Mahalwari, Ryotwari and Zamindari systemsMahalwari System:In 1833, the Mahalwari Settlement was introduced in thePunjab, thecentral provincesandparts of north western provinces(Present UP). Under this system thebasic unit of revenue settlement was the village or the mahal. As the village land belonged jointly to the village community theresponsibility of paying the revenue rested with the entire mahalor the village community. So theentire land of the village was measured at the time of fixing the revenue. A modified Mahalwari system calledGram VyavasthaorVillage Settlementwas introduced in the Punjab.Though the Mahalwari systemeliminated the middlemenbetween the govt. and the village community & brought about improvement in irrigation facility yet its benefit was largely appropriated by the govt.Whereas the Zamindari the Ryotwari settlements were inferior adoptions respectively of English & French systems the Mahalwari settlement was an improvisation of the traditional India system of an economic community

Ryotwari System:Where the land revenue was imposed directly on theryots-- the individual cultivators who actually worked the landthe system of assessment was known asryotwari.Under the Ryotwari Systemevery registered holder of land is recognised as its proprietor, andpays directly to Government. He is at liberty to sublet his property, or to transfer it by gift, sale, or mortgage. He cannot be ejected by Government so long as he pays the fixed assessment, and has the option annually of increasing or diminishing his holding, or of entirely abandoning it. In unfavourable seasons remissions of assessment are granted for entire or partial loss of produce. The assessment is fixed in money, and does not vary from year to year, in those cases where water is drawn from a Government source of irrigation to convert dry land into wet, or into two-crop land, when an extra rent is paid to Government for the water so appropriated; nor is any addition made to the assessment for improvements effected at the Ryot's own expense. The Ryot under this system is virtually a Proprietor on a simple and perfect title, and has all the benefits of a perpetual lease without its responsibilities, inasmuch as he can at any time throw up his lands, but cannot be ejected so long as he pays his dues; he receives assistance in difficult seasons, and is irresponsible for the payment of his neighbours. . . . The Annual Settlements under Ryotwari are often misunderstood, and it is necessary to explain that they are rendered necessary by the right accorded to the Ryot of diminishing or extending his cultivation from year to year. Their object is to determine how much of the assessment due on his holding the Ryot shall pay, and not to reassess the land. In these cases where no change occurs in the Ryots holding a fresh Potta or lease is not issued, and such parties are in no way affected by the Annual Settlement, which they are not required to attend

Zamindari System:

Zamindari system was a way of collecting taxes from peasants. Thezamindar was considered a lord, andwould collect alltaxes onhis lands and then hand over the collected taxes to the British authorities (keeping a portion for himself). The similarities to medieval feudalism are evident.Under the British, they resembled landed gentry (although they lived similarly privileged lives under the Mughals) and sometimes styled themselves as little kings, or rajas. Some new Zamindars were old Rajas.

Ryotwari and Mahalwari System in British IndiaRyotwari and Mahalwari SystemThe Ryotwari and Mahalwari Systems were the tow major means of collecting reveneus from agricultural lands. They were introduced in some parts of British India.Ryotwari SystemThe revenue settlement in which the peasants were recognized as the owners of land was called the Ryotwari system.The Zamindars pressed by high revenue demands survived by imposing high rent on the peasants. While revenue was the share of the state, the rent was payable by tenant cultivators to the legal owners of land. In other parts of India with the exception of Benaras and northern part of Madras where settlements with the Zamindars were made, legal ownership was given to peasant cultivators.Under the Ryotwari system the peasant, as owners of land paid revenue directly to the state officials. There was no one who stood between them to claim rent. Yet revenue demand in the Ryotwari areas tended to be very high. Unlike Bengal it was never permanently fixed to leave the room open for periodic increases in the revenue burden. The Ryotwari system was first introduced in Madras. In the late eighteenth century and was later extended to the Bombay presidency following the annexation of Maharashtra within the companys empire.Mahalwari SystemThere was yet another kind of Ryotwari, known as the Mahalwari system.The Mahalwari system became the dominant practice in much of north India beyond Benaras and Awadh. By this arrangement the ownership rights of the peasants were recognized; the responsibility of revenue collection was entrusted with the village headmen and the village leaders who also had performed similar functions before the advent of the British Rule.

Land Tenure System: British LegacyIn the initial years, East India company faced following problems:1. Demand for British goods in India=negligible. (Because East India company was yet to destroy our handicraft and artisans)2. Under the Mercantilism policy of British: one countrys gain required another country/colonys loss. Therefore, British Government prohibited East India company from exporting gold and silver from England to pay for Indian goods import.3. Company needed truckload of ca$H to maintain an army for defeating and subjugating native rulers.East India company came up with following solution:1. start collecting revenue from Indians2. Use that Revenue to buy Indian raw material- export to England3. Import finished goods back to India=> make profit.But this solution had a problem: the revenue system under Mughals and Native rulers=too complex for the British to understand, and there were no coaching classes or Wikipedia to help white men understand this complex system.Lord Cornwallis comes with a novel idea: just outsource the tax collection work to desi-middlemen: Zamindars, Jagirdar, Inamdars, Lambardar etc. Consequently, British introduced three land tenure systems in India:

Tenure systemPresidencyFeatures:

Permanent settlement1. Bengal2. Bihar(BeBi) Who?Cornwallis + John Shore. In Bengal + Bihar. 1793 Company outsourced the revenue collection work to Zamindars Very exploitative. Led to many revolts. Hence British didnt implement it in other parts of India. In Awadh/Oudh, Lord Delhousie wanted to implement Mahalwari but then 1857s munity broke out. Later Lord Canning introducedTalukdarisystem-similar to Permanent settlement.

Ryotwari1. Madras,2. Bombay3. Assam(MBA) Who?Thomas Munro and Read in Madras. (1820) Who?Wingate and Goldsmid in Bombay (1835). In 1820 it was tried in Poona but failed. LaterWingate and Goldsmid start Bombay Survey System in 1835 for individual settlement system. Company directly collected revenue from farmers. Madras was initially under Permanent settlement type system but Thomas Munro convinced the directors of East India company to convert this area under Ryotwari / direct settlement system.

Mahalwari1. Gangetic valley2. north-west provinces,3. parts of central India4. Punjab Company outsourced revenue collection work to Village community itself. Technically village headman (Lambardar) was made responsible for tax collection North West Provinces initially had Permanent settlement but transformed to Mahalwari system by Holt Mackenzie.(1822)

