Question 1: Constitution of Revenue Officers

Revenue Officers:

1. Regional Commissioner (Sec.7)

2. Deputy Commissioner (Sec.8)
3. Special Deputy Commissioner (Sec.9)
4. Assistant Commissioner (Sec.10)
5. Tahsildars (Sec.11)
6. Special Tahsildars (Sec.12)
7. Revenue Inspectors (Sec.15)
8. Village Accountant (Sec.16)
9. Survey Officers (Sec.18)
10. Other officers

❖ Regional Commissioner (Sec.7)

The State is divided into several

regions. Such regions are headed by a
Regional Commissioner. The State
Govt. is empowered to appoint the
Regional Commissioner for each
region who is the Chief Revenue
Officer in the region and exercises
powers of superintendence and
control within the region over all
officers’ subordinate to him. The
Regional Commissioner exercises the
powers and discharge duties
conferred and imposed on him or
under the Act and also by the State
Govt.

❖ Deputy Commissioner (Sec.8)

The Deputy Commissioner is appointed by the St. Govt. to administer the district. The
Deputy Commissioner is subordinate to the Regional Commissioner. The Deputy Commissioner
acts according to the instructions of the State Govt. in those matters which are not specially
provided for by law and he has to exercise all the powers and discharge duties conferred and
imposed on him under the Act or any other law.

In addition to this the Deputy Commissioner is also empowered to exercise the powers and
duties of the Assistant Commissioner.

❖ Special Deputy Commissioner (Sec.9)

The State Govt. is empowered to appoint Special Deputy Commissioner if it feels expedient
to do so for the required period of time in addition to the Deputy Commissioner.
The Special Deputy Commissioner is subordinate to the Regional Commissioner or Deputy
Commissioner depending upon the matters as specified by the State Govt. With the
directions of the State Govt. the Special Deputy Commissioner exercises those powers and
duties which are exercised and performed by the Deputy Commissioner either in a part or
whole of District.

❖ Assistant Commissioner (Sec.10)

The State Govt. appoints an Assistant Commissioner to be in-charge of one or more taluks
called a Revenue Sub-division and he will be exercising and performing duties conferred on
him under the Act or any other Law and also the powers and duties of the Deputy
Commissioner under the Act.

❖ Tahsildars (Sec.11)

The Tahsildar is the chief officer entrusted with the land revenue administration of the
Taluk. The Tahsildar is subordinate to the Assistant Commissioner in-charge of the Taluk and
where there is no such Assistant Commissioner to the Deputy Commissioner of the District.
The Tahsildar exercises and performs all the powers and duties conferred under the Act or
any other law or as instructed by the Deputy Commissioner. The Tahsildar also has the power
to depute any of his subordinates to perform any portion of his ministerial duties.

❖ Special Tahsildars (Sec.12)

The Special Tahsildar is appointed for the Taluk in addition to the Tahsildar and exercises
and performs those of the Tahsildar in the Taluk under the Act and any other law as the
State Govt. directs. The Special Tahsildar also has the power to depute any of his
subordinates to perform any portion of his ministerial duties. The Special Tahsildar is
subordinate to the Tahsildar (in certain matters as specified by the State Govt.) and also to
the Assistant Commissioner and where there is no such Assistant Commissioner to the
Deputy Commissioner of the District. The Special Tahsildar also has the power to depute any
of his subordinates to perform any portion of his ministerial duties.

❖ Revenue Inspectors (Sec.15)

The Deputy Commissioner appoints the Revenue Inspector for a Circle of a Taluk subject to
the general orders of the Regional Commissioner and State Govt. The Revenue Inspector
performs all the duties prescribed under the Act or any other law.

❖ Village Accountant (Sec.16)

The Deputy Commissioner appoints the Village Accountant for a village or group of villages
subject to the general orders of the Regional Commissioner and the State Govt. The Village
Accountant performs all the duties as prescribed under the Act or any other law. The Village
Accountant has the responsibility of keeping the registers, accounts and other records and
also to prepare all records connected with the affairs of the village, which are required
either for the use of the Central or the State Government or the public such as public
notices, reports, mahazars and depositions.
❖ Survey Officers (Sec.18)

For the purposes of survey, assessments and settlements of land of land revenue and
settlements of boundaries and connected matters provided for in the Act the Govt. is
empowered to appoint survey officers like Director of Survey Settlement and Land Records,
Joint Director of Land Records, Joint Director of Settlement, Assistant Director for
Settlement, Assistant Director of Land Records Settlement Officers, and Assistant
Settlement Officers. The said officers have the powers to take cognizance of all matters
connected with survey and settlement and they also have such powers and perform such
duties as may be prescribed by or under the Act or any other law.

❖ Other officers

The State Govt. is empowered to appoint such other officers and invest with such powers as
may be necessary to give effect to the provisions of the Act.

Question 2: Powers and Procedure of Revenue Officers

Powers and Procedure of Revenue Officers:

1. Power to transfer cases - Section 27

2. Power to give summons – Section 29, 31 & 32
3. Summons & Notices – Section 30
4. Modes of Inquiry
➢ Formal inquiry – Section 33
➢ Summary inquiry – Section 34
➢ Hearings – Section 36
5. Power to enter upon land – Section 38
6. Power of eviction – Section 39

❖ Power to transfer cases

The Regional Commissioner has the power to transfer any case of class of cases arising under
the Act from any revenue officer to any other revenue officer competent to deal with it in
the same District or any other District in the same region if an application is made to him and
also if he opines that it is expedient to do so for the purposes of the ends of justice.

Similarly, the Deputy Commissioner has the power to transfer any case or class of cases
arising under the Act for the sake of inquiry or decision from his own file or from the file of
any other Revenue Officer subordinate to him to any other Revenue Officer subordinate to
him and who is competent to deal with it.

❖ Power to give summons

Every Revenue Officer not below the rank of the Tahsildar has the power to take evidence on
oath and to summon any person whose attendance he considers necessary either to be
examined as a party or to give evidence as a witness or to produce documents for the purpose
of any inquiry such officer is empowered to conduct and the summoned person is bound to
attend either in person or by an authorised agent.

If any person fails to comply with the summons to attend as witness or to produce any
document, the officer is empowered to issue a bailable warrant of arrest; order him to
furnish security for appearance or impose fine upon him a fine not exceeding twenty rupees.

In case if the person whose evidence is required is unable to personally appear due to
sickness or infirmity the officer either of his own motion or on the application of such party
can exempt him from personal appearance.

❖ Summons & Notices

Every notice under the Act is to be served by tendering or delivering a copy thereof to the
person on whom it has to be served or his agent or by affixing a copy to some conspicuous
place on the land if any to which such notice refers. If the person on whom the notice is to
be served resides in any other District the notice may be sent by post to the Deputy
Commissioner of that District and he shall be responsible to cause it to be served.

❖ Modes of Inquiry
➢ Formal inquiry

In this type of inquiry to determine any question under KLR Act, 1964 or any other law the
officer himself or somebody in his presence and hearing and under his personal
superintendence and direction (in case if such officer is under any disability) should take
down evidence either in Kannada or English or any other language as may be prescribed by the
State Govt. for use in the district. Such evidence must be signed by the officer conducting
the inquiry. Every decision or order after formal inquiry shall contain full statement of
grounds and a certificate has to be attached in this regard.

➢ Summary Inquiry:

In summary inquiry the officer conducting such inquiry shall record in his own hand either in
Kannada or English or in any other language of the Taluk or village the summary of the
evidence and a minute of the proceedings containing material averment made by the parties
interested and also the decision and the reasons for the same.

➢ Hearings:

Every hearing whether in a formal or summary enquiry shall be in public and the parties or
their recognised agents should be given due notice to attend. The order passed after hearing
should be signed and pronounced in open Court on the day which has been notified to the
parties or their recognised agents.

In case where neither the parties nor their recognized agents are present in the Court when
the order is pronounced the substance of the order containing the decision should be sent to
such party or recognized agent.

Where the party fails to appear in the proceedings despite due notice of the same the
proceedings should be held in his absence or dismissed for default and when once such an
order has been made the party can apply for getting that order set aside by furnishing any
sufficient cause.

❖ Power to enter upon land

Any Revenue Officer and his servants and workmen while under his observation and control
have the power to enter any land or premises belonging to the State Govt. or to any other
person for the purposes of measurement, fixing or inspecting boundaries, classification of
soil or assessment or for any other purpose connected with the lawful exercise of his office
under the Act or any other law relating to land revenue.

But to enter any building used as a dwelling house or upon any enclosed Court or garden
attached to a dwelling house, the consent of the occupier must be obtained by giving 7 days
prior notice.

❖ Power of eviction

The Deputy Commissioner has the power to evict any person who is wrongfully in possession
of land or where any order to deliver possession of land has been passed against any person
under the Act by serving notice on the person.

Question 3: Karnataka Revenue Appellate Tribunal

Sec. 40(1) of the KLR Act, 1964 says that the State Govt. has the power to constitute an
appellate tribunal called Karnataka Revenue Appellate Tribunal for the State of Karnataka.

❖ Constitution of KRAT

The Tribunal shall consist of the following six members appointed by the State Govt. viz.,

1. A Chairman who shall be an officer of the rank of Regional Commissioner;

2. Five members, three of whom shall be persons who are District Judges and the others
shall be officers having experience in administration of revenue matters not below the
rank of a Deputy Commissioner.

The strength of the Tribunal can be increased by the Govt. by way of notification if there is
an increase in the business of the Tribunal.

The powers of the Tribunal shall be exercised by a bench of two members of which one shall
be a District Judge and another shall be an officer having experience in administration of
revenue matters.

The Chairman may constitute a Full bench of 3 members if he so thinks fit.

❖ Powers of the Tribunal

1. Powers of review (Sec.44)

2. Powers to call for returns (Sec.46)
3. Power to make regulations (Sec.48)
4. Power of revision (Sec.56)
The Tribunal shall exercise such powers of appeal, reference or revision as vested by or
under the Act or any other law. The State Govt. may confer on the Tribunal any appellate or
revisional power or function and the Tribunal shall discharge such functions so conferred.

❖ Powers of review (Sec.44)

The Tribunal has the power to review any order passed by itself either on its own motion
(Suo-moto) or on the application of any affected party and pass suitable orders.

But such power can be exercised only when the Tribunal is satisfied that there has been:

➢ discovery of new and important matter or evidence was not in the knowledge of the
party or could not have been produced by him at the time of passing the order or
➢ there has been some mistake or error apparent on the face of the record or
➢ there has been any other sufficient reason.

❖ Powers to call for returns (Sec.46)

‘Returns’ means an official report or statement submitted in response to a formal demand.

This power implies the power of superintendence of the Tribunal over the authorities which
are subordinate to it.

In regards to its appellate and revisional jurisdiction the Tribunal may call for returns from
and also issue general directions to the authorities subordinated to it and prescribe forms
for regulating the practice and proceedings of such authorities.

But such directions and forms should not be inconsistent with the provisions of any law
presently in force.

❖ Power to make regulations (Sec.48)

Sec.48 confers on the Tribunal the power to make regulations and rules thereunder
regarding:

➢ Its own practice and procedure and

➢ The disposal of its business
➢ Costs incidental to any of its proceedings

But such regulations must be:

➢ Consistent with the Act and rules

➢ Made after obtaining previous sanction from the Govt, &
➢ Published in the official gazette

❖ Power of revision (Sec.56)

Sec.56 confers on the Tribunal (and also on other Revenue Officers) the power to call for
and examine a record of any inquiry or the proceedings of any subordinate officer for the
purpose of satisfying itself as to the legality or propriety of the proceedings of such officer.
Hence if it appears to the Tribunal that any decision or order or proceedings of any
subordinate officer should be modified, annulled or reversed it can do so by giving notice on
the interested parties and after giving an opportunity of being heard.

Question 4: Land and Land Revenue

Land and Land Revenue:

1. Scope of Govt.’s authority over lands.

2. Powers & Rights of Govt. w.r.t Land.
➢ Rights as to mines and mineral products;
➢ Power as to assignment of lands;
➢ Power of disposal of lands;
➢ Power as to recovery;
➢ Right as to trees & forests;
➢ Power as to firewood and timber;
3. Manner of assessment, commutation of non-agricultural assessment and prohibition of
use of land for certain purposes.
4. Method of Revenue Assessment.
5. Assessment by whom to be fixed.
6. Register of alienated lands.
7. Settlement of assessment with whom to be made.
8. Land Revenue to be a paramount charge on the land.
9. Forfeited holdings may be taken possession of and otherwise disposed.
10. Receipts.
11. Penalty for failure to grant receipts.

❖ Scope of Govt.’s authority over lands

Sec. 67 defines the extent of Govt.’s authority over land All public roads, streets, lanes and
paths, bridges, ditches, dikes and fences, on or beside the same, the bed of the sea and of
harbours and creeks below high-water mark and of rivers, streams, nallas, lakes and tanks
and all canals and water-courses and all standing and flowing waters, and all lands wherever
situated which are not the property of individuals belong to the State Govt.

If there are claims over any such property by any person against the State Govt. the Deputy
Commissioner or Survey Officer (not below the rank of DC) should conduct a formal inquiry
and decide such claims over the Govt. property.

If any person is aggrieved by an order made as above or in appeal or revision therefrom is at

liberty to file a civil suit contesting such an order within a period of one year from the date
of such order.

❖ Powers & Rights of Govt. w.r.t Land

1. Rights as to mines and mineral products:

The State Govt. has absolute right over mines, minerals and mineral products and shall have
all the powers necessary for the proper enjoyment or disposal of such rights and this right
prevails over any law in force before the commencement of KLR Act, 1964 or the terms of
any grant or of any instrument of transfer executed by or on behalf of the Govt.

2. Power as to assignment of lands

The St. Govt. has the power to assign its lands not in lawful occupation of any person in any
village for the purpose of free pasturage for the village cattle or for forest reserves or for
any other public purpose and such assigned lands are not to be used without the sanction of
the Deputy Commissioner.

3. Power of disposal of lands

Under Sec.69 State Govt., Regional Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner Assistant

Commissioner or Tahsildar has the power to dispose of land or other property belonging to
State Govt. under Sec.67 for the purposes of agriculture, industry or any public utility or for
construction of buildings.

4. Power as to recovery

Under sec.73 the St. Govt. has the power to recover the value of any natural product as an
arrear of land revenue from any person who has unauthorisedly removed such natural thing
from any land which is set apart for special purpose or from any land which is the property of
the Govt. besides this the St. Govt. also has the power to impose penalty on such person and
initiate criminal proceedings against such person for such unauthorised removal.

5. Right as to trees & forests

The State Government has the right to all trees, brush-wood, jungle or other natural product
and these are to be preserved or disposed of in the manner the State Government direct. All
road side trees on lands which are held by any person which have been planted and reared by
or under the orders of the State Government or any local authority vest with the State
Government but in case if such trees dying or being blown down or being cut down by order of
Tahsildar the timber will become the property of the holder of the land in which they were
growing.

