prohibited the leasing of land and the land was allotted to non-agriculturists even though they were ineligible to buy it
• It provided for the repossession of the land given by the warehousing factory or when the owner wanted to cultivate the land for himself when the tenant did not pay the lease or illegally leased the land for more than two years when the land was not cultivated or when the land was taken over

DEVARAJ URS AND LAND REFORMS

• Devaraj Urs was a great leader whose period is marked not only for economic development but also for the socio-economic and political reforms
• He gave first preference to irrigation and agriculture and electricity as these were the three facilities much needed by the farmers
• He contributed a lot towards agriculture and backward classes and his continuous efforts to make the people of minority classes to attain a respectable status in the society

• He emphasized bringing all suppressed classes into the mainstream of During his administration, Urs brought about various social changes. For the purpose of social equality, he brought the reservation
• He strived for social His contributions emphasized on providing social justice in society.

ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT THROUGH LAND REFORMS

As Chief Minister, Urs’s first priority was land reform and his slogan was “Land to the tiller” (Uluvavanige bhoomi)

At a time when land was owned by a few elite and powerful. Urs, taking note of the exploitation that the labourers and land tillars were subjected to introduced sweeping reforms by bestowing land ownership rights to them and introduced of this reform, the benami land owners had to hand over the land to farmers

Under him a sustained effort was made to equalize the land distribution through much of the state. The Urs government with the object of securing more land for distribution among landless, decides to reduce the ceiling on land holdings in the state by amending the Land Reform Act and the amended Act came into force from 1st March 1974

LAND REFORMS ACT 1974

Brought Amendment to Land Reforms Act 1961

Considered as a true new law, with the slogan ‘Land to the tiller’ Amended law contained some of the following elements:

1. The decision of the Land Tribunals cannot be questioned in any court, but if the decision is not agreed to, it can be challenged in the High Court
2. The land under lease is classified as ABC and DM
3. To acquire the ownership or ownership of this land, the tenant has to pay 15 times of the net annual income for ABC land and 20 times for D class land to the government in 20 years, after full payment of the leasehold
4. Persons earning more than 12,000 per annum from non-agricultural occupations or sources shall not be entitled to purchase agricultural land
5. Land limitation not applicable to plantation land such as coffee and rubber

This measure redistributed lands to the marginal sections of society particularly SC/ST