Tenure system% of Agri.land in British Provinces

Zamindari57

Ryotwari38

Mahalwari5

Total100%

Overall coveragePermanent Settlement: Features1. Cornwallis + John Shore. In Bengal + Bihar. 17932. All the land belonged to the state and was thus at their disposal.3. British designated zamindars (local tax collectors) , as owners of the land in their district. This system was adopted in several forms such as Zamindari, Jagirdari, Inamdari, etc.4. These zamindars had to collect revenue from farmers and deliver to the British.5. Converted Zamindars into landlords. The right to the land conferred on the zamindars was6. Revenue amount was fixed at the beginning and remained the same permanently.7. Zamindar were given freedom to decide how much to demand from the cultivators. Stiff penalties on defaulters.8. there was a provision of keeping a portion of taxes for the zamindar himself.9. Zamindars right over land was1. Alienable: meaning British could take it away and give it to another Zamindar, if first Zamindar did not meet the Revenue collection targets.2. Rentable: meaning Zamindar himself could further outsource his work among more smaller zamindars3. Heritable: meaning Zamindar dies, his son/brother etc would get it.10. Farmers became tenants. Two types1. Tenants-at-will: farmers who cultivated on Zamindars land. They had no rights. They could be evicted as per whims and fancies of Zamindar.2. Occupancy Tenants:farmers who owned land. Their occupancy rights were heritable and transferrable and were not tampered with as long as they paid their taxes.Permanent Settlement: Consequences#for British gave financial security for the British administration. Cost of running administration decreased. Because British had to collect Revenue from only a few Zamindars instead of lakhs of farmers. British got new political allies (Zamindars). They would keep their own militia to suppress peasant revolts, and act as informers and remained loyal to British rule.#learning from mistake Permanent settlement system led to many agrarian revolts. Governments income declined over the years, Because Revenue was permanently fixed + number of intermediaries kept increasing. Hence, British learned from the mistake and did not extent this permanent settlement/Zamindari system to the whole of India. Instead, they established Ryotwari and Mahalwari systems in the remaining parts.#Farmers lose bargaining power Textile industry was the driver of industrial revolution in Britain. = raw cotton imported + finished textile exported to India. To prevent any competition from Desi textile industries, the British imposed variety of taxes and tariffs on them=>desi textile business collapsed. Lakhs of weavers became unemployed, migrated to villages in search of work. Since they did not own any land, they had to becometenants-at-will for Zamindars. Now Zamindars had the monopoly of controlling livelihood of thousands of people. They extorted more and more taxes. Moreover, the begar, unpaid work which the tenants were forced to perform on the zamindars land, took larger proportions. On the average, it amounted to 20-25 % of the lease. Western Bengal: Farmers got divided into two categories i) Jotedars (Rich farmers) ii)Bargadar (Sharecroppers) Eastern Bengal: Jute cultivation. Independent farmers with small to middlesize land holdings#More outsourcing Permanent settlement system created landed aristocracy for the first time in India. Zamindars used to chow down part of the land Revenue collected. Thus they became wealthy and lazy. They outsourced their work to more intermediaries / sub-tenants. It became quite common to have 10 to 20 intermediaries, more or less without any specific function, between the government and the farmers, And they all had a share in the cultivation yield + other illegal taxes. As a result, 70-80% of farmers produce went to just Revenue and commissions only=> poverty, debts. None of these middlemen or Zamindars invest money in agricultural improvement or new technology. They just kept increasing rents. Hence traditional agriculture did not shift to capitalist agriculture, unlike other economies.Ryotwari SystemBy Sir Thomas Munro at first in Madras State and then adopted in Bombay, and Assam. But Why?1. In permanent settlement areas, land Revenue was fixed. But over the years, agriculture prices/exports should increase but governments income did not increase. (Because middlemen-zamindars chowed it down)2. Zamindars were oppressive- leading to frequent agrarian revolts in the permanent settlement areas.3. In Bihar, Bengal, there existed Zamindar/feudal lords since the times of Mughal administration. But Madras, Bombay, Assam did not have Zamindars / feudal lords with large estates. So, hard to outsource work, even if British wanted.4. No middlemen in tax collection=> farmer has to pay less taxes=>increased purchasing power=>will improve demand for readymade British products in India.Consequently, all subsequent land tax or revenue settlements made by the colonial rulers were temporary settlements made directly with the peasant, or ryot (e.g., the ryotwari settlements).This model was based on English yeomen farmers.Ryotwari System: Features1. government claimed the property rights to all the land, but allotted it to the cultivators on the condition that they pay taxes. In other words, It established a direct relation between the landholder and the government.2. Farmers could use, sell, mortgage, bequeath, and lease the land as long as they paid their taxes. In other words Ryotwari system gave a proprietary rights upon the landholders.3. IF they did not pay taxes, they were evicted4. taxes were only fixed in a temporary settlement for a period of thirty years and then revised.5. government had retained the right to enhance land revenue whenever it wanted6. Provided measures for revenue relief during famines but they were seldom applied in real life situation.Ryotwari System: Consequences Farmers had to pay revenue even during drought and famines, else he would be evicted. Replacement of large number of zamindars by one giant zamindar called East India Company. Although ryotwari system aimed for direct Revenue settlement between farmer and the government but over the years, landlordism and tenancy became widespread. Because textile weavers were unemployed= they started working as tenant farmers for other rich farmers. In many districts, more than 2/3 of farmland was leased. Since Government insisted on cash revenue, farmers resorted to growing cash crops instead of food crops. And cash crop needed more inputs=>more loans and indebtedness. After end of American civil war, cotton export declined but government didnt reduce the revenue. As a result most farmers defaulted on loans and land was transferred from farmers to moneylenders.Mahalwari System Location: Gangetic valley, north-west provinces, parts of central India and Punjab. But why? In North India and Punjab, joint land rights on the village were common. So, British decided to utilize this utilize this traditional structure in a new form known as Mahalwari system.Mahalwari System: Features1. unit of assessment was the village.2. taxation was imposed on the village community since it had the rights over land.3. The village community had to distribute these tax collection targets among the cultivators4. Each individual farmer contributed his share in the revenue.5. Everyone was thus liable for the others arrears.6. Farmers had right to sell or mortgage their property.7. The village community did not necessarily mean entire village population. It was a group of elders, notables of high castes.8. A village inhabitant, called thelambardar, collected the amounts and gave to the British9. British periodically revised tax rates.Mahalwari system: Consequences Since Punjab, Northern India = fertile land. So British wanted to extract maximum Revenue out of this region. Land Revenue was usually 50% to 75% of the produce. As generations passed- fathers would divide land among sons=> fragmentation=>farms became smaller and smaller and productivity declined. But still British demanded Revenue in cash. So, farmers had to borrow money to pay taxes in the case of crop failures. As a result, more and more farms passed into the hands of moneylenders. When farmer failed to repay debt, Moneylender would take away his farm but he has no interest in self-cultivation so hed leasing it to another farmer. Thus, sub-leasing, indebtedness and landlessness became more and more common in Mahalwari regionWhy is it called Modified Zamindari system? Because in Mahalwari areas, the Land revenue was fixed for the whole village and the village headman (Larnbardar) collected it. Meaning theoretically Village itself was a landlord/zamindar. Other names for this system:Joint rent, joint lease, brotherhood tract (mahal) holding and gram wari etc.Result of British Land Tenure system: Perpetual indebtedness, exploitation. When we gained independence, picture was following:farmersAgro-land of India

7% villagers (richest, Zamindar and other intermediaries)Owned 75% of fertile land

48% of villagers (tenants, sub-tenants)Owned 25% of fertile land. (=imagine the land fragmentation and size of landholdings)

45% of villagersOwned no land. Worked as farm laborers, petty traders, craftsman etc.

Total 100%Total 100%

Consequences of British Tenure systemsLand becomes a propertyBefore BritishDuring British rule

private ownership of land did not exist land belonged to the village community Land was never treated as the property of the kings -benevolent or despotic, Hindu, Muslims or Buddhist. Land was not treated as individual cultivators property either. Introduced private ownership of land This divided village into 1) landlords 2)tenants 3)labourers This this material transformation the agrarian society in India witnessed profound social, economic, political, cultural and psychological change. with generations- land kept dividing among sons=>land fragmentation, diseconomies of scale, lower production.

Panchayat lost PrestigeBefore BritishDuring British rule

Land matters and civil disputes were adjudicated by Panchayat within the village. Farmer had to approach British courts for matters related to Revenue, property attachment, debt-mortgage etc. Panchayats lost their power and prestige

Food insecurityBefore BritishDuring British rule

farmers usually grew foodcrops- wheat, maize, paddy, jowar, bajra and pulses Since British demand revenue in CASH, farmers resorted to growing cash crops: indigo, sugarcane, cotton=> Area under foodcrop cultivation declined Then, Lacks of People would die of starvation during famines. Even after independence, and before green revolution- India was not self-sufficient in grain production.

at independence India was faced with an acute food shortage near-famine conditions in many areas. Between 1946 and 1953 about 14 million tonnes of foodgrains worth Rs 10,000 million had to be imported = this was nearly half of the total capital investment in the First Five Year Plan (195156).CanalsBefore BritishDuring British rule

Kings constructed ponds, canals and wells to improve agriculture irrigation taxes were moderate. British did construct new canals Positive: more area brought under cultivation, particularly in Punjab. but most canals caused salinity and swamps=>declined productivity over the years Taxes on Irrigation were quite high. Therefore Canal irrigation was used to grow sugar, cotton and other cash crops, instead of food crops=>food insecurity, starvation and death during famines.

Cash economy & indebted farmersBefore BritishDuring British rule

Land Revenue was paid in kind. Village was a self-sufficient economy with cooperative units. e.g. blacksmith would make farm-tools, would get yearly payment in grains/kind. Moneylending, mortgaging were negligible. British obliged the farmers to pay revenue in cash and not in kind. The land revenue was increased arbitrarily to finance British wars and conquests. But The farmers had no right to appeal in the court of law. Farmers had no understanding of cash economy + frequent droughts and famines Hence they had to borrow money from unscrupulous grain traders and money-lenders=> compound interest rate, perpetual indebtedness. Eventually, the typical Indian villager was stripped of all savings, caught in debt trap, mortgaging almost everything-whether personal jewelry, land and livestock, or tools and equipment.

Collective village life based on common economic interests and resultant cooperative relations A new village came-where existence was based on competition and struggle among independent individuals.