6. Power as to firewood and timber

The State Government through the Deputy Commissioner or by any such officer is
empowered to

❖ Scope of land revenue i.e., Liability to pay land revenue:

Sec.80 clarifies that all land whether agricultural or non-agricultural is liable to pay land
revenue to the State Govt. unless specially exempted under the provisions of any special
contract with the Govt. or any provision of the Act. However, by way of notification or order
the Govt. may exempt either prospectively or retrospectively any class of lands or any part
thereof from payment of land revenue. But the reasons for such exemption should be
recorded.
Sec. 81 contemplates three types of land viz., alluvial lands, newly formed islands, abandoned
river-beds and states that these land types are subject to pay land revenue as far as the
holding of such lands by any person is up to one acre. Where such type of land is beyond one
acre then it shall be at the disposal of the Deputy Commissioner.

Also, Sec.157 places the responsibility of payment of land revenue on individuals who are
connected to the land. It says that in case of unalienated land the occupant and in case of
alienated land the superior holder is primarily liable to pay the land revenue which is inclusive
of all arrears.

Case law

In case if the persons who are primarily liable to pay the land revenue, then the person who is
in possession of the land is liable to pay the land revenue. The employment of the verb ‘shall’
be inconclusive and similarly mere absence of the imperative is not conclusive either. The
question whether it is mandatory or directory has to be decided, particularly in the context
of the other provisions of the Act and the general scheme thereof. Considered from these
principles, the word ‘shall’ occur in sub-sec (2) is not a command to the revenue authorities to
recover the arrears only from the tenant or from a person in possession of the land – M.K.
Devaraj Vs. State of Mysore & Ors., 1974 (2) Kar LJ 382

Manner of assessment, commutation of non-agricultural assessment and prohibition of use of

land for certain purposes.

Land revenue leviable on any land, should be assessed with reference to the use of the land
for the purpose of agriculture.

❖ Conversion of Agriculture Land into Non-agriculture purpose:

Sec. 83(2) states that land used for non-agriculture purposes if used for agriculture is liable
to land revenue. That is to say land used for any other purpose other than agriculture if used
for agricultural purpose will be treated on par with agricultural lands and hence subject to
payment of land revenue.

Land revenue leviable on any land and assessed with reference to the use of that land:

➢ for purpose of dwelling houses;

➢ for industrial or commercial purposes; or
➢ for any other non-agricultural purpose,

should continue to be levied at such rate at which it was levied unless such assessment is
commuted.

In respect of any land used for any purpose other than agriculture, assessment payable
annually was leviable or has been levied such assessment may be commuted by payment to the
State Government of an amount equal to five times the amount of such annual assessment,
and on such commutation such land shall be exempt from such annual assessment.
The Tahsildar or a Survey Officer have the power to prohibit the use for certain purposes of
any land liable to the payment of land revenue and may summarily evict any holder or other
person who uses or attempts to use the same for any such prohibited purpose.

Case Law: State of Karnataka Vs. Shankara Textiles Mills Ltd., the Supreme Court held
that to become a non-agricultural land permission u/Sec.95 of the KLR Act, 1964 is
mandatory.

The rights over these type of land vests with the St. Govt. But the holder or such alluvial
land is entitled to the temporary use of such land if it’s up to one acre in size. Beyond the one
acre of land such land will be at the disposal of the Deputy Commissioner.

➢ Time of payment of land revenue

The land revenue becomes due on the first day of that year and is to be paid at such times in
such instalments to such persons and at such places as prescribed.

Rule 110 of Karnataka Land Revenue Rules provides that the land revenue leviable on account
of a revenue year shall be payable in four instalments in the months of January, February,
March and April of each year. Each instalment shall be paid by the 20th day of each such
month and if any person wished to pay the entire year’s revenue in one instalment he may do
so by the 20th of January.

❖ Method of Revenue Assessment

Land used for non-agri. purposes if used for agriculture is liable to land revenue i.e., non-agri.
land used for agriculture will be treated on par with agri. Lands.

Case Law: In State of Karnataka Vs. Shankara Textiles Mills Ltd., the Supreme Court held
that to become a non-agricultural land permission u/Sec.95 of the KLR Act, 1964 is
mandatory.

In M/s. Mysore Feeds Ltd. Vs. State of Karnataka, it was held as follows: “A reading of
Sections 83 and 95(2) of the Revenue Act indicates that levy of land revenue on a land does
not necessarily lead to the inference that it is agricultural land. A land not used for any
purpose, may still be levied with land revenue and in case such a land is sought to be used for
non-agricultural purposes, Section 95(2) operates, requiring permission.

A land which is agricultural may cease to be used for agriculture for various reasons.
Theoretically, such a land may be capable of being used for agriculture and may fall within
the definition of 'land' defined in Section 2A(18) of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act. But
the definitions are always subject to context and should be read in a practical mariner.

In the absence of any specific finding that these lands were being used as agricultural lands,
the Special Deputy Commissioner erred in assuming them to be agricultural lands by the sole
fact that the petitioner sought permission for using the lands for non-agricultural purposes
under Section 95(2) of the Land Revenue Act.”
❖ Assessment by whom to be fixed

The assessment of the amount to be paid as land revenue on all lands which are not wholly
exempt from the payment of land revenue, and on which assessment has not been fixed,
should be fixed by the Deputy Commissioner, for a prescribed period and the amounts due
according to such assessment should be levied on all such lands.

In the case of lands partially exempt from land revenue, or the liability of which to the
payment of land revenue is subject to special conditions or restrictions, regard should be had
in the fixing of the assessment and the levy of the revenue to all rights legally subsisting
according to the nature of the said rights.

Further where any land which was wholly or partially exempt from payment of land revenue
has ceased to be so exempt, it will be lawful for the Deputy Commissioner to fix the
assessment of the amount to be paid as land revenue for such land, with effect from the
date on which such land ceased to be so exempt or any subsequent date.

After the expiry of the period for which the assessment of any land is fixed the Deputy
Commissioner has the power to revise it from time to time. The assessment so revised should
be fixed each time for such period not exceeding the maximum prescribed.

❖ Register of alienated lands

The Deputy Commissioner should keep a register of all lands the alienation of which has been
established or recognised and when it shall be shown to the satisfaction of the Deputy
Commissioner that a Sanad granted in relation to any such alienated lands has been
permanently lost or destroyed, he may, grant to any person whom he may deem entitled to
the same, a certified extract from the said register for a certain fees This certified
extract should be endorsed by the Deputy Commissioner to the effect that it has been
issued in lieu of the Sanad which has been lost or destroyed, and should be deemed to be as
valid a proof of title like the said Sanad.

❖ Settlement of assessment with whom to be made

The settlement of the assessment of each portion of land or survey number to the land
revenue should be made with the person who is primarily responsible to the State
Government for the same.

❖ Forfeited holdings may be taken possession of and otherwise disposed

In the event of the forfeiture of the holding through any default in payment the Tahsildar is
empowered to take immediate possession of such holding and it dispose of handing it over to
purchaser or any other person.

❖ Receipts

Every Revenue Officer receiving payment of land revenue should give a written receipt for
the same at the time when such payment is received by him.
Every superior holder who is entitled to receive any sum due on account of the rent or land
revenue from an inferior holder should give him a written receipt for the same at the time
when such sum is received by him.

❖ Penalty for failure to grant receipts

If any person is found contravening the previous provision will be liable to pay a fine specified
by the Deputy Commissioner which should not be exceeding three times the amount received
for which a receipt was not duly granted. However, before imposing such penalty a summary
enquiry should be conducted by the Deputy Commissioner.

Question 5: Definitions
Section 2(8) ‘class of land’ means any of the following classes of land, namely, dry land, wet
land, garden land or plantation land.

Explanations: For purposes of this Act,

(a) ‘dry land’ means:

➢ land classified as dry land under any law repealed by section 202, or any law in force
at any time before the commencement of this Act;
➢ land in which wet crops cannot be grown except when irrigated by water obtained
from any source of water which is the property of the State Government;

(b) “wet land” means land in which wet crops can be grown by use of rain water or water
obtained from any source of water which is not the property of the State Government;

(c) ‘garden land’ means land in which garden crops other than plantation crops can be grown,
and shall consist of dry garden land and wet garden land; and

➢ ‘Dry garden land’ means land classified as such under any law repealed by section 202
or any law in force at any time before the commencement of this Act, or garden land
in which wet garden crops cannot be grown except when irrigated by water obtained
from any source of water which is the property of the State Government;
➢ ‘Wet garden land’ means land in which wet garden crops can be grown by use of rain
water or water obtained from any source of water which is not the property of the
State Government;

(d) ‘plantation land’ means land in which a plantation crop, that is, cardamom, coffee, pepper,
rubber or tea, can be grown.

Section 2 (11) “to hold land” or to be a “land-holder” or “holder of land" means to be

lawfully in possession of land, whether such possession is actual or not;

Section 2 (12) “holding” means a portion of land held by a holder;

Section 2 (13) “joint holders” or “joint occupants” mean holders or occupants who hold land
as co-sharers, whether as co-sharers in a family undivided according to Hindu law, or
otherwise, and whose shares are not divided by metes and bounds; and where land is held by
joint holders or joint occupants, “holder” or “occupant”, as the case may be, means all of the
joint holders or joint occupants;

Section 2 (14) “land” includes benefits to arise out of land, and things attached to the
earth, or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth, and also shares in, or
charges on, the revenue or rent of villages or other defined areas;

Section 2 (15) “landlord” means a person who has leased land to a tenant and includes a
person entitled to receive rent from a tenant;

Section 2 (16) “land records” means records maintained under the provisions of or for the
purposes of this Act;

Section 2 (17) “local authority” means,

➢ in any municipal area, the Corporation, the Municipal Council, the Cantonment
Board, the Sanitary Board or Notified Area Committee, as the case may be;
➢ in any village, the Village Panchayat or the Town Panchayat constituted under the
Village Panchayats and Local Boards Act, 1959;

Section 2 (20) “occupant” means a holder in actual possession of unalienated land other than
the tenant: Provided that where the holder in actual possession is a tenant, the landlord or
superior landlord, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be the occupant;

Section 2 (21) “occupancy” means the portion of land held by an occupant;

Section 2 (34) “tenant” means a lessee, whether holding under an instrument or an oral
agreement and includes:

➢ a person who is or is deemed to be a tenant under any law for the time being in
force;
➢ a mortgagee of a tenant’s rights with possession; or
➢ a lessee holding directly under the State Government or a local authority or body
corporate;

Section 2 (38) “village” means a local area which is recognised in the land records as a village
for purposes of revenue administration and includes a town or city and all the land comprised
within the limits of a village, town or city;

Section 2 (39) “Village Accountant” means a Village Accountant appointed, or deemed to be

appointed, under section 16;

Section 2 (40) “zone” means a local area comprising a taluk or group of taluks or portions
thereof of one or more district, which, in the opinion of the State Government, or an officer
authorised by it in this behalf is contiguous and homogeneous in respect of, —

➢ physical configuration,
➢ climate and rainfall.
➢ principal crops grown in the area, and
➢ soil characteristics.
 Question 6: Record of Rights
Record of rights is a record containing various revenue documents and registers in which
details of land holdings, particulars of the holder, the land revenue payable, survey number
concerned and type of soil, trees that are existing on the land etc.

This record is popularly known as RTC (Record of Rights & Tenancy Certificate) or ‘pahani’
which terms have become part of the legal jargon.

What a record of rights contains? Normally, a record of rights contains the following:

1. The names of persons who are holders, occupants, owners, mortgagees, landlords or
tenants of the land or assignees of the rent or revenue thereof
2. The nature and extent of the respective interest of such persons and the conditions
or liabilities (if any) attaching thereto.
3. The Rent or revenue (if any) payable by or to any of such persons.
4. Such other particulars as maybe prescribed.

❖ What the Law says about Record of Rights

The entries in Record of rights have a presumptive value unless they are rebutted by the
other side.

Entries in record of rights usually reflect possession and not ownership of land. But unless
the possession is legal a person is not entitled to have his name entered in the record of
rights (Baburao Adrashappa Birade Vs. Mallappa Chennappa Birade & Anr. 1967(1) Mys.
LJ 261 (DB)). The apex Court however has ruled that the entries made in the register of
mutations are not admissible in evidence (Major Pakhar Singh Atwad & Ors. Vs. State of
Punjab & Ors. AIR 1995 SC 2125 LACC 244 SC).

On the same lines the Punjab & Haryana High Court has held that the entries can neither be
treated as primary nor secondary evidence in a transaction of sale (State of Haryana Vs.
Visakhi Ram & Ors. 1987, LACC 510(P&H); Mani Ram & Ors. Vs. State of Haryana &
Ors. 1990 LACC 481 (P&H).

However, the record of rights maintained in official course of business is a reliable piece of
Evidence in a suit for partition between brothers (Digambar Adharpatil Vs. Devram Girdhar
Patil (Died) & Anr. AIR 1995 Supreme Court 1728).

❖ Stages of Record of Rights

Rule 38 of the Karnataka Land Revenue Rules, 1966 envisages the various stages of record of
rights. The record of rights work in any area should ordinarily be divided into the following
four stages namely:

1. First Stage – the preparation of the Preliminary Records including:

✓ Check and verification;
✓ Decision of disputes; and
✓ Enquiry into and disposal of appeals
2. Second Stage – the measurement, mapping and apportionment of assessment of sub-
divisions;
3. Third Stage – the preparation of the final Record of Rights; and
4. Fourth Stage – the subsequent maintenance of the Record of Rights including:
✓ Recording of mutations;
✓ Check and certification of entries in the Mutation Register;
✓ Decision of disputes;
✓ Enquiry into and disposal of appeals;
✓ Measurement of new hissas and incorporation of the results of survey in the Record
of Rights

The First and the Fourth stages of Record of Rights work should be attended to by the
Revenue Department and the Second and the Third Stages of the said work should be
attended to by the Department of Land Records.

Question 7: Realisation of Land Revenue

Chapter XIV, Section 157-192 deals with “Realisation of Land Revenue and other Public
Demands”.

❖ Liability of paying land revenue

Sec.157 places the responsibility of payment of land revenue on individuals who are connected
to the land. It says that in case of unalienated land the occupant and in case of alienated land
the superior holder is primarily liable to pay the land revenue which is inclusive of all arrears.

In M.K. Devaraj Vs. State of Mysore & Ors., 1974 (2) Kar LJ 382 case, if the persons
who are primarily liable to pay the land revenue, then the person who is in possession of the
land is liable to pay the land revenue. The employment of the verb ‘shall’ be inconclusive and
similarly mere absence of the imperative is not conclusive either. The question whether it is
mandatory or directory has to be decided, particularly in the context of the other provisions
of the Act and the general scheme thereof. Considered from these principles, the word ‘shall’
occur in sub-sec (2) is not a command to the revenue authorities to recover the arrears only
from the tenant or from a person in possession of the land.

❖ Time of payment of land revenue

The land revenue becomes due on the first day of that year and is to be paid at such times in
such instalments to such persons and at such places as prescribed.

