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Report of the Expert Committee
and
Model Law on Agricultural Land Leasing
NITI AAYOG
Govt. of India
New Delhi
October, 2016
i
Foreword
Land leasing laws relating to rural agricultural land in Indian states were
predominantly enacted during decades immediately following the independence. At
the time, the abolition of Zamindari and redistribution of land to the tiller were key
national priorities. Leadership at the national as well as state level viewed tenancy and
sub-tenancy as integral to the inherited feudal land arrangements. Therefore, tenancy
reform laws that various states adopted sought to not only transfer ownership rights
to the tenant but also placed severe restrictions on leasing of land, often prohibiting it
altogether.
While resulting in minimal land transfer, in the longer run, the policy had the
unintended consequence of ending any protection tenants might have had and forced
tenancy underground. Some states allowed tenancy but imposed a ceiling on land rent
at one-fourth to one-fift
h
of the produce. With this rent falling well below the market
rate, contracts became oral, with the tenant paying a much larger share of the produce
in rent.
Many large states have traditionally banned land leasing with exceptions
granted to landowners among widows, minors, disabled and defense personnel. Other
states do not ban leasing but the tenant acquires a right to purchase the leased land
from the owner after a specified period of tenancy. This provision too has the effect of
making tenancy agreements oral, leaving the tenant vulnerable.
Against this background, NITI Aayog constituted an Expert Committee on
Agricultural Land Leasing under the Chairmanship of Dr. Tajmul Haque with Dr. J.P.
Mishra serving as Member Secretary. The Committee was tasked with examining the
issue of land leasing in detail and suggesting a model legal framework that the states
could adapt to their individual circumstances. After extensive consultations with
stakeholders including farmers, farmer organizations, civil society groups and experts,
the Committee has come out with its report and a model law on the subject. It is
hoped that states will find the report and the model law useful for framing legislation
on land leasing that is suitable for their current circumstances. Such legislation would
go a long way towards promoting efficiency and equity and alleviating poverty in
agriculture.
My sincere thanks go to Dr. Haque and Dr. Mishra for steering the work of the
Committee and to Members of the Committee for generously contributing their time
and expertise. I also wish to acknowledge the help of many states officials and other
stakeholders without which the report could not have been completed in a timely
fashion.
Arvind Panagariya
Vice Chairman
New Delhi
21.10.2016 ii
The Expert Committee
NITI Aayog constituted an Expert Committee was constituted vide order No.
Q11022/12/2015-Agri dated September 07, 2015, under the chairmanship of Dr.
T. Haque to prepare a Model Law on Agricultural Land Leasing based on critical
review of the existing agricultural tenancy laws of the States and keeping in view
the need to legalize land leasing.
Composition of the Expert Committee:
Sr. No. Name of the Member Designation
1 Dr. T. Haque, Former Chairman, CACP Chairman
2 Sh. Anil Chandra Punetha, Chief Commissioner (Land
Admn.), A.P.
Member
3 Sh. G.S. Gabriyal, Secretary (Revenue), Govt. of
Uttarakhand
Member
4 Sh. Karan Avatar Singh, Addl. Chief Secretary
(Revenue), Punjab
Member
5 Sh. M. K. Srivastava, Principal Secretary (Revenue),
Maharashtra
Member
6 Sh. Alok, Secretary (Revenue), Govt. of Rajasthan Member
7 Sh. Deepak Sharma, Secretary (Revenue), Govt. of
Assam
Member
8 Sh. P. K. Srivastava, Principal Secretary
(Revenue/Land), Meghalaya
Member
9 Sh. H. S. Meena, Jt. Secretary, Dept. of Land Resources,
Govt. of India
Member
10 Dr. J. P. Mishra, Adviser (Agriculture), NITI Aayog, Govt.
of India
Member-
Secretary
Terms of Reference (TOR):
(i) To review the existing agricultural tenancy laws of States including hilly
States and scheduled areas;
(ii) to examine the distinctive features of land system in erstwhile zamindari,
ryotwari and mahalwari areas;
(iii) to suggest appropriate amendments, keeping in view the need to legalize
and liberalize land leasing for much needed agricultural efficiency, equity,
occupational diversification and rapid rural transformation;
(iv) to prepare a model agricultural land leasing act in consultation with states;
and
(v) any other related matter. iii
CONTENT
Sr. No. Subject/ Content Page No.
1. Introduction 1
1.1 Background 1
1.2 Legal Restrictions on Land leasing 1
1.3 Case for Legalization of Land Leasing 8
1.3.1 Restrictions on Land Leasing and Agricultural
Efficiency
8
1.3.2 Restrictions on Land Leasing and Equity 9
1.3.3 Land Leasing, Occupational Diversification and Rural
Transformation
10
1.3.4 Experience of Group Leasing by JLG Women in Kerala 11
1.3.5 Experience of AP Licensed Cultivators Act, 2011 11
1.3.6 Key Features of Model Land Leasing Act 12
2.0 Model Law on Land Leasing 13
2.1 Standard Lease Agreement 22
Appendix-I Distinctive Features of Various Land Tenure Systems 28
Appendix-II Restrictions on Period of Lease 30
Appendix-III Restrictions on Land Owners’ Right of Resumption 31
Appendix-IV Conditions for Termination of Lease 34
Appendix-V Tenant’s Right to Preemptive Purchase of Leased in
Land
37
Appendix-VI Conferment of Ownership Right on Tenants 38
Appendix-VII Recording of Lease 40
Appendix-VIII Heritability of Lease Right 41
Appendix-IX Regulation on Rent 42
Appendix-X Proportion of Leased in Area in various States 43
Appendix-XI Meetings and Consultations Held 44
References 45
1
1 Introduction
1.1 Background
At the time of independence, India inherited a feudal agrarian structure in which
land rights were concentrated in the hands of a few landlords / zamindars, while
actual cultivators/ tenants did not have any right or security of tenure. Even though
the nature of proprietorship varied initially under zamindari, ryotwari and mahalwari
systems, the differences were narrowed over time. (Appendix–I). This was an
inefficient, unequal and unjust structure. After independence, therefore, almost all
state governments passed land reform laws for (i) abolition of intermediaries; (ii)
abolition or regulation of tenancy; and (iii) imposition of ceilings on land holdings and
redistribution of ceiling surplus land. The main objective was to create conditions for
an agrarian economy with high levels of efficiency and equity (Second five year plan).
(ii) However, the objective of post-independence land reform for creating
an agrarian economy with high levels of efficiency and equity has been achieved only
partially. More particularly, restrictive tenancy laws enacted in the 1960s and 1970s
seem to have affected agricultural growth, equity and investment in rural non-farm
development adversely.
(iii) Most state governments have either legally banned or imposed
restrictions on agricultural land leasing. Restrictive land leasing laws have forced
tenancy to be informal, insecure and inefficient. Informal tenants are most insecure
and inefficient, as they do not have legal sanctity and access to institutional credit,
insurance and other support services. In addition, restrictions on land leasing have
reduced the occupational mobility of many landowners who have interest and ability
to take up employment outside agriculture and yet are forced to stay in agriculture
due to fear of losing land if they lease out and migrate. In short, the restrictive tenancy
laws have proved to be anti-growth and anti-poor in effect, even though India’s policy
makers thought it differently, while making such laws. It is against this background
that NITI Aayog has set up an Expert Committee to review the existing agricultural
tenancy laws of various states and suggest appropriate amendments keeping in view
the need to legalize and liberalize land leasing for much needed agricultural efficiency,
equity, occupational diversification and rapid rural transformation. As per the terms
of references, the Expert Committee has also prepared a model agricultural land-
leasing act in consultation with states and other stakeholders, including farmer
organizations and civil society groups.
1.2. Legal Restrictions on Land Leasing
Based on legal position, various regions of the country can be broadly grouped
into the following five categories:
(i) States such as Kerala, Jammu & Kashmir and Manipur that have legally
prohibited leasing out agricultural land without any exception. 2
(ii) States such as Bihar, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar
Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, Telengana and Odisha that allow
leasing out only by certain categories of land owners, such as those suffering from
physical or mental disability, widows, unmarried, separated or divorced women,
members of armed forces etc. In Karnataka, only Seamen and soldiers are allowed to
lease out. In some cases, privileged raiyats like Lord Jagannath in Odisha and other
recognized trusts of public nature are also allowed to lease out.
(iii) States such as Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Assam that do
not explicitly prohibit leasing, but the tenant (excepting in Haryana) acquires the right
to purchase the leased land from the owner after a specified period of creation of
tenancy. In Gujarat and Maharashtra, tenancy of a tenant belonging to SC/STs cannot
be terminated. In Punjab, law does not ban leasing out, but provides that a tenant of a
big land owner above ceiling is entitled to purchase his tenanted land on continuous
possession for six years. Similarly, in Assam, tenants who have held land for at least
three years consecutively can acquire ownership right on payment of 50 times the
rate of revenue.
(iv) In Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and West Bengal, there is no
legal ban on leasing. But there are several restrictive clauses. In West Bengal, only
sharecropping is allowed and not leasing on fixed rent or fixed produce basis. In
Andhra Pradesh, leasing has to be for a minimum period of six years and tenancy can
be terminated only by an application to the special judicial officer on any of the
specified grounds. In Tamil Nadu, there is no prohibition on leasing, but the
cultivating tenants cannot be evicted except on application to
Revenue Divisional Officer and on violation of conditions prescribed in the Act.
(v) In scheduled tribe regions, transfer of tribal land to non-tribals, and in
some cases even to tribals, on lease basis can be permitted only by a competent
authority. The state specific legal restrictions on who can or cannot lease out are
indicated in Table-1.
