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Dr. Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Minister of Rural Development has asked State Governments for considering setting up of Land Tribunals under Article 323-B of the Constitution of India or Special Benches in the High Courts for speedy disposal of cases. “Special drive may be undertaken to distribute the remaining surplus land with the State Government and ceiling laws enforced strictly without any relaxation in the implementation of the ceiling laws”, the Rural Development Minister added. In a communication addressed to Chief Ministers of State Governments, Dr. Raghuvansh Prasad Singh has expressed concern that the major objective of land reform i.e. reordering of agrarian relations to ensure social justice to actual tillers and the landless rural poor has lost its steam and states need to take much more interest in it to eliminate exploitation and ensure greater access of landless rural poor to land.
Observing that there is a great need for tenancy reforms, the Rural Development Minister stated that banning of tenancy has not solved the problem as tenancy exists in concealed forms in most of the States which leads to even more exploitation of the poor farmers. “State Governments should look into this and take steps to bring such tenancies on record so that benefits available to land holders are also available to them”, he said.
Elaborating further on achieving the goals enshrined in the land reforms programme, the Rural Development Minister asked States to take steps to prevent alienation of tribal lands and ensure their restoration to the original tribal people. The women folk in rural areas need to be brought to the main stream and steps taken to provide equal ownership rights over land and houses to the women by suitable amendment of tenurial laws, the Minister observed.
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