Maarg Manthan · Topic 11.7

Land Use Pattern in India and Land Reform (Institutional Factors)

Geography › Agriculture and Crop Geography · Topic 11.7

In India, about 46 per cent of the reporting area is net sown, about 23 per cent is forest, and the rest is non-agricultural use, barren land, pasture, fallow and waste. The average operational landholding is about 1.1 hectares, and about 86 per cent of holdings are marginal or small. Institutional factors that shape farming include land reform: abolition of intermediaries such as zamindars, tenancy reform, ceilings on landholdings, consolidation of holdings, Bhoodan and Gramdan movements, and, more recently, digitisation of land records and the model land leasing law.

5 min read · UPSC Prelims · Geography · Agriculture and Crop Geography

At a Glance

Net sown area About 46 per cent
Average holding About 1.1 hectares
Small and marginal holdings About 86 per cent
Bhoodan Vinoba Bhave, 1951
Land records DILRMP, SVAMITVA
Exam link UPSC Prelims, Geography: Agriculture and Crop Geography

Where Does It Fit?

This topic follows the topic on inputs and brings in the institutional factors of farming, namely who owns and works the land. It leads to the topics on the Green Revolution and the price and labour policies that follow. Previous topic: Infrastructure Factors: Seeds, Fertilizers, Irrigation. Next topic: Horticulture Sector in India.

What Is the Land Use Pattern of India?

Category	Approximate share of reporting area
Net sown area	About 46 per cent
Forests	About 23 per cent
Non-agricultural uses	About 9 per cent and rising
Barren and unculturable land	About 6 per cent
Fallow lands (current and other)	About 8 per cent
Permanent pastures, tree crops and culturable waste	About 5 per cent together

The shares are approximate and from the annual land use statistics; they should be checked in the latest year. Net sown area is above 80 per cent in Punjab and Haryana, and below 20 per cent in the hill and island states. The land use classes are in Land Use and Land Capability Classification. Landholding sizes have shrunk with population growth and inheritance: the average operational holding fell from 2.3 hectares in 1970-71 to about 1.1 hectares in 2015-16, and about 86 per cent of holdings are below two hectares. Such small holdings limit mechanisation and income, and are a reason for the push for farmer producer organisations and consolidated farming.

What Land Reforms Were Introduced After Independence?

Reform	Content and result
Abolition of intermediaries	The zamindari, jagirdari and inamdari systems were abolished in the 1950s by state laws, protected by the First Amendment, 1951 and the Ninth Schedule. About 20 million tenants gained direct rights, though many large owners kept land through legal loopholes
Tenancy reform	Regulation of rent (to a quarter or a fifth of the produce), security of tenure for tenants, and ownership rights for tenants. Success was greatest in West Bengal (Operation Barga, 1978) and Keralam (Kerala) (1969). In many states tenancy went underground
Ceiling on landholdings	Laws in the 1960s and 1970s set a maximum size of holding. The surplus land was to be given to the landless, but only a small area was found and distributed
Consolidation of holdings	Joining scattered plots into one; done well in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, poorly in the east and south
Bhoodan and Gramdan	Vinoba Bhave began the Bhoodan (land gift) movement in 1951 at Pochampally (now in Telangana), asking landowners to give a sixth of their land; Gramdan sought the gift of whole villages. Much of the land given was poor or in dispute
Cooperative farming	Voluntary pooling of land and labour; limited success

What Are the Recent Measures and the Present Debate?

Land records: the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP, 2008) digitises records of rights and maps, and a unique land parcel identification number (Bhu-Aadhaar) is being introduced.
SVAMITVA (2020): mapping of village homes by drones, to give property cards to rural homeowners, as in the rural settlement discussion in Patterns of Rural Settlement and Factors Affecting Them.
Land leasing: the NITI Aayog’s Model Agricultural Land Leasing Act, 2016 proposes to legalise tenancy so that tenants can get credit without ownership claims; several states have adopted versions.
Land acquisition: the 2013 Act on fair compensation and resettlement governs the acquisition of farm land for projects, as in Migration and Reverse Migration: Rehabilitation Policy.
Debate: whether the problem is unequal ownership or the small size of holdings; whether to allow leasing, contract farming and corporate farming; and how to protect women’s land rights, since few women own land despite doing much of the farm work.