Table-1: Legal Restrictions on Land Leasing
State Law Governing land
leasing
Nature of legal restriction on Leasing
Andhra
Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (Andhra
Area) Tenancy Act, 1956,
as amended in 1974
There is no explicit ban on leasing. But
terms and condition of lease are
restrictive. Any lease after 1974 has to
be in writing and registered, for a
minimum period of six years. Also on
resumption of land by the landowner,
the tenant has to be left with not less
than one half of the land held by him
under lease prior to such resumption. 3
State Law Governing land
leasing
Nature of legal restriction on Leasing
Telengana The Andhra Pradesh
(Telengana Area) Tenancy
& Agriculture Act, 1950,
as amended in 1951,
1954, 1956, 1961, 1969
and 1979
Leasing is prohibited except by certain
categories of land owners, such as (a)
land owners who hold land equal to or
less than 3 times the family holding*
(section-7) and (b) disabled persons (a
minor, a female, persons with physical
and mental infirmity, persons in
defence services with permission of
district collector. A copy of every lease
shall be filed before the tehsildar.
Family holding varies from 6 acres to 72 acres based on classification of soil
and area.
Assam Assam (Temporarily
settled Areas) Tenancy
Act, 1971, applicable to
the entire state
(a) No explicit ban on land leasing;
(b) sub-letting is prohibited;
(c) occupancy tenants who have
held land as tenant for at least 3 years
continuously enjoy security of tenure
and can acquire ownership right on
payment of compensation at the rate of
50 times the rate of annual revenue,
payable for such lands.
(d) Non-occupancy tenant can
acquire the right of occupancy, if he has
held land continuously for 3 years.
Bihar Bihar Land Reforms Act,
1961
Leasing is prohibited except by disabled
ryots i.e. minor, widow, or unmarried,
divorced or separated woman, or
person with physical or mental
disability or a person in the armed
forces or a public servant in receipt of
salary not exceeding Rs. 250 per month
(Section-19).
Jharkhand Chhotanagpur Tenancy
Act, 1908 and Santhal
Pargana Tenancy Act,
1945
Leasing is prohibited, except with
permission of a competent authority, i.e
the Deputy Commissioner. This is
required not only for Adivasis, but also
for Scheduled Caste or backward caste
raiyats to lease out land. Besides, the
land cannot be transferred even to an 4
State Law Governing land
leasing
Nature of legal restriction on Leasing
Adivasi who does not reside within the
jurisdiction of the same police station to
which the landowner belongs. (Section
– 46(1) of CNTA)
Gujarat Bombay Tenancy And
Agril, Land Act 1948, as
amended by Act No. 5 of
1973 (erstwhile Bombay
areas)
No explicit ban on land leasing, but land
owner has a risk of losing land right,
due to creation of tenancy. A tenant
acquires the right to purchase the land
leased in within one year of lease
period. Legal leases are possible only
when the tenant is not in a position to
exercise his/her right to purchase due
to financial difficulties or otherwise.
Gujarat Saurashtra Land Reforms
Act, 1951 and Prohibition
of Leases Act, 1953
Renewal of lease or grant of a fresh
lease after 1.9.1954 is prohibited except
by persons under disability such as a
widow, a minor, a member of the armed
forces or persons suffering from
physical or mental disability,
government, local authority, industrial
and commercial undertakings.
Gujarat
(Kutch
Area)
Bombay Tenancy and
Agricultural land
(Vidharbha and Kutch
Area) Act, 1958, as
amended by Govt. of
Gujarat in 1961, 1964,
1965, 1968 and 1973).
No explicit ban on land leasing. But the
Act provides for voluntary purchase of
ownership right
Himachal
Pradesh
The H.P. Tenancy and
Land Reforms Act, 1972,
as amended in 1976 and
1987
Leasing out is banned except by
disabled persons such as members of
armed forces unmarried/ divorced/
separated women, a widow, a minor,
persons under physical or mental
disability or a student of a recognized
institution
J&K The Jammu & Kashmir
Agrarian Reforms Act,
1976
Creation of tenancy is banned without
any exception 5
State Law Governing land
leasing
Nature of legal restriction on Leasing
Karnataka The Mysore Land Reforms
Act, 1961 as amended
w.e.f. 1 March, 1974
Leasing out is banned excepting by a
soldier or a seaman
Kerala Kerala Land Reforms Act,
1963, as amended in
1969, 1971, 1972 and
1973
Leasing out is banned without any
exception
Madhya
Pradesh &
Chhattisgarh
MP Land Revenue code,
1959, as amended up-to-
date
Leasing out is prohibited except by a
disabled person (a widow, unmarried
woman, married but separated woman,
a minor, a person in imprisonment, a
person serving in armed forces, a public
charitable/religious institution or a
local authority or a co-operative society
Maharashtra (i) Bombay Tenancy and
Agricultural land Act,
1948, as amended in 1956
(for old Bombay area)
(ii) The Hyderabad
Tenancy and Agricultural
Lands Act, 1950, as
amended in 1954 for
Marathwada-(Hyderabad
area)
No explicit legal ban on leasing. But
land owner has a risk, as tenant has a
right to purchase the land leased by him
within one year of creation of tenancy.
Any tenancy created after the tillers (i.e.
1
st
April, 1957) day, (excepting by the
serving member of armed forces) is
void, as the tenants shall acquire the
right to purchase. Tenant cultivating
personally on 1
st
April, 1957, i.e. the
tillers day, shall be deemed to have
purchased from the land lord the
ownership right upto the ceiling area.
Odisha Orissa Land Reforms Act,
1965, as amended in 1973
and1976
Leasing out agricultural land is banned
except by a person under disability or
under a privileged raiyat w.e.f.
1.10.1965. A person under disability
includes: (i) a widow or unmarried or
separated women (ii) a minor, (iii) a
person incapable of cultivating land due
to physical or mental disability (iv) a
serving member of armed forces (v) a
raiyat whose land holding does not
exceed 3 standard acres. A privileged
raiyat means Lord Jagannath, any trust
or institution declared as a privileged 6
State Law Governing land
leasing
Nature of legal restriction on Leasing
raiyat or any other religious or
charitable trust of a public nature.
Manipur The Manipur Land
Revenue and Land
Reforms Act, 1960 as
amended in 1975
(applicable to plain areas
only)
Leasing in future is banned except by a
person under disability.
Punjab Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887,
The PEPSU Tenancy and
Agricultural Lands Act,
1955, as amended in
1957, 1959, 1962, 1968
and 1969; Punjab Security
of Land Tenancy Act, 1953
as amended in 1955,
1957, 1959, 1962, 1968
and 1969 and Punjab
Land Reforms Act, 1972.
No explicit ban on leasing. But section
16 of the LR Act, 1972 provides that the
tenant of a big landowner is entitled to
purchase his tenanted land, if he has
been in continuous possession of the
land for a minimum period of six years,
if the land is not included within the
reserved or ceiling area of the land
owner or when the land owner is a
disabled person, (widow or unmarried
woman or a person suffering from
physical or mental disability and also
the tenant must have land below
ceiling. Also a landowner within ceiling
can evict a tenant, subject to the tenant
being left with not less than 5 standard
acres.
Haryana Punjab Security of Land
Tenures Act, 1953 for the
erstwhile Punjab area and
PEPSU Tenancy and
Agricultural Land Act,
1955 for PEPSU area, as
amended uptodate.
There is no explicit ban on land leasing.
But there are other restrictive clauses,
as in Punjab. However, the Haryana law
does not provide for any automatic
right of purchase on tenanted land
falling within the ceiling surplus areas
of land owner, as in Punjab. Such land
vests in the Govt, although tenants are
given preference in the allotment of
such lands. Also a tenant can lease in
land for a minimum period of 3 years,
but less than six years.
Rajasthan Rajasthan Tenancy Act,
1955
There is no explicit ban on land leasing.
But terms and conditions of lease are
restrictive. Also a tenant is entitled to a 7
State Law Governing land
leasing
Nature of legal restriction on Leasing
written lease, which may be attested if
not registered.
Tamil Nadu Madras cultivating
tenants protection Act,
1955 as amended in 1965
and Madras cultivating
Tenants (payment of Fair
rent) Act, 1956
No explicit ban on leasing. But landlord
can resume land for personal
cultivation, not exceeding one-half of
the land leased out to the tenant
excepting when he is a member of
armed forces. If the landlord owns
above 13.5 acres of wet land or pays
sales tax or professional tax or income
tax, he cannot even resume land from
tenant. Also any tenant or agricultural
labourer occupying any Kudiyirupees (a
dwelling house or hut) cannot be
evicted.
Tripura The Tripura Land
Revenue and Land
Reforms Act, 1960
A raiyat or jotedar can lease out, but the
lessee will hold it in perpetuity which
cannot be terminated except by a
person under disability i.e. widow, a
minor, an unmarried woman or if
married, divorced or judicially
separated, a member of the armed
forces, a person under physical or
mental disability. A lessee/under raiyat
cannot be evicted from his land except
by an order of competent authority on
specific grounds.
Uttar
Pradesh &
Uttarakhand
The Uttar Pradesh
Zamindari Abolition Land
Reforms Act, 1950
Leasing in future is banned except by a
disabled person and to agriculture
related educational institution. A
disabled person is defined as an
unmarried/divorced/ separated
woman, a widow or a woman whose
husband is incapable of cultivating due
to physical or mental infirmity or a
minor whose father suffers from
infirmity or person who is a lunatic or
an idiot or blind or a student of a
recognized educational institution
whose age does not exceed 25 years
and whose father suffers from infirmity 8
State Law Governing land
leasing
Nature of legal restriction on Leasing
or a serving member of the armed
forces or a person under detention or
imprisonment.
West Bengal The West Bengal Land
Reforms Act, 1955 as
amended in 1970, 1971
and 1981
Lease on share cropping only is
allowed. No fixed rent or fixed produce
tenancy is allowed, not even by a
person under disability of any kind
Other Restrictions
Other Restrictive clauses in the tenancy laws of various states relate to:
(i) Period of lease
(ii) Land owners’ right of resumption
(iii) Conditions for termination of lease
(iv) Tenants right to pre-emptive purchase of leased in land
(v) Conferment of ownership right on tenants
(vi) Recording of lease
(vii) Heritability of lease
(viii) Regulation on rent
The state specific details of these restrictions are given in Appendix (II – IX)
1.3. Case for Legalization and Liberalization of Land Leasing
There is a strong case for legalization and liberalization of land leasing as it
would help promote agricultural efficiency, equity, occupational diversification and
rapid rural transformation. In the past few decades, even socialist countries such as
the Peoples Republic of China and Vietnam have liberalized agricultural land leasing
with significant positive impact on economic growth as well as equity.