Farmers shifted from food crop to Cash crops. But cash crops need more inputs in terms of seeds, fertilizer, and irrigation, hence farmer had to borrow more. This brought moneylenders, Shroff, Mahajan, Baniya, into limelight- they were in control of village land without any accountability. Thus British land revenue system transfered ownership of land from farmer to moneylender. towards about the end of the colonial period, The total burden on the peasant of interest payments on debt and rent on land could be estimated at a staggering Rs 14,200 millioncredit suppliergave ___% of farmers loan requirements

moneylenders93%

government3%

cooperative societies3%

commercial banks1%

According to RBIss survey in 1954:SerfdomBefore: slavery/bonded labour/Begari almost non-existent. But During British raj Zamindars gave loan to farmers/laborers and demanded free labour in return. This practice prevented farmers/laborers to bargaining wages. Begari, Bonded labour, or debt bondage became a common feature in large parts of the country. Even in ryotwari areas, upper caste controlled the land. Lower caste was reduced to sharecroppers and landless laborers.Before BritishDuring and After British rule

India was steadily becoming more urbanized, Significant portion of the Indian population living in large or small towns. de-urbanization and de-industrialization of India This led to even greater pressures on agriculture since large categories of highly skilled artisans and non-agricultural workers were thrown out of work. When the British left, India had become a village-based agricultural economy. With an enormous population pressure on agriculture and an adverse landman ratio of about 0.92 acre per capita at independence.

Even in Villages, there was skilled artisans like weavers, potters, carpenters, metal-workers, painters etc. Trade tariffs and excise duties were set so as to destroy Indian industries, and squeeze domestic trade. Bihar and Bengal: severe restrictions were placed on the use of inland water-ways causing fishing and inland shipping and transportation to suffer.

Rural Industry destroyedLack of Capitalist AgricultureIn most economies, the evolution is traditional farming=>capitalist farming methods. But in India, it did not happen, why?1. Large landowners in zamindari and ryotwari areas leased out their lands in small pieces to tenants.2. Small tenants continued to cultivate them with traditional techniques= low productivity.3. Rich farmers/ zamindars lacked the riskbearing mindset for capitalist mode of production (i.e. invest more money in seeds, fertilizer, animal husbandry, contract farming, large-scale capitalist agriculture using hired wage labour under their direct supervision. etc).4. Even if they wanted to take risk, government did not give any agricultural support, credit, insurance etc. yet demanded high taxes.5. It is not surprising, therefore, that Indian agriculture, which was facing long-term stagnation, began to show clear signs of decline during the last decades of colonialism.farming technology in 1951% of farmers

wooden ploughs97%

iron plough3%

Use of improved seeds, artificial fertilizers, etcrare

some more pointsDrain of WealthIndependent Farmer / tenant was hardly left with any money to re-investment in agriculture. Most of his surplus income/profit went into paying taxes. These taxes were used for exporting raw material from India to Britain. = Drain of wealth.

Social Banditrywhen individuals or small group of farmers couldnot organize a collective action against Zamindars/government, they started robbery and dacoity.

When India got independence, the situation was:VILLAGERS ASSOCIATED WITH FARMINGAGRO-LAND

7% villagers (richest, Zamindar and other intermediaries)Owned 75% of fertile land

48% of villagers (tenants, sub-tenants)Owned 25% of fertile land. (=imagine the land fragmentation)

45% of villagersOwned no land. Worked as farm laborers.

Total 100%Total 100%

This article provides information about the meaning and objectives of land reforms in India:Meaning:In a narrow sense, land reforms mean the redistribution of property rights in land for the benefit of small farmers and agricultural labourers. In the broader sense, land reforms include two types of institutional changes. One relates to agrarian relations and the other to the size of the unit of cultivation.

Image Courtesy : gg2.net/newImage/original/1355822318_Farmers.jpgA United Nations publication has defined land reforms as measures concerning the reform of the land tenure only. All other measures are included in agricultural reorganisation. According to Lipton, land reforms are only those reforms in land tenure which improve the distribution of income among the persons affected by these measures.Objectives:Land reforms are agrarian reforms. These reforms are undertaken to attain some objectives in the field of agriculture. The following are the major objectives of land reforms policy.1.Increasing productivity:Increase in production constitutes the most important objective of land reforms. In the Indian context land has been used as a good in two ways, one as a major source of making a living and the other as a source of making money. As a source of living, it is essential that almost everyone should possess land. By a source of making money is meant a change in tenure in such a way that the resources are most efficiently utilized in agriculture.2.Ensuring Social Justice:So far as the Directive Principles of State Policy of our Constitution is concerned, the property or resources of the community should be equally distributed. Since land constitutes the main asset of the society, it should be distributed equally. This would ensure social justice.3.Attaining a planned growth:A self-sustaining planned growth can be attained through a system of land reforms. Land reforms provide ownership rights to the cultivators. They come in direct contact with the government. All plans and programmes made by the government for the development of agriculture receive direct participation of the owner-peasants. Hence it becomes easier for the planners to formulate and implement suitable policies for agrarian reforms.4.Providing incentives:If a farmer happens to be a farmer-in-tenancy, he has no incentive to work hard in the field to increase productivity. This requires providing full guarantee to the cultivator to get the full benefits from his labour and investment. The provisions of security of tenancy, rent regulation and conferment of ownership provide a congenial atmosphere in which the farmers feel sure of reaping the fruits of their labour.5.Creating Employment Opportunities:An important objective of land reforms is to create employment opportunities in the rural sector. Land reforms ultimately lead to redistribution of land holdings. Small farm holdings are made because of such distribution of the existing cultivable lands among large numbers of farmers. Experiments have demonstrated that small holdings create more employment opportunities than large holdings as per hectare basis.Phillip Raup, while summing up the objectives of land reforms says, Land reforms should combine redistribution rights in land and supporting measures that are necessary to achieve three objectives: social justice, political health and agricultural output expansion. However, in practice, it is difficult, if not impossible, to achieve all the three objectives simultaneously through a given land reform measure.