Rule 110 of Karnataka Land Revenue Rules provides that the land revenue leviable on account
of a revenue year shall be payable in four instalments in the months of January, February,
March and April of each year. Each instalment shall be paid by the 20th day of each such
month and if any person wished to pay the entire year’s revenue in one instalment he may do
so by the 20th of January.
❖ Arrear of land revenue

Any installment of land revenue that is not paid on the date prescribed for payment under
Sec.159 becomes an arrear of land revenue and the person responsible for such payment will
become a defaulter.

The evidence of existence of arrear of land revenue and of its amount and of the person who
is the defaulter is to be found in the statement of account certified by the Deputy
Commissioner or by Assistant Commissioner.

In Krishna Murthy Vs. Subba Rao, ILR 1952 Mys 37 case, If Inam lands belonging to a
joint Hindu family were forfeited by the Deputy Commissioner under Sec.54 for defaulting
to pay arrears of land revenue due thereon, all the members of the family must be deemed to
have lost their rights as jodidars and they cannot file a suit for partition and possession of
the property as if they are still owners of the property.

In Channabasavegowda & Ors. Vs. Rangegowda & Ors., ILR 1951 Mys 259 case, the
presumption under Sec.54 is that at a sale for arrears of land revenue the entire property is
sold. Such a sale implies forfeiture of all prior claims and encumbrances and the purchaser
gets a free and absolute title. The sale of joint family property for payment of claims due to
the Govt. on account of land revenue and taxes is recognised by the Hindu law as a justifiable
necessity binding on the entire family and such sale can be questioned in a civil Court only on
the ground of fraud by any party by pleading and proving particulars of the fraud –

❖ Process for recovery of arrears

After serving of notice of demand in writing on the defaulter the arrears of land revenue
may be recovered by any one or more of the following processes namely:

1. By forfeiture of the occupancy or alienated holding in respect of which the arrear is

due under Sec.163;
2. By distraint and sale of the defaulter’s moveable property including the produce of
the land;
3. By attachment and sale of the defaulter’s immoveable property;
4. In case of alienated holdings consisting of entire villages or shares of villages, by
attachment of the said villages or shares of villages and taking them under Govt.
management;

❖ Notice of demand

A notice of demand is issued on or after the day following that on which the arrear became
payable.

The form and contents of the notice of demand, the cost recoverable for such notice from
the defaulter as an arrear of land revenue and the officers by whom such notices should be
issued is to be as prescribed.
❖ Forfeiture of occupancy or alienated holding

The Tahsildar is empowered under Sec.163 to declare the land liable for arrear of land
revenue is to be forfeited and sell or otherwise dispose of the same and credit the proceeds
to the defaulter’s account:

The Tahsildar should not declare the forfeiture of any such land:

Unless he has issued a proclamation and written notices of the intended declaration in the
prescribed manner under Sec.168 for effecting sales of immovable property and until after
the expiration of at least fifteen days from the latest date on which any of the said notices
should have been published.

The Tahsildar should make such a declaration only where the land revenue exceeds rupees
ten thousand.

Before the land with arrears of revenue is sold if any person interested in such land pays the
entire arrears of land due and expenses incurred so far, the Tahsildar may cancel the
declaration of forfeiture.

Forfeiture for non-payment of land revenue operates only as resumption of the holding so far
as Govt. is concerned who would generally restore it on payment of arrears but doesn’t
necessarily extinguish rights and equities that subsist between parties - Munibachappa Vs.
St. of Mysore, ILR 1954 Mys 222

The word ‘forfeiture’ in Sec.54 implies loss of a legal right. It is not necessary that the
property forfeited should be actually sold by the Deputy Commissioner in order that the
rights of the defaulting holders may be affected. The moment there is an order of
forfeiture on failure of payment of revenue the defaulting holder loses all rights in the
property; if the property is obtained by the defaulter later on from Govt. the equities
existing against him may be enforced by others – Krishnamurthy Vs. Subba Rao, ILR 1952
Mys 37

Mere forfeiture of land under Sec. 54 followed by restoration to the defaulting holder did
not wipe out all the earlier rights and equities that may be subsisting as between private
parties – Nagappa Gowda Vs. Gurupadappa, ILR 1953 Mys 408

❖ Distraint & sale of immovable property

The Tahsildar has the power to order the distraint and sale of the defaulter’s moveable
property and such distraint and sale is to be carried out by the prescribed procedure and
officers or class of officers. However, any article kept exclusively for religious use or
whatever is exempt from distraint or sale of any property under Code of Civil Procedure,
1908 in execution of a decree is also exempt from the aforesaid process.

❖ Attachment and sale of immovable property

In addition to or instead of the methods provided in Sec.161 for the recovery of land revenue
if the Tahsildar feels then he is empowered under Sec. 165 to cause any immoveable property
of the defaulter to be attached and sold.
But the property of a minor descended to him by the regular course of inheritance is exempt
from such attachment and sale.

❖ Procedure for effecting sale of immovable property

Before effecting the sale of any land or other immovable property notices and proclamations
should be issued by the Deputy Commissioner or other officer empowered in this behalf in
the prescribed form and such notices and proclamations should also be published and a copy
of that served on the defaulter.

❖ Sale to be by auction

All sales of moveable or immoveable property should be held by public auction.

1. Fixation of reserved price less than the arrears if the property could fetch more is
untenable – Achamma Cyriac Vs. Kerala State Financial Corporation AIR 1997 Kerala 75
2. Sale cannot be conducted without proclamation – Lalchand Vs. VIII Additional District
Judge & Ors. AIR 1997 Supreme Court 2106
3. Failure to deposit sale price by the purchaser within the time fixed renders the sale a
nullity – Balaram Vs. Ilam Singh & Ors. AIR 1996 SC 2718
4. If the highest bid is inadequate the same can be refused – Navalka & Sons Vs. Ramanya
Das AIR 1970 SC 2037

Question 8: Salient features of Registration Act, 1908

Registration is the process of recording a document with a recognized officer and to
safeguard its original copies. Any document whether binding or non-binding shall be
registered in a required manner. Registration of every document is not necessary but doing
so affirms the authenticity and helps in avoiding legal process. Many people are not familiar
with the concept of registration and hence, do not understand its importance in eyes of law.
It is crucial to be familiarized with registration and what it includes to avoid disputes.

There are two kinds of registration according to The Registration Act, 1908 namely
“Mandatory Registration” and “Optional Registration” which have been explained below. Apart
from them, a person going for registration should also know the following:

1. Who can register?

2. Where to register?
3. When to register?
4. What fees to be paid?

If the person knows all of these then he will be able for apply for registration of a document
without any difficulty.

❖ MANDATORY REGISTRATION

Section 17 of the Indian Registration Act, 1908 provides for mandatory registration of
certain documents. Those are as follows:
 1. Gift deed related to an immovable property;
2. Non-testamentary instruments:
✓ purporting to creation, assignment, declaration, extinguishing of any interest in any
immovable property worth Rs. 100 and above;
✓ which acknowledge receipt or payment of any consideration for creation,
assignment, declaration or limitation of any right, title or interest;
3. Lease of immovable property for any term exceeding one year or reservation of yearly
rent;
4. Contracts for transfer of immovable property for a consideration for purpose of
Section 53A of Transfer of Property Act, 1882 is executed on or after the inception
of Registration and Other Related Laws (Amendment) Act, 2001.

Failing to do so will result in transfer being invalid.

❖ OPTIONAL REGISTRATION

But not all documents have to be registered. Section 18 provides for optional registration of
some documents such as:

1. Adoption Deed
2. Instrument relating to shares in joint stock company
3. Debentures issued by joint stock company
4. Will
5. Lease of immovable property not exceeding 1 year
6. Document of a past transaction
7. Power of Attorney with respect to movable property
8. Decree or order of court comprising an immovable property valued below Rs. 100
9. Certificate of Sale granted
10. Agreement of Mortgage
11. Promissory note
12. Instrument of partition by Revenue Officer
13. Grant of immovable property by Government

❖ WHEN TO REGISTER DOCUMENTS?

According to Section 23 of the Act, all documents except a will have to be presented for
registration within 4 months from the date of execution. If a document is executed by
several persons at different times, then that document has to be presented for registration
and re-registration within 4 months from the date of each execution (Section 24 of the
Act).

If due to any urgency or unavoidable accident, any executed document or a copy of decree or
order is not presented within 4 months but it is presented after its expiry will be accepted
for registration provided that 10 times the amount of registration fees is paid and delay in
presentation does not exceed 4 months.

Application for such a step has to be made to Sub-Registrar who will forward such application
to the Registrar to whom he is a subordinate (Section 25 of the Act). If a document is
executed outside India by any or all of the parties and is presented after expiry 4 months
then it will be accepted for registration provided that it was executed and presented for
registration within 4 months after its arrival to India (Section 26 of the Act, 1908).

❖ WHERE TO REGISTER?

In case of documents regarding immovable property, it shall be presented for registration in

the office of Sub-Registrar within whose district the property or part of it is located
(Section 28 of the Act). In case of all other documents, they shall be presented:

1. In the office of Sub-Registrar in whose sub-district the document was executed; or

2. In the office of any other Sub-Registrar under State Government where all
individuals desire the document to be registered.

The Officer authorized to register a document may on a special cause being shown also go to
the individual’s private residence who desires to present a document for registration or
deposit a will (Section 31 of the Act).

❖ Who can apply for registration?

According to Section 32 of the Act, every document (except in cases of Sections 31, 88 and
89 of the Act) shall be presented for registration or deposited in a proper registration
office by:

1. some person executing or claiming under the same, or, in the case of a copy of a
decree or order, claiming under the decree or order, or
2. the representative or assignee of such a person, or
3. the agent of such a person, representative or assign, duly authorized by power-of-
attorney executed and authenticated in the manner hereinafter mentioned.

Every person presenting a document for registration shall affix his passport size photograph
along with fingerprints to the document. In a case where a document is related to transfer of
ownership of immovable property, passport size photographs and fingerprints of all the
buyers and sellers mentioned in the document shall be affixed (Section 32A of the Act).

In case of a will or authority to adopt, the testator or after his death any executor may or a
donor or after his death the donee or adoptive son may present it to the Registrar or Sub-
Registrar for registration respectively (Section 40 and Section 41 of the Act). It shall be
registered if it is satisfied that:

1. The will or authority to adopt was executed by the executor or donor;

2. The testator or donor is dead;
3. The person presenting the will or authority to adopt is entitled to present the same

❖ FEES

The prescribed fees for registration of documents shall be paid on presentation of

documents (Section 80 of the Act).
❖ CASE LAWS

In Narinder Singh Rao v. Air Vice Marshal Mahinder Singh Rao (2013) settled by
Supreme Court, the Appellant’s father wrote on a piece of paper that his wife would inherit
the property on his death. It was signed by a single witness and was not registered.

After the father’s death, his widow executed a will, transferring the entire property to only
one of her nine children. The aggrieved siblings challenged the mother’s will in court, stating
that she had not inherited the entire property because the father’s will be invalid. The
argument was accepted, stating that for a will to be valid, it must be attested by two
witnesses. Besides, it could not be held as a valid transfer of property as it was not
registered under the Indian Registration Act, 1908.

So, the Supreme Court held that the rule of succession would apply in dividing the property
as the father’s will was invalid. This case recapitulated two rules which have been clearly set
out in legislation. They are:

1. The proper attestation of wills and

2. The registration of documents.

In Satya Pal Anand v. State of M.P. & Ors. (Civil Appeal No. 6673 of 2014), the
Supreme Court held that once a document is registered then authority is not open to cancel
its registration.

For this case, an application was moved by a man before the Sub-Registrar (Registration) to
cancel the registration of extinguishment deed executed by the Society cancelling an
allocation of the plot. Persecuted by the rejection of his application, on the ground that Sub
Registrar has no domain to cancel the enrolment of a registered document being referred to,
he moved toward Inspector General (Registration) which was in vain.

The High Court, on its writ petition, held that, since the Registering Officer selected the
deed acquainted with him for registration, his ability is exhausted and he would then advance
towards becoming functus officio (an officer or agency whose mandate has expired either
because of the arrival of an expiry date or because an agency has accomplished the purpose
for which it was created. When used in relation to a court, it may also mean whose duty or
authority has come to an end) and no vitality to appropriate the report under Section 33 of
the Act. This decision by the High Court was condemned in the Supreme Court.

The appeal in Part XII especially under Section 72 limits just to the refusal of Registering
Officer to register a document. It was similarly held that power given to Registrar under
Section 68 can’t be used to cross out registration of a registered document.

Moreover, the court observed that there is no express course of action in the Registration
Act or Rules bound by the State of Madhya Pradesh nor any circular issued by the competent
authority of the State of Madhya Pradesh with the goal that the extinguishment deed should
bear the characteristics of both the vendor and the buyer and both must be accessible
before the Registering Officer when the document is presented for registration.
❖ WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF REGISTERING DOCUMENTS?

Registration of a document gives a more transparent deal. Even if a registered document is

lost or damaged, the registration records prove the authenticity of the document. A
document stating that a Power of Attorney has been revoked should also be registered so
that there is no misuse after revocation. Easy access also helps in finding the owner who has
the title and right to the property and whether there is any case against him or an existing
liability before someone decides to buy it. Registration also prevents forgeries or fraud in
transactions specifically in tax, stamp duty etc.

Even though some documents are registered on an optional basis, it is still advised to register
them as this will prove the authenticity of the document and set aside any doubts arising
because of it.

❖ CONCLUSION

Therefore, it can be seen that registration of a document is of utmost importance and must
be done as soon as possible otherwise it would lead to long years of legal battle which is
costly and time consuming.

Question 9: Constitutional Perspective of Agrarian Reforms

Agrarian reform is the redistribution of agricultural resources such as agricultural land
amongst the farmers situated in a country. It is also known as land reforms but the term
agrarian reform corresponds to a broader sense. The concept of agrarian reforms mainly
focuses on redistribution of agricultural land and changes in the laws, legislation and customs
pertaining to possession of agricultural land but in a wider context, this includes similar
adjustments in agricultural institutions, including credit, taxes, rents and cooperatives.

In India, Agrarian reforms have been at play even before we had a constitution. Right-back
from the Middle Ages, India has had several rulers that have been changing the policies again
and again. But one of that the factors that remain constant throughout all these changes is
that poor farmers have to be exploited so that the rich can get richer. Even during the
British raj, the infamous Zamindari system exploited poor farmers while the owners of the
land i.e., the Zamindars earned a lot of money through taxes.

After independence, the Government of India began the process of creating equity among
the rural population and improving jobs and productivity through agrarian reforms. The key
goal of the Government was to eliminate these intermediate classes such as the Zamindars
and ensure a sound system of land management. Since India is a large country, the process of
redistribution was a major challenge for the government. They divided the respective land
and declared it the property of the State Government and as such the reforms vary as per
the state.
❖ Constitutional Provisions on Agrarian Reforms

The government after achieving independence wanted to bring about several changes in the
Agricultural field. The agrarian reform policy was one of the main facets of the social and
economic restructuring of Indian society as well as with the view of enforcing the Guidelines
on the preservation of social and economic justice for those employed on the land.
Fundamental rights (Part-III) and Directive Principals of state policy (Part-IV) are provided
in the Constitution of India.

