States want amendments in tenancy laws with prospective effect

Favour protection of existing tenant rights

As the Centre moves forward to prepare a model land leasing Bill to legalise tenancy, states are of the view that any move to amend tenancy laws should only be with prospective effect to protect the rights of existing tenants.

The recommendations came from a group of states constituted sometime ago to look for measures to enhance investment in agriculture and reforms in land leasing. The group also said the proposed model Land Lease Act should be framed by as early as 2016-end.

Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal, Manipur, Punjab and Tripura were part of the group.

The states also demanded that the model Act should entitle and facilitate tenants including sharecroppers with access to bank credit, crop insurance, disaster relief and other public support system. This framework is also being followed by the T Haque committee, which has been entrusted with the task of framing the model Bill.

States' advice is significant because actual ground work on changing the land leasing Acts will have to be done by the states as land is a state subject.

The Centre can at best urge the states to amend their land leasing laws and legalise tenancy, something which it has failed to do with the model Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act.

APMC reforms have been stuck for ages for want of states' participation.

That apart, officials said another group of states has suggested that the Centre launch a Pradhan Mantri Kisan Dhan Yojana to enable farmers to access the crop loans in the Jan Dhan account based on scale of finance. It also wanted the share of agriculture in the priority sector lending be raised from 18 per cent to 25 per cent.

The group also suggested the level of refinance for co-operatives be increased from 40 per cent to 60 per cent. Besides, it recommended issuance of tax-free bonds by institutions such as the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development to fund irrigation projects.

A technical group on crop insurance and credit flow to agriculture suggested that 10 million new farmers be brought under the credit ambit in the next three years so that all farmers get covered

On organic farming, the group comprising Sikkim, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Goa, Kerala, Andaman & Nicobar, Dadra & Nagar Haveli suggested creation of a National Institute for Research and Centre of Excellence in states and export subsidy for organic products.

KEY SUGGESTIONS

• The recommendations came from a group of states constituted at a Sikkim meet sometime ago to look for measures to enhance investment in agriculture and reforms in land leasing
  

 

The group also said the proposed model Land Lease Act should be framed by as early as 2016-end
 

Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal, Manipur, Punjab and Tripura were part of the group
 

The states also demanded that the model Act should entitle and facilitate tenants, including sharecroppers, with access to bank credit, crop insurance, disaster relief and other public support systems