Model land lease Act favours tribunals for settlement

The model land leasing Act as proposed by a high-powered panel under the NITI Aayog has advocated for special tribunals as a last resort to resolve disputes related to leases if local settlement mechanisms like village panchayats fail.

The panel, which gave its final report on the proposed model land leasing Act to the Aayog on Thursday, has not only favoured legalising of land leases to promote agricultural efficiency but also recommended that disputes should not be handed over to already-burdened civil courts.

"This would ensure that disputes related to land leases do not take years to get resolved," an official said.

The model Act, which is being seen by many as the first big reform on land after the Narendra Modi government failed to evolve a consensus on amendments to the Land Acquisition Act-2013, will soon be uploaded on the website of NITI Aayog for public consultation.

The model Act suggests that all terms and conditions of the lease agreement should be determined by mutual consent between the owner and lessee but with a sole condition that the landowner does not loose ownership of the land. The lessee (or cultivator) should not have any expectation of acquiring any occupancy right for continuous possession of the land.

It also proposes to facilitate automatic resumption of land right by the owner on expiry of any land lease agreement. The lessee, under the model Act, will be eligible for all forms of insurance cover, compensation in case of crop damage, disaster relief or bank credit.

As of now, in the event of any natural calamity, entire compensation amount is deposited in the name of the landowner, while the lessee does not get anything. This, many farmers said, is one of the main reasons behind rural distress.

The compensation amount under the newly-launched Fasal Bima Yojana too would be given only to the genuine landowner, and not to the lessee farmer.

As per a study on agriculture land lease by former chairman of Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP) T Haque, about 57 per cent of leased area in kharif season and 54 per cent of leased area in rabi season are on short-term leases and do not have tenurial security and stability.

As land is a state subject, the model Act would just be advisory in nature and then it would be incumbent upon the states to adopt it in totality or in parts. Officials said in the model Act, land lease agreements would have to be registered in the panchayats and notary officer, but in the revenue records the land would continue to be in the name of the owner.