As stated earlier, land is divided under the authority of the State Governments which give
them the right and power to enact laws on land-related matters. Entry 18 of the State List is
referred to property and land rights and Entry 20 of the concurrent list also mandates the
central government to perform its role in social and economic planning. The Planning
Commission was formed to recommend land reform measures in the region. Over the years
several Constitutional measures have been enacted and amended to improve the agricultural
sector and the life of farmworkers.

Article 23 and Article 48 of the Constitution of India have abolished Begar or forced
unpaid labour or bonded labour in India and have directed the state to organise agriculture
and animal husbandry on a modern-scientific basis respectively.

Article 38 specifies that States shall encourage the welfare of the population by maintaining
and supporting it as efficiently as possible. A constitutional order in which the institution of
national life is reformed by justice, social, economic and democratic. In specific, that it aims
to minimise income inequality.

Article 39 provides that the State shall direct its policy towards protecting the possession
and management of the material resources of the Society and administer them as best it can
to support the common good and, at the same time, to ensure that the economic structure
does not contribute to an accumulation of capital and means of production at the common
expense.

One of the main reasons for these major Agrarian reforms is to prevent and break any
concentration in ownership of land. If one single individual or entity was to have ownership of
several acres of land there would be grave inequality. In a situation where a few big landlords
have several acres of land, the farmers will get treated harshly as it was back in the British
rule.

Taking into context Article 14 states that no person can be denied equality before the law
and equal protection of laws which means no person can be denied land if he seeks to acquire
one that is not someone else’s. Especially with reference to Article 31 (Amended) which
guaranteed the right to property and included six provisions, (4) and (6) of which were
expressly intended to defend land reform legislation.

❖ Constitutional Amendments on Agrarian Reforms

In the case of State of Bihar v. Kameshwar Singh, The Supreme Court acknowledged that
the land reform law of Bihar was consistent with the values of the state policy of the
Directive to pursue social justice. Article 31A and 31B enacted by the Constitution (First
Amendment) Act, 1951 was supplemented by a more detailed Article by the Constitution
(Fourth Amendment) Act, 1955. These reforms abolished the Jagirdars, Zamindars and other
feudal tenures replacing it with a more favourable system. The states now have the right to
take over the management of any land from within the boundaries of the State for a limited
amount of time, either in the public interest or to ensure proper care of the land.

The Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1964, further clarified the concept of estate to
include any property held under the Ryotwari settlement, any property held or disposed of
for agricultural purposes or any ancillary thereto, including waste land, forest land, land for
pasture or building sites and other settlements inhabited by agricultural labourers and village
artisans.

Writ petitions were also filed challenging the legality of the Mysore Land Reforms Act,
1961 (as amended by Act 14 of 1965), which set the ceilings on land holdings and gave tenants
possession of surplus land. The above-written petitions, along with certain other petitions,
were heard by a special bench composed of eleven Supreme Court judges. In this case, while
the amending Papers were considered to be correct, they were considered by a majority on
separate grounds.

The Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978, provided that the right to property is
no longer a fundamental right and Article 300A was inserted which states that no person
shall be deprived of his property except by the force of law. Along with the omission of
Article 19(1)(f) and Article 31 would imply that the distinction made between people and non-
citizens with regard to property has been excluded from Article 19(1)(f). The omission of
Article 31 also contradicts the system introduced by our constitution for the compulsory
purchase of land.

Presently, any law that accommodates the acquisition by the state of any estate and where
any land included in that is held by an individual under his development, it will not be legal for
the state to obtain any part of such land as it is within the ceiling limit applicable to him
under any law for now in force or any building or structure standing there in or appurtenant
thereto, unless the law relating to the acquisition of such land, building or structure.

Article 31A whilst notwithstanding anything contained in article 13 provides that the
acquisition by the state of any estate or of any rights therein or the extinguishment or
modification of any such rights, or Taking over the ownership of any land by the State for a
short period of time, either in the public interest or so as to guarantee the proper
management of the land shall be deemed to be void on the ground that it is inconsistent with
or takes away or abridges any of the rights conferred by Article 14 and 19.

❖ Recent Developments

The recently passed Agricultural Reform Bills, 2020 commonly known as Farm Bill has been
engulfed in a lot of controversies. Farmers in Punjab and from other parts of the country
have been protesting against these reforms. Several political parties were even opposing this
bill stating that against the interests of small and marginal farmers.
The following 3 ordinances were promulgated by the Centre Government back in June this
year;

1. The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance,
2020;
2. The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm
Services Ordinance, 2020; and
3. The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 (It is the Bill replacing the
third that has been passed in Lok Sabha)

Though there are a few positive effects of this bill, it is seen with grave distrust. The bill
aims at ‘One India, One Agriculture Market’ and to generate additional trading opportunities
outside the APMC market yards. It also creates an ecosystem where farmers and traders
would enjoy the freedom of choice in the sale and purchase of Agri-produce along with few
more features.

But the main argument lies in the on the issues such as;

1. No consultation with stakeholders

2. Issue over trade and MSP guarantee
3. Legacy concerns
4. Fear of food insecurity
5. Constitutional issues raised

The Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi stated, “This government has been eyeing, how they can
take the farmers’ land to benefit their capitalist friends, whether is the Land Acquisition
Act, whether in the industrial system through weakening the labour courts and now this
three-pronged attack on the Indian agricultural system through the two bills on farming –
one related to APMC, the other one is related to contract farming and the third bill which is
on essential commodities… a three-pronged attack on the Indian farmer.”

❖ Conclusion

The Agriculture Sector is one of the most important sectors in India that contributes about
18 percent to the National GDP. In fact, 60 percent of the entire population of India are
employed in this line of work. Thus, these agrarian reforms effect the society at large.

It is said that Laws and regulations on land reform have been framed in such a manner as to
enforce the values of the directive principles and achieve social and economic fairness. But is
this true in this day and age?

It has been concluded over and over again that the poor farmers have been deprived of this
social and economic fairness. Farmers are exploited of their daily wages and rights just so
that the rich can get richer. The people that grow the food that we eat daily are amongst the
poorest factions in the country while the distributers, sellers and various other middlemen
are full of wealth. The Farm Bill is the most recent addition to this grave exploitation of
farmers.
Though there have been several amendments and constitutional provisions to improve the
agriculture sector there is still a way to go.

Question 10: Salient features of Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1964

The Karnataka Land Reforms Act came into effect in 1961. The sole objective of
implementing the act was to socialize uniformity in the purchase and ownership of
agricultural land. The Act also defined the norms and regulations to be followed for
conferring ownership on the tenants of the land, the threshold or ceiling on the landholdings,
and the endowment of occupancy rights.

The salient features of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, before the amendment, were:

1. Section 63 of the Act focused on the ceiling imposed on landholding.

2. Section 79A of the Act imposed restrictions prohibiting non-agriculturists from the
acquisition of land. Firms and individuals from a non-agricultural or non-farming
background, earning income more than 25 lakhs in INR, are not allowed to purchase any
agricultural land in Karnataka.
3. Section 79B of the Act stated persons or firms related to farming or agriculturists can
purchase, hold and own agricultural lands.
4. Section 79C of the Act defined the penalty to be imposed for falsely claiming ownership
of agricultural land. Violating Sections 79A and 79B allowed the revenue department to
investigate and impose actions.
5. Section 80 of the Act barred the transfer of land to non-agriculturists.
6. Similar restrictions were imposed on leasing and mortgage of agricultural land.

Further to this, the Karnataka Land Reforms Act has undergone an amendment in 2020.

❖ The Key Amendments to The Karnataka Land Reforms Act in 2020

Let us now discuss the key amendments to the Act, that has facilitated the removal of
certain restrictions on purchasing and owning agricultural land

1. Amendment To Section 63 Of the Act

The ceiling on holding and acquisition of agricultural land has been increased from 10 units to
20 units. This threshold is applicable for a person who is not a family member or who does not
have a family or for families with 4 members. For a family with more than 5 members, the
ceiling has an additional 4 units allotted for each member, but not to exceed 40 units. 1 unit
of land is equivalent to 5.4 acres.

2. Sections 79A, 79B, and 79C of the Act Repealed

The repealing of the sections is the most significant amendment of the Karnataka Land
Reforms Act. The restrictions of acquiring and owning agricultural lands specifically by firms
or individuals related to farming have been lifted off. Hence non-agriculturists with an
income of more than INR 25 lakhs can now buy and own agricultural land in Karnataka.
3. Amendment of Sections 80 And 81 of the Act

The restriction on the sale of agricultural land to non-agriculturists or firms and individuals
not related to farming has been removed. Certain restrictions are, however, still applicable on
the transfer of specific categories of agricultural land. Besides, Class A land irrigated,
leveraging water from a dam, can only be utilized for farming and agriculture.

4. Insertion of a New Provision in Section 80-A of the Act

The inclusion of the new provision mentions that the amendments of the Act will not affect
individuals belonging to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, as introduced under the
Prohibition of Transfer of Certain Lands or the Karnataka SC/ST Act of 1978. Agricultural
land owned by them will continue to remain as farmland.

The Past-The The Present-The

The
Karnataka Land Karnataka Land The Future
Sections
Reforms Act (1961) Reforms Act (2020)

Ceiling increased to 20
Ceiling on holding of units per individual (it
Section agricultural land limited means that the land
63 to 10 units* per ceiling for a dry land
individuals has increased from 54
acres to 108 acres) Any green enthusiast of
any professional
background from
No family (HUF) having anywhere in the
Sections 79A has been
a non-agricultural country, under any
Section repealed. Now, anyone
income of over 25 lakhs income bracket, with a
79A can own land as there is
per annum could own passion for agriculture
no income slab.
agricultural land. can buy farmland in
Karnataka to fulfil their
dream of owning
Section 79B has been farmland.
No person from a non- repealed; anyone from a
Section farming family of non-farming family from
79B Karnataka could ever anywhere in India can
own agricultural land also own agricultural
land in Karnataka.
 The Section has been
Agricultural land cannot amended to propose
Section
be transferred to a restrictions on land
80
non-agriculturist transfer, as opposed to
a complete bar.

* One unit is equal to 5.4 acres

❖ Key Facts Related to the Amendment of the Act

The Amendment of the Karnataka Reforms Act was passed on September 28, 2020, through
a voice vote in the Karnataka State Assembly. The bill will enable families who are not
agriculturists but have an interest in farming, to invest in agricultural land. Furthermore, it
has been stated that innovative and modern techniques can be introduced to improve
agricultural production. Henceforth it will increase agricultural exports, thus spurring the
state’s earnings.

Another remarkable achievement of the amendment is the withdrawal or dismissal of about

13814 pending cases. These cases were lodged for violating Sections 79A and 79B, involving
thousands of acres of land almost worth crores of rupees. Earlier the sections befitted the
benefits of the farmers while they tried to sell their land.

❖ Implications of the amendment Act:

1. The amendments to these archaic laws have opened up the agricultural business, a sector
that is witnessing an influx of investments. In fact, the people owning these lands will
themselves benefit from these reforms because it opens up their land to different
avenues and opportunities.
2. Karnataka’s already thriving service sector will receive an even bigger boost.
Infrastructure, tourism, transport, and hospitality will all demand an increase in
investment and manpower, and this Act facilitates the impetus.
3. More than anything, it’s the common Karnataka citizen whom this Act will impact the
most. People will no longer have to travel to another state to purchase land. Many
agriculture enthusiasts who dream of owning land despite not having an agricultural
background can now fulfil their dream.

❖ Conclusion

The state of Karnataka owns almost 98.95 Lakh hectares of cultivable land, which can be
used for agriculture and farming. But a greater portion of it was not utilized due to the
restrictions imposed in the Land Reforms Act. The amendment has aided in releasing about
40,000 acres of land to their owners; thus, paving the way for more investment in producing
crops. This will facilitate greater production of food grains for internal consumption as well
as agricultural exports. It will serve two vital purposes.
Firstly, it can help meet the ever-increasing demand for food supplies for catering to the
demands of the ever-increasing population. Secondly, it will create a positive influence on the
state GDP as well as the income from the agricultural sector.

Question 11: Rights and Liabilities of Landlords

CHAPTER II, Section 3-43 of THE KARNATAKA LAND REFORMS ACT, 1961
deals with GENERAL PROVISIONS REGARDING TENANCIES which states the right and
liabilities of both landlords and tenants.

The lessor/landlord must be competent to contract, that is they must be of the age of
majority and possess a sound mind, at the time of granting the lease. A minor cannot grant
lease since he is incompetent to contract. But his guardian of property may grant such lease,
without the court’s permission, for a period not exceeding five years or lasting for more than
one year after the minor attains majority.

A lessor must also have the right to transfer the possession of the property to the tenant.
His authority to affect the lease cannot be questionable. Such ‘authority’ either stems from
the ownership of the property, or from having the possession of the property. Since a lease
is only the transfer of the possession of a property, thus it is not required that the lessor be
the owner of the property, a lessee may also authorise a lease in favour of another person
subject to the provision that such title must not extend beyond such person’s own possession.
A subsequent lease granted by a lessee is known as a sub-lease, or derivative lease.

The landlord or the lessor of the property possesses following rights and liabilities after a
lease agreement:

1. Duty to disclose latent material defect:

If there exists any latent material defect in the property, it must be disclosed by the
landlord to the tenant. A latent material defect can be defined as a defect which is of
substantial nature and is not apparently visible but the landlord has the knowledge of it. The
substantial nature of the defect implies that had the defect already known to the tenant he
would either not have accepted the lease or would have taken it on different terms. The
defects may be patent, that is, apparent or of unsubstantial nature for the tenant, in such
cases the landlord is not obligated to disclose the defect.

2. Duty to give possession:

Lease is an agreement to transfer the right to possession of a property, thus, the landlord is
obligated to deliver the possession of the property to the tenant so that he can use it. The
delivery of the possession may be actual or constructive, as may be possible under the
circumstances. The tenant is entitled to sue the landlord if he failed from being put in the
possession of the property. He may also claim damages in such case. If the property is in
possession of a third party, the tenant has the right to sue such third party for getting
possession. The tenant may also repudiate the whole lease if he could get the possession of
only a part of the property.
3. Covenant for quiet enjoyment:

Quiet enjoyment refers to the absence of interference or objection. Lease is a transfer of

right of enjoyment of a property; thus, it is an implied duty of the landlord to ensure the
tenant a peaceful enjoyment of this right. This covenant protects the tenant from any
disturbance only from the landlord or any person claiming under him. The tenant is not
protected from the wrongful acts of a trespasser. Thus, if there is any trespasser, the
tenant must take an action on him and not against the landlord.