1.3.1 Restriction on Land Leasing and Agricultural Efficiency
(i) Legal restrictions on land leasing have affected agricultural efficiency in
several ways. First, legal ban or restrictions on land leasing have led to concealed
tenancy in almost all parts of the country. Informal tenants are most insecure, as they
either have short duration oral leases or get rotated from plot to plot each year so that
they cannot prove continuous possession of any particular piece of land for any
specified period which could give them occupancy right, according to law of a
state. This provides a disincentive to tenant farmers to make any investment in land
improvement for productivity enhancement. Legalisation of land leasing would
ensure security of land ownership right for the land owners, which in turn would
provide security of tenure to the tenants. 9
(ii) Second, informal tenants do not have access to institutional credit,
insurance and other support services, which affect productivity of land cultivated by
them. Legalization/ formalization of land leasing would help improve tenant farmers’
access to credit, insurance and input use and consequently productivity of leased in
land. Other things remaining the same, the productivity of leased in land can be as
good as that of owner operated land (Vyas: 1970, Bhaumik: 1993, Haque: 1996).
(iii) Third, due to legal restrictions, many land owners prefer to keep their
lands fallow due to the fear of losing land right if they lease out. Keeping the land
fallow results in underutilization of land and loss of agricultural output. The lifting of
ban or restrictions on leasing in such cases will result in better utilization of the
available land and labour and increased farm output. The Mid-term appraisal of the
Tenth Five Year Plan rightly points out that restrictive tenancy laws have prevented
optimum allocation of land resources and denied the poor access to land (Govt. of
India: 2005).
(iv) Fourth, lease market transfers land to those who have less land
available for use, more ability to use land, and a higher adult force (Akter et al:
2006). The considerations of subsistence and family labour use are important reasons
for leasing in land (Mani and Pandey: 2004). Leasing of land is used as an adjustment
device by many in response to change in family labour availability, cash resources,
debt situation etc (Sharma: 2004). Thus, formalization of land leasing would help
improve agricultural efficiency.
1.3.2 Restriction on Land Leasing and Equity
(i) There is ample research evidence to suggest that economic forces drive
land leasing, while ban or restrictions have only reduced the extent of land available
in the lease market and have reduced the welfare of poor tenants by forcing them to
enter into informal arrangements, in contravention of the rules and also by restricting
the poor peoples’ access to land through leasing (Haque:2001; Deininger et al:
2012). According to 59
th
round of NSSO, about 36 percent of the tenant farmers are
landless, while nearly 56 percent of the tenant households are marginal land owners,
having less than one hectare land. This category of farmers lease in more land than
they lease out. Hence, if legalization of land leasing results in availability of more land
for leasing in by the rural poor, such a measure would be highly egalitarian. The
landless and marginal farmers would improve their economic viability and social
status. The rural poor would maximize their family income by way of farming on
lease, along with access to other farm, off-farm and non-farm employment
opportunities. Improved access to land on lease by the poor would help reduce their
poverty and enhance economic and social status.
(ii) Besides, leasing in and leasing out takes place in all size groups of farms
and in case a marginal or small farmer leases out to another marginal, small or even
medium farmer, there is no justification for conferring either ownership or pre-
emptive purchase right on the tenants, as the laws in some states require. After all, 10
tenancy results from a voluntary agreement between the land owner and the tenant to
lease out and lease in land for mutual benefit. Furthermore, it should be remembered
in this context that land leasing laws framed in the wake of independence, have lost
their relevance today. Lease farming is an economic necessity and not a symbol of
feudalism, as it was thought before. The laws were enacted in the context of
exploitation of the peasantry. The current situation, however, is different (Govt. of
India: 2005). All large intermediaries have been abolished, in all regions. While the
economic and political powers of absentee landowners have eroded, the rural poor
have become politically more powerful through panchayat raj institutions and other
democratic process. Therefore, it is no longer true that a formal tenancy relationship
would be exploitative. In fact, the bargaining power of tenant farmers has improved
quite significantly overtime. On the whole, the growth of an active land lease market,
would be helpful for the rural poor to get out of poverty trap. The fear that
liberalization of land leasing may result in concentration of operational holdings in a
few hands, can be allayed by allowing leasing in within the existing ceiling limits in a
State (if needed).
1.3.3 Land Leasing, Occupational Diversification and Rural Transformation
(i) The share of agriculture in India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is only
about 14 percent, but agriculture employs 49 percent of the total workforce and 64
percent of the rural workforce. The high dependence of the population on agriculture
is one of the main reasons for low size of land holding and for low per-capita income
as well as high incidence of poverty among agricultural workers. There is a limit
beyond which agriculture cannot productively absorb any additional workforce. It is
therefore, absolutely necessary that there is transfer of population from agriculture to
non-agriculture. Legalisation of land leasing could be an important contributing factor
in this respect. It would encourage large land owners to lease out land without fear of
losing their land ownership rights and invest in non-farm enterprises (with
appropriate capital and technology support), which is vital for occupational
diversification and rapid rural transformation. This will reduce the pressure of
population on agriculture and enable small farmers to augment their size of
operational holdings by leasing in land.
(ii) Also many marginal and small farmers would be better off leasing out
their land to more viable farmers for rent, while seeking paid employment within or
outside agriculture. This would help them to maximise incomes by way of rentals as
well as wage incomes. Land owners who are otherwise forced to operate small
uneconomic holdings will have the opportunity to legally lease out land to other
farmers with the assurance of being able to resume possession at the end of agreed
lease period. The critical need of today is to legally allow farmers to lease out without
any fear of losing land ownership right and provide support for their upward
occupational mobility by way of access to either self-employment or wage
employment. 11
1.3.4 Experience of Group Leasing by JLG Women under Kudumbashree in
Kerala
(i) Since 2004, the Kudumbashree Mission in Kerala has been assisting
poor women to lease in land in a Joint Liability Group (JLG) and thereby creating an
income source for them, even though leasing is not legal in the state. Groups consist of
4 to 10 members and the farming area per group is a minimum of half an acre and
maximum of 12.35 acres. By 2010-11, about 59206 acres of land was cultivated by
38054 groups. About 2.3 lakh women have reportedly benefitted. A recent research
study (Haque and Nair: 2014) shows that on average Rs. 42000 per acre is earned
from group leased land, by poor women cultivating banana, tapioca, vegetables,
pineapple etc. in the districts of Ernakulum, Thiruvanthapuram and Alappuzha.
Individual land leasing also persists with an average returns of Rs. 47737 per acre,
even though law does not permit any kind of lease farming in Kerala.
(ii) The Kudumbashree experience in Kerala suggests that Govt. of Kerala
revisits the legal ban on land leasing in the state and allows the poor people to benefit
from growth of an active land lease market.
1.3.5 Experience of AP Licensed Cultivators Act, 2011
(i) Recognizing that informal tenants are unable to access institutional
credit, insurance and other benefits of Government schemes, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh
passed AP Licensed cultivators Act, 2011. The Act provides for issuance of loan
eligibility cards (LEC) to all licensed tenants on yearly basis, based on which they can
access bank credit, insurance, subsidy etc.
(ii) Out of 1.74 million tenant farmers, in the state, 0.68 million applied for
LEC and 0.51 million tenants were issued cards, in 2011-12. In 2012-13, the number
of licensed cultivators was reduced to 0.41 million (Govt. of Andhra Pradesh, Dept. of
Land Revenue). Thus, only about 24 percent tenant farmers were recognised as
licensed cultivators.
(iii) The main reasons why licensed cultivators act, despite full support from
the Government has not become very effective are:
(a) Objection by landowners, fearing that they may lose land if tenants are
registered as licensed cultivators and
(b) Apprehension on the part of the tenants that they may be evicted if they
try to get registered as licensed cultivators.
(iv) The questions that arise in this context are:
(a) How do we remove fears from the minds of the landowners that they
will not lose land right, if they lease out or if their leased out lands are registered as
licensed cultivation? 12
(b) How do we build a trust between the landowner and his tenant that
land leasing is a win - win solution for both?
(c) Will it not make better sense to make necessary amendments in tenancy
laws to make land leasing legal and open and deliver the desired benefits to tenant
farmers?
1.3.6 Key Features of the proposed Model Agricultural Land Leasing Act
(i) Legalize land leasing to promote agricultural efficiency, equity and
poverty reduction. This will also help in much needed productivity improvement in
agriculture as well as occupational mobility of the people and rapid rural change.
(ii) Legalize land leasing in all areas to ensure complete security of land
ownership right for landowners and security of tenure for tenants for the agreed lease
period.
(iii) Remove the clause of adverse possession of land in the land laws of
various states as it interferes with free functioning of land lease market;
(iv) Allow automatic resumption of land after the agreed lease period
without requiring any minimum area of land to be left with the tenant even after
termination of tenancy, as laws of some states require;
(v) Allow the terms and conditions of lease to be determined mutually by
the land owner and the tenant without any fear on the part of the landowner of losing
land right or undue expectation on the part of the tenant of acquiring occupancy right
for continuous possession of leased land for any fixed period.
(vi) Facilitate all tenants including share croppers to access insurance bank
credit and bank credit against pledging of expected output.
(vii) Incentivize tenants to make investment in land improvement and also
entitle them to get back the unused value of investment at the time of termination of
tenancy. 13
2.0. Model Law on Agricultural Land Leasing
Preamble
A law to permit and facilitate leasing of agricultural land, to improve agricultural
efficiency and equity, access to land by the landless and semi-landless poor, occupational
diversity and for accelerated rural growth and transformation; provide recognition to
farmers cultivating agricultural land on lease for enabling them to access loans through
credit institutions, insurance, disaster relief and other support services provided by
Government, while protecting fully the land rights of the owners; and matters connected
therewith or incidental thereto.
