Ceilings for Landholdings

By: EconomyWatch   Date: 21 April 2010

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Ceilings for Landholdings was imposed as one of the measures of agrarian reform in India after independence to redistribute land and land properties. The main aim of these ceilings was the demolition of the large amount of land properties that had been captured by the big landowners.

  • Reasons behind the ceiling:
    • Before independence, the British government created a "Zamindari" system through which the Zamindars, i.e the big land owners, had the power to exploit the poor farmers. They could also forcefully acquire the land of the farmer. There was no limit of this land occupation as well.
    • Even the intermediaries between landholders and Government, developed by the British, also captured the land of the cultivators.. Therefore, the farmers were hardly interested to invest.
    • So, after independence, the ceiling for landholdings was absolutely necessary for tenancy reform and proper redistribution of land.

  • Rules of the Ceilings for Landholdings:
    • At first, the limit was set only for those landholdings or land properties which would be captured in future. But later, a fixed upper limit was set for the amount of landholdings. If the size of land exceeded the prescribed limit then that would be taken by the Government and redistributed to the small and marginal farmers.
    • The landholders were given the choice to decide which part of the land they would give if the amount of land exceeded the ceiling limit. So the obvious result was that most of the acquired land were infertile and wastelands. So later on, the choice was transfered to the government and the limit was set in terms of land utility.
  • Effects:
    • The ceilings for landholdings abolished the concept of big land property and helped the tenancy reforms.
    • By the imposition of ceilings, land were redistributed in an equitable manner and no big landowners could capture the lands unlimitedly. This also helped to develop a good land management system.

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