This brief essay provides information about the land reforms in India!The Britishers in India were not at all keen in adopting progressive land reforms measures for the rural farmers. This had given the Zamindars and the big landlords a golden opportunity to exploit the rural poor to a great extent.It was only after independence that serious efforts were made to introduce land reforms measures. They are as follows:1. Abolition of Intermediaries:Intermediaries like Zamindars, Talukdars, Jagirs and Inams had dominated the agricultural sector in India by the time the country attained independence. Quite naturally top priority was accorded to the abolition of intermediary tenures. Congress had long ago been committed to the idea of the removal of intermediaries between the peasant and State.Soon after independence, measures for the abolition of the Zamindari system were adopted in different states. The first Act to abolish intermediaries was passed in Madras in 1948. Since then, state after state passed legislation abolishing Zamindari rights.The Orissa Estates Abolition Act was passed in 1951. By 1955, the progress for the abolition of intermediaries had been completed in almost all the states.The abolition of intermediaries has both advantages and disadvantages.Advantages:(a) As a result of the abolition of intermediaries, about 2 crore tenants are estimated to have come into direct contact with the State making them owners of land.(b) The abolition of intermediaries has led to the end of a parasite class. More lands have been brought to government possession for distribution to landless farmers.(c) A considerable area of cultivable waste land and private forests belonging to the intermediaries has been vested in the State.Disadvantages:(a) Abolition of intermediaries has resulted in a heavy burden on the state exchequer .The ex-intermediaries have been given a compensation amounting to Rs. 670 crores in cash and in bonds.(b) It has led to large-scale eviction. Large-scale eviction, in turn, has given rise to several problems social, economic, administrative and legal.(c) Instead of the abolition of the official land-lords, absentee land-lords as a class have emerged. Hence the claim of the official documents pertaining to the abolition of intermediaries has no logical foundation. The truth is that it has changed only its garb.2. Tenancy Reforms:Rural India witnesses three types of tenants. They are- (a) permanent or occupancy tenants, (b) temporary or non-occupancy tenants, and (c) sub-tenants. The permanent tenants have the permanent ownership right over the land. The rent for permanent tenants is fixed. The right to cultivate land goes from generation to generation so long as they pay rent.Hence land is inheritable. Because of such security of holding, the occupancy tenants make improvement on their land. They are almost the owners of land, as they can mortgage or sell their land.There is hardly any difference between the peasant-proprietors or the owners of land and occupancy tenants. The only difference is that while the owners pay the rent to the government, the occupancy tenant pays it to the land-lord.Temporary or non-occupancy tenants have no right to cultivate the land permanently. They can be evicted from land on minor pretexts. In their case, rent is too high. It may be increasedarbitrarily. They do not make any improvement on the land for the fear of eviction.Sub-tenants are the tenants who cultivate the land of the big land owners. They cultivate land only on lease basis. The leases are rather oral. These can be changed at will. They pay rent either in cash or in share of the product. In any case the rent is exorbitant.There is no security of tenure. Their position is not only weak and insecure but also pitiable. According to the National Sample Survey (8th round) 20 per cent of land is under the tenancy-at-will and sub-tenancy.It is not at all possible to put an end to the tenancy system. But it can be mended so as to be acceptable from the social as well as economic point of view. The tenancy reforms in various states have three important features, though the provisions are not similar in all cases.These are- (i) security of tenure for the tenants, (ii) fixation of fair rent and (iii) grant of ownership rights to certain types of tenants.(i) Security of tenure:Sir Arthur Young rightly observed: Give a man the secure possession of a bleak rock and he will turn it into a garden; give him a nine years lease of a garden and he converts it into a desert. This remark very pithily sums up the need for providing security of tenure. Security of tenure creates interest among the cultivators for improving their land. Further, it helps in attaining two basic objectives of land reforms namely increase in productivity and promotion of social justice.To protect tenants from ejectment and to grant them permanent rights on lands, laws have been enacted in most of the states. They have three essential features.(a) Tenants cannot be evicted without any reason. They can be evicted only in accordance with the laws.(b) Land can be resumed by the landlord only on the ground of personal cultivation. But the land-lord can resume the land only up to a maximum limit.(c) The landlord should leave some area to the tenant for his own cultivation. The tenant in no case should be made landless.However, tenancy legislations in India are not uniform throughout the country. Each state has its own legislation. In Orissa, a limit has been imposed on the landlords for resuming land for personal cultivation.(ii) Regulation of Rent:In Pre-Independent India rents were high for obvious reasons. A number of factors such as defective land tenure systems, pressure of population on land, absence of non-farm employment opportunities and the apathetic and lukewarm attitude of the government towards the tenants interest were responsible for the continuous rise in rents. Fifty per cent of the total produce was paid as rent.In some areas the rent was as high as 70 per cent. In addition to such high rent, the tenant had to provide certain free services to landlords. This was called Bethi and Beggary in Orissa. So at the beginning of the First Plan, the Central Government insisted on the regulation of high rent by State Governments. It was laid down that the rent to be paid to the landlord should not be more than 20 to 25 per cent.Accordingly, different State Governments passed tenancy legislations to regulate rent. The main objective of such Acts was to make the rent fair and reasonable. However, the maximum rent differs from state to state. For example, while in Orissa and Bihar the rent is fixed at l/4th of the gross produce, in Punjab it is one third and in Rajasthan it is one-sixth of the gross produce. The rates also vary within the state because of the difference in the fertility of land.(iii) Right of ownership:So far as right of ownership is concerned, tenants have been declared as the owners of the land they cultivate. They have to pay compensation to the owners. The amount of compensation should not exceed the level of fair rent.In some states provisions have been made allowing the tenant to purchase the leased land on payment of a price to the landlord. If any dispute arises between the tenant and the landlord over the payment of price, this may be referred to a land tribunal. The tribunal will decide the price to be paid by the tenant to the landlord.As a result of these measures about 40 lakh tenants have already acquired ownership rights over 37 lakh hectares of land. They have become better-off economically and socially.In several states, in the matter of tenancy reform, legislation falls short of the accepted policy. What is even worse, the implementation of the enacted laws has been half-hearted, halting and unsatisfactory in part of the country. The legal protection granted to tenants has often been ineffective.3. Ceiling on land holdings:The third important step of land reforms relates to the imposition of ceiling on land holdings. Ceiling on land holdings implies the fixing of the maximum amount of land that an individual or family can possess. Land ceiling has two aspects: one, the fixation of ceiling limit and two, the acquisition Ma of surplus land and its distribution among the small farmers and landless workers.The imposition of ceiling on agricultural holding is preeminently a redistributive measure. Prof. Gadgo rightly observes, Among all resources, the supply of land is the most limited and the claimants for its possession are extremely numerous. It is, therefore, obviously unjust to allow the exploitation of any large Q surface of land by a single individual unless other overwhelming reasons make this highly desirable.The almost compelling case of land ceiling arises from the absolute and permanent shortage of land in relation to the population dependent on it, the limited prospect of transfer of population to non-agricultural occupations or and the need to step up production along with increase in employment.Economic Rationality of LandCeiling:According to some economists small farms are more efficient than large farms. Prof. C. H. Hanumatha held the view that small farms provide more employment opportunities. They require less capital compared to the large farms. He further added that small farms can be made into large farms through cooperative effort so as to have scale economies.Social Rationality of Land Ceiling:In a poor country like India the supply of land is limited and number of claimants is large. Hence it is socially unjust to allow small number of people to hold large part of land. Such condition is against the justice, equality and prosperity of the majority of the people.It is socially justifiable to impose ceilings on land and distribute it to the actual users of land, making the tenants as the owners. In this way, ceilings on land holdings can go a long way in raising income and bringing prosperity of the toiling masses in the country.Ceiling legislations in India have been enacted and implemented in all states in two phases. The first phase continued upto 1972. The second phase started from 1972. The important provisions of ceiling legislations constitute (a) unit of application; (b) upper limit for land holdings; (c) exemption and (d) availability of surplus land and its distribution.(a) Unit of application:In the first phase, i.e., prior to 1972, the basis of ceiling fixation was an individual as a unit instead of a family.Since 1972, a family has been accepted as the unit of application of ceilings. The family is defined as a unit consisting of husband, wife and children.(b) Upper limit for land holding:In the first phase there were wide variations in the ceilings on land holdings. Different states fixed different upper limits for land holdings. For example, in Andhra Pradesh, the limit of ceiling varied from 27 to 216 acres. In Rajasthan it varied from 22 to 366 acres.Under the new revised policy, the upper limit of ceiling has been lowered. For example, for lands which have assured supply of water and where at least two crops are raised, the upper limit has been fixed at 10 to 18 acres depending on the productivity of the land. In areas where there is irrigation provision only for one crop, the ceiling has been fixed at 27 acres. However, for the remaining types of land, the ceiling limit is fixed at 54 acres.(c) Exemptions:Certain types of land were exempted from ceiling laws. Among the types of land exempted were orchards, grazing lands, sugar-cane fields of sugar factories, cooperative farms etc.(d) Surplus land and its distribution:The progress in respect of surplus land and its distribution has been quite unsatisfactory. The sixth plan target was that the entire surplus land was to be taken possession of and distributed by 1982-83. But this is far from being achieved still.A number of factors such as illegal transfer of land, judicial interventions, loopholes in ceiling laws, non-availability of land records, inefficient administration, political pressure etc. account for the failure of the land ceiling. Prof. M.L. Dantwala rightly observed, By and large, land reforms in India enacted so far . are in the right direction, and yet due to lack of implementation the actual results are far from satisfactory.4. Consolidation of Holdings:Consolidation of Holdings means bringing together the various small plots of land of a farmer scattered all over the village as one compact block, either through purchase or exchange of land with others. The average size of holdings in India is very small. The size of the holdings is decreasing but number of holdings is increasing over time. This is due to the inheritance laws.The inevitable consequence of this inheritance law is that farms are being subdivided and fragmented with every passing generation. Further there is a decline of joint family system which was prevailing in earlier period.Nuclear family system is now leading to sub-division and fragmentation of holdings. Subdivision and fragmentation of holdings results in several disadvantages such as wastage of land, difficulties in land management, difficulty in the adoption of new technology, disputes over boundaries, disguised unemployment, low productivity etc.Advantages of Consolidation of Holdings:Consolidation of holdings has several advantages. They are as follows:(a) It prevents the endless subdivision and fragmentation of land holdings.(b) It saves the time and labour of a farmer.(c)It effect improvement on land in the form of bunding, fencing etc.(d) It promotes large-scale cultivation.(e) It brings down the cost of cultivation and reduces litigation among farmers.Attempts have been made in India for consolidation of holdings long before independence in some areas. It formed an integral part of our land reforms policy since the inception of on the Planning in 1951. However, as yet 15 of the 25 states in the comp country have passed laws in respect of consolidation of holdings.In Orissa, the Consolidation Act was passed in 1972. The work of consolidation has been completed fully in Punjab and Haryana. Considerable progress has also been made in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and Karnataka. So far 51.8 million hectares of land have been consolidated in the country. This is about one- third of the total cultivated land.There are various obstacles to the speedy implementation of the consolidation programme. These are poor response from cultivators, wide variation in the quality of land, complicated process of land consolidation, lack of enforcing machinery, lack of political will etc.5. Co-operative farming:It has been advocated to solve the problems of sub-division and fragmentation of holdings. In this system, farmers pool their small holdings for the purpose of cultivation and reap benefits of large scale farming. The advantages of scientific farming, adopting the new potential technologies can be reaped; co-operative farming lays the foundation of strong democracy, self-help and mutual help. In the Indian context joint co-operative farms and service co-operatives are mostly observable.Co-operative farming in India has largely been a failure. The reason is not far to seek. The farmer in India has not been properly socialised in the cooperative system. Again, the attitude of the bureaucrats towards cooperative farming is not favourable.6.Bhoodan Movement:The Bhoodan Movement was spearheaded by Acharya Vinoba Bhabe. He collected land from the rich landlords and distributed that to the landless. About 4.2 million acres of land were received under Bhoodan, but so far only about 1.3 million acres have been distributed.7. Compilation and updating of landrecords:Compilation and updating of the land records are an essential condition for the effective implementation of land reforms programme. In recent years the states have been urged to take all measures for updating land records with the utmost urgency by adopting a time-bound programme. Efforts are also being made to maintain the land records through computerization.Causes of failure of land reforms:There are a number of causes for the failure of the programmes of land reforms. They are as follows:1.Undue advance publicity and delay in enacting land laws:Much publicity has been given in advance by the leaders of the ruling party to the proposed land reforms after independence. Again, the time taken for a bill to become an Act in many states has been unusually long.This has enabled the landowners to make necessary adjustments so as to be able to evade various provisions of land reform legislation. According to the World Bank, We have, for an unduly long time, continued to preach land reforms rather than practise them and this has proved counterproductive.2.Loose definition of the term personal cultivation:The term Personal cultivation is quite loose. One could resume land for personal cultivation under the definition even while sitting at a distance of 200 miles. The Zamindars have been permitted to possess substantial areas of land for cultivation. Again, the laws have provided for many exemptions in the form of land awarded for gallantry, land under orchards, tea estates, well-run farms etc.There are instances when people have availed benefits from some of these concessions, e.g., exemption on the basic of the land being under orchard, by growing only a few berry trees in a particular plot. In this way, loose definition of the term Personal cultivation has given chances to Zamindars to eject large areas of land by defying the law.3.Optional nature of the laws:Most of the laws granting ownership rights to tenants are not mandatory. They are rather optimal. The tenants have to move the government for grant of ownership rights. They will not get them automatically. On many occasions, tenants hesitate to approach the law courts for this purpose merely out of fear of the landlords.Cohen rightly observes, The existing lower or weak position of the tenant would not have been a handicap in the amelioration of his conditions if the law had been a bit kind to him. The law drags him into the court on every occasion.4.Malafide transfer of land:To escape the laws relating to land ceilings, the Zamindars have indulged in large scale transfer of land to their family members or kinsmen. Such Malafide transactions do not make any change in the operational aspect of agriculture.5. Lack of social consciousness among the tenants:Prof. Khusro in his study entitled Economic and Social Effects of Jagirdari Abolition has emphasised the importance of social consciousness of the tenants as a factor responsible for the successful implementation of land reforms.The capacity of the tenants to fight for their right also counts a lot in the context of land reforms. M.L. Dantwala rightly observed, Large holders, articulate and capable, organised pressure in defence of their interests and the small cultivators and the landless were not only unorganised but in most cases, ignorant of legal and constitutional process; the former were very often successful in getting the land reforms modified or even nullified both at the stage of legislation as well as implementation.6.State side with the big farmers:N. C. Saxena has rightly observed that the state governments which control the land operations have moved favourably towards the big farmers. The interests of the small farmers have been vitally affected.7.Lack of strong political will:The programme of land reforms necessitates adequate political desire, zeal and support. But unfortunately the political leaders only wear a mask of progressive socialistic outlook. In this regard, the report of the Task Force on Agrarian Relations deserves mention. The report says Enactment of progressive measures of land reforms and their efficient implementation call for hard political decisions and effective political support, direction and control.But in reality, this important factor is lacking and often standing in its way. The lack of political will is amply demonstrated by the large gaps between policy and legislation and between law and its implementation.In no sphere of public activity in our country since independence has the hiatus between precept and practice, between policy pronouncements and actual execution been as great in the domain of land reforms.8.Bureaucratic corruption:It is an acknowledged fact that whenever some honest officials implement the laws relating to land reforms sincerely, they incur the wrath of the political leaders who ultimately put them in unnecessary difficulties.Land reforms provide a golden opportunity to the Patwari and other functionaries of the Revenue Department to make money. Again in many cases the highly placed officials are themselves landlords.Moreover, the lands which are acquired to be distributed among landless farmers are engrabed by the politicians and bureaucrats at cheap rate. Indian Rural Development Report (1999) rightly observes, It is paradoxical that a bureaucracy created to govern a colonial feudal system was entrusted to implement agrarian reform and element of all those policies which were inherently anti-feudal, progressive and democratic.9. Surplus land is fallow and uncultivableland:The holders of surplus land manipulate the land data in such a way that the land in excess in their possession is usually barren and uncultivable. Such a surplus land does not yield any benefit to the landless peasants. In this way the very purpose of land reforms legislation is defeated.10.Absence of records:Absence of records regarding ownership and possession of land and about its actual cultivators stands in the way of properly identifying the beneficiaries of land reforms.11.Lack of uniformity in land reforms laws:Land reforms laws are not uniform throughout India. They are different in different states. This also accounts for the slow progress of land reforms measures.12. Emergence of new agriculturetechnology:The new seed-cum-fertilizer technology, for its successful adoption, needs ample resources and dynamic entrepreneurship. Only large farmers can fulfill these conditions. Hence on this count many economists have come out in favour of the abolition of ceiling on land holdings.A number of remedial measures have been made to remove the difficulties and structural constraints pertaining to land reforms in India. They are as follows:1. The definition of personal cultivation in land legislation should be changed keeping in view the interests of landless farmers.2. The residential qualification should be made compulsory for holding land.3. Excess land taken over from big landholders should be distributed expeditiously. To assist the land reform beneficiaries, there is a strong need to link them for timely supply of inputs and investment to Jawahar Rozgar Yojana Prime Ministers Rozgar Yojana.4. Updating and computerization of land records should be accorded top priority. Necessary funds should be made available to the states for this purpose. Certified extract of the record should be issued in the form of updated Farmers Passbook.5. Special attention should be paid to tribals. All left out agricultural land held by the tribals should be regularized at the earliest opportunity.6. No transfer of agricultural land should be permitted to a non-agriculturist.7. The state should identify wastelands, both public and private, and take up reclamation measures in these wastelands and distribute them among the poor.8. Loans should be granted to the farmers under easier terms and conditions so that they can purchase the lands which are due to them.9. Joint or community farm management among the marginal land holders and marginal farmers in the country should be encouraged.10. The administrative machinery should be kept free from unnecessary political interference and harassment.11. The poor peasants should be provided legal aid upto the level of the Supreme Court. The Lok Adalats should be empowered to dispose of land reform litigations along with prompt disposal of cases by rural courts, i.e., Nyaya Panchayat/Rural Nyayalaya.12. Strong political will should be created so that the government can achieve the goal of egalitarian society through the instrumentality of land reforms.13. Landless, small and marginal farmers representatives should be given representation in local Panchayat bodies and ministries so that they are associated at each decision making level.14. The rural peasants should be made conscious about their on rights through different educative programmes and media.15. Peasant organisations should be formed to protect the interests of small and marginal farmers. Through such organisations they can file claims for conferment of ownership right and can fight against exploitation.16. Scientific studies of agrarian structure of different areas separately should be conducted at regular intervals. Since the problems of one region differ from that of the other, the findings of these studies should be utilised to bring about a change in desired direction.In fine, in a country like India characterized by a tradition of inequality and exploitation of the poor, the land reform measures can lead to a real burst of enthusiasm, a genuine release of energy among the working peasantry. What it needs is the proper implementation of land reforms. There are two barriers that hinder proper implementation (i) ignorance of the poor, and (ii) selfishness of the rich.In order to remove these hindrances the poor should be motivated through education and persuasion and the rich should be compelled to cooperate through coercion, it certainly requires a government with strong political will and a bureaucracy with commitment to achieve the desired results.Read this article to get information about the system of Land Tenure in Pre-Independent India!The land tenure system has a long history of its own. There are references to it even in the Arthashastra of Kautilya. As stated in Arthashastra, the king was the sole proprietor of the land. According to other scriptures, the tiller of the land was practically regarded as the real owner of the land. The king only had the power to increase or decrease the land tax.The ancient system of land tax continued even during the Muslim rule with some modifications here and there. In the 16th century, Sher Shah Suri initiated land settlement operations for assessment and collection of land revenue. During the reign of Akbar, there was some improvement in the system.The British rulers inherited a well-laid-out land system from the Mughals. The British administration modified or transformed the prevailing land tenures in such a manner as to secure the maximum revenue for the government from land tax. These changes resulted in the development of three types of land tenure systems.1. The Zamindari System:The Zamindari system was introduced by Lord Cornwallis in 1793 with a view to increasing the revenue of the East India Company. Under this settlement, the landlords were recognized as the full proprietors of the land. In return for this honour, the task of collecting rent from the farmers was entrusted to them.The Zamindars became the intermediaries between the cultivators and the State. But with the passage of time, the Zamindari settlements made these intermediaries the owners of land thereby creating a permanent interest in land. Zamindari settlements were of two types. They consisted of permanent settlement and temporary settlement.(i) Permanent Zamindari Settlement:The permanent settlement fixed land revenue on a permanent basis. This system prevailed in Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, North Madras, Banaras and in some parts of Assam.(ii) Temporary Zamindari, Settlement:So far as temporary settlement was concerned, land revenue was assessed for a period ranging between 20 and 40 years in various states. This system was in vogue in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Oudh. Since the period of assessment was pretty long, temporary settlement was not temporary in the true sense.The British Government pleaded that the Zamindars represented the most enlightened section of the rural population. As such the conferment of tenurial rights on them could result in significant improvement pertaining to land and agriculture. But these expectations were not materialised. The Zamindari system as it worked in India suffered from a number of defects. They are as follows:(a) Hindrance to Agricultural Development:The Zamindari system worked as a formidable obstacle in bringing about economic transformation in rural India. The Zamindars evinced no interest in the improvement of either land or cultivation. Collection of revenue was their sole interest.(b)Problem of Absentee-landlordism:The Zamindari system supposedly introduced to promote progressive agriculture, degenerated into absentee landlordism. Absentee landlordism signifies conferment of a right of the sharing of the produce of the land on a few without participating personally in the productive process. The very creation of the section of absentee landlords resulted in the decay of the agriculture.Ruddar Datt and K. P. M. Sundharam succinctly observe, Historically, the landlords as a class are known for their extravagance on women, wine and vices. The landlords of India were no exception. Thus the money extracted from the cultivators by these parasites did not result in capital formation but increased conspicuous consumption.(c)Exploitation:The Zamindari system itself was based on exploitation as it conferred unlimited rights on the Zamindars to extract as much rent as they wished. Approximately, one-fourth of the produce was taken away by the intermediaries in the form of rent.Moreover, the tenants had to work in the houses of Zamindars on occasions like marriage, religious festivals without any return.(d) Psychological insecurity:Under the Zamindari system the actual tiller of the land was not the owner of the land. Hence he was always in fear of his ejection from the land.2.Mahalwari System:This kind of tenancy was introduced during the British rule. It was first introduced in Agra and Oudh and later on in Punjab. Muslim tradition was instrumental in the emergence of the Mahalwari system.So far as the Mahalwari tenure was concerned, the village lands were held jointly by the village communities. The ruralites were jointly and severally responsible for the payment of land revenue.The lands held by the village communities were either cultivated by the members of the village communities themselves, or were leased out to others on rent. Period of settlement, fixation of the land revenue etc. were different in different mahalwari areas.The village headman was entrusted with the responsibility of collecting the land revenue and depositing it in the treasury.In return he received 5 per cent as commission. The greatest drawback of the Mahalwari system was that through the presence of certain intermediaries it contributed to the presence of absentee landlords.3.Ryotwari System:The Ryotwari system was introduced by Sir Thomas Munro in 1792. Under this system, the responsibility of paying land revenue to the government was of the individual ryot himself. There was no intermediary between him and the state. The ryot or the farmer had full rights on land regarding sale, transfer, sub-let or lease as long as he paid land revenue to the government.The first Ryotwari settlement was made in Madras in 1972. It was later extended to Maharashtra. Assam, Punjab, Coorg etc. The system was the product of Hindu tradition.Advantages:1. The system was successful in abolishing intermediaries.2. The proprietor of the land evinced keen interest in improving the land and other associated facilities.Disadvantages:1. The ryotwari system through sub-letting encouraged the practice of absentee landlords.2. Through the provision of mortgaging, the system has given rise to a new zamindar class with all its exploitative practices.3. The method of assessment of land revenue, undertaken periodically by settlement officers, was arbitrary. As a result the ryot with small holdings suffered heavily in periods of irregular monsoons, droughts.The integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) was launched in 1978-79 in order to deal with the dimensions of rural poverty in the country. The programme covered small and marginal farmers, agricultural workers and landless labourers and rural craftsmen and artisans and virtually all the families of about 5 persons with an annual income level below 3500. The main aim of IRDP was to raise the levels of the BPL families in the rural areas above the poverty line on a lasting basis by giving them income generating assets and access to credit and other inputs. The programme was to be implemented by District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) with the assistance from block level machinery. The scheme for Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) was launched in 1982 as a part of IRDP. Both in terms of the volume of aggregate investment planned and the number of families to be benefitted, the IRDP was the largest programme of the Sixth Five Year Plan for the alleviation of poverty in rural areas. Keeping this in view, at the instance of Ministry of Rural Reconstruction*, the Programme Evaluation Organisation(PEO) decided to undertake an All India Evaluation Study of this programme during 1983-84. The study report was brought out in May, 1985.

