There seems to be a State sponsored policy to vest land in the hands of a dominant few in Odisha. The Constitution of India puts land as a State subject; so any new law relating to land and its execution is the responsibility of the State. It is the duty of the State to ensure record of rights and possession as well as productive use of land for all, especially for housing, livelihood and public purpose and check the concentration of land in the hands of a few.
The State has to also create productive land by developing waste land and controlling land pollution. While the State is proactive in allocating land to the rich people for public and private purpose, the same spirit is not been reflected in providing land to the poor, landless and illiterate who are being historically marginalized and deprived of getting land in form of record of rights and necessary support for its use.
The role of the State is to conduct land survey and settlement and categorization of land for different purposes. This is to recognize the natural rights of the inhabitants over the land they are in possession since generations and once for all ensure the title of the ownership but unfortunately this has not been done by the Government in spite of staff and resources. People who are educated and aware about revenue laws have managed to get record of rights over the land more than their possession and requirement.
The former kings, Zamindars, caretakers of mutts and temples have very well managed to retain back their land property by using the gaps in law as a result of which even today they are the owners of huge land property under their disposal. The Government has been making available huge land for the private companies and corporates in form of lease in the name of development projects. The State has introduced single widow system for companies with low premium, tax holiday and exemption of land registration fee etc.
Many industrialists are availing land lease along with other facilities in industrial estates developed by the Government. Added to this, housing societies mostly owned by builders, powerful influential people in power corridor, ruling party MlA, MP, top bureaucrats, influential media brokers and others get land in prime locations with all other facilities of water and electricity connection, drainage line and all-weather road connections developed out of State fund. This has been continuing with successive democratically elected Governments. There are a number of private trusts, societies, nonprofit making companies and family owned organisations who have been awarded land in subsidized cost in prime locations and these organizations have very limited public role in fulfilling the public purpose for which the land has been awarded.
They run hospitals, educational institutions and training centers for their private profit and there has been no social audit and monitoring. The Revenue Department has been showing all its commitment to private corporates and looks very much committed to discharging their duty in industrial corridors of the State, while the land problems of the marginalized communities and landless poor remain unaddressed.
Take the case of distribution of ceiling surplus land and Bhoodan to the landless in rural areas for agriculture purpose. Over last 50 years, there has been no attempt to take back the land under illegal possession by influential dominant people. land is vital to production for household food security, employment and livelihood in rural areas.
The most popular land distribution as per law has not been achieved. The Mo Jami Mo Dhia programme has created much hope to solve the land related dispute of poor people relating to possession, demarcation and restoration from illegal transfer but this has not created any desired impact in changing the land status of the poor people.
Take the example of the most popular homestead land distribution programme ‘Basundhara’ which provides ten decimal of land distribution to homestead less family under BPl category for housing purpose. Many of the landless families have only land record but they have been waiting since long to identify their land and many households which have been staying for generations have not been given record of rights in spite of their repeated attempt with applications and petitions to the revenue authorities.
The lack of title over land creates hurdles in getting residence and caste proofs for availing other entitlements such as housing and credit and link to development schemes. There are thousands of small habitations of poor which are not linked to outside with all-weather road and other minimum space for a decent living. The habitations have no linking road, cremation ground, playground, parks, space for socio-cultural and socio-religious activities, religious village forest, grazing land, village forest and water bodies. It is violation of socio-economic and socio-cultural rights of people of the land and depriving them of a life with dignity.
Take the example of Forest Rights Act (FRA) in ensuring individual and community right of tribal and other traditional forest dwellers of the State. Though the State claims to be number one in the country in terms of distribution of titles to more than three lakh households for over an area of about six lakh acres but it has just distributed land without demarcation. It is further found that this is the only State where the rights of other traditional forest dwellers are purposefully ignored in spite of provisions in the FRA. Many genuine poor, landless and forest dependent households and communities are being deprived of their basic rights to livelihood and self-employment. It has been directly affecting food security and local employment opportunity and thus encouraging distress migration in forest areas of the State.
Take the examples of housing schemes for EWS groups and landless poor in urban areas. There has been no attempt to ensure land for urban poor and economically weaker section in providing land and housing facility as the number of urban poor household has been increasing with rapid growth of urbanisation.
(The writer is rights activist who can be contacted at ojaabbsr@gmail.com)