As an analytical point, the reforms removed the worst forms of landlordism but fell short of redistribution, and the next phase is about secure titles, easier leasing and consolidation of management through cooperatives and producer companies. The wider political economy of price and labour is in Agricultural Labour and Price Policy.

Why Is This Topic Important?

Reforms Measures and years are asked
Data Holding sizes
Debate Leasing and records

What Came Next?

The next topic describes the horticulture sector in India. Next topic: Horticulture Sector in India.

Key People and Terms

Zamindari Landlord revenue system
Land ceiling Maximum size of holding
Consolidation Joining of scattered plots
Bhoodan Land-gift movement
Operational holding Land operated by a person or household
DILRMP Land records modernisation programme

Exam Corner

Points to Remember

Bhoodan began in 1951 at Pochampally.
Operation Barga: West Bengal, 1978.
About 86 per cent of holdings are small or marginal.
Zamindari abolished in the 1950s.
SVAMITVA began in 2020.

Do Not Confuse With

Bhoodan and Gramdan Gift of land versus gift of a village
Ceiling and consolidation Limit on size versus joining of plots
Operational and ownership holding Land farmed versus land owned

Memory Hook

Abolish the landlord, fix the rent, cap the size, join the plots; Bhoodan gives, records now are digital.

Mains Angle

Questions ask for an assessment of land reforms. These points add depth.

Achievements Intermediaries removed
Failures Ceilings and tenancy
Next Records, leasing, consolidation

A Question You May Face

An original practice question, not a past paper question.

“Evaluate the land reforms undertaken in India since independence and discuss the challenges posed by small landholdings.”

How to Answer

Measures Zamindari to ceilings.
Outcomes Success and gaps.
Holdings Small size problem.
Now Records and leasing.

GS Relevance

Prelims: land reform measures, size of holdings, Bhoodan, SVAMITVA. GS Paper 1 and 3: land reforms and agriculture.

Frequently Asked Questions

What were the main land reforms in India after independence?

The main land reforms were the abolition of intermediaries such as zamindars in the 1950s, tenancy reforms to regulate rents and give security to tenants, ceilings on landholdings with distribution of surplus land, and consolidation of scattered holdings. The Bhoodan movement sought voluntary gifts of land.

What was the Bhoodan movement?

The Bhoodan movement was begun by Vinoba Bhave in 1951 at Pochampally in present-day Telangana. He appealed to landowners to give one-sixth of their land for the landless poor. It was followed by Gramdan, the gift of entire villages, but much of the land received was poor or disputed.

What is the average size of landholdings in India?

The average operational landholding in India has fallen from about 2.3 hectares in 1970-71 to about 1.1 hectares in 2015-16, according to the agricultural census. About 86 per cent of holdings are marginal or small, below two hectares, which limits farm incomes and mechanisation.

What is consolidation of holdings?

Consolidation of holdings is the joining of a farmer's scattered small plots into one or a few compact plots, usually by exchange of land under a law, to make farming more efficient. Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh have done it well, but progress has been poor in the east and south.

What is SVAMITVA?

SVAMITVA, launched in 2020, is a scheme to map inhabited rural land with drones and give property cards to the owners of village houses. It gives clear ownership documents, which can be used for loans, and reduces property disputes in villages.

PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis

1 The Bhoodan movement was started by Vinoba Bhave.

True

In 1951.

2 Operation Barga was a tenancy reform in Keralam.

False

It was in West Bengal.

3 About 86 per cent of Indian landholdings are small or marginal.