Wikipedia-IRDPTheIntegrated Rural Development Programme(IRDP) is aruraldevelopment program of the Government ofIndialaunched in financial year 1978 and extended throughout India by 1980. It is a self-employment program intended to raise the income-generation capacity of target groups among the poor. The target group consists largely of small and marginal farmers, agricultural labourers and rural artisans living below thepovertyline. The pattern of subsidy is 25 per cent for small farmers, 33-1/3 per cent for marginal farmers, agricultural labourers and rural artisans and 50 per cent forScheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribesfamilies and physically handicapped persons. The ceiling for subsidy is Rs.6000/- for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes families and the physically handicapped; for others, it is Rs.4000/-in non-DPAP/non-DDP areas and Rs.5000/- in DPAP and DDP areas. Within the target group, there is an assured coverage of 50 per cent for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, 40 per cent for women and 3 per cent for the physically handicapped. Priority in assistance is also given to the families belonging to the assignees of ceiling surplus land, Green Card holders covered under the Family Welfare Programme and freed bonded labourers.RDP is a major self-employment programme for poverty alleviation. The objective of IRDP is to provide suitable income-generating assets through a mix of subsidy and credit to below-poverty-line families with a view to bring them above the poverty line. A family with an annual income of Rs. 20,000/- and below per annum is considered to be below the poverty line based on the 1998 below Poverty Line Census. The list of individual and family activities which are eligible for assistance with the unit cost of each is placed in Annexure.The aim is to raise recipients above the poverty line by providing substantial opportunities for self-employment. During the 7th five-year plan, the total expenditure under the program was Rs 33.2 million, and Rs 53.7 million of term credit was mobilized. Some 13 million new families participated, bringing total coverage under the program to more than 18 million families. These development programs have played an important role in increased agricultural production by educating farmers and providing them with financial and other inputs to increase yields.[citation needed]The objective of IRDP is to enable identified rural poor families to cross the poverty line by providing productive assets and inputs to the target groups. The assets, which could be in primary, secondary or tertiary sectors, are provided through financial assistance in the form of subsidy by the government and term credit advanced by financial institutions. The program is implemented in all the blocks in the country as a centrally sponsored scheme funded on 50:50 basis by the centre and the state. The scheme has been merged with another scheme namedSwarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana(SGSY) since 01.04 1999.The scheme was introduced because the Government of India realized that the piecemeal efforts in the sphere of rural development had not achieved the targeted objectives. The IRDP was proposed to provide self-employment opportunities to the rural poor through provision of capital subsidy and bank credit so as to help rural poor acquire productive income-generating assets and training to upgrade their skills.

