UPA Govt plans to give away free land to 60% of 13.8 crore rural households The UPA government has got the lay of the land. After the food security bill, it now plans to introduce a scheme to give away free land to 60% of 13.8 crore rural households in the country. This translates into free land for about 8.28 crore people. The package includes allotting 4,356sqft of land to each rural and landless family, and five acre of agricultural land to each household of nomads, notified tribes and small farmers with uneconomical land holdings. The proposal comes at a time when the election commission is seized with drafting guidelines for political parties to dissuade them from distributing freebies ahead of elections. Sources in the Congress believe that the national land reform policy, drafted by rural development minister Jairam Ramesh, holds the potential to reap a bumper electoral harvest in the Lok Sabha polls next year. The national food security bill is still awaiting parliamentary nod. According to a draft of the policy, circulated to states and other stakeholders, land reform — a major initiative in the 1950s — and measures like ceilings weren’t implemented in their true spirit, except in West Bengal, Kerala and J&K. “This policy will also delineate areas unfit for farm use and reserve them for industrial and other non-agricultural purposes. This will minimise the need for acquisition of land that gives rise to displacement of people and unrest,” explains an official involved in the drafting of the policy. The rural development ministry will soon convene a meeting of state revenue ministers before sending the draft policy to the cabinet for approval. As per available data, 41.63% of households in India don’t own land other than their homestead. Also, 31.12% are totally landless and those with minor land-holdings, which measure less than 1 hectare, make up a third. The government’s target is the 60% of rural households that owns just 5% of the country’s land. A staggering 55% of land is owned by just 10% population.
Posted on: Sat, 17 Aug 2013 04:30:06 +0000
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