WHEREAS, the prohibitions and restrictions under existing state laws governing
agricultural land leasing forced the landowners and lessee cultivators to have informal
agreements only for cultivating the land and thereby depriving the lessee cultivators of
the benefits which are normally due to them, the existing laws also create insecurity
among landowners to lease-out agricultural land which reduces the access to land by the
landless poor, small and marginal farmers and others by way of leasing.
AND WHEREAS, it is considered necessary to enact an law to govern the
agricultural land leasing;
Be it enacted by the legislature of the state of _________ in the ______ year of the
Republic of India, as follows:
CHAPTER – I
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title, extent and commencement
(a) This law shall be called the ________ Agricultural Land
Leasing law, 2016.
(b) It shall extend to the whole state of ___________.
(c) It shall come into force on such date as the State
Government may notify, but not with retrospective
effect.
Short title,
extent and
commencement
2. Definitions
In this law, unless the context otherwise requires:
a) “Agricultural land” means land which is used or is
capable of being used for agriculture and allied
activities, including fallow land;
b) ”Agricultural Year" means the year commencing on
__________ and ending on ___________, as specified by the
government (in different states / UTs);
14
c) “Agriculture and Allied Activities ” shall mean raising of
crops including food and non-food crops, fodder or
grass; fruits and vegetables, flowers, any other
horticultural crops and plantation; animal husbandry
and dairy; poultry farming, stock breeding; fishery;
agro forestry, agro-processing and other related
activities by farmers and farmer groups ;
d) “Competent Authority” means the Tahsildar or a
Revenue Officer of equal rank, by whatever name called
in a state / UT.
e) “Government” means the State Government/
Government of UT of ________;
f) ‘’Lease” means a contract between the Lessor and the
Lessee by which the Lessor conveys use of his/ her
agricultural land to the Lessee for agriculture and allied
activities for a specified period for a consideration
based on an agreement with terms and conditions
mutually agreed by the Lessor and the Lessee;
g) “Lessee” means a person who leases in the agricultural
land for the purpose of agriculture and allied activities
against a consideration in cash or kind or a share of
produce payable to the Lessor as per the lease
agreement;
h) ‘Lessor’’ means a person who owns agricultural land
and has leased out that land to a lessee, under mutually
agreed terms and conditions.
CHAPTER – II
LAND LEASE – AGREEMENT, TERMINATION, RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
3. Agricultural land leasing under this law
Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law in
force, on and from the commencement of this law, person
intending to lease in and lease out agricultural land for
agriculture and allied activities shall be entitled to enter into
a written lease agreement on mutually agreed terms and
conditions, consistent with the terms of this law.
Agricultural
land leasing
under this law
4. Parties to lease agreement
The lease agreement shall be between the landowner
(Lessor) and the cultivator (Lessee) who leases in land for
agriculture and allied activities.
Parties to lease
agreement
5. Lease in Scheduled Areas
In scheduled areas, agricultural land of a schedule tribe land
Lease in
Scheduled Areas 15
owner shall be permitted to be leased out only to schedule
tribe farmers, while other category of land owners can lease
out agricultural land to both schedule tribe and non-schedule
tribe farmers.
6. Details, terms and conditions of lease agreement
(a) The lease agreement shall contain the following
details, terms and conditions namely:-
(i) The names of the Lessor and Lessee;
(ii) Survey number, boundaries, location and area of
leased out land;
(iii) The duration of the lease expressed in months or
years and including the starting and ending dates of
the lease and should be compatible with the crop
cycle/ agricultural year;
(iv) the lease amount / consideration and the due date of
such amount payable by the Lessee;
(v) The terms and conditions for renewal or extension of
lease if any;
(vi) Provisions for conditions for termination of lease;
(vii) Any other mutually agreed provision,
consistent with the provisions of this law.
(b) The duration of the lease and the consideration amount
shall be subject to mutual agreement between the lessor and
the lessee.
Provided that any period of lease as per the lease
agreement under this law shall not create any protected
tenancy right on a Lessee.
Details, terms
and conditions
of lease
agreement
7. Registration and recording of lease agreement
(a) The lease agreement may or may not be registered
under the Registration Act, 1908, depending upon the mutual
agreement between the Lessor and the Lessee;
(b) A written lease agreement may be attested by village
revenue officer or sarpanch/ pradhan or any local bank
officer or a notary with two witnesses;
Provided that an oral lease shall also be legal in the
sense that a lessor leasing land on oral basis shall not forfeit
his/ her right over the land.
Registration
and recording
of lease
agreement
16
8. Lessee acquires no right over the land
(a) A lease agreement written or oral shall not be entered
into Record of Rights, as the leasing for any period,
whatsoever, shall not create any occupancy or
protected tenancy or right against lawful eviction or
lease termination, under this law;
(b) A lease agreement either registered under the
Registration Act or attested by the village revenue
officer or Sarpanch/ Pradhan or a Notary shall not
create or confer any right over land including protected
tenancy/ occupancy right or any other right against
eviction or lease termination or interest on the Lessee
other than those contained in this law or the lease
agreement and shall not be used to establish any
permanent right over the land in the court of law;
(c) The leased land shall automatically revert to the lessor
on the expiry of agreed lease period, unless it is
renewed for a period mutually agreed upon by the
Lessor and the Lessee;
(d) In the event of a dispute, the Lessee and the Lessor
shall utilise a dispute resolution mechanism, consistent
with the provisions of this law.
Lessee acquires
no right over
the land
9. Rights and responsibilities of Lessor
The Lessor shall -
a) hand over possession of the leased land to the lessee on
the first day of the lease and shall not interfere with the
Lessee’s use and possession thereof so long as the
Lessee (i) does not default in the payment of lease
amount, (ii) does not cause damage to the leased land
and/ or immovable assets on it, (iii) does not use the
land for purposes other than what is agreed upon in the
lease agreement, and (iv) does not sublease the land to
any other person;
b) be entitled to receive the agreed lease consideration in
either fixed cash or fixed produce or share of produce
from the Lessee within the agreed time as per the lease
agreement;
Rights and
responsibilities
of land owner
17
c) be entitled to automatic resumption of the land on
expiry of the initially agreed lease period or the
mutually extended lease period without any
encumbrances.
Provided that the discharge of any charge or interest or
liability created by the Lessee during the lease period
shall not be binding on the Lessor;
d) have the right to resume the leased land during the
existing lease term only if the lease agreement so
provides or in case of default of any of the conditions of
agreement, with prior written notice to the Lessee, as
mutually agreed upon. If the Lessor and Lessee
mutually agree that the Lessee needs greater security
of tenure, the written lease agreement should clearly
specify the period during which no resumption of
Lessor shall be allowed;
e) have the right to terminate the lease if the Lessee
commits any of the defaults set out under such clause
(a) hereof ;
f) have the right to alienate the leased agricultural land
including by way of a sale, gift, mortgage etc. during the
tenure of the agreed lease period, subject to the
condition that such transfer shall not in any manner
affect the Lessee’s right to cultivate the land until the
expiry of the agreed lease period.
10. Rights and responsibilities of the Lessee
The lessee shall -
a) be entitled to an undisturbed possession and use of the
agricultural land for the agreed period as provided for
in the lease agreement.
b) not acquire any right over the land by virtue of the
lease other than those set forth in this law or in the
lease agreement. law
c) not sub-lease or mortgage the leased-in land.
d) be eligible to raise loans from banks/ cooperative
societies or any other government financial institutions
without mortgaging the leased in land, based on the
lease agreement either registered under the Indian
Registration Act, 1908 or attested by village revenue
officer or sarpanch / pradhan or local bank officer or a
Rights and
responsibilities
of lessee
18
notary. The expected value of production/ returns from
leased in land during the lease period may be used as
collateral by credit institutions for advancing loan to a
Lessee if this is mutually agreed between the
institution and the Lessee.
e) be entitled to obtain crop insurance, disaster relief or
any other benefits or facilities provided to the farmers
by the State or Central Government during the lease
period based on the lease agreement.
f) have the right to voluntarily surrender the leased-in
land with such notice to the Lessor, as specified in the
terms and conditions of the lease agreement.
g) vacate the leased land immediately at the end of the
initially agreed term of the lease or the mutually
extended period without any encumbrances created
during the lease period.
h) not have the right to build structures or any fixtures on
the land without the express permission of the Lessor.
i) pay to the Lessor, the lease consideration in time as
specified in the lease agreement, as delay in payment
beyond three months from the due date, shall
constitute a major default, entitling the land owner to
issue notice for termination of lease.
j) use the land only for agriculture and allied activities, as
mentioned in the lease agreement.
k) not cause any damage to the land and shall be liable to
the Lessor for any damage caused to the leased in land
and immovable asset on it.
l) not have any rights in respect of the leased agricultural
land other than those specifically set forth in the lease
agreement or in this law.
m) not sublease the leased in land to any other person, and
do any such act which may constitute a major default,
entitling the Lessor to issue notice for termination of
lease.
n) not disturb the boundary of the land and survey
stones, if any, during the lease period.
11. Heritability of Lease
Leases under this law shall not be heritable except as
provided hereinafter. In the event of death of a single Lessor,
the Lessee shall continue to cultivate the leased in land for
Leases are not
heritable 19
the remaining lease period, unless the Lessee and the heirs of
Lessor agree to end the lease agreement early by mutual
consent. In case of multiple lessor, as long as one of the
original lessors is surviving, the lease agreement shall stand.
If the single Lessee dies, land shall revert to the Lessor, at the
end of the crop year, unless the Lessor and heirs of Lessee
mutually agree to continue the lease. In case the Lessee has
included the name(s) of his/ her son(s) or daughter(s) or
anyone else as a co-lessee in the lease agreement, the
surviving co-lessee shall continue to operate the lease for the
remaining lease period or any mutually agreed extended
lease period.