Short notes on Integrated Rural Development Programme in IndiaIntegrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) aims at providing assets and self-employment opportunities for the rural poor. Assistance under IRDP is given to a target group of rural poor belonging to families below poverty line in the form of subsidy by the Government and term credit by financial institutions.The target group under IRDP consists of small and marginal farmers, agricultural labourers, rural artisans, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes and socially and economically backward classes having annual income below Rs. 11, 000 defined as poverty-line for the Eighth Plan.In order to ensure that benefits under the programme the more vulnerable sectors of the society, stipulated that at least 50 per cent of assisted fa- should "be from scheduled castes and ached tribes with corresponding flow of resources tot' Furthermore, 40 per cent of the coverage should of women beneficiaries and three per cent of co age should be of handicapped persons.The optional strategy of IRDP intended to follow the 'ha hold approach' rather than 'individual approve The poorest households are identified and the anomic upliftment of these households is soar through a package of activities involving allowing members, with particular attention being given to women.The IRDP is implemented through Dis" Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs) and Level Agencies at the grass roots level. The giving body of DRDAs includes local MP's, ML Chairman of Zila Parishads, heads of district development departments, representatives of SCs/ and women.At the grass-root level, the blocks is responsible for implementation of the program The State-Level Coordination committee (SL monitors the programme at State Level whereas Ministry of Rural Areas and Employment is risible for the release of Central share of funds, poll formation, overall guidance, monitoring endive' action of the programme.Some of the import" integrated rural development programmes inch National Rural Employment Programme (NT7 Minimum Needs Programme (MNP), Training Rural Youth for Self-employment (TRYSEM, 197 Development of women and Children in Rural A (DWCRA, 1982), Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY, 198 86),SwarnajayantiGramSwarojgarYojana, Prad Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, Sampoorna Gram Rozgar Yojana and National Food for Work grammar etc.The IRDP was first proposed in the Cent budget of 1976-77. The programme with some notifications was introduced on an expanded scale 1978-79, beginning with 2300 blocks. Another 3 blocks were added during 1979-80.Till March 19 under IRDP. 527 lakh families have been assisted with a total investment of Rs. 30,871.79 crore. In the Tenth Five Year Plan a sum of Rs. 76,774 crore has been allocated for rural development (ef. Ninth Plan Rs. 42,874 crore). IRDP is a centrally-sponsored scheme with funds shared on 50: 50 bases between the Centre and the states. In the case of union territories, cent per cent funds are provided by the Central Government.The programme is implemented through District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) and block-level functionaries at the grass root level. Following are some of the schemes undertaken under the IRDP.1. Training of Rural Youth for Self-Employment (TRYSEM)It was launched as a centrally sponsored scheme on 15 August 1979. It aims at providing basic technical and managerial skills to rural youth in the age- group of 18-35 years from families below the poverty-line to enable them to acquire skills and technology to take up vocations of self-employment in agriculture and allied activities, industry, services and business.Liberalization of norms for expenditure under recurring assistance, greater emphasis on systematic marketing and exploring possibility of setting up groups for manufacture/ assembly of non- traditional items for which there is good demand in the market, are some of the steps taken to improve the implementation of the scheme.After the training, the TRYSEM beneficiaries are assisted under the IRDP. Between 1980-98 a total of 41, 48,425 rural youths were trained of which 17, 74,395 belonged to SCs/STs and 19, 12,514 to women categories among these trained youths 23, 32,274 are now employed.2. Scheme for Rural ArtisansSupply of improved tool-kits to rural artisans is also a supporting component of IRDP. The objective is to enable the rural artisans to enhance the quality of the product, increase the production and their income with use of improved tools. Between 1992-93 and 1997-98 7.46 lakh tool kits have been provided under the scheme incurring an expenditure of Rs. 147.95 lakh.3. Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA)This programme aims at raising the income level of women of poor households so as to enable their organized participation in social development towards economic self- reliance.It envisages formation of groups of 5-10 rural women each for carrying on income generating activities. Nacho group is sanctioned a 'revolving fund' of Rs. 15,000 which is shared equally by Centre, State government and UNICEF.The aim is to improve women's access to basic services of health, education, child care, nutrition, water and sanitation through the strategy of group formation. Between 1980-81 and 1997-98 a total of 2, 19,620 groups have been formed extending the benefit of the programme to 35, 00,247 women.4. Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural TechnologyThe Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) was registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 on September 1, 1986, with headquarters in New Delhi. It aims at encouraging, promoting and assisting voluntary action for enhancement of rural prosperity.It makes available financial assistance to voluntary organizations (VOs) under the following schemes: (i) promotion of voluntary action in rural development, (ii) development of women and children in rural areas (DWCRA), (iii) accelerated rural water supply programme (ARWSP), (i v) central rural sanitation programme (CRSP), (v) organization of beneficiaries of anti-poverty programme, (vi) integrated rural development programme(IRDP), (vii) Jawahar Rozgar Yojna (JRY) consisting of watershed conservation and development programme, village link road, rural housing and social forestry, (viii) advancement of rural technology scheme (ARTS), (ix) Panchayati Raj (PR), (x) Indira Awaas Yojna, (xi) Million wells scheme, (xii) support to NGOs / VAs, and (xiii) watershed development.It can obtain funds from various Central and State government departments and also accept donations and contributions from other sources.It has set up 9 regional committees at Jaipur, Ahmadabad, Hyderabad, Bhubaneshwar, Patna, Chandigarh, Dharwad Guwahati and Lucknow which are empowered to sanction projects up to an outlay of Rs. 10 lakhs.5. Jawahar Rozgar YojnaJawahar Rozgar Yojna (JRY) is one of the major wage employment programmes of the Ministry taken up in April 1989 after merging the earlier wage employment programmes, namely, National Rural Employment Programme (NREP) and Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP).The main objective of the programme is to generate additional gainful employment for the unemployed and under-employed men and women in the rural areas as well as creation of community assets.The expenditure of the programme is shared in the ratio of 80: 20 between the centre and the states. 22.5 per cent funds are earmarked for SCs/ STs at all levels of Panchayati Raj institutions. Preference to parents of child labour withdrawn from hazardous/ non-hazardous occupation who are below the poverty line, to persons with disabilities, distribution of food grains as part of wages are other typical features of the Yojna.6. Indira Awaas YojnaThis Yojna aims at providing dwelling units free of cost to the members of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and freed bonded labourers living below the poverty line in rural areas.After 1993-94 non-SC/ST people and the families of the servicemen of the armed and paramilitary forces killed in action have also been brought under the Yojana. Funds of the IAY are allocated to the districts in proportion to the SC/ST population in the district. IAY funds are operated by the District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs)/Zila Parishads (ZPs) at the district level.The allotment of the house is done in the name of the female member of the beneficiary household. As far as possible houses are built in clusters so as to facilitate provision of common facilities. The permissible construction assistance per house is Rs,.25,000 in plain areas and Rs.27,500 in hilly or difficult areas. A total of about 129 lakh houses have been constructed since its inception with an estimated cost of Rs.23, 149 crore.7. Ganga Kalyan YojanaThis is a centrally- sponsored scheme w has been launched with effect from I February 1 The objective of the scheme is to provide irrigate through exploitation of ground-water (bore-w and tub-wells) to individuals and groups of s and marginal farmers living below poverty-line, assistance is provided through a mix of subsidy Government and term credit by financial intuitions. Special safeguards by way of earmarking 50 per cent of total funds as well as higher percent age of subsidies have been provided for the SCs/S the funding pattern is 80:20 between the Cent and the state government.8. National Social Assistance ProgrammeThe National Social Assistance Program (NSAP) came into force on 15 August 1995 provide social assistance to poor households, includes three benefits through (i) National Old A Pension Scheme (NOAPS)-Central assistance available at the rate of Rs.75 per month to person who are aged 65 years or more and are destitute; (iii National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS)-Centre assistance is available as a lump sum family benefit for households below the poverty-line on the dead of the primary bread winner in the bereaved family.The amount of benefit is up to Rs. 5,000 in the case of death due to natural causes and unto Rs. 10,000 in the case of death due to accidental causes; and (iii) National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS)-Central assistance is available to pregnant women belonging to households below poverty-line up to the first two live births, provided they are 19 years of age and above. The amount of benefit is up to Rs.300to be disbursed in one installment 12-8 weeks prior to delivery.9. Rural Sanitation ProgrammeThis is a centrally- sponsored programme whose main objective is to improve rural sanitation through the construction of sanitation toilets. It includes subsidy for the construction of sanitary latrines and for the conversion of dry latrines into sanitary latrines. The amount of subsidy is increased to 80 per cent for persons below the poverty- line and is shared equally by the Central Government and the State Government.10. Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY)The SGSY is an integrated programme for self-employment of the rural poor which was started on l April 1999. Its objective is to bring the assisted poor families above the poverty line. The focus of the programme is on establishing a large number of micro enterprises in rural areas based on the ability of the poor and potential of each area for a sustainable income generation.The subsidy allowed is 30 per cent of the total project cost, subject to a ceiling of Rs. 7500/- (for SCs/STs subsidy 50% and ceiling Rs. 10, 00/-). Half of the Swarozgaris would be from SCs/STs, 40 per cent from women and 3 per cent from disabled person. The SGSY lays special emphasis on the development of Swarozgaris through well designed training courses and is financed on 75: 25 cost-sharing bases between the centre and the state. Since the inception of the programme 19.94 lakh Self-Help Groups have been formed covering 55.98 lakh Swarozgaris. During 2005-06 the central allocation for the scheme is Rs. 960 crore.11. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)It is a 100 per cent centrally sponsored scheme launched on 25 December 2000. Its prime objective is to provide connectivity to all unconnected habitations in the rural areas with a population of more than 500 persons (in hill, desert and tribal areas population 250) through all weather roads by the end of Tenth Plan (2007).So far 41,068 road works of length 1, 24,792.83 km, and covering 39,574 habitations have been cleared for taking up under the programme. Out of the, 25,478 road works covering 69,013 km have been completed. A cumulative expenditure of Rs. 9,882 crore has been incurred so far.12. Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY)The SGRY was launched on September 2001 by merging the Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS) and the Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana with the objective of providing additional wage employment in the rural areas as also food security, alongside the creation of durable community assets.The programme is self-targeting with special emphasis on women, SCs, STs and parents of children withdrawn from hazardous occupations. The annual outlay is Rs. 1 0,000 crore which includes 50 lakh tones on food grains. The cash component is shared between the Centre and the States in the ratio of 75:25. Minimum wages are paid to the workers through a mix of 5 kg of food grains and at least 25 per cent of wages in cash.The programme is implemented through district, intermediate and Gram Panchayats. Fifty per cent of the funds are to be utilised for infrastructure development works in SC/ST localities. No contractors are permitted to be engaged. The programme is regularly monitored by reputed institutions and organisations sponsored by the Central/ State Governments.13. National Food for Work Programme (NFWP)It was launched in November 2004 in 150 most backward districts of the country, identified by the Planning Commission in consultation with the Ministry of Rural Development and the State Governments. The objective of the programme is to provide wage employment and food-security through the creation of need based economic, social and community assets. The scheme is 100 per cent centrally sponsored.It provides 5 kg of food grains per man-day along with wages in cash. Under the programme priority is giving to the works on water conservation, drought-proofing and land development. The Panchayat concerned has a right to inspect and review the progress of the works. The programme is expected to provide 100 days of supplementary wage employment to one member of each poor family in rural areas of identified 150 districts of the country.Urbanisation in IndiaFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mumbaiis themost populous city in India, and the fourthmost populous city in the world, with a totalmetropolitan areapopulation of approximately 20.5million.UrbanisationinIndiawas mainly caused after independence, due to adoption of mixed system of economy by the country which gave rise to the development of private sector. Urbanisation is taking place at a faster rate in India. Population residing inurban areasin India, according to 1901 census, was 11.4%.[1]This count increased to 28.53% according to 2001 census, and crossing 30% as per 2011 census, standing at 31.16%.[2][3]According to a survey by UN State of the World Population report in 2007, by 2030, 40.76% of country's population is expected to reside in urban areas.[4]As perWorld Bank, India, along withChina,Indonesia,Nigeriaand theUnited States, will lead the world's urban population surge by 2050.[2]Mumbaisaw large scale rural-urban migration in the 21st century.[see main]Mumbai accommodates 12.5 million people, and is the largest metropolis by population in India, followed byDelhiwith 11 million inhabitants. Witnessing the fastest rate of urbanisation in the world, as per 2011 census, Delhi's population rose by 4.1%, Mumbai's by 3.1% andKolkata's by 2% as per 2011 census compared to 2001 census. Estimated population, at the current rate of growth, by year 2015, Mumbai stands at 25 million,DelhiandKolkataat 16 million each,BangaloreandHyderabadat 10 million.[5]History[edit]Pre-modern India[edit]

