Larger and Better

Context:  The importance of agriculture and consequently of land-related matters have declined with the change in structure and composition of the economy. Land Consolidation provides a solution.

Elements of Land Reforms in India:

• Abolition of intermediaries
• Regulation and stability of the tenurial system
• Ceiling on landholding
• Consolidation of land holdings

Issue of Land Crisis in India:

• Farm/ land crisis is transforming into Rural debt waivers, farmers’ agitations, farmers’ suicides, migration and reverse migration.
• The pressure on land is giving rise to the issues of fragmented and uneven distribution of landholdings. Features of land fragmentation in India ????
• The average holding size came down to 1.08 Ha in 2015-16. (In 1970-71 - 2.28 Ha).
• Landholdings are much smaller in densely populated states like Bihar, West Bengal and Kerala.

• Nagaland has the largest average farm size, Punjab and Haryana rank second and third, respectively. 

• Number of land holdings is rising at the same pace as the population in the form of small-sized multiple sub-land parcels.

• • • It is uneconomic and unfeasible to invest in small-sized land parcels.
    • Difficulty in selling and disposing of small-sized land parcel.

• Skewed Land Consolidation : across states:

• Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and other southern states have not even begun the task. 
• Punjab and Haryana have almost completed the work of consolidation of landholdings.
• The Sixth Five Year Plan had targeted the completion of consolidation in 10 years, and only 64.75 lakh hectare of land was consolidated. 

Significance of Land Consolidation to tackle Land Fragmentation:

• Land consolidation has been constituted as a land reform measure. 
• National Commission of Agriculture has recommended that consolidation schemes should be made compulsory across the country.

Benefits of Land Holding Consolidation

• Opens up the employment opportunities in the non-farm sector, which contributes about 60% to the household income in rural areas. 

• By easing the task of land acquisition and investment by public and private agencies.
• Could facilitate and accelerate the phenomenon of land leasing on a large scale
• Land leasing for investment will ensure higher income and employment generation in rural areas.
• Helps in reducing litigation and facilitating the setting up of new institutions, roads and irrigation channels in rural areas.
• Technological advancements (drone, land digitization) can be harnessed for accruing the optimal benefits of landholding phenomenon.
• Will help farmers to make investments, enhance their autonomy and by all measures, increased production and productivity by 
• Formalizing informal partitions
• Reducing inequity in landholdings

Conclusion: Landholding consolidation must be made an important part of the development and factor reforms agenda.