Haque to head newly created land policy cell in NITI Aayog

T Haque, former chairman of Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices, has been appointed the head of the newly created land policy cell in the NITI Aayog.  Haque was among the prime mover behind the Model Land Leasing Act, which the central government is planning to bring for the states to follow.

Haque has been appointed in the rank of secretary to the government of India for two years, which can be extended for another year.

Officials said Haque would now spearhead the Centre’s efforts to convince state governments to modernise their land leasing laws, and update and digitise land records - a task which has been lingering for long due to lack of cooperation by states.

Land being a state subject, any change in laws related to that has to be with their consent. “I plan to visit Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in the next few weeks to talk to state governments on various land-related issues,” Haque told Business Standard.

The Model Land Leasing Act proposes legalisation of leasing to ensure that tenants get access to institutional credit, insurance and compensation at the time of a disaster without impacting the legal ownership right of the holder. in the rank of secretary to the government of India for two years.