TheMahajanapadasThe first appearance of cities and urban development in India was around 2600 BCE with the advent of theIndus Valley Civilisation. The settlement displayed a level of sophistication superior to contemporary development with its uniqueGrid plancity layout. During its peak, the city had a novel sanitation system with a water supply andseweragesystem in place.[6][7]Trading helped the city to flourish and it had significant trade routes with Central Asia and the Middle East.[8][9]The city had its unique system of weights and measures, script, religion and a flourishing crafts industry.The decline of the Indus Valley Civilisation due to climate change and drought led to a migration towards northern India in the advent of the Iron Age better known for theVedic Civilisation.[7][10]The epicMahabharataof this time describes the city ofIndraprasthawhich stood at the present location ofDelhiand served as capital for thePandavas. This period and its later years saw the rise of various powerful city kingdoms or republics, known in popular literature as the 16Mahajanapadas, such asKashi,MagadhaandAvanti, whose capital cities became powerful through trade and being notable centres of learning. The prominent among them beingVaranasi,Pataliputra(modern dayPatna) andUjjayiniamong others.[11]The later period, from 399 BCE, became famous with theMaurya empire.[12]A detailed account of life during the time ofChandragupta Mauryais given by the Greek ethnographerMegasthenesin his book theIndica. The book describes the caste system prevalent at the time that has been deeply rooted in the present day Indian community, both rural and urban.[13]Cities likeTakshashilabecame renowned in the old world as a centre for higher learning, probably best known for its association with the strategist and adviserChanakyawho aided the emperor.Takshashilawas the terminus of several major inlands, connectingIndiaand Central Asia.[14]In the south, thePandyan Dynastyestablished its capital atMadurai, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and boasting a rich cultural and architectural heritage. Port cities such asMuzirisandTyndisthrived with trade with the Roman empire.The transition period[edit]Afterindependence, India faced poverty, unemployment and economic backwardness. The firstPrime Minister of India,Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, focused on the domain of science and technology, for economic development.[15]Themixed economysystem was adopted, resulting in the growth of thePublic sectorinIndia.[16]Modern India[edit] v t eLargest urban agglomerations in India by population(2011 census)[17]