The implied covenant for quiet enjoyment is deemed to be annexed to the leased property.
Therefore, if the tenant sub-lets the property, such covenant for quiet enjoyment shall pass
on to the transferee.

Question 12: Rights and Liabilities of Tenants

CHAPTER II, Section 3-43 of THE KARNATAKA LAND REFORMS ACT, 1961
deals with GENERAL PROVISIONS REGARDING TENANCIES which states the right and
liabilities of both landlords and tenants.

In case of lease, the lessee/tenant must also be competent to contract as it contemplates

agreement to a liability of payment of the consideration on part of the tenant. Thus, a minor
or a person of an unsound mind cannot be tenants. A juristic person such as a company, or a
registered firm may also be the lessee, but an unregistered firm, not being a juristic person,
is not competent to be a lessee. Where a firm is a tenant, and a partner executes the lease
deed on its behalf, the lease continues to exist even after retirement of the partner and
there is no subletting by the partner to the firm, the firm continues to be the lessee, it was
held in the case of Raunak Ram And Ors. vs Pishori Singh And Ors.

❖ Rights of Tenant:

In the absence of any contract or local usage to the contrary, the rights of a tenant are:

1. Right to accretion:

Additions made to the property either by human beings or by operation of natural forces are
called accretions. If during the continuation of the lease some accretion is made to the
property, it is presumed to be a part of the property. The tenant can enjoy such accretions
during subsistence of the lease. In both the cases, where the accretion is created by the
natural forces or where the tenant makes them himself, they will be considered to have been
made for the benefit of the landlord and the tenant can enjoy them only as long as the lease
subsists.

2. Right to avoid lease on destruction of property:

The very object of a lease is to confer the right of enjoyment and use of an immovable
property to the tenant. Thus, if an injury to the property renders the enjoyment of the
property impossible, the tenant has the right to avoid the lease. Where the property has
been rendered substantially and permanently unfit for use due to violence, fire, flood, mob or
other uncontrollable reasons, the tenant has the right to get the lease terminated before
the expiry of the term. The property must be damaged to the extent that it cannot be used
for the purpose for which lease was made. If the property is destroyed by the wrongful or
neglectful act of the tenant himself, he cannot avoid the lease.

3. Right to deduct cost of repairs:

Under an express agreement, the landlord may undertake the obligation to make necessary
repairs in the tenanted property. His duty to repair the property may arise under some
custom or local laws such as Rent Control Act as well. In case the landlord fails to repair the
tenanted property despite express covenant or in violation of local law or custom, the tenant
has the right to repair the property and deduct its cost from the rent. The tenant has the
right to deduct the cost of repairs only if the landlord is bound to repair the property under
an express local law or covenant or custom. The landlord’s obligation to repair the premise
overrides the tenant’s right for quiet enjoyment and thus the landlord may not use the right
for quiet enjoyment as an excuse for not being able to enter the premises to make the
repairs.

4. Right to deduct outgoings:

The payment of the public charges such as municipal tax revenue, etc. is the duty of the
landlord. In case there is an anticipated default on the part of the landlord, the tenant may
pay such public charges to avoid the sale of the property. Where a tenant makes payment of
the public charge in respect of tenanted property, he has the right to deduct the amount
from the rents.

5. Right to remove fixtures:

Fixtures refer to all the things fixed or attached, by the tenant, to the tenanted premises,
it includes trees, machinery, and buildings. The tenant has the right to remove the fixtures
which were made by him, during continuance of the lease, after the lease is terminated. The
tenant cannot be prevented from entering into the premises and remove the fixtures on the
ground that his right to enter into the land has been terminated with the lease. However, he
must remove the things without disturbing the state of land or the premises.

6. Right to remove crops:

If there are crops sown by the tenant on the property during the subsistence of the lease,
he is entitled to remove them even after the lease is terminated. The tenant or his
representatives are entitled to enter into the property after the termination of the lease
for removing and collecting the crops growing on the land. This right is exercisable where the
leases are of uncertain duration, e.g., leases from year to year. In other classes of leases,
the parties themselves may stipulate in respect of removal of crops.

7. Right to assign his interest:

A lessee has the right to assign or transfer his right of enjoyment in the property in case of
absence of any contract to the contrary. Right of enjoyment of the possession is a ‘property’
owned by the tenant, he can transfer it to any other person provided there is no prohibition
imposed by the landlord. However, the tenant cannot assign his right to use the land for a
term extending beyond his own lease. The tenant is entitled to transfer his interest also by
the way of mortgage. The transferee of the tenant too gets the same interest which the
original tenant had. But the original tenant continues to be subject to liabilities attached to
the lease. He cannot take the plea that the lease-hold has been transferred. In cases of non-
transferable tenure or an estate in which there is a default in payment of revenue or where
the estate is in management of Courts of Wards, the tenant cannot transfer his interest.

❖ Duties or Liabilities of Tenant:

1. Duty to disclose facts:

The tenant is bound to disclose any material fact known to him which increases the value of
the property. For example, if the tenant finds that there is a gold mine in the leased
property, he must disclose this to the landlord because this materially increases the value of
the property. In case the tenant does not disclose such fact to the landlord, his breach does
not amount to a fraud and this does not give the landlord a right to terminate the lease, but
he may sue the tenant for damages.

2. Duty to pay rent:

The tenant is bound to pay rent or premium as stipulated in the lease-deed. It is obligatory
on him to tender or pay the rent at proper time or place. His liability to pay the rent begins
from the date on which he takes possession and not from the date on which the landlord
signs the deed. In case the lessee is unable to take possession of any part of the leased
property, he is entitled to claim reduction of rent in proportion of the property not in his
possession. Where the landlord has no title at all in the property which he has leased and
consequently the tenant has to vacate the possession, tenant has no liability to pay the rent.

Where the property is leased to more than one lessee jointly, rent paid by any one is
sufficient. Similarly, in case of property leased being a joint-property, rent paid to any one
landlord is sufficient. The landlord has two remedies in case the tenant fails to pay the rent,
firstly, he is entitled to sue the tenant for the arrears of the rent with interest. Secondly,
he may start proceedings for ejectment on the ground of non-payment of rent after giving a
proper notice for the stipulated time.

3. Duty to maintain property:

The tenant has the obligation to take reasonable care of the property leased to him. He must
maintain the property to keep it in the state in which it was given to him. This duty involves
repairs to the property which become necessary because of his use. He is not liable for any
change in the property which has not resulted from his use of the property. Thus, he has no
duty to repair the property damaged in cyclone or earthquake or other irresistible forces.
Thus, incidentally, the tenant is bound to allow the landlord to enter the premises to inspect
the property.
4. Duty to give notice of encroachment:

Where the tenant becomes aware of any encroachment or interference or of any proceedings
or suit in respect of the leased property, he is bound to give notice of this fact to the
landlord so that the landlord may protect his interest.

5. Duty to use property reasonably:

The tenant must only use the property as a person of ordinary prudence would use his own
property. He must not do any act which is destructive or permanently injurious to the
property. The tenant is allowed to make minor alterations in the property in the form of
repairs and maintenance but he must not make any major alterations thereto.

6. Duty not to erect permanent structure:

The tenant cannot erect any permanent structures on the leased property without the
consent of the landlord. If the tenant makes a permanent construction without the landlord’s
consent, he is entitled to remove them without causing damage to the tenanted property. If
the permanent structures on the leased property are not removed by the tenant, then on the
expiry of the lease they belong to the landlord. The landlord has to pay the price of the
structures as may be agreed upon between the parties. However, the prohibition under this
clause does not apply where the parties have contracted that the land is being leased for
erection of a dwelling house or a shop thereon.

7. Duty to restore possession:

Upon the expiry of the term or termination of the lease before its expiry, the tenant must
re-transfer the possession to the landlord. It is the duty of the tenant to vacate the
possession and restore it to the landlord after the expiry of the term. If the tenant
continues the possession after the expiry of the term, his occupation is unauthorised
possession and the court may direct him to pay damages and also mesne profits (profits of an
estate which are received by the tenant in wrongful possession and which are recoverable by
the landlord) to the landlord upon an action.

❖ Conclusion

When the right of enjoyment of possession of a property is transferred, a lease agreement

comes into existence. The person who leases the property is called the landlord, and the
person to whom the lease is made is called the tenant. With the title of landlord and tenant,
comes various obligations attached on part of both the parties. Section 108 of the Transfer
of Property Act specifies these rights and liabilities. In the absence of any local law, custom,
or written covenant to the contrary, these rights and liabilities are followed by both the
parties to protect each other’s interests.

Question 13: Salient features of Land Acquisition Act, 2013

The Government of India believed there was a heightened public concern on land acquisition
issues in India. The concern was that despite many amendments, over the years, to
India’s Land Acquisition Act of 1894, there was an absence of a cohesive national law that
addressed fair compensation when private land is acquired for public use, and fair
rehabilitation of land owners and those directly affected from loss of livelihoods. The
Government of India believed that a combined law was necessary, one that legally requires
rehabilitation and resettlement necessarily and simultaneously follow government acquisition
of land for public purposes.

The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and
Resettlement Act, 2013 is a legislation that regulates land acquisition and provides laid
down rules for granting compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement to the affected
persons in India. The Act has provisions to provide fair compensation to those whose land is
taken away, brings transparency to the process of acquisition of land to set up factories or
buildings, infrastructural projects and assures rehabilitation of those affected. The Act will
replace the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, a nearly 120-year-old law enacted during British rule.

❖ Aims and objectives:

The aims and objectives of the Act include:

1. To ensure, in consultation with institutions of local self-government and Gram Sabhas a

humane, participative, informed and transparent process for land acquisition
for industrialization, development of essential infrastructural facilities
and urbanization with the least disturbance to the owners of the land and other affected
families
2. Provide just and fair compensation to the affected families whose land has been acquired
or are affected by such acquisition
3. Make adequate provisions for such affected persons for their rehabilitation and
resettlement
4. Purpose and scope:

The Act aims to establish the law on land acquisition, as well as the rehabilitation and
resettlement of those directly affected by the land acquisition in India. The scope of the
Act includes all land acquisition whether it is done by the Central Government of India, or any
State Government of India, except the state of Jammu & Kashmir.

❖ The Act is applicable when:

1. Government acquires land for its own use, hold and control, including land for public
sector undertakings.
2. Government acquires land with the ultimate purpose to transfer it for the use of private
companies for stated public purpose. The purpose of LARR 2013 includes public-private-
partnership projects, but excludes land acquired for state or national highway projects.
3. Government acquires land for immediate and declared use by private companies for public
purpose.

The provisions of the Act do not apply to acquisitions under 16 existing legislations including
the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, the Railways Act,
1989, etc.
❖ Land acquisition process

Land acquisition is normally done in three ways:

1. Acquisition under Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,

Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
2. Private negotiations with the landowners.
3. Acquisition through other Acts.

❖ Acquisition under Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land

Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013

The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and
Resettlement Act, 2013 (“LARR Act”) came into force after repealing the Land Acquisition
Act, 1894. Under this Act, the District Collector facilitates the process of land acquisition
when the acquisition is done for public purpose. Through this Act, the Developer is able to
acquire land after complying with the provisions under this Act.

The land acquisition process as under the 2013 Act is as follows:

A Social Impact Assessment study (SIA) is to be prepared by the project proponent

(developer) under section 4. It is to be done in consultation (involving a public hearing with
locals) with the concerned Panchayat, municipality or Municipal Corporation under section 5
outlining:

1. Whether the acquisition will serve the public purpose,

2. The estimation of how many families will be affected,
3. The number of families which may have to be displaced,
4. Other common properties which may be affected in their area,
5. Whether any other alternative place has been considered by the government,
6. the overall cost of the project and the benefit of the project.

An expert group under section 7 approves the social impact assessment (SIA) report and
makes recommendations within 2 months about whether the project can go ahead or should
be abandoned and also give the reasons for their decision.

Examination and approval of proposals for land acquisition and the social impact assessment
report is done by the state government under Section 8 to determine whether the land is
needed for any public purpose.

After the approval, as per section 11 of the Act whenever a land in any area is required or
likely to be required for any public purpose, a public notification along with details of the land
is to be published in the official gazette and 2 daily local newspapers in that locality. This is
the initial acquisition notice.

A time period of 60 days is given for the general public to raise objections before the
collector under Section 15.

Preliminary land survey reports are prepared under Section 12.

The Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) report is prepared by the Administrator,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement under section 16 and after review by the collector, made
public under Section 18.

There is a publication of the declaration of the acquisition under Section 19 with a summary
of the rehabilitation and resettlement scheme.

The land is marked, measured and planned by the collector and project proponent under
Section 20 unless already done under Section 12.

Final notice under Section 21 is given to the persons interested to make any claims to
compensations and rehabilitation and resettlement about the acquisition before the Collector
within a period of 60 days.

Land acquisition award is made by the collector under Section 23 to persons claiming
compensation and rehabilitation and resettlement after enquiry.

Possession of land shall be taken by the Collector under Section 38.

It is pertinent to note that no consent is required for acquisitions for government projects,
Consent of 70% of landowners required for the acquisition of land with respect to Public-
Private Partnership projects and Consent of 80% landowners required for land acquisition for
private projects.

Anticipated timeline for land acquisition as per land is somewhere around 500 days. In
addition to the entire process, there are several other clearances and approvals required for
real estate projects to commence construction.

❖ Acquisition through direct negotiations

Direct private negotiations with landowners for acquiring land are permitted under the LARR
Act, 2013. These can be resorted to so the land can be acquired without adhering to the long
procedure under the LARR Act, 2013 or a small patch of land is left inadvertently during
initial acquisition.

It involves the constitution of a negotiation committee by the state government having the
district collector as part of it. The compensation and multiplying factor are as per the State
Government rules.

An example of when this was done can be seen when the Maharashtra government, in 2015,
decided to acquire land for new non-irrigation projects through negotiations by having a 7-
member committee headed by the district collector for deciding the compensation payable to
the landowner.

The steps are as follows:

1. A negotiation committee is constituted by the State Govt.

2. Joint inspection is done of the alignment of requirements with all concerned
departments & landowners.
3. Negotiations with landowners are undertaken for fixing rates of the land.
4. Recommendations by the committee and their approval by State Govt.
 5. Award by the Collector, payment is made and possession of Land is transferred.

❖ Acquisition through other Acts

The LARR Act, 2013 has exempted acts as National Highways Act, 1956 and the Railways
Act, 1989 from its purview. The acquisition under these Acts can be done as per the
provisions in the respective acts although the compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement
provisions of these acts have to be in consonance with the provisions under LARR Act, 2013.

❖ Conclusion

Any lapses in title verification or the acquisition process can keep the land required for the
project tied up in litigation and disputes leading to a delay in completion of the project and
huge monetary losses. Therefore, it is essential to follow the steps in verifying the land title
and in the subsequent acquisition as mentioned above (taking into account the differences
that may need to be factored in due to different rules in different states) to ensure the
start of the project is hassle-free and all the other approvals and clearances can be
received.

