The State government’s move to amend Section 5 of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961 is based on the Model (Agricultural) Land Leasing Act, 2016 proposed by the Centre’s think tank NITI Aayog to increase investments in agriculture and productivity.
The proposed legislation envisages legalising lease transactions of agricultural land, and the government will not interfere in the lease amount or tenure that the farmer may agree upon with individuals, groups or corporate entities.
The Revenue Department’s argument is that the present land reforms law needs to be tweaked under the changed circumstances. While it was brought in to address the issue of absentee landlords and tenancy — both major problems of the time — the agriculture sector now requires a push in terms of investments and modernisation. This is not forthcoming because of small holdings. Incidentally, the average land holding in Karnataka is about 1.2 hectares.
“Leasing will be primarily aimed at allowing agriculture and allied activities on farmlands that have now been left fallow for various reasons, The leased land cannot be diverted for any other purpose,” a source said, adding that the local tahsildar would be involved in the process.
According to Revenue Department sources, to circumvent the law at present, many farmers enter into mortgage agreements with those interested in cultivating their land. “Not only have mortgage arrangements led to legal disputes, sometimes even over ownership of the land, they have also resulted in land owners receiving the crop compensation in case of crop failure,” the source said.
The benefits
Sources defended the government move, saying that the new Act could be beneficial to all. “On the one hand, new investments can come into the sector and improve productivity, and on the other, it will enable gainful utilisation of fallow land. A person who is interested in agriculture but does not have enough money to purchase land can practise agriculture by leasing the land at a fraction of the cost. Once leasing is legalised, the person taking the land on lease will be eligible for bank loan, input subsidy and compensation for crop loss.”
The flip side
A section of Revenue Department officials believe that removing restrictions on leasing agricultural land would be a big blow to the Land Reforms Act.
They said the amendment to Section 79 A and B brought in by the Siddaramaiah government to enhance the annual income limit of those intending to purchase agricultural land from ₹2 lakh to ₹25 lakh was the first dilution. The Act will lose relevance further if restrictions on leasing are removed, and it will open the floodgates to corporates to enter the agriculture sector.
“Land holdings are small and a large number of people are still dependent on them for their livelihood. The security for small farmers could be seriously compromised by this move,” an official said.