12. Termination of the lease.
The lease executed under this law, can be terminated –
a) On expiry of the agreed lease period;
b) When the Lessee fails to pay the lease consideration as
per the agreed terms and in the agreed time, with major
default a grace period of 3 months;
c) If the Lessee uses the land for purposes other than
agriculture and allied activities or those specified in the
lease agreement;
d) If the Lessee sub-leases the leased-in land;
e) If there is any damage caused to the land or any assets
standing thereon by the Lessee;
f) If the Lessor and Lessee mutually agree to terminate the
lease;
g) If the Lessee dies during the lease period, in which case
the lease period is terminated, subject to the provisions
under Section 12 of this law;
h) When the Lessee voluntarily surrenders the land during
the lease period, under provisions of Section 10 (f) of
this law.
Termination of
lease
CHAPTER – III
ENFORCEMENT OF LEASE AGREEMENT AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION
13. Enforcement of lease terms
The Competent Authority shall be responsible for the
following:
(i)
Enforcement of terms of lease;
Enforcement of
lease
agreement 20
(ii)
Facilitating return of the leased out agricultural land
to the Lessor on expiry of the lease period.
14. Dispute Resolution
(i)
The Lessee and the Lessor shall make all efforts to
amicably settle any dispute between them arising out of lease
agreement under this law, using third party mediation or
Gram Panchayat or Gram Sabha.
(ii)
If the dispute is not settled through the mechanisms
mentioned in clause (i) above, either party may file a petition
before the competent authority, i.e. Tahsildar or equal rank
revenue officer by any other name in a state which shall
adjudicate the dispute using summary procedure within a
period of four weeks.
(iii)
In case the dispute remains unresolved even after
using the mechanisms mentioned in clause (ii) above, either
party may approach the special land tribunal as provided by
this law.
Dispute
Resolution
15.
Constitution of a Special Land Tribunal
The state government shall constitute a special land tribunal,
headed by a retired High Court or District Court judge, which
shall be the final authority to adjudicate disputes, under this
law.
Provided that the above tribunal shall not be bound by the
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 or the Indian Evidence Act,
1872 but have the power to regulate its own procedure and
be guided by the principles of natural justice.
Special land
Tribunal
16. Bar of Jurisdiction of Civil Courts
(a) No decision made or order passed or proceeding
taken by any officer or authority or the State Government
under this law, not being a decision, order or proceeding
affecting the title to the land of a person, shall be called in
question before a Civil Court in any suit, application or other
proceeding and no injunction shall be granted by any Court in
respect of any proceedings taken or about to be taken by
such Officer or Authority or State Government in pursuance
of any power conferred by or under this law.
(b) No Civil courts will have jurisdiction over disputes
under this law.
Bar of
Jurisdiction of
Civil Courts
21
CHAPTER – IV
MISCELLANEOUS
17. Protections for persons acting in good faith
No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie
against any officer of the Government for anything which is
in good faith done or intended to be done under this law or
the rules made there under.
Protections for
persons acting
in good faith
18. Repeals and Savings
(1) The provisions of this law shall override any other law
in force on the subject from the date of its coming into
force.
Provided that any rights accrued, actions taken, cases
pending under any other law in force will be governed
by the provisions of such law.
Provided further that if an existing lease
agreement between a Lessor and Lessee is sought to be
further extended or replaced by a new lease, the
provisions of this law shall apply.
(2) This law shall not have any retrospective effect. The
existing protected tenants/ share-croppers, under the
old Acts shall not be affected by this law.
19. Power to remove difficulties
If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of
this law, the Government may by order published in the
Official Gazette make provisions, not inconsistent with the
provisions of the law, as may appear to them to be
necessary and expedient for removing the difficulty.
Power to
remove
difficulties
20. Power of the State Government to Make Rules
(a) The State Government may, by notification, make rules
to carry out the provisions of this law
(b) Every Rule made under this law shall be laid before the
state legislature during its next session.
Power of the
State
Government to
make rules
21. Power to Make Regulations
Subject to the provisions of this law and its Rules, the State
Government may make regulations to carry out the
purposes of this law.
Power to make
regulations
22
Annexure – A1
2.1. Standard Lease Agreement For Agricultural Land
This lease agreement is made and executed by and between the following
Landowner – Lessor (s) and Lessee-Cultivator(s):
1. Landowner – Lessor (s)
Name(s):
D/o, S/o:
Aged about:
Occupation:
Residing at:
2. Lessee-Cultivator(s)
Name(s):
D/o, S/o:
Aged about:
Occupation:
Residing at:
3. Subject and Duration of Lease Agreement
3.1. The Landowner – Lessor -transfers and the Lessee-Cultivator accepts the
following land parcel for lease for agriculture and allied activities:
Survey No. __________________________________________________
Extent/Area: _________________________________________________
Situated in: (Village/Mandal/District) _____________________________
Bounded by
North :
South :
East :
West :
3.2. The land parcel is leased for the duration of _______________ years with a starting
date of ____________________ and an expiration date of _____________________, after which the
Lessee-Cultivator will give up possession unless the parties extend the lease by
mutual agreement.
3.3 If the Landowner – Lessor and Lessee-Cultivator mutually agree to extend the
lease period, they can do so by making entries in the table in Section ___ of this Lease
Agreement.
3.4. The Landowner – Lessor (s) guarantees that she/he/they are the absolute
owner of the land having inherited/purchased / received the same from
____________________________ on ____________________ (date) through a partition/ will/ sale 23
deed/ gift / other as reflected in the following registered document and/or Record of
Rights number:
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
3.5 The Landowner – Lessor guarantees that the parcel is free of any
encumbrances or restrictions with regard to its use for agricultural production.
4. Payment
4.1 For use of the land, the Lessee-Cultivator will pay the Landowner - Lessor a lease
amount in either rupees or fixed quantity of produce or share of produce or in a
combination of these as indicated in the following table:
Form of Payment Amount Due Date
□ Rupees Rs ____________ per year
□ Crops in-kind (first)
Type of crop:
□ Fixed quantity of ________
(number) __________ (unit e.g.
kg, quintals, etc.)
□ Share amount of ______ % of
the harvested crop
□ Crops in-kind (second, if
applicable)
Type of crop:
□ Fixed quantity of ________
(number) __________ (unit e.g.
kg, quintals, etc.)
□ Share amount of ______ % of
the harvested crop
5. Obligations for Inputs
5.1 Responsibility for the payment or provision of inputs will be by mutual
agreement of the Landowner – Lessor and Lessee-Cultivator according to the
following table:
Landowner – Lessor Lessee-Cultivator
Seeds
Fertilizer
Pesticides
Hired labor costs
Other:
24
6. Rights and Obligations of the Landowner - Lessor
6.1 The Landowner - Lessor shall put the Lessee-Cultivator in possession of the
leased-out land on the first day of the lease and shall not interfere with the Lessee-
Cultivator’s use and possession so long as the Lessee-Cultivator is in compliance with
the terms of this agreement.
6.2 The Landowner - Lessor shall have the right to take back the land at the end of
the agreed lease period, unless it is renewed again by mutual agreement of the
Landowner - Lessor and Lessee-Cultivator.
6.3 The Landowner - Lessor shall have the right to alienate the leased-out land
including by sale, gift, and mortgage provided the Lessee-Cultivator is allowed to
cultivate the land even after the alienation until the expiry of the agreed lease period,
as per the law.
6.4 The Landowner - Lessor shall have the right to terminate the lease after
providing notice and giving the Lessee-Cultivator 90 days to correct the violation if:
(a) the Lessee-Cultivator fails to pay the lease amount as mutually agreed in
Section 4 of this Lease Agreement;
(b) the Lessee-Cultivator uses the land for purposes other than agriculture
and allied activities; or
(c) the Lessee-Cultivator fails to comply with any other provision of this
Lease Agreement
6.5 In the event of death of any single land owner lessor, the lessee cultivator shall
continue to cultivate the leased-in land during the remaining lease period, unless the
Lessee Cultivator and heirs of Land owner Lessor agree to end the lease agreement by
mutual consent. In the case of multiple Landowner Lessor, as long as one of the
original lessors is surviving, the lease agreement shall stand.
7. Rights and Obligations of the Lessee-Cultivator
7.1 The Lessee-Cultivator shall NOT acquire any right over the land other than
those set forth in this lease agreement.
7.2 The Lessee-Cultivator shall vacate the land immediately at the end of the lease
period or the mutually extended period without any encumbrances created during the
lease period.
7.3 The Lessee-Cultivator shall pay the lease amount in cash or fixed quantity of
produce or share of produce on time as specified in Section 5 of this lease agreement.
7.4 The Lessee-Cultivator is liable to the Landowner - Lessor for any damage to the
land and any other immovable property on the land other than normal wear-and-tear.
7.5 The Lessee-Cultivator is entitled to undisturbed possession and use of the
agricultural land for the agreed period as per the Lease Agreement. 25
7.6 The Lessee-Cultivator shall be entitled to obtain loans, crop insurance, disaster
relief or any other related benefits or facilities provided to farmers by the State or
Central Government based on their agricultural use of the leased-in land.
7.7 The Lessee-Cultivator’s rights under this lease agreement are NOT heritable.
In the event of death of a single Lessee Cultivator during the lease period, land shall
revert to the Land owner Lessor at the end of the crop year, unless the Land owner
Lessor and heirs of Lessee Cultivator mutually agree to terminate the lease agreement
earlier or to continue the lease for the remaining lease period or any extended period
by entering into an agreement. In the case of multiple Lessee cultivators, as long as
one of the Lessee Cultivators is surviving, the lease agreement shall stand.
8. Resolving Disputes
8.1 The Landowner - Lessor and Lessee-Cultivator shall make all efforts to
amicably settle any dispute between them arising out of this Lease Agreement, using
third party mediation or Gram Sabha or Gram Panchayat.
8.2 If the dispute cannot be settled through the mechanisms in Secs. 8.1, then
either party may file a petition before the competent authority or any other dispute
resolution mechanism created by the District Collector or Government.