Question 14: Salient features of Karnataka Irrigation Act, 1965

The act is an amendment to Mysore irrigation (levy of betterment contribution and water
rate) act, 1957, and enforces law for construction, maintenance and regulation of irrigation
works in Karnataka.

This Act, consisting of 72 sections divided into ten Chapters, provides for the construction,
maintenance and regulation of irrigation works, the supply of water therefrom, obtaining
labour in emergencies and certain other matters pertaining to irrigation in the State of
Karnataka.

In particular, it specifies that no person shall construct, control or maintain wholly or partly
any reservoir, tank, anicut, bandhara, pond, spring pond, canal, field channel, talaparige,
channel or aquaduct except with the previous sanction of the State Government or such
other authority as may be authorized by the State Government.

In addition, it establishes that the competent Irrigation Officer may enter upon any land,
building or field-channel, for the purpose of inspecting or regulating the use of water
supplied or of measuring the land, irrigated thereby or chargeable with a water rate, and of
doing all things necessary for the proper regulation, maintenance and management of the
irrigation work from which such water is supplied.

❖ Salient features of Karnataka Irrigation Act, 1965

1. It provides among other things for the regulation of water from irrigation works, and
gives certain powers to irrigation officers in regard to the survey, investigation,
execution and maintenance of irrigation works.
2. It provides as before for the performance of customary obligations in regard to
maintenance of irrigation works by the beneficiaries.

3. There is provision for taking over certain notified irrigation works all over the State for
maintenance by Government if it is found necessary to do so in the interest of their
proper preservation and of the economic utilization of and regulation of water from such
works.

4. This is subject to the payment by the beneficiaries of a cess, the proceeds of which will
be put into a fund. A contribution up to 50 per cent of such proceeds is to be made by
Government to the fund out of the general revenues. This fund is to be utilised not
merely for maintenance but also for providing facilities for proper use of water from the
irrigation work and for constructing and maintaining ayacut roads, culverts, etc.,

5. It is proposed to take over all but very small irrigation works for maintenance over a
period of years, so that at the end of that period, the State will have complete control
and responsibility for maintenance of all such works, while the responsibility for the
others will continue to vest in the beneficiaries or other appropriate agencies.

6. There is also provision to enable Government to construct field channels in the event of
failure on the part of the ryots to construct them, subject to recovery of the cost of
such construction from the holders of lands benefited from such field channels.

7. The Bill also provides for certain safeguards for irrigation works and for certain
safeguards for irrigation works and for penalties for the contravention of the mandatory
provisions of the Bill.

Question 15: Sale, Distribution and Price control of fertilisers

Fertilizer is defined as any organic or inorganic substance, natural or artificial supplying one
or more of the chemical elements/nutrients required for plant growth. They provide six
macronutrients and eight micronutrients to the plants for well-balanced growth.

Nutrients include: Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium
(Mg), Sulphur (S).

❖ Fertilizer Policy in India and Governmental Interventions

1. Objectives: Major focus of the fertilizer policy has been on primary (macro) nutrients.

2. Since independence, the Government of India (GoI) has been regulating the sale, price,
and quality of fertilizers. GoI has declared fertilizers as an essential commodity. GoI
issued the Fertilizer Control Order (FCO) under the Essential Commodities Act,
1957.No subsidy was paid on Fertilizers till 1977 except Potash for which subsidy was
paid only for a year in 1977.

3. Retention Pricing Scheme (RPS): Introduced for nitrogenous fertilizers in 1977. Later, it
was extended to phosphatic and potassic fertilizers (Including Imported fertilizers).
 In this, the difference between retention price (cost of production as assessed by the
government plus 12% post-tax return on net worth) and the statutorily notified sale
price was paid as a subsidy to each manufacturing unit. This was the beginning of the
“Product-based subsidy” regime.

❖ Effect

1. It resulted in an extraordinary increase in domestic capacity/production and the

consumption of fertilizers. An increase in fertilizer use led to a significant increase in
the productivity of cereals and thereby overall foodgrains production.

2. In the 90s, there was a huge subsidy burden on the government. This led to an
increase in Fiscal Deficit.

3. In 1991, a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was appointed to review the Fertilizer
Pricing. The Committee did not favour total decontrolling of fertilizers but
recommended decontrol of import based phosphatic and Potassic fertilizers

Based on the recommendations, the GoI decontrolled all Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K)
fertilizers namely DAP, MOP, NPK complex fertilizers, and SSP (Single Super Phosphate) in
1992 which were under Retention Price Scheme (RPS) since 1977. But Urea which continued
to remain under RPS.

❖ Effect

1. The prices of phosphatic fertilizers became high. Hence, the production and
consumption of nitrogenous fertilizers increased and consumption of P&K fertilizers
decreased. This led to a severe imbalance in the consumption of nitrogenous,
phosphatic, and Potassic fertilizers.

2. Ad-hoc Concession Scheme: For phosphatic, potassic, and NPK complex fertilizers. It
was to provide P&K fertilizers to the farmers at affordable prices to increase food
productivity in the country through the balanced use of fertilizers. Under this
scheme, the concession was disbursed to the manufacturers/importers by the State
Governments based on the grants provided by the Department of Agriculture &
Cooperation (DAC).

3. During 1997- 98, the Department of Agriculture & Cooperation (DAC) started
indicating an all-India uniform Maximum Retail Price (MRP) for DAP/NPK/MOP. The
total delivered cost of fertilizers being invariably higher than the MRP indicated by
the Government, the difference in the delivered price of fertilizers at the farm gate,
and the MRP was compensated by the Government as a subsidy to the
manufacturers/importers.

4. Till 2000, the issues relating to fertilizer subsidy were being looked after by DAC,
and thereafter it was continued by the Department of Fertilizers.

5. In the year 2000, The Expenditure Reforms Commission (ERC) recommended for the
dismantling of existing RPS for urea. Hence, RPS for urea units was replaced byNew
Pricing Scheme (NPS) in the year 2003.
❖ New Pricing Scheme (NPS)

Concession Scheme for urea units based on the prices of feedstock used and the vintage of
plants. It had various phases like NPS-I (2003-2004), NPS-II (2004-2006), and NPS-III
(2006 onwards). The difference between the cost of production and the selling price/MRP is
paid as a subsidy/concession to manufacturers. Urea is the only controlled fertilizer, which is
sold at the statutory notified uniform sale price. The Phosphatic and Potassic fertilizes are
decontrolled and are sold at indicative maximum retail prices (MRPs).

➢ Aim

Helping the urea units to achieve internationally competitive levels of efficiency, greater
transparency, and simplification in subsidy administration.

➢ Effect

1. It resulted in the distortion of the market. The fertilizer companies started

bleeding due to fixed Urea prices and the rising cost of Inputs such as Natural Gas
and Naptha as 80% of the production of urea in India is gas-based.
2. Imbalance in the use of fertilizers. Also, led to the misuse of it through illegal export,
preparation of adulterated milk, etc.

❖ Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) Policy, 2010

1. The government fixes subsidy on an annual basis based on the weight of the different
macro/micronutrient (N, P, K, S, etc) contained in the fertilizer
2. Manufacturers/Marketers are allowed to fix the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) at a
reasonable level

➢ Aim

It aims at ensuring the balanced use of fertilizers, improving agricultural productivity,

promoting the growth of the indigenous fertilizers industry and also reducing the burden of
Subsidies.

➢ Drawbacks

1. Urea is not covered under the scheme

2. Delay in NBS subsidy payments. Hence, Fertilizer companies focus more on Urea than
other fertilizers
3. Increase in prices of Phosphoric and Potassic fertilizers
4. Farmers overuse Urea. Hence, the ideal ratio of NPK is disrupted

❖ Neem Coated Urea Policy, 2015

The government has made it mandatory for domestic fertilizer firms to “Neem coat” at least
75 percent of their urea production (It can even go up to 100%). Earlier, there was a cap of
35% on this. The government has also allowed manufacturers to charge a small 5 percent
premium on Neem-coated urea.
 ➢ Aim

Checking the excessive use of urea which is deteriorating the soil health and adversely
impacting overall crop yield. Maximizing indigenous urea production and promoting energy
efficiency in the urea units.

➢ Benefits

1. Reduce the subsidy outgo thus rationalizing the subsidy burden on the Government of
India.
2. Prevent diversion of urea for industrial use

➢ Limitations

The subsidy savings arising out of these pales beside the enormity (financially and politically)
of the fertilizer subsidy that is paid on the three major fertilizers, N, P, and K.

Question 16: Law regulating Rain Water Harvesting in India

Rainwater harvesting is the gathering, or accumulating and storing, of rainwater.

Rainwater harvesting has been used to provide drinking water, water for livestock, water for
irrigation or to refill aquifers in a process called groundwater recharge. Rainwater collected
from the roofs of houses, tents and local institutions, or from specially prepared areas of
ground, can make an important contribution to drinking water. In some cases, rainwater may
be the only available, or economical, water source. Rainwater systems are simple to construct
from inexpensive local materials, and are potentially successful in most habitable locations.
Roof rainwater is usually of good quality and does not require treatment before consumption.

There are a few systems of rain water harvesting. They include:

1. Roof Catchments System

Roof catchments systems channel rainwater that falls onto a roof into storage via a system
of gutters and pipes. The first flush of rainwater after a dry season should be allowed to run
to waste as it will be contaminated with dust, bird droppings etc. Roof gutters should have
sufficient incline to avoid standing water. They must be strong enough, and large enough to
carry peak flows. Storage tanks should be covered to prevent mosquito breeding and to
reduce evaporation losses, contamination and algal growth. Rainwater harvesting systems
require regular maintenance and cleaning to keep the system hygienic and in good working
order.

2. Ground Catchments System

Ground catchments systems channel water from a prepared catchment area into storage.
Generally, they are only considered in areas where rainwater is very scarce and other sources
of water are not available. They are more suited to small communities than individual families.
If properly designed, ground catchments can collect large quantities of rainwater.
3. Subsurface Dyke

A subsurface dyke is built in an aquifer to obstruct the natural flow of groundwater, thereby
raising the groundwater level and increasing the amount of water stored in the aquifer.

The subsurface dyke at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kannur under Kerala Agricultural University
with the support of ICAR, has become an effective method for ground water conservation by
means of rain water harvesting technologies. The sub-surface dyke has demonstrated that it
is a feasible method for conserving and exploiting the groundwater resources of the Kerala
state of India. The dyke is now the largest rainwater harvesting system in that region.

4. Ground water recharge

Rainwater may also be used for groundwater recharge, where the runoff on the ground is
collected and allowed to be absorbed, adding to the groundwater. In the US, rooftop
rainwater is collected and stored in sump. In India this includes Bawdis and johads, or ponds
which collect the run-off from small streams in wide area.

In India, reservoirs called tankas were used to store water; typically, they were shallow with
mud walls. Ancient tankas still exist in some places.

❖ Why Rain Water Harvesting?

Rainwater Harvesting is essential because:

1. Surface water is inadequate to meet our demand and we have to depend on ground water.
2. Due to rapid urbanization, infiltration of the rain water into the sub-soil has decreased
drastically and recharging of ground water has diminished.

❖ Government policies on rainwater harvesting

In spite of living in the 21st Century, it is staggering to note that in a country of more than
1.3 billion people, 29 states and 4100 towns and cities, only two cities- Thiruvananthapuram
and Kota, get continuous, 24×7 water supply, and all those cities with a population greater
than 1 million, get water for around 3-4 hours a day.

This is not due to lack of adequate infrastructure but due to mismanagement of the water
distribution system in the districts. This results in a large section of the society, mostly the
poor and downtrodden, consuming contaminated water for their basic sustenance, resulting in
the spread of diseases.

The first Indian state to make rainwater harvesting compulsory for buildings to reduce
groundwater depletion was Tamil Nadu in 2001, which has reaped enormous benefits for the
state. Groundwater levels in Chennai five years hence, rose almost 50 percent, and
consequently, the quality of water improved. Mass awareness campaigns in rural as well as
urban areas were the contributing factors for the success of this initiative.

After the success of the Tamil Nadu model, there have been various rules and regulations
introduced by other states, and even the Parliament made efforts towards the cause by
introducing central legislation- The Rainwater (Harvesting and Storage) Bill, in the Lok
Sabha, in 2016.
❖ Karnataka

In order to conserve water and ensure ground water recharge, the Karnataka government in
February 2009 announced that buildings, constructed in the city will have to compulsorily
adopt rain water harvesting facility. Residential sites, which exceed an area of 2400 sq ft
(40 x 60 ft), shall create rain harvesting facility according to the new law.

❖ CONCLUSION

Managing freshwater scarcity constitutes to be one of the biggest responsibilities of

governance everywhere in the world, and thus, local management of this resource is an
indispensable component. Many countries have national water laws. In India, however there
are no national laws as such, though there is a national water policy. The National Water
policy 2002 is a cogent and comprehensive document and forms a basis that could be
converted into a law.

In India, under the constitutional set up, water is a state subject. In urban areas its
governance rests with urban local bodies in their areas of jurisdiction as per the 74th
constitutional amendment. The need for a policy framework for water harvesting systems
arises mainly because the prevailing policy statements do not touch extensively upon the
issue. There is a clear need to evolve a decentralized legal regime with regard to water,
which empowers people and makes them real managers of resources. For promoting urban
water harvesting, a policy should include a mix of incentives and penalties.

Question 17: Salient features of Seed Act, 1996

India is an agricultural country. Right to good and safe food is the slogan of the day and the
same can be achieved by attaining food sustenance and food security. For this, India used to
rely on imports to meet its domestic requirements. India is a country that mainly relied upon
agriculture and for boosting up agricultural output availability of good quality of seeds to
farmers is inevitable. Seed is the most unassuming potent gift in the life of the farmer to
make his life fruitful. Seed is the kernel of the life itself, the source of our food, when
contaminated has an adverse effect on our health and also health of our planet. Since
independence achieving food security was the prime concern and hence there was continuous
need for more food as Indian population was increasing speedily.

Later on, the amendment Act came in the year 1972 with the jute seeds being added under
the seed Act.

Then there came the Seed (Control) order, in 1983 for exercising the powers conferred
under section 3 of Essential Commodities Act, 1955 which empowered central government to
Control Production, Supply, and Distribution.

❖ The Seed Act, 1966

The main purpose of the Seed Act 1966 is to regulate the standardized quality of kinds of
notified varieties of the seeds for the purpose of sale or any other relevant matter attached
with. The ongoing seed act was passed in the parliament to create a kind of atmosphere in
which the quality of seed available to the cultivators can be maintained and can be operate
effectively. The law on seed according to the law was introduced in September 1968 and fully
implemented in October 1969. The law contains a total of 25 sections on various aspects, all
relating to seed in India. The law applies to whole of India.

Seed Act 1966 provides various enactments related to seeds like providing notification of
various varieties of seed, different kinds of crops, certifying and labelling of seed, seed
testing, providing various licenses to the dealers of seed, display of stocks etc. Seed Rules
1968 provides for the minimum quality standards and certification for notifying various kinds
and varieties.

