Spare A Thought For Farmers

With India’s economic growth rate picking up, and more private capital flowing into industry, mining, infrastructure and real estate, the demand for land has grown. However, land acquisition is proving difficult, so much so that it has emerged as the single-biggest hurdle to infrastructure development. Why is it so difficult to acquire land for large infrastructure projects in India? Difficulties in acquisition Land ownership pattern: In India land records are poorly maintained, especially in the less developed states. Property titles are often disputed. For those trying to acquire land, it can become difficult to identify who the real owner is. While agriculture accounts for only about 17 per cent of India’s GDP, about 58 per cent of its population depends on it for livelihood. When land is acquired, not just the owner, but sharecroppers and tenants also get deprived of livelihood. In backward and forested areas, the tribals may not have formal title to land, but they have informal rights over it through having subsisted off it for generations. Again, in case of a takeover, identifying beneficiaries becomes difficult. In India, average landholdings are small, so land acquisition for any large project requires negotiations with a number of people. Inevitably, someone holds out, either for a higher price, or because he does not want to give up his land at any price because of the loss of occupation and dislocation it entails. Many of the land owners are uneducated, and hence are not well placed to take advantage of the opportunities that

This article was originally published on May 18, 2011.