8.3 If a dispute cannot be settled through the mechanisms under 8.1 and 8.2, the
Landowner - Lessor and Lessee-Cultivator shall approach the Lok Adalats constituted
under the National Legal Services Authority Act or a special land tribunal created for
the purpose.
9. Other Terms
9.1 This lease agreement shall NOT create any occupancy right, protected tenancy
right or any other related right in the Lessee-Cultivator other than the rights
contained in the lease agreement.
9.2 This lease agreement shall NOT be entered into the Record of Rights.
9.3 This lease agreement □ shall □ shall NOT [tick chosen box] be registered
under the Registration Act.
9.4 This Lease Agreement will be executed in three original copies. The
Landowner - Lessor will keep one copy. The Lessee-Cultivator will keep one copy.
The third copy will be kept by the following person (can by Sarpanch/Pradhan,
Revenue Officer, or any other person) ______________________________________________________,
who has been chosen by mutual agreement of the Landowner - Lessor and the Lessee
- Cultivator.
10. Other unique terms added by parties ------------------------------------
26
11. Signatures
In witness whereof, the Landowner - Lessor (s) and Lessee-Cultivator(s) have
signed this Lease Agreement in token of their acceptance with their own free will and
without any undue influence and coercion in the presence of witnesses
LANDOWNER - LESSOR (S) LESSEE-CULTIVATOR(S)
Signature(s) ____________________________ Signature(s)
______________________
____________________________ ______________________
Date: ____________________________ Date:
_______________________
WITNESSES
Name _____________________________ Signature_______________________
Date_________
Name _____________________________ Signature_______________________
Date_________
27
Agreement to extend the Agricultural Land Lease Agreement
Upon expiration of the lease period described in Section 3.2, hereby the
Landowner - Lessor and the Lessee-Cultivator certify that the period of the Lease
Agreement is prolonged as indicated in the table below.
I II III
Lease period
extended: Number of
Years and Expiry Date
Signatures Date of Signing
Lease period is
extended for another ____
year(s), expiring on ___ day
of _______(month), in year
__________
(Landowner- Lessor)
(Lessee - Cultivator)
____ day
of__________(month) in year
_____________
Lease period is
extended for another ____
year(s), expiring on ___ day
of _______(month), in year
__________
(Landowner -
Lessor)
(Lessee - Cultivator)
____ day
of__________(month) in year
_____________
Lease period is
extended for another ____
year(s), expiring on ___ day
of _______(month), in year
__________
(Landowner -
Lessor)
(Lessee - Cultivator)
____ day
of__________(month) in year
_____________
Lease period is
extended for another ____
year(s), expiring on ___ day
of _______(month), in year
__________
(Landowner -
Lessor)
(Lessee - Cultivator)
____ day
of__________(month) in year
_____________
Lease period is
extended for another ____
year(s), expiring on ___ day
of _______(month), in year
__________
(Landowner -
Lessor)
(Lessee - Cultivator)
____ day
of__________(month) in year
_____________ 28
Appendix I - Distinctive Features of Various Land Tenure Systems
1. At the time of independence, there were three main systems of land
tenure, namely zamindari, ryotwari and mahalwari. The zamindari system covered
about 57 percent of the total privately owned agricultural land, followed by ryotwari
system (38 percent) and mahalwari system (5 percent) respectively (Govt. of India;
1976). The East India Company, which wrested political and economic power from the
Nawab of Bengal in 1757 and secured from Emperor Shah Alam, the Diwani of Bengal,
created a system of zamindari for collection of revenue and auctioned them to the
highest bidders. In 1793, Lord Cornwallis, introduced permanent settlement, giving
permanent proprietary rights to zamindars, without providing for fixity of rent or
tenure for cultivating tenants.
2. The main feature of the Zamindari System was that there were several
layers of rent receiving intermediaries between the landlord and the tenant who
actually cultivated the land. The system was marked by rack renting and exploitation
of farmers.
3. The zamindari system was largely prevalent in Bengal, Bihar, Orissa,
Uttar Pradesh, and parts of Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. By early 19
th
century, the then British Government realized the need for change in policy as
permanent settlement also failed to generate increasing revenue for the government.
Regulation VII of 1822 provided for ryotwari settlements with provision for periodic
resettlements in parts of United Provinces and other areas. In the provinces of Madras
and Bombay, East Punjab, Assam and Coorg, ryotwari settlement was made separately
with each raiyat being recognized by law as the proprietor, with the right to transfer,
mortgage or sub-let the land. The ryotwari system did not recognize any kind of
intermediaries between the state and the cultivating tenant. Further, Regulation IX of
1833 provided for mahalwari settlements with the entire village, requiring each
peasant of the village to contribute to some revenue demand of the village on the basis
of size of holding. The mahalwari system was largely present in Punjab, parts of
United Provinces and Central Provinces.
4. Even though the nature of proprietorship varied initially under
zamindari, ryotwari and mahalwari systems, the differences got reduced over time.
Due to entry of traders and money-lenders in agriculture and leasing out land by them
to tenants, intermediaries of the zamindari type could be seen even in areas where the
ryotwari and mahalwari systems existed.
5. After abolition of Zamindari System by all the states in the 1950s, there
is now ryotiwari system in all places, as the cultivators have been legally brought into
direct contact with the state. Even though tenancy has been either abolished or
restricted by law, informal tenancy exists in all regions. 29
6. Besides, the incidence of tenancy or forms of lease do not vary much
due to inheritance of different land tenure systems in different regions. According to
70
th
round of National Sample Survey for the year 2012-13, (Appendix – X) the
proportion of area under leasing is as high as 33.7 percent in Andhra Pradesh, where
zamindari system prevailed, and 24.6 percent in Punjab where mahalwari or ryotwari
system prevailed. But it is as low as 0.1 percent in Jammu & Kashmir and 8.1 percent
in Kerala where there is complete ban on land leasing. The other states with highly
restrictive land leasing laws, namely, Gujarat (5.6 percent), Maharashtra (3.7 percent),
Tripura (4.7 percent), and Madhya Pradesh (5.1 percent) have lower incidence of
leasing.
7. The terms of lease also vary from region to region. The system of fixed
cash rent predominantly exists in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Meghalaya, Tamil
Nadu, Uttarakhand, while share-cropping is the dominant form of lease in Assam,
Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur,
Mizoram, Orissa, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh. Some field level
studies (Rao: 1989, Pal: 1995) further show that irrigated areas in each region has
higher incidence of fixed cash tenancy, while farmers in rainfed areas prefer share-
cropping arrangement. Considering the country as a whole, share-cropping accounts
for about 39.6 percent of the total leased-in land, followed by fixed cash (31.0
percent), fixed produce (15.3 percent) and other terms (14.1 percent) (Govt. of India:
2006). 30
Appendix II - Restrictions on Period of Lease
The tenancy laws of majority of the states have not prescribed any minimum or
maximum lease period. However, in the tenancy laws in Andhra Pradesh, Telengana,
Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana, a minimum lease period is prescribed. In Andhra
Pradesh, every lease shall be for a period six years, renewable for a further period of
six years at a time. In Telengana, leases can be for a period of 5 years initially and
thereafter for further periods of five years in succession. In Rajasthan, lease
agreement can be for a renewable period of five years by a Khatedari tenant and one
year by a Ghair Khatedari tenant. In Punjab and Haryana, the tenant can lease in for a
minimum period of three years, but less than six years. Leasing is much more
restricted in other states, which therefore, do not prescribe any lease period. 31
Appendix III - Restrictions on Land Owner’s Right of Resumption
State Legal Position regarding right of resumption in various states
Andhra
Pradesh
The landlord has a continuous right to resume leased out land for
personal cultivation, subject to the conditions (i) that the extent of
land held by the landlord under his personal cultivation after such
resumption shall not exceed 2/3
rd
of the ceiling area and (ii) that after
resumption, the tenant shall be left with not less than one-half of the
land held by him under lease, prior to resumption. In addition, if the
landlord does not cultivate the land personally within one year or
discontinues cultivation for a period of one year, the land shall be
restored to the tenant
Telengana The landlord can resume land for personal cultivation by giving a
notice of at least one year before the end of each period of 5 years.
But if it is not cultivated within one year, the land shall be restored to
the tenant.
Assam The landlord can resume land from a tenant for genuine personal
cultivation only by an order of Adhi conciliation Board. The aggregate
area of land resumed by the landlord shall not exceed an overall limit
of 50 bighas, provided that the aggregate area of land under his actual
occupation is not more than 10 bighas (1 bigha = 0.331 acre)
Bihar If within the ceiling area of a raiyat, who held land in excess of the
ceiling area on commencement of this Act, there is any land in
possession of a non-occupancy under raiyat, the raiyat is entitled to
resume for personal cultivation an area not exceeding half the total
area held by the tenant provided that the under-raiyat at this option
could retain one acre in all including his raiyati land, besides his
homestead or the entire area of such land held by him, if it is less than
one acre. If the raiyat fails to bring the land under personal
cultivation of the resumed land within one year of the resumption, the
collector shall suo motto or on application, restores the land to the
possession of the under-raiyat who shall thereafter automatically
acquires the status of occupancy raiyat on payment of an amount. On
resumption of the land by raiyat, the under raiyat (tenant) will be
entitled to certain compensation fixed in schedule-II of the Act, in
addition to compensation for cost of improvement, if any made by
him on the land.
Gujarat There is no provision for resumption of leased out land or surrender
of tenancy right in favour of landlord or termination of tenancy of a 32
State Legal Position regarding right of resumption in various states
tenant belonging to SC/STs, even on grounds of personal cultivation
or for non-agricultural uses.
Himachal
Pradesh
A land owner is permitted to resume his land for personal cultivation,
but tenant must be left with not less than half the land cultivated by
him. A tenant also cannot surrender the land in favour of the land
owner. If he wishes, he can surrender it to the Govt. which then will
induct a suitable tenant.