In Seed Act various formation of advisory bodies like Central Seed Committee, Central Seed
Certification Board and its sub-committees, Seed Certification Agencies, Seed Testing
Laboratories, Appellate Authorities, etc. The present Seed Act merely includes Seed Rules
framed in 1968, Seeds (Control) order that was formulated in 1983 after seed becoming one
of the essential commodities.

❖ Salient Features of Seed Act 1966

They are as follows:

1. The Seed Act 1966 was enacted in Indian parliament and regulates to the whole of India.
2. Seeds of different varieties like food seeds, oil seeds, cotton seeds, cattle fodder seed
and other things included in the act are different types vegetative reproduction.
3. Formation of Central Seed Committee does consist of eight members to give advice to
Central and state Governments. To do management and to carry out various function
allocated under the Act.
4. Establish a Central Seed Laboratory and a National Seed Laboratory to begin seed
testing of several declared varieties.
5. Authorization of the Central Seed Committee, considered appropriate by law.
6. Authorization of the Committee to establish the appropriate minimum germination and
purity thresholds for a reportable variety and to mark or label a batch of seed to be
marketed.
7. Regulation of the sale of seed of the notified varieties by an honest marking indicating
the actual variety identity, germination and purity.
8. For the certification body certification process.
9. Delivery of the certificate by a certification authority.
10. Authorization of the Agency to revoke the certificate, provided that it is satisfied that
the certificate obtained by the holder is either a false declaration or has not been
respected.
11. The owner has a claim clause before a court of appeal regarding payment and restrictions
of non-performance.
12. Continue with the appointment of a semen analyst for the sperm tests.
13. Appointment of a sperm inspector considered to be an official within the meaning of
Section21 of the Indian Penal Code.
14. Authorize the Seed Inspector to take samples from a seller or buyer and check their
quality by sending them to a seed analyst.
15. Establishment of the procedure for taking semen samples and other requirements. The
clause also recommends to the inspector the authority to open and break any seed
storage location or the door of premises where this seed may be offered for sale if the
owner refuses to cooperate. The entire operation must be conducted in the presence of
two witnesses signing a memorandum.
16. The report on the results in a specific format must be sent to the seed inspector and the
seller / buyer after analysis of the seed samples under the responsibility of the seed
analysis. If the complainant is not satisfied with the results, he may ask the court to send
samples to the central seed testing laboratory. Upon receipt of a complaint, the Central
Seed Laboratory will submit the report to the court within one month of receiving the
sample in the prescribed format.
17. The import and export of seed of the declared varieties is limited. Imported or exported
varieties must meet the minimum requirements for seed germination and purity specified
or marked on the container.
18. Recognition of seed certification bodies abroad.
19. The law also prevents seed inspectors from exercising their power and punishes those
who do not comply.
20. Persons found guilty of breaching the delivery of seed under this Act may be confiscated
by the Government.
21. If an offense is committed by a corporation or a corporation and the person has been
charged at the time of committing the crime, it would be liable to the corporation and
found guilty of the offense and punished accordingly.
22. No lawsuits or proceedings can be brought against the Government or any government
official if they act in good faith to protect the government under this Act.
23. Central government may give power of any kind to state government for smooth conduct
of the act.
24. Power to establish government rules to develop various functions of the Central Seed
Laboratory, Certification Body and Seed Inspectors.

❖ Conclusion

Quality of seeds plays a pivotal role in the production of yield. Hence to increase the food
grains production for food security, emphasis on the quality of seed has to be made. Hence,
to provide legal framework around seed certification and make good quality seeds available to
cultivators the parliament had passed Seed Act 1966. In the year 1966 the first Seed Act
came into force. Before that no central legislation was there. The act was formed to save and
uplift the farmer by ensuring that farmers get good quality seed. The Act provides for a
mechanism for fixing the minimum standards for quality, germination, purity, etc.

Question 18: Salient features of Plant Varieties and Farmer Rights

Act, 2001
In order to provide for the establishment of an effective system for the protection of plant
varieties, the rights of farmers and plant breeders and to encourage the development of new
varieties of plants it has been considered necessary to recognize and to protect the rights of
the farmers in respect of their contributions made at any time in conserving, improving and
making available plant genetic resources for the development of new plant varieties.

The Govt. of India enacted “The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights (PPV&FR)
Act, 2001” adopting sui generis system. Indian legislation is not only in conformity with
International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), 1978, but also
have sufficient provisions to protect the interests of public sector breeding institutions and
the farmers. The legislation recognizes the contributions of both commercial plant breeders
and farmers in plant breeding activity and also provides to implement

TRIPs in a way that supports the specific socio-economic interests of all the stakeholders
including private, public sectors and research institutions, as well as resource-constrained
farmers.

❖ Objectives of the PPV & FR Act, 2001

1. To establish an effective system for the protection of plant varieties, the rights of
farmers and plant breeders and to encourage the development of new varieties of
plants.
2. To recognize and protect the rights of farmers in respect of their contributions made
at any time in conserving, improving and making available plant genetic resources for
the development of new plant varieties.
3. To accelerate agricultural development in the country, protect plant breeders’ rights;
stimulate investment for research and development both in public & private sector for
the development new of plant varieties.
4. Facilitate the growth of seed industry in the country which will ensure the availability
of high-quality seeds and planting material to the farmers.

❖ Rights under the Act:

1. Breeders’ Rights: Breeders will have exclusive rights to produce, sell, market, distribute,
import or export the protected variety. Breeder can appoint agent/ licensee and may
exercise for civil remedy in case of infringement of rights.

2. Researchers’ Rights: Researcher can use any of the registered variety under the Act for
conducting experiment or research. This includes the use of a variety as an initial source
of variety for the purpose of developing another variety but repeated use needs prior
permission of the registered breeder.

3. Farmers' Rights:

➢ A farmer who has evolved or developed a new variety is entitled for registration and
protection in like manner as a breeder of a variety;
➢ Farmers variety can also be registered as an extant variety;
➢ Farmers are eligible for recognition and rewards for the conservation of Plant Genetic
Resources of land races and wild relatives of economic plants;
 ➢ A farmer can save, use, sow, re-sow, exchange, share or sell his farm produce including
seed of a variety protected under the PPV&FR Act, 2001 in the same manner as he was
entitled before the coming into force of this Act provided farmer shall not be
entitled to sell branded seed of a variety protected under the PPV&FR Act, 2001;
➢ There is also a provision for compensation to the farmers for non-performance of
variety under Section 39 (2) of the Act, 2001 and
➢ Farmer shall not be liable to pay any fee in any proceeding before the Authority or
Registrar or the Tribunal or the High Court under the Act.

❖ Implementation of the Act

To implement the provisions of the Act the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and
Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare established the Protection
of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority on 11" November, 2005.

The Chairperson is the Chief Executive of the Authority. Besides the Chairperson, the
Authority has 15 members, as notified by the Government of India (GOI). Eight of them are
ex-officio members representing various Departments/ Ministries, three from SAUs and the
State Governments, one representative each for farmers, tribal organization, seed industry
and women organization associated with agricultural activities are nominated by the Central
Government.

The Registrar General is the ex-officio Member Secretary of the Authority.

❖ General Functions of the Authority

1. Registration of new plant varieties, essentially derived varieties (EDV), extant

varieties;
2. Developing DUS (Distinctiveness, Uniformity and Stability) test guidelines for new
plant species;
3. Developing characterization and documentation of varieties registered;
4. Compulsory cataloging facilities for all variety of plants;
5. Documentation, indexing and cataloguing of farmers' varieties;
6. Recognizing and rewarding farmers, community of farmers, particularly tribal and
rural community engaged in conservation and improvement;
7. Preservation of plant genetic resources of economic plants and their wild relatives;
8. Maintenance of the National Register of Plant Varieties and
9. Maintenance of National Gene Bank.

❖ Registration of essentially derived varieties

The breeder of the basically determined assortment will have indistinguishable rights from
the plant reproducer of other new assortments, which incorporate creation, selling,
promoting, and dissemination, including fare and import of the assortment. The other
qualification standards for grant of enrolment are likewise equivalent to for new assortment
enlistment under Section 23(1), (6) of the Act.
1. Compulsory license

The authority can give an obligatory permit if there should be an occurrence of any
objections about the accessibility of the seeds of any enrolled assortment to open at a
sensible cost. The permit can be conceded to any individual intrigued to take up such
exercises after the expiry of the time of three years from the date of issue of declaration
of enlistment to embrace creation, dissemination, and offer of the seed or other engendering
material of the assortment under the Section 47(1) of the Act.

2. Benefit-sharing

Sharing of advantages accumulating to a breeder from an assortment created from

indigenously determined plant hereditary assets has likewise been given under Section 26(1)
of the Act. The authority may welcome cases of advantage sharing of any assortment
enrolled under the Act and will decide the quantum of such honor in the wake of finding out
the degree and nature of the advantage guarantee, in the wake of giving a chance to be
heard, to both the plant raiser and the claimer.

3. Legitimately procured parental material

Section 18(j) in regards to information to be submitted alongside an application, requires the

candidate to confirm that the hereditary or parental material utilized for reproducing the
assortment has been legitimately procured. Such a revelation would be troublesome in
situations where the identification data identifying with the material has not been recorded.
Further, it would not generally be feasible for a raiser to get data identifying with the
commitment of a rancher, town network, and so on since there may not be a bona fide
wellspring of such data. Such data, if not accessible, might be left to the Authority to
conclude, which can welcome cases later through media/open notification, and so on.

❖ National Gene Fund

The National Gene Fund to be comprised under the Act will be credited thereto:

(a) The advantage of sharing from the raiser.

(b) The yearly expense payable to the authority by a method of eminences.
(c) By the remuneration given to the networks as characterized under Section 41(1).
(d) Contribution from any national and global association and different sources.

The fund will be applied for disbursing shares to benefit claimants, either individuals or
organizations, and for compensation to village communities. The fund will also be used for
supporting conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources, including in situ and ex-situ
collection, and for strengthening the capabilities of the panchayat in carrying out such
conservation and sustainable use, under Section (45) of the Act.

❖ Rights of Community

1. It is compensation to village or local communities for their significant contribution in

the evolution of variety which has been registered under the Act.
 2. Any person/group of persons/governmental or non- governmental organization, on
behalf of any village/local community in India, can file in any notified centre, claim for
contribution in the evolution of any variety.

❖ Plant Varieties Protection Appellate Tribunal

There is transitory provision by which it is provided that till the PVPAT is established the
Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) will exercise the jurisdiction of PVPAT.

Consequently, the Plant Varieties Protection Appellate Tribunal (PVPAT) has been established
by appointing Technical Member. All orders or decisions of the Registrar of Authority
relating to registration of variety and orders or decisions of the Registrar relating to
registration as agent or licensee can be appealed in the Tribunal.

Further, all orders or decisions of Authority relating to benefit sharing, revocation of

compulsory license and payment of compensation can also be appealed in the Tribunal. The
decisions of the PVPAT can be challenged in High Court. The Tribunal shall dispose of the
appeal within one year.

❖ Conclusion

As of late, the Government of India in their National Intellectual Property Rights Policy has
demonstrated the number of filings and enlistments by the Protection of Plant Varieties and
Farmers’ Rights Authority requesting to offer help to different partners for expanded
enrolment of new, surviving and basically determined assortments of plants. It has
additionally underscored to set up joins between the Authority and Agricultural Universities,
Research Institutions, Technology Development, and Management Centers, and Krishi Vigyan
Kendras and encourage the advancement of seeds and their commercialization by ranchers. It
makes the authority increasingly capable of concentrating on techniques for mainstreaming of
enlisted ranchers’ assortments and to take reproducers rights as visualized in the Protection
of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001, to each concerned partner and make India
as a harbinger in the execution of not exclusively ranchers’ privileges yet additionally the
raisers’ privileges.

Question 19: Agricultural Labour

Agricultural labourers are those persons who work on the land of others on wages for the
major part of the year and earn a major portion of their income as a payment in the form of
wages for works performed on the agricultural farms owned by others.

The first Agricultural Labour Enquiry Committee of 1950-51 regarded those workers as
agricultural workers who normally worked for 50 per cent of more days on the payment of
wages.

The second Agricultural Labour Enquiry Committee, 1956-57 accepted a broad view and
included all those workers into agricultural labourers who were badly engaged in agriculture
and allied activities like animal husbandry, dairy, piggery, poultry farming etc.
This first committee again classified the agricultural workers into two different
categories such as:

A. attached labourers are those workers who are attached to some other farmer
households on the basis of a written or oral agreement.

These attached workers are working as per the wishes of their masters and are not free to
work at any other place. They are working both in the house and farms of their masters.
Thus, these attached labourers are working as serfs or servants and they are also known as
bonded labourers.

B. On the other hand, casual labourers are those workers who are free to work in any
farm on the payment of daily wages.

In India these casual labourers include:

1. small farmers having a very small size of holdings who devote most of their time working
on the farm of others;
2. landless labourers who exclusively work for others;
3. tenants who work on leased land but work most of the time on the land of others;
4. sharecroppers who also work as agricultural labourers.

❖ Factors Responsible for the Poor Conditions of Farm Workers:

Following factors are responsible for the poor conditions of agricultural labourers in
India:

1. Unorganised:

Agricultural labourers in India are totally unorganised as they are ignorant, illiterate and
widely scattered. Thus, the farm workers have no capacity to bargain for securing a fair
wage level.

2. Low Social Status:

Farm workers mostly belong to depressed classes and thus they are lacking the courage to
assert their basic rights.

3. Seasonal Unemployment:

As the agricultural operations are seasonal thus the farm workers are often facing the
problem of seasonal unemployment and under-employment. Farm workers on an average get
employment for about 200 days in a year.

4. Growing Indebtedness:

Agricultural labourers in India are highly indebted. As the level of wages is very poor thus
the farm workers have been borrowing from landlords and become bonded labourers
ultimately.
Thus, considering these above factors it can be said that the agricultural labourers in India
are living in inhuman conditions and in the absence of organised status they are deprived of
all the basic amenities of life.

5. Absence of Alternative Occupations:

In the absence of alternative occupation in the rural areas the farm workers are not getting
alternative jobs when they suffer from seasonal unemployment.

❖ Measures Adopted by the Government to Improve the Conditions of Farm

Workers:

In order to improve the conditions of agricultural labourers in India both the central as well
as the state Governments have taken various steps since independence. These measures are
as follows:

1. Abolition of Bonded Labour:

In order to remove agrarian slavery after independence Indian constitution has undertaken
legislative measures to abolish the practice of bonded labour. Accordingly, the Bonded
Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976 was passed and about 2.51 lakh bonded labourers were
identified and freed in different parts of the country and 2.29 lakh of such labourers were
rehabilitated till March, 1995.

Considering various estimates of bonded labourers, a large number of bonded labourers are
yet to be liberated in India.

