World Inequality Lab Released Report on Land Inequality in India

Syllabus: GS2/ Governance; GS3/ Land Reforms 

Context

• A working paper by the World Inequality Lab highlights the extent and nature of land inequality in rural India.
  • The study is based on data from the Socio-Economic Caste Census covering 650 million people across 2.7 lakh villages.

Key Findings of the Study

• High Concentration of Land Ownership: The top 10% of rural households own 44% of total land, indicating a high concentration of land ownership.
  • The top 5% of households own 32% of land, while the top 1% alone own 18% of land, reflecting extreme inequality at the top.
• Widespread Landlessness: About 46% of rural households are landless, which shows that nearly half of rural India has no access to land as a productive asset.
• Village-Level Concentration: The largest landholder in a village owns, on average, about 12.4% of the total village land.
  • In approximately 3.8% of villages, a single landowner controls more than 50% of the land, indicating the persistence of landlord dominance.
• State-wise Variation: Bihar and Punjab show high levels of land concentration, with many villages dominated by large landowners.
  • Kerala has the highest land inequality in terms of Gini coefficient, indicating a highly unequal distribution.
  • Punjab records the highest landlessness at 73%, followed by Bihar (59%) and Madhya Pradesh (51%), whereas Rajasthan (34%) and Uttar Pradesh (39%) have relatively lower levels.

Determinants of Land Inequality in India

• Historical Factors: Regions under the zamindari system show higher inequality, with dominance of large landlords and fewer small farmers.
  • Former princely states show relatively lower inequality, mainly due to a lower proportion of landless households.
• Agricultural Factors: Regions with better agricultural suitability tend to have higher land concentration, as fertile land attracts accumulation by large landowners.
• Fragmentation of landholdings among small farmers due to inheritance laws reduced viability, forcing distress sales and consolidation by larger landowners.
• Ineffective implementation of land reforms allowed loopholes such as benami transactions and land fragmentation on paper, enabling large landholders to retain control.

Legal Framework for Land Reforms in India

• Abolition of intermediaries (Zamindari Abolition Acts) aimed to eliminate middlemen and transfer ownership rights to actual cultivators.
• Tenancy reforms sought to regulate rent, provide security of tenure, and confer ownership rights to tenants.
  • Example: Operation Barga in West Bengal.
• The Land ceiling Act imposed limits on the maximum land that an individual or family could own, with surplus land intended for redistribution among the landless.
• Consolidation of landholdings aimed to reduce fragmentation and improve agricultural efficiency, especially in states like Punjab and Haryana.
• Digitisation of land records through initiatives such as the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP) aims to improve transparency and reduce disputes.
• Forest Rights Act, 2006 recognized land rights of forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers, addressing historical injustices.

Challenges in Land Reforms

• Resistance from powerful landed elites hindered effective reform implementation, especially in states with strong landlord influence.
• Lack of updated and clear land records led to disputes, litigation, and exclusion of rightful beneficiaries.
• Tenancy reforms remained incomplete, with many tenants lacking formal recognition and security of tenure.
• Social barriers, including caste-based discrimination, continued to restrict access to land for marginalized communities.
• Land is a State subject under the Constitution, so states play a primary role in implementing land reforms.

Way Ahead

• Special measures should be taken to improve land access for marginalized communities, including joint land titles and targeted redistribution programmes.
• Promotion of land leasing frameworks and contract farming should be encouraged, as recommended by NITI Aayog, to improve efficiency without disturbing ownership rights.
• Support for small and marginal farmers should be enhanced through access to institutional credit, irrigation, technology, and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) to reduce distress land sales.

Concluding Remarks

• Land inequality in India is deeply rooted in historical, social, and institutional factors.
• The major challenge is not only unequal distribution but also the high level of landlessness among rural households.
• Addressing land inequality requires comprehensive reforms, inclusive policies, and support for landless and small farmers to ensure equitable rural development.

Source: IE