Recomendaciones

is incomplete without

reference to homesteads

and their current and

potential role in the

household economy.

BOX 2.9

Land Reforms

Tripura’s land reform experience has been somewhat unique, in that its most significant component was restoration of alienated land to tribal families. As of September 2005, almost 9,000 cases of restoration had been handled and 7,147 acres had been restored to tribal families.

The Tripura Land Revenue and Land Reforms (TLR&LR) Act has been amended on two occasions to strengthen the section that deals with transfer of tribal lands and restoration of alienated land to tribal families. The Government of Tripura has set up special courts for the speedy trial of cases pertaining to alienation and restoration of tribal lands. The State Government offers compensation of Rs 8,000 per acre to non-tribals who acquired land from a tribal, in order to expedite the process of restoring alienated land to tribal families. Despite the commitment of the State Government to restoration of alienated land, some problems remain such as difficulties in identification of tribal families from whom land has been alienated. As indebtedness has been a major cause of tribal land alienation in the past, financial and other support has to be provided to tribals whose lands have been restored so that they become viable cultivators. Rehabilitation of small cultivators who stand to lose land as a result of the restoration of alienated land to tribals has also to be ensured.

The second most significant aspect of land reform is land redistribution, primarily of State-owned khas land and, secondarily, of land identified by the State as ceiling-surplus land. Government-owned khas land has been allotted to families that are either landless or homeless or both. From 1997–98 to 2004–05, a total of 34,598 acres were distributed to 37,349 families.

A total of 1,995 acres of land have been declared as ceiling surplus land in Tripura, and 80 per cent of the ceiling surplus land has been distributed to households, especially among Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe households belonging to landless and homeless families. A total of 1,598 acres have been distributed to 1,424 landless families as of November 2004. Of the remaining 397 acres of land declared as surplus, 242 acres have been reserved for public purpose, 96 acres are unfit for cultivation and 59 acres are involved in litigation.

Although the State Government has decided to confer the title of the allotted land to both the husband and wife jointly, data have not been collected on the number of joint pattas issued or even the number of pattas distributed to women in their name. This lacuna in data collection needs to be rectified.*

Lastly, the TLR&LR Act provides for the maintenance and updating of the register of bargadars (sharecroppers) in respect of every village, from time to time. The draft Model Pattadar Pass Book and Model Pattadar Pass Book Bill as circulated by the Government of India is being examined to see if the Land Pass Book Act, 1983 of the State can be improved upon by making amendments along the lines suggested in the draft Bill.

* Also, Tripura has not yet put into practice the resolution of the Conference of Revenue Ministers of the States held in November 2004 regarding the allotment of at least 40 percent of ceiling surplus land to women beneficiaries.

Restoration of alienated lands, as of September 2005

District Physical restoration completed Cases pending for restoration Number Area (in acres) Number Area (in acres)

West 4,463 2,845 32 20

North 898 1,170 0 0

South 2,660 2,306 64 28

Dhalai 894 826 8 51

Total 8,915 7,147 104 99

Source: Department of Land Revenue, Government of Tripura. Allotment of government-owned khas land, 1997–98 to

2004–05

District Number of families Extent (acres)

North District 448 3,848

Dhalai 10,638 10,540

West District 15,548 14,902

South District 6,915 5,308

Tripura 37,349 34,598

Extent and use of ceiling-surplus land, as of November 2004 Ceiling surplus land Extent (in acres) Share of total (%)

Land distributed 1,598 80.1

Land for public use 242 12.1

Land under litigation 59 3.0

Land unfit for use 96 4.8

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 Radio,

Transistor Television Telephone Bicycle Scooter, Motor Car, Jeep, Van None of the specified Rural Urban opment of agriculture were planned

to include homestead cultivation (such as through mixed cropping of tree crops, tubers and vegetables as well as live fences), the potential of homesteads to contribute to incomes and nutrition could be substantial.

Land reforms

The Government of Tripura is one of the few in India (besides Kerala and West Bengal) to have been commit- ted to land reforms (see Box 2.9).

Non-land assets

Secondary data indicate low levels of ownership of non-land assets among households in Tripura. According to the Census of 2001, on average, 50 per cent of households in Tripura did not possess any of the assets speci- fied in the Census schedule (that is, radio/transistor, bicycle, telephone, television, two- and four-wheel ve- hicles) (Figure 2.7). The correspond- ing ratio at the all-India level was 34.5 per cent.

Further, there were wide variations across districts in respect of asset ownership. In the urban areas of West District, 22 per cent of households did not own any of the specified assets, whereas 68 per cent of house- holds in rural North District did not own any of the specified assets. There was a visible rural–urban divide, par- ticularly marked in the case of tele- phones and motorised vehicles (Fig- ure 2.8). To take an example, 2 per cent of rural households owned a telephone as compared to 19 per cent among urban households. Further, less than 3 per cent of rural house- holds owned a motorised two- or four-wheel vehicle; the corresponding percentage among urban households was 16 per cent.

The broad pattern of asset owner-

ship was not very different among SC households. However, asset poverty was acute among ST households. Only 10 per cent of tribal households owned telephones, for example, as compared to 23 per cent of all house- holds. In rural areas of Dhalai and North District, more than 75 per cent of households owned none of the assets specified in the Census sched- ule. Dasda and Damcchara in North District and Chhamanu in Dhalai were three blocks in which more than 80 per cent of households reported owning none of the assets specified in the Census schedule.

The picture on asset poverty is con- firmed by our three village studies (see Box 2.10). The most striking find- ing from the village studies is the low level of wealth among rural house- holds. In the two villages of setttled

FIGURE 2.8

Percentage of households owning the specified assets in rural and urban areas, Tripura, 2001

Secondary data indicate