Karnataka Only a soldier or seaman is allowed to lease out and also resume land
for personal cultivation. Land resumed from a tenant cannot be
transferred within 15 years from the date of resumption except to the
tenant from whom the land was resumed at a value to be determined
by the tehsildar. If the land is not personally cultivated within one
year from the date of resumption, the land shall vest in the state and
the ex-tenant will be entitled to be registered as an occupant on
application and payment of certain amount.
Kerala The state of Kerala prohibits land leasing completely, without any
exception. All erstwhile tenants in respect of non-resumable areas
have been conferred permanent, heritable and transferrable rights
Madhya
Pradesh &
Chhattisgarh
MP Land Revenue Code, 1959 provides that if the land owner makes
an application to the SDO within one year of the coming into force of
this code, he can resume land for personal cultivation, provided he
had land below 25 acres of un-irrigated land and also the occupancy
tenant’s holding should not be reduced below 25 acres if he was in
possession for more than 5 years and 10 acres in other cases. For
future leases, resumption of land leased out by a disabled person or
entity shall be as agreed upon between the parties.
Maharashtra No legal tenancy exists, as all cultivating tenants were supposed to
have been conferred ownership right on April 1, 1957, (i.e. the fillers
day). Any tenancy created after the tiller’s day except by a member of
armed forces), the cultivating tenant is entitled within one year from
the date of creation of such tenancy to purchase from the landlord so
much of the land held by him to raise his holding upto the ceiling area.
Odisha Orissa Land Reform Act, 1960, as amended w.e.f. 1.10.1965, prohibits
leasing out except by a person under disability or a privileged raiyat.
A disabled or privileged raiyat has a right to resume leased out land
either on the expiry of agreed lease period or when disability or
privileged raiyat status of land owner ceases.
33
State Legal Position regarding right of resumption in various states
Punjab &
Haryana
The Punjab security of Land Tenure Act, 1953, as amended till date
does not either prohibit tenancy or mention that a person holding
land within permissible area (ceiling) will cultivate the land
personally. Therefore, tenancy is legally in existence, with right of
resumption.
Rajasthan A land holdler can resume land for personal cultivation, provided that
the land held by tenant or sub-tenant is in excess of the minimum
prescribed area by the state government so as to ensure a net annual
income of Rs. 1200, excluding the cost of hired or family labour.
Tamil Nadu A member of the armed forces who has sub-let the land held by him as
a cultivating tenant is entitled to resume land for personal cultivation
on discharge or retirement from service. There is no prohibition on
leasing. But once leased out, the cultivating tenant cannot be evicted.
Tripura Every raiyat who at the commencement of the Tripura land Revenue
and Land Reforms Act, 1960 owned land in excess of a basic holding
of 0.80 standard hectare shall be entitled on application to the
competent authority for reservation of the land for personal
cultivation, of his land leased to under raiyat. The Competent
authority may after enquiry determine the permissible limit which a
raiyat may resume from under-raiyat for personal cultivation. If a
raiyat fails to cultivate the land personally within one year of eviction
of tenant or on any year during a period of 4 years following, the
under-raiyat shall be entitled to be restored to possession of the land.
Uttar Pradesh
&
Uttarakhand
The Uttar Pradesh tenancy law does not regulate the terms and
conditions of lease between a disabled person and his or her lessee.
These are governed by the trust or contract between parties, as in
Madhya Pradesh. Therefore, there is no mention of resumption of
land for personal cultivation.
West Bengal The West Bengal law provides for resumption of land under share
cropping in execution of an order made by the revenue officer, based
on certain specified ground. In practice, land owner fails to resume
leased out land even for personal cultivation, due to hostile political
environment at the village level.
34
Appendix IV - Conditions for Termination of Lease
State Grounds on which lease can be terminated
Andhra Pradesh No land owner is entitled to terminate tenancy and evict his
cultivating tenant except by an application to a judicial officer and
on any one or more of the following grounds: (i) the tenant has
failed to pay the rent within one month from the stipulated date;
(ii) the tenant has caused destruction or permanent injury to the
land; (iii) the tenant has violated any of the conditions of the
tenancy; (iv) the tenant has sub-let the land; (v) the tenant has
failed to comply with the order or direction of the competent
judicial officer.
Telengana The tenancy can be terminated before the expiry of the stipulated
period in the agreement, only by voluntary surrender in good
faith to the satisfaction of tehsildar. But a landlord can terminate
tenancy within the agreed lease period by giving six months’
notice on any of the following grounds: (i) the failure to pay rent
within a fixed date or (ii) the tenant has done any act, causing
destruction or permanent injury to the land; (iii) the tenant has
sublet the land (excepting under disability) (iv) the tenant has
not used the land for agriculture (v) the tenant has sub-divided
land.
Assam A non-occupancy tenant can be ejected from the tenanted land in
execution of a decree passed on any one or more of the following
grounds: (i) the tenant has violated the conditions of a lawful
contract between himself and his landlord; (ii) the tenant has
failed to pay the arrears of rent and (iii) that the landlord
requires the land for personal cultivation. (iv) that after
ejectment, a non-occupancy tenant is left with not less than 10
bighas of land including his own land. However if the landlord
does not cultivate the land personally within one year of the date
of ejection, the land shall be restored to the tenant.
Bihar The under-raiyat/tenant of any land owner under disability can
be ejected on any one or more of the following grounds: (i) the
tenant has failed to pay an arrear of rent; (ii) the tenant has made
the land unfit for agriculture; (iii) the term of lease has expired;
(iv) voluntary surrender of land, if certified by the collector
Gujarat A tenant belonging to SC/ST cannot be ejected, even on ground of
personal cultivation or for non-agricultural use. Also no
surrender of tenancy rights in favour of landlords is allowed. All 35
State Grounds on which lease can be terminated
voluntary surrenders have to be in favour of the state
government.
Himachal
Pradesh
A non-occupancy tenant can be ejected under Section-34 of the
HP Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, 1972 on any of the following
grounds; (i) the tenant has used the land for non-agricultural
purposes or made the land unfit for agriculture; (ii) the tenant
has failed to pay rent within six months after it became due; (iii)
the tenant has sub-let the land without the consent of the owner
(This clause is not applicable to disabled persons).
Karnataka A tenant can be ejected on any of the following grounds: (i) the
tenant has failed to pay the due rent during two consecutive
years; (ii) the tenant has caused permanent injury to the land;
(iii) the tenant has sub-divided or sub-let the land; (iv) the tenant
has failed to cultivate the land personally for a period of two
consecutive years; (v) the tenant has used the land for non-
agricultural purposes.
Madhya Pradesh
& Chhattisgarh
The law does not provide any protection against eviction.
Maharashtra No tenancy is terminable by efflux of time. However, a tenant can
be ejected on any of the following grounds: (i) he has failed to pay
rent by 31
st
May of any particular year; or (ii) he has caused
destruction or permanent damage to the land or (iii) he has sub-
divided or sub-let the land, unless disabled, or (iv) he has failed to
cultivate the land personally, or (v) he has used the land for
purposes other than agriculture or allied persuits or (vi) that the
landlord desires to resume land for personal cultivation or use.
Orissa A legal tenant, under disability or privileged raiyat can be
terminated on any one or more of the following grounds: (i) the
tenant has made the land unfit for agriculture or has used it for
non-agriculture; (ii) the tenant has failed to cultivate the land
properly and personally; (iii) the tenant has failed to pay or
deliver rent within the period of 2 months from the date when it
became due or (v) the landlord has ceased to be a person under
disability or a privileged raiyat.
Punjab &
Haryana
A tenant cannot be ejected except when he is a tenant on
reserved area or a tenant of a small landowner or when he fails to
pay rent regularly without sufficient cause or has failed to
cultivate the land according to customary practice in the locality 36
State Grounds on which lease can be terminated
or has made the land unfit for agriculture or has sub-let the land
or refused to execute Qabuliyat or Patta when asked to do so by
the Asstt. Collector on an application made to him by the land
owner or if he holds land above the permissible area.
Rajasthan A tenant can be ejected only in accordance with execution of a
decree passed on any one or more of the following grounds: (i)
the tenant has failed to pay arrears of rent due for two years or
more; or (ii) the tenant has illegally transferred or sub-let the
whole or part of his holding; or (iii) the tenant has caused harm
to the land or used it for a purpose other than what was agreed
upon; or (iv) the tenant has violated the terms and conditions of
the contract.
Tamil Nadu A cultivating tenant can be evicted only on application to the
Revenue Divisional Officer, on the following grounds: (i) if the
tenant has done any act or has been guilty of any negligence
which is destructive of or injuries to land or to any crop thereon
or has altogether ceased to cultivate the land; (ii) if the tenant
does not pay rent due to the landlord within a month when it
becomes due.
Tripura An under raiyat/tenant cannot be evicted from his land except by
an order of the competent authority, based on any of the
following grounds: (i) the land has been reserved for personal
cultivation by the raiyat; (ii) the under-raiyat has intentionally or
willfully made the land unfit for agriculture; (iii) the under-raiyat
has failed to pay rent within a period of 3 months after it fell due
and (iv) the under-raiyat (who is not a person under disability)
has sublet the land without the consent in writing of the raiyat.
Uttar Pradesh &
Uttarakhand
The law does not provide any protection again eviction.
West Bengal A bargadar/sharecropper can be terminated by the raiyat in
execution of an order made by the revenue officer, on any one or
more of the following grounds: (i) the sharecropper has failed
without reasonable cause to cultivate the land; (ii) the
sharecropper is not cultivating the land personally; (iii) the
sharecropper has failed to tender or deposit the share of the
produce payable to the owner; (iv) the owner requires it bona-
fide for bringing it under personal cultivation.
37
Appendix V - Tenants Right to Preemptive Purchase of Leased in Land
State Legal Provision
Andhra
Pradesh and
Telengana
A protected tenant has the right to purchase the leased in land from the
landowner if the landowner desires to sell the leased out land. The
tenant has a first claim on the purchase. If there is no agreement on the
sale price, the competent authority will fix a reasonable price.
