Centre urges states to adopt model land lease Bill

Move aims at enabling farmers to lease their land for cultivation through a legal document

Wiser after the criticism it had faced in trying to amend the land acquisition law in 2015, the Narendra Modi government has revised its earlier plan for a parliamentary nod to its model land leasing Bill.

Instead, the Centre is persuading state governments to enact it. And, has support from even Opposition party-governed states, such as Congress-ruled Karnataka and Left-ruled Kerala.

The Bill in question aims at enabling farmers and farming groups to lease their land for cultivation through a legal document, without dilution of ownership. NITI Aayog, which drafted it, says the legislation could help release for cultivation 20 million hectares of fallow tract, where its owners fear land grab. 

The model Bill also aims to protect the rights of tenants in the event of a natural calamity, giving them access to compensation. 

Land is not only a state subject but also an emotive issue. Which was underlined for the Centre, at significant political cost, when it tried to amend the land acquisition law. The government was slammed by even allies, such as the Shiromani Akali Dal and Sangh Parivar outfits, for trying to push the amendments without enough consultation. Opposition parties had accused it of helping big money acquire land of the poor farmer.

This time, the government has taken care to consult across the board - states, Opposition parties, farmer bodies, activists and, importantly, Sangh Parivar affiliates Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) and Bharatiya Kisan Sangh – before giving the Bill a final shape. NITI Aayog’s land policy cell, headed by Tajmul Haque, former chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, carried out the consultations. 

At a recent meeting hosted by the SJM to review two years of the Aayog, the former’s Ashwani Mahajan told Haque the proposed leasing law shouldn’t facilitate corporates but protect the interests of farmers. Haque assured that all stakeholders had been consulted.

He said the committee had also studied existing land leasing laws, either in place or at final stages of drafting, in Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. Official sources said the Odisha legislative assembly is likely to pass the Bill in its coming session. Aayog officials have a meeting with the Karnataka government next month.

The Aayog hopes its consultations with state governments would help them tailor the drafts of their respective Bills on the basis of land leasing laws enacted by other states. In West Bengal, there are 1.4 million permanent tenants called ‘bargadars’ who are already protected under state law.

The Centre’s proposed model framework has recommended legalisation of leasing to ensure tenants get access to institutional credit, insurance and compensation at the time of a disaster, without impacting the legal ownership right of the holder. At present, in a natural calamity, the entire compensation amount is deposited in the name of the landowner; lessee farmers do not get anything. 

The Bill would allow leasing in and leasing out of land for agriculture without any restrictions. It is also likely to propose setting up of tribunals for disputes, if local settlement mechanisms like panchayats fail. 

According to a study on agricultural land lease by Haque, as much as 57% of the leased area in the kharif and 54% in the rabi season were on short-term tenures, without tenurial security and stability.

Broad framework of model land leasing Act

* Legalise land leasing

* Remove clause of adverse possession of land in the land laws of various states

* Entitle and facilitate tenants access to short–term credit and crop insurance, based on a simple lease agreement

* Terms of lease to be determined mutually by landowner and tenant farmer

* Allow automatic resumption of land on expiry of agreed lease period, without requiring any minimum area criteria

* Rent to as agreed by landowner and tenant

* Lease to be terminated within lease agreement period by giving advance notice of one crop season or one crop or specified grounds like…

i) non-payment of rent
 

ii) use of leased land for purpose other than what’s agreed upon

iii) lease has harmed the land and made it unfit for cultivation

iv) lesse farmer voluntarily surrender land to owner by giving advance notice

v) legal framework of leasing is not farmer-friendly and both parties are not benefitting from it

Source: A Note On Agriculture Land Leasing in India (T Haque)