Land Grants

By: EconomyWatch   Date: 21 April 2010

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Land Grant is yet another type of land ownership system which is mostly practiced in the Islamic or the Catholic countries. In the Islamic countries land is donated for various purposes. Land is donated by the government to establish madrasa, mosque, orphanages and other such institutions. The beneficiary receives the right to use the land for a lifetime. The government basically takes all the decisions regarding the land since the government treats the land as leased out land. But the profits which the institution incurs goes to the treasury of the institution and the government does not receive any share from the institution's profit. However, the land that is donated by the government is usually in a bad condition because nobody invests in improving the quality of the land. Such type of grant is known as 'waqf' in the Muslim countries.

History of Land Grants

In ancient times land used to be gifted by kings to soldiers or to priests. The real estate gift was a form of reward to the soldiers as an acknowledgment of their bravery. They were also gifted and still continue to be donated by authorities so that any piece of land could be used according to its productivity. In ancient times the Roman soldiers were gifted lands as a recognition of his service towards the king and the nation.

Advantage of Land Grant

The land grant may also be in the form of a private waqf instead of a institutionalized waqf. The right which an institution or an individual obtains with the receipt of the land as a grant is permitted by the court. This system prevents the change of land ownership. The vulnerability of a family to lose a property in the form of land is reduced since it is protected by law. The family obtains the whole income that is derived from the output. This type of land donation existed in Southern Europe and Germany till 1945.

This system of providing land grants is practiced in many other countries like the United States of America, Latin America and Australia.


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