The Much Needed Reform in Agricultural; Model Agriculture Land Leasing Act 2016

Niti Aayog in 2016 designed a model act in order to secure the rights of tenants and ownership of landlords. However in many states revenue laws provide for right to ownership by proving adverse possession for a certain period as prescribed by the actual tiller. But the census 2011 reveals that the extent of lease in the country is around 6 per cent. In the absence of a legal provision back-stopping such leasing, most of it is oral and therefore does not entitle the lessee to claim the status of a farmer and access various benefits available from the government and credit institutions. 

Hence in 2016 NITI Aayog offered an appropriate template for the states and UTs to draft their own piece of legislations, in consonance with the local requirements and adopt an enabling Act that focused to secure the interests of both the land owner and lessee ‘Bataidar’ .

The model Act permits and facilitates leasing of agricultural land, to improve agricultural efficiency and equity for owners at the same time it also provides access and legal status to landless and semi – landless poor tenants. A proper implementation of this act with due deliberation would have enable a lessee to have a legal status that enables them to get

1) Access loans through credit institutions

2) Benefits of insurance schemes

3) Financial aid by state for disaster relief and crop failure

4) Loan Waiver benefits

5) And many other support services provided by State Government

The Government of MP has passed the bill formulated by NITI Aayog however it lacks the proper provision to ensure the proposed benefits by original model act. Hence the act of MP government certainly requires some amendments to address the local challenges and issues to make the act efficient.

Proposed recommendations are as follows.

1) Issuance of Credit Eligibility Certificate or Loan Eligibility Card for tenet

2) Enforce the lease agreement between Land Owner and Tenant to eliminate the condition of oral agreements

3) Provision of mention the name and account number of tenant for crop Insurance

4) A fast track tribunal to resolve the complaints of tenants in case of denial of rights by Owner

5) Provision to distribute the financial assistance by Central or State Govt like PM Kisan Samman Nidhi

The toothless bill is depriving millions of farmers Madhya Pradesh of benefits of government farm-support schemes Fasal Bima Yojna, Bhawantar Bhugtan Yojna, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi to land less cultivators.

A scheme to revamp or a ruse for sway; Union Ministry of Cooperation

Let your thoughts and decisions be based on thinking of all your colleagues so that such decisions are followed by one and all . Unity should prevail. Let your intentions be common. Let your hearts’ desires be similar. The spirit of togetherness must prevail in your lives.

Rig Veda १०/१९१/३-४ 

These shloka from Rig Veda represent the Vedic notion of mutual growth and combined prosperity by conjoint effort. India has been a promoter of the idea to rise above individuality for mutual good since ages. However the modern cooperative business was introduced here in the colonial era for the safeguard of farmers and artisans whose profit got a lethal hit due to the industrial revolution and rampant capitalism. Cooperation of people or the integration of public resources is being considered a silver bullet by the Modi government to re-track the economy, severely hit by pandemic and its eventuated multiple restrictions on businesses. This was the reason that on the occasion of 75th Independence day PM Modi included the importance of cooperatives in his address to the nation. However, the government showing concern about the cooperatives is the biggest irony in India as government control over cooperatives have been the biggest threat to independence of the movement. Co-operatives were introduced as a formula in which a group of financially unsound people through integration of their resources tries to gain advantage over powerful enterprises. Many previous governments had provisions to harvest the immense possibilities of cooperatives to revamp the rural economy. But going a step forward, the Modi government has created a new central Ministry to superintend and foster the cooperative movement in the country. 

It remains to be seen whether this newly created Ministry will actually work in the direction of restoring the fundamental order of cooperatives in India or if it is another astute move by Home Minister Amit Shah to consolidate BJP’s hold over rural politics. Of course the Sharad Pawar way to hold the power at grassroots level by dislodging and weakening other political parties’ power structure at regional level. Amid the political milieu of the country where almost every political party has lost the faith and grip over rural economy and rural politics. The state cooperatives will be an important beachhead to defend their sway in rural vote bank among rising discontent of farmers. 

As per the Media reports the new Ministry will regulate the functions of multi-state and state level cooperatives. But isn’t a paradox that a new body is created to control or “oversee” the functioning of the bodies which are already suffering the overdose of political involvement.  What actually cooperatives need is the conducive environment to re-install the cooperative value in the members who possibly confuse it for a subsidy collection window. Member's ownership and independence from any political influence is the core cooperative principle. And retaining this should be the primary agenda of any government that sincerely looking for solution of rural financial distress in cooperatives movement.