2. Minimum Wages Act:

In 1948, the Minimum Wages Act was passed and the state Governments was advised to fix
the minimum wages accordingly. But due to some practical difficulties most of the states
could not fix minimum wages till 1974. At present most of the states excepting Jammu &
Kashmir, Nagaland and Sikkim have enacted necessary legislations for fixing minimum wages.

But due to excessive supply of labour, lack of organisation among rural workers, uneconomic
holdings etc., agricultural labourers could not reap much benefit out of this Act.

3. Distribution of Landless Laborers:

After passing legislation for fixing ceiling on land holdings, state Government acquired
surplus lands and distributed it among the landless labourers. About 74 lakh acres of land
were acquired as surplus land and out of which 45 lakh acres were distributed among 41.5
lakh landless labourers. But most of these lands distributed are found unsuitable for
cultivation.

4. Provision for Housing Sites:

Various states have passed necessary legislations for providing housing sites (01 sq. metres)
to agricultural labourers. The Second and Fourth Plans have undertaken various steps for this
purpose. Again, under Minimum Needs Programme and 20-Point Programme, high priority is
being accorded to rural house site-cum-house construction scheme.
As per an estimate, there were nearly 12.2 million houseless families as on March 1985. The
Seventh Plan made a provision of Rs 5,777 crore for developing house sites and construction
of houses for these labourers.

5. Various Employment Schemes:

For providing alternative source of employment among the agricultural labourers’ various
schemes have already been launched by both the central and the state Governments. These
schemes include Rural Works Programme (RWP), Crash Scheme for Rural Employment (CSRE),
Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS) by the Government of Maharashtra, Food for Work
Programme (FWP), National Rural Employment Programme (NREP), Rural Landless Employment
Guarantee Programme (RLEGP), Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY) etc.

6. Special Agencies:

During the Fourth Plan two special agencies—Small Farmers Development Agency (SFD\) and
Marginal Farmers and Agricultural Labourers Development Agency (MFALA) were developed
for conducting Various works like irrigation, land leveling, soil conservation, dairy
development, piggery development, poultry breeding etc. During the Fifth Plan both agencies
were merged into a single programme.

7. 20-Point Programme:

The Government introduced the 20-point economic programme in July 1975 in which steps
were taken to improve the economic condition of landless workers and other weaker sections
of the society in the rural areas.

These steps include speedy implementation of ceiling laws and then distribute the surplus
land among the landless, making provision for housing sites for landless labourers, abolition of
bonded labour, liquidation of rural indebtedness and moratorium on recovery of loans from
landless workers and reviewing of the minimum wage legislation etc.

❖ Suggestions for Improving the Conditions of Agricultural Labourers:

In spite of introducing various measures undertaken by the Government, the condition of

agricultural labourers still remained precarious.

Under such a situation, following suggestions can be offered for improving conditions of
agricultural labourers:

1. To implement the Minimum Wage Act seriously and to revise the minimum wages
periodically considering the changing price level.
2. To improve their bargaining power, the agricultural workers should be organised through
the formation of unions of farm labourers under the protection and support of the
government.
3. To abolish serfdom among the landless agricultural labourers totally.
4. To rehabilitate the agricultural labourers on the acquired land declared surplus under
ceiling laws and also on the newly reclaimed land.
5. To create alternative sources of employment by developing small scale and cottage
industries in the rural areas.
6. To improve- the conditions of agriculture by adopting improved intensive methods and
multiple cropping for raising the productivity of agricultural labourers.
7. To improve the working conditions of agricultural labourers by enforcing fixed hours of
work, banning child labour etc.
8. To promote co-operative farming in the rural areas.
9. To improve the standard of living of agricultural labourers by organising special
programmes like Minimum Needs Programme.
10. To introduce social security measures for the agricultural workers and also to introduce
compulsory insurance on marginal contribution and also to institute old age pension
schemes for the agricultural workers by the government.

Question 20: Salient features of Unorganised Workers and Social

Security Act, 2008
The unorganised worker's social security Act was enacted by the parliament of India in 2008
by president's assent. It is implemented by the Ministry of Labour and Employment. worker's
sector.

The term unorganized worker has been defined under the Unorganized Workers' Social
Security Act, 2008, as a home based worker, self-employed worker or a wage worker in the
unorganized sector and includes a worker in the organized sector who is not covered by any
of the Acts mentioned in Schedule-II of Act i.e.

➢ the Employee's Compensation Act, 1923 (3 of 1923),

➢ the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947),
➢ the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 (34 of 1948),
➢ the Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provision Act, 1952 (19 of 1952),
➢ the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (53 of 1961) and
➢ the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 (39 of 1972).
➢ According to the report of the National Commission on Labour in 1969.

‘Unorganized workers’ are other groups of workers who are not covered under the definition
and can organise in pursuit of a common goal due to force such as:

1. Casual nature of employment.

2. Ignorance and illiteracy.
3. Establishment of small size with the low capital invested per person employed.
4. Scattered nature of establishments.
5. Muscular strength of the employer operating either singly or in combination.

National Commission also gives some categories of workers, which can be categorised as
unorganised workers, which are the following:

1. Contract-based worker and it also includes workers engaged in the construction work.
2. Informal(casual) labour.
3. Labour engaged in small industry.
 4. Handloom/ power worm workers.
5. Beedi and cigar workers.
6. Employed in shops and commercial establishments.
7. Sweepers and scavengers.
8. Workers in teaberries.
9. Tribal labour.
10. Other unprotected labour.

❖ Objective And Purpose

The UWSS Act 2008 was implemented with the objective to ensure social security, good
wellbeing and to protect the unorganised sector workers from several contingencies.
The importance of the act came to light in 2012 in National Domestic Workers Welfare v.
State of Jharkhand & Ors. wherein it was highlighted that the current labour laws in force
such as the Industrial Disputes Act, the Minimum Wages Act, Maternity Benefit Act, the
Workmen's Compensation Act, Factories Act, etc. are applicable to a restricted number of
workers.

In India, the social security laws have derived their basis from Part IV of the Directive
Principles of State Policy (DPSP). The Social security and Labour Laws form a part of the
concurrent list therefore both, the Central and the State Governments are approved to make
laws for the same. It is the obligation of the state to lay down provisions which grant social
security to organised as well as unorganised sector workers.

Another purpose of the act is to ensure that the needs of the workers employed in the
unorganised sector are addressed as it contributes to the sustainable economic growth in the
country. Apart from Social security the needs include availability of credit, upskilling, use of
modern technology, infrastructure and the requirement of a contractual obligation between
the employer and employee. “Unorganised sector” u/s 2 of UWSS Act, means an enterprise
owned by individuals or self-employed workers and engaged in the production or sale of goods
or providing service of any kind whatsoever, and where the enterprise employs workers, the
number of such workers is less than ten;

❖ Salient Features:
1. The Act mentions about constitution of a National Social Security board and State Social
Security Board which will give recommendation for formulation of suitable schemes which
later shall be monitored and reviewed.

In Rajan Kudumbathil v. Union of India on 12 November 2009, the Kerala government was
directed to immediately constitute the State Social Security Board as it was not established
post the enactment of the act.

2. The UWSS Act has laid down provisions wherein it registers and issues a smart identity
card with a unique number to the unorganised sector worker.
3. The Record Keeping function will be performed by the District Administration.
4. The Workers Facilitation Centres will disseminate the available data on the social security
schemes, facilitate the filing-processing and forwarding of the registration application
with the assistance of the district administrator.
5. The act in its Schedule I has laid down a list of the Social Security Schemes to ensure
that the workers of the unorganised sector meet their basic needs and that they have a
decent standard of living.

❖ Progress Made Under the Act

The Social Security Schemes and Acts mentioned in the Schedule I and II of the UWSS,
2008 are run by several different ministries. For instance, the medical care is been taken
care by the Ministry of Health, Food Security by Ministry for Agriculture etc. The budget
allocation for the same is done by different ministries creating a problem of multiplicity of
benefits availed and suggests a formation of a ministry of social security.

The National Social Assistance Programme which comprises of Indira Gandhi National Old
Age Pension Scheme under the UWSS has 4,02,56,984 people as beneficiaries as of 14th
June 2020. As an extension to the act, a National Social Security Fund (NSSF) was
constituted for unorganised workers in 2010 with an initial funding of INR 1,000 crore.

Several schemes under the Act depend on State-level nodal agencies for functioning of its
Schemes and in times like the national health crisis these labour laws and policies not only
provide social security for the workers but help the economy from deteriorating. Recently,
the state of Uttar Pradesh promulgated Uttar Pradesh Temporary Exemption from Certain
Labour Laws Ordinance, 2020 which shall suspend a majority of the acts and schemes under
UWSS for a period of three years.

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for additional legal safeguards and welfare
measures for the unorganised workers especially the migrant workers and domestic workers
as they are in dire need of social security more than ever.

❖ Critical Analysis

The UWSS Act is a significant initiative taken by the government to address and provide
remedy to the plight of the workers engaged in unorganised sector for the first time, the act
has also enlisted several welfare schemes which can be availed by the workers.

There are certain inadequacies in the act which complicates the implementation process at
the same time infringes rights of the unorganised workers. The scope of the definition of
unorganised workers is narrow and excludes forest and fish workers, domestic workers,
cross-border provisional workers, and aanganwadi workers, etc.

It is important to note that, the act has not defined the term social security and hence it is
not justiciable. The act has laid down several social security schemes but has not included
them within the body of the act.

The Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 established a globally accepted
minimum standard social security benefit which covers the nine branches of social security
namely medical care, sickness, unemployment, old-age, employment injury, family, maternity,
invalidity and survivor's benefit. Yet, the UWSS fails to provide for any minimum social
security to its unorganised workers.

The act places the unorganised workers in an odd position as, if they fail to make the
deposits in time, they are disentitled from the benefits without considering the
contingencies that come along which renders the process of contribution complicated.

❖ Recommendation

1. The Unorganised Worker’s Act is only applicable to unorganised workers who are below
poverty line and hence, should be made inclusive of all the unorganised workers which will
fulfil the purpose of the act.
2. A chapter on dispute resolution needs should be appended to the Act to make sure
workers can file complaints about violations and seek remedy.
3. An amendment should be made to add minimum social security benefits for the
unorganised workers based on ILO standards.
4. Create a comprehensive database of unorganised workers working in sectors not covered
by the act to provide them visibility.

Question 21: WTO and Agriculture

The first step in understanding the impact of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on
Indian agriculture is knowing the importance of agriculture in India. In India, agriculture is
the prime and largest source of livelihood, especially in rural areas. About 70% of the Indian
population is dependent on agriculture. Also, India has a significant share in world agriculture
exports which increased to 2.1% in 2019 from 1.71% in 2010. Agriculture also contributes a
recognisable figure to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The agriculture sector in India has
witnessed many revolutions in the past, such as the green revolution, white revolution, yellow
revolution and blue revolution.

At present, agriculture is also facing problems due to the World Trade Organisation. To get a
better picture, we need to know WTO’s work, importance, role, and impact.

❖ World Trade Organisation (WTO)

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is the only body that works globally on trade between
nations. It regulates and facilitates trade between countries. The core purpose of WTO is to
make things easy for the producer of goods and services and importers and exporters
carrying their business.

❖ India and World Trade Organisation: WTO agreement on agriculture

The WTO agreement on agriculture is called the” International treaty of the World trade
organisation”. It was one of the most important agreements negotiated during the Uruguay
Round. It included participation from 123 countries. It took over seven years of negotiation
and concluded on 15 December 15, 1993. However, it was approved only in April 1994 in
Marrakesh, Morocco.
The agreement on agriculture mainly says that the reduction commitment of six years will
wind up 20% of base period support in developed countries. In the case of developing
countries, it will complete the reduction commitment in 10 years, which is 13%. And least
developed countries were not provided with any cuts. However, the members of WTO had
available choices on implementing their commitments and modifications on the ground basis of
crop, calendar, etc. In the initial years, there was a lot of unfairness and inequality. In
western countries, the subsidies (part of the amber box) were very high; in contrast, India
had limited subsidies.; in contrast, India had limited subsidies. The amber box is a
subcategory of domestic support, including trade-distorting, subsides. Later these subsidies
were increased due to inflation in the price of agricultural products. This agreement only
includes agricultural products, and forestry and fishery products are kept out of it.

Reduction commitment can be defined as “Total Aggregate Measurement of Support” (Total

AMS). All non-product-specific and product-specific support are considered in one single
frame or figure.

The three main areas of agriculture and trade policies included in the WTO agreement on
agriculture are:

1. Market access
2. Domestic support
3. Export subsidies

❖ Market access

Market access includes access opportunities, reduction in tariff and tariffication.

Tariffication means removing and converting all non-tariff barriers such as minimum import
price, state trading measures, quotas, etc., into an equivalent tariff.

The benefit of this conversion was that all the non-converted barriers were included in
ordinary tariffs and reduced by 36% on average, including a minimum reduction rate of 15%
over six years on every tariff. Also, in 10 years, developing countries will reduce tariffs by
24%.

❖ Domestic support

Domestic support mainly relates to and aims at reducing commitment. Reduction commitment
can be explained as involvement and acknowledgement of the total level of support rather
than individual communities. The domestic support policy agreed on a 20% reduction of
reductions commitment for developed countries and 13.3% for developing countries.

Reduction commitment excluded policies that had no or minimal trade-distorting effect on

the production of the goods.

Also, the domestic subsidies are categorised into three boxes.

1. Green box – it includes subsidies that are no or least market-distorting.

2. Blue box – It only includes “production limiting subsidies”.
3. Amber box – It includes trade-distorting subsided.
❖ Export subsidies

Export subsidies policies in the agreement of agriculture commit the reduction of export
subsidies to developing countries or are required to reduce the expenditure on other sports
subsidies by 24% and volume by 14% in equal annual instalments over ten years. For developed
countries, the percentage cuts are 36% and 14% respectively in six years. This agreement
has clarified that no such subsidies can be granted for the products which are not subjected
to export subsidy reduction commitment.

❖ The impact of the WTO agreement on Indian agriculture

Agricultural total prices raised at the international level due to the reduction of trade
barriers and domestic substitution of agriculture resulted in benefits for India in the form
of high export earnings.

The negative impact of the WTO agreement on TRIPs includes patenting of plant varieties.
Due to this, Indian agriculture might face serious implications as patents in plant varieties
transfer all grains into the hands of MNCs, which will explore and develop new varieties.

Also, the main concept of the agreement to promote free and liberal trade was misused. Due
to this, the exporting countries started discarding their products to importing countries
which caused serious issues for the economies of developing countries in which Indian
agriculture was most recognisable. The Indian market witnessed many shock waves in the
case of agriculture products, as cheap and low-quality products were repeatedly supplied to
the Indian market.

❖ Conclusion

India is a land of agriculture, and more than half of its population depends on it. The WTO
agreement on agriculture has benefited and brought significant changes like reducing trade
barriers and domestic subsidies. However, some issues still affect Indian agriculture and are
yet to be sorted out, such as patenting plant varieties. WTO is helping protect biodiversity
and aiding the Indian economy in getting in shape.