Assam An under tenant is entitled to acquire ownership right of a land leased in
by him continuously for three years on payment of 50 times the land
revenue.
Bihar A tenant (under raiyat) is entitled to purchase ownership right if he is in
continuous occupation of land for 12 years, on payment of 24 times the
land revenue.
Vidarbha and
Marathwada
region of
Maharashtra
and Gujarat
Law provides for right to purchase the leased in land provided (a) a
tenant does not hold any land, (b) his own and the land he wants to
purchase does not exceed 3 family holdings, and (c) land left with the
landlord is not less than one family holding.
Himachal
Pradesh
A non-occupancy tenant or a tenant illegally inducted can purchase
ownership right on payment of 96 times the land revenue, while an
occupancy tenant can purchase by paying 48 times the land revenue.
Madhya
Pradesh and
Chhattisgarh
A tenant illegally inducted is entitled to purchase ownership right on
payment of 5 times the land revenue.
Punjab and
Haryana
A tenant of a small land owner, who had been in continuous occupation
of land for a minimum period of six years, is entitled to purchase the
land.
Tamil Nadu Tenancy, once created is continuous and there is no provision for
purchase of ownership right.
Tripura An under-raiyat (tenant) can acquire ownership right in respect of the
non-resumable land of a raiyat on payment of 30 times the land revenue
payable for the land and the value of trees, if planted by the raiyat.
West Bengal Share-cropping once created, is continuous. There is no provision for
purchase of ownership right.
Uttar Pradesh A lessee can acquire the right of a bhumidhar with non-transferable right
thereof, if the total extent of the land held by him together with the land
held by his family does not exceed 12.5 acres. If the land exceeds 12.5
acres, the lessee shall be deemed to be a purchaser of the land, subject to
ceiling. 38
Appendix VI - Conferment of Ownership or Occupancy Right on Tenants
The states, which either prohibited leasing or put restrictions on leasing,
provided for conferment of either ownership or occupancy rights on tenant. The legal
provisions in various states in this regard are mentioned in Table-6. So far, about 12.6
million tenants have been conferred either ownership or occupancy rights on 6.8
million hectares of land (Govt. of India: 2007). It has, however, been observed that
restrictive tenancy laws led to eviction of a large number of tenants by the land-
owners. It has been estimated that while only 4 percent of the tenanted land could be
transferred to tenants this way, they were evicted from about 31 percent of the total
land.
The state specific provisions for conferring ownership or occupancy rights on
tenants, are as follows:
States Legal Provision for Conferring Ownership / Occupancy Rights
Assam The ownership rights in tenanted lands are conferred on the
tenants by Government notification, on application by an
occupancy tenant who has cultivated the land continuously for 3
years and a non-occupancy tenant can acquire an occupancy right
if he has held land for continuously three years.
Bihar Every under-raiyat of raiyat holding land above ceiling be deemed
to have acquired the status of an occupancy tenant or owner on
payment of a specified amount to the State Government.
Karnataka Law empowers the State government to acquire ownership rights
in all tenanted lands on payment of compensation and transfer the
same to tenants who then have to pay premium for acquisition of
occupancy right.
Kerala The law empowers the state government to acquire all tenanted
land and pass on the rights to the tenants on payment of certain
premium.
Uttar Pradesh The law provides that the state government may acquire any
tenanted land and transfer the occupancy rights to the tenants.
Maharashtra and
Gujarat
On 1
st
April, 1957, all tenants were deemed owners of the land
cultivated by them within ceiling limit. A tenant has a right to
purchase the tenanted land within one year of creation of tenancy.
Madhya Pradesh
and Chhattisgarh
A tenant holding any non-resumable land, can acquire Bhoomi-
swami right on payment of 15 times the land revenue in five equal
installments to his Bhoomi-swami. 39
States Legal Provision for Conferring Ownership / Occupancy Rights
Rajasthan The tenants and sub-tenants of Khudkasht, became Khatedaar
tenants of such land held by them on payment of compensation
fixed under the Act.
Punjab and
Himachal
Pradesh
The law provides for acquisition of the right of the land owner in
the tenanted land by paying a specified compensation amount.
Andhra Pradesh,
Haryana, Tamil
Nadu and West
Bengal
There is no legal provision to confer ownership right on tenants.
40
Appendix VII - Recording of lease
Leases are largely informal in most states. The West Bengal and Tamil Nadu had
special provisions and efforts for recording of rights of Bargadar/tenants. The laws of
certain other states also provide for recording of tenancy. But no effective measures
were undertaken to do so. Besides, the tenancy law in Andhra Pradesh provides that
any lease after 1974 has to be in writing and registered. In Telengana, a copy of every
lease shall be filed before the Tehsildar. It has also been observed in most cases that
recording of lease in record of rights of the revenue department creates fear in the
minds of the landowners that they may lose land right if leasing is recorded and land
is allowed to be cultivated by tenant continuously for a long period. In several states,
there is provision for conferring ownership or occupancy right due to adverse
possession of land by a tenant for a specified period.
41
Appendix VIII: Heritability of Lease Rights
Some states which do not explicitly ban leasing or allow leasing out only by
certain disabled or privileged categories of landowners, mention whether lease right
is heritable or not. The tenancy laws of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and
Tripura specifically point out that lease right shall be heritable, but not transferable
except to banks, government, co-operatives, or financial institutions by way of
mortgage for loan. Change of ownership of land does not affect tenancy. The West
Bengal Land Reforms Act allows only share-croppers and no other categories of
lessees, to have permanent heritable lease right, but not transferable even to financial
institution by way of mortgage for loan.
42
Appendix IX: Regulation on Rent
The tenancy laws of almost all the states have fixed fair or maximum rent on
leased land as shown below.
State Rent Fixed
Andhra Pradesh 30 percent of the produce for irrigated land and 20 percent for
other land.
Telengana 2 to 5 times of Land Revenue/assessment or ¼ to 1/5
of the produce or value thereof
Assam ¼ to 1/5 of the produce or less than 3 times the land revenue
Bihar 16.80 kg or 18 seer per maund
Gujarat 2 to 5 times the land revenue, subject to a limit of Rs. 20 per
acre
Haryana 1/3 of produce or value thereof
Himachal
Pradesh
¼ of crop produce or value thereof
J & K Tenancy is banned. So no rent is fixed
Karnataka ¼ or 1/5 of the produce or value thereof, but not exceeding 10
times the value of land revenue plus irrigation charges
Kerala Tenancy is banned and so no rent is fixed
MP/Chhattisgarh 2/4 times the land revenue or as agreed upon by the landlord
and the tenant.
Maharashtra 2 to 5 times the land revenue, subject to a limit of Rs. 20 per
acre
Odisha ¼ of the produce or value thereof
Punjab 1/3 of produce or value thereof
Rajasthan ¼ to 1/6 of produce or 1 ½ to 3 times the amount assessed as
land revenue
Tamil Nadu ½ to 1/3 of produce or value thereof
Uttar Pradesh Rent as agreed upon between the tenant and his landlord or the
Gaon Sabha
West Bengal ½ to ¼ of produce (1/2 of produce if the landowner supplies
plough, cattle, manures and seeds)
Source: Tenancy laws of various states
43
Appendix X – Proportion of Leased in Area in Various States
State % of Leased in Land
Andhra Pradesh 33.75
Assam 4.21
Bihar 21.04
Chhattisgarh 9.45
Gujarat 5.63
Haryana 14.90
Himachal Pradesh 5.20
Jammu & Kashmir 0.15
Jharkhand 1.90
Karnataka 6.71
Kerala 8.55
Madhya Pradesh 5.05
Maharashtra 3.40
Manipur 7.58
Meghalaya 4.13
Mizoram 1.60
Nagaland 1.08
Orissa 16.61
Punjab 24.62
Rajasthan 7.76
Sikkim 18.21
Tamil Nadu 13.87
Telangana 13.56
Tripura 4.75
Uttaranchal 4.08
Uttar Pradesh 7.56
West Bengal 14.25
All India 10.10
Source: NSS KI (70/18.1): Key Indicators of Land and Livestock Holdings in India
44
Appendix XI – List of Meetings and Consultations Held
1. Meeting of Chief Secretaries and Principal Secretaries, Revenue/ Land Reforms
of states held at NITI Aayog, New Delhi on August 24, 2015. [NITI Aayog set up
an Expert Committee on Land Leasing based on the recommendation at this
meeting].
2. First meeting of the Expert Committee on land leasing held at NITI Aayog, New
Delhi, on November 16, 2015.
3. A consultation with lawyers held in Hyderabad on January 02, 2016.
4. National consultation with various stake-holders on Model Agricultural Land
Leasing Law held in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on January 08, 2016.
Representatives of State Governments, Experts, Farmers Associations, Tenant
Farmers Organisations and Civil Society Organisations participated.
5. Final Meeting of the Expert Committee on land leasing held at NITI Aayog, New
Delhi on February 25, 2016.
45
References:
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Rao (2006), Land Rental Markets in India: Efficiency and Equity Considerations
– Paper presented at the National Seminar on Land policy for Accelerated Rural
Growth and Poverty Reduction, organized by the World Bank, New Delhi.
2. Behera, N.C (1997), Land Reform Legislation in India, Vikas Publishing House,
New Delhi
3. Bhaumik, S.K (1993), Tenancy Relations and Agrarian Development: A Study of
West Bengal, Sage Publications, New Delhi
4. Deininger, Klaus, Songqing Jin and Hari K Nagarajan (2012), Equity and
Efficiency Impacts of Rural Land Rental Restrictions: Evidences in India in Land
Policies for Inclusive Growth, edited by Dr.T.Haque, Concept Publishing Co.,
New Delhi
5. Govt. of India (2014), NSSO 70
th
Round on Key Indicators of Land and Livestock
Holdings in India, New Delhi
6. Govt. of India (2006), NSSO, 59
th
Round Report on Operational Holdings, New
Delhi.
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