Land holding act : Amendment

“Change brings opportunity” — aptly said Nido Qubein. But history is a testimony to the fact that we have been incapable to bank on several opportunities that came along as a result of changes in policy making — at the macro level; one of them being the obsolete land regulation — which dates back to early 70s. The usage of land and the way aof doing business have seen a paradigm shift whereas the land laws are still the same.

The case of Ceiling on Land Holding Act, 1972 of Haryana is no different. The act enforced a ceiling on non-agricultural land holding by a person or an entity and did not allow possession of land beyond 18 hectares. Back in the 70s, the state was basically an agrarian society and such a law became imperative in order to safeguard the interests of small farmers and to prevent improper utilization of lands. But today, the scenarios of cities like Gurgaon and Faridabad have completely changed and are serving as satellite towns for New Delhi — the capital of India. For the uninitiated, today Gurgaon is one of the most industrialized and one of the fastest growing cities in India. Faridabad is not far behind either. Thus, this decades old law is not only hampering the growth of the economy but also forcing the industrialists and real estate agents to adopt illegal means.

So, not surprisingly, the state has witnessed grave violations of land ceiling laws by various real estate companies to fulfill the growing demand and supply gap in this industrial township. To dodge the repercussion of violation of the act, many real estate companies and industrial units used to purchase small patches of lands in different names — eventually increasing the amount of benami property.

To counter the ongoing abuse of the act, the Haryana government has finally decided to bring in more transparency in this matter. Recently, the Haryana assembly has passed an Amendment Bill which has removed the ceiling on land ownership by a person or entity in case of non-agricultural land in urban and industrial zones and this new law will be applicable on all cases of non-agricultural land purchased after 1975. In the same line, Himachal Pradesh state Assembly has recommended an amendment in the land holding act in their state too.

Such a ceiling on land holding is a major concern in almost all states viz. Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat etc. With scams related to land getting unearthed every now and then that eventually impact the social and economic fabric of the nation, an amendment in land holding act has become imperative. This amendment should be replicated in all the land holding and ceiling acts across all Indian states taking a clue from the Haryana government.