Mumbai

DelhiRankCity NameState/TerritoryPopulationRankCity NameState/TerritoryPopulationKolkata

Chennai

1MumbaiMaharashtra18,414,28811KanpurUttar Pradesh2,920,067

2DelhiDelhi16,314,83812LucknowUttar Pradesh2,901,474

3KolkataWest Bengal14,112,53613NagpurMaharashtra2,497,777

4ChennaiTamil Nadu8,696,01014GhaziabadUttar Pradesh2,358,525

5BangaloreKarnataka8,499,39915IndoreMadhya Pradesh2,167,447

6HyderabadAndhra Pradesh7,749,33416CoimbatoreTamil Nadu2,151,466

7AhmedabadGujarat6,240,20117KochiKerala2,117,990

8PuneMaharashtra5,049,96818PatnaBihar2,046,652

9SuratGujarat4,585,36719KozhikodeKerala2,030,519

10JaipurRajasthan3,073,35020BhopalMadhya Pradesh1,883,381

The contribution of theagricultural sectorto theGDPofIndiastarted to decline and the percentage contribution fromsecondary sectorincreased. The period after 1941, witnessed rapid growth of four metropolitan cities inIndia, which wereKolkata,Delhi,Mumbai, andChennai.[18]The nation's economy saw a rise due toindustrial revolutionand the invention of new technologies increased the standard of living of people living in urban areas.[19]The growth ofpublic sectorresulted in development of public transport, roads, water supply, electricity, and hence the infrastructure of urban areas.Maharashtrawas the most urbanised state in India till 1991, stood behindTamil Naduin 2001 and third after it in 2011, withKeralabeing first,[20]with the urban-total state population ratio. However, Maharashtra's urban population of 41 million, far exceeds that of Tamil Nadu which is at 27 million, as per the 2001 census.[21]Causes of urbanisation in India[edit]The main causes ofurbanisationin India are: Expansion in government services, as a result of theSecond World War Migration of people during thepartition of India[18][22][23] TheIndustrial Revolution[24] Eleventh five year plan that aimed aturbanisationfor the economic development ofIndia[25] Economic opportunities are just one reason people move into cities Infrastructure facilities in the urban areas[26] Growth ofprivate sectorafter 1990 .[27]Consequences of urbanisation[edit]Rapid rise in urban population, in India, is leading to many problems like increasing slums, decrease instandard of livinginurban areas, also causing environmental damage.[28]TheIndustrial Revolutionin the 18th century caused countries likeUnited StatesandEnglandto become superpower nations but the present condition is worsening. India's urban growth rate is 2.07% which seems to be significant compared to Rwanda with 7.6%. India has around 300 million people living in metropolitan areas.[29]This has greatly caused slum problems, with so many people over crowding cities and forcing people to live in unsafe conditions which also includesillegal buildings. Water lines,roads and electricity are lacking which is causing fall of living standards. It is also adding to the problem of all types ofpollution.[30]Urbanisation also results in a disparity in the market, owing to the large demands of the growing population and the primary sector struggling to cope with them.[31]

Urban Unemployment[edit]The unemployment rates (UR) according to usual status (ps+ss) as obtained fromNSS68th round (survey period: July 2011- June 2012) for different categories of persons in urban areas of the country are:[32]Category of personsMaleFemalePerson

Unemployment rate (per 1000 persons in the labour force)305234