Topic:- Concept of Ceiling Law in India

Submitted ByNeha Bareth B.A LL.B 4th Year

Land Ceiling is the Subject which put the ceiling limit on the extend of holding Land by a citizen as fixed by Law of the Land. To regulate the land reform is the mast hard question for the Indian Eco. By the ceiling law land holder declared their land in the prescribed manner & if they hold the land which exceed the ceiling limit then that land taken away by the Government or redistribute it in to the poor's. In Indian contex this step was taken so as to fix the right to hold immoveable property then to surrender the excess land so, declared & approved by the Govt. is empower to take over & distribute such excess land among the land-less & needy people for some value or may be free of cost.

Reason behind the Agrarian Reform in India:Rural Eco. Policies require to be change

Because in British Sinario British Govt. introduce -

Zamidari System where the authority of the land has been captured by some big or rich land owners. Zamidar appoint the Intermediate class to collect the tax easily & they acquire land free of cost fr. The British Govt..

Because of this reason the Eco. Security of the poor peasants lost completely & they became poor day by day & landlord became rich day by day.!!!!!

After Independence the Govt. Of India stated the process of building equity in rural population & improvement in the employment rate and productivity.

So, far this reason Agrarian Reform arises & in this system land was declared as a property of the state Govt. because of this Agrarian Reform varied from state to state.

Main Object behind the Agrarian Reform

1.Setting proper land management ,

2. Abolition of intermediaries class, 3. Preventing fragmentation of land, 4.Tenancy Reforms !!

To established the object of Agrarian Reform , the CEILING on landholding was intended:-

(i) Meet the land needs of the landless, (ii) Reduce the glaring in landownership, (iii) So, that it may lead to development of co-operative ruler of economic !!!

The ceiling Legislation were initiated in many parts of the country, in the late 50s & 60s J & K was the 1st state in the country to pass this Act swallowed by West Bengal & Himachal Pradesh. Till 1972, about 23 laks acres of land was declared surplus.
During the 2nd five year plan(1956-1960) most state legislated fixed ceilings but there was little uniformity among the states. Time to time many states instituted programs in India.

By the beginning of 1990s all the states & union territories except Goa, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram,& Tripura had passed Ceiling law to confirm to C.G guidelines.

In the year 1980s 1 lakh 50 thousand hectares had been declared surplus under this Act & Ab 100 thousand hectares of land distributed to 65 thousand landless persons.

As per the new guidelines, 17 states amended the ceiling legislations. The range of ceiling varied from State to State. For instance, in Andhra Pradesh, the level of ceiling for dry land ranged from 14.16 hectares to 21.85 hectares. Karnataka had the limit of 21.85 hectares for dry land, while Punjab had 20.50 hectares and West Bengal 7.00 hectares. For irrigated lands with two crops, the limit was lower Andhra Pradesh 4.05 to 7.28 hectares, M.P, Maharashtra 7.28 hectares, Punjab 7 hectares, West Bengal 5.0 hectares

Various state and Ceiling Limit-

Suggested in National Guide-lines of 1972 Actual Ceilings

Irrigated with two crops 4.05 to 7.28

Irrigated with one crop 10.93

Dry land 21.85 6.74 14.16 to 21.85 6.74 12.14 to 18.21 08.09 to 21.85 21.80 12.14 to 28.33 5.95 to 9.20 in Ladakh 7.7 Hec. 21.85 04.86 to 6.07 21.85 21.85 06.00 12.14 to 18.21 20.50 21.85 to 70.82 24.28 20.23 12.00 18.25

Andhra Pradesh
Assam Bihar Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Orrisa Punjab Rajasthan Tamil Nadu Sikkim Tripura Uttar Pradesh

4.05 to 7.28 6.74 6.07 to 7.28 4.05 to 7.29 7.25 4.05 3.60 to 5.06 4.05 to 8.10 4.86 to 6.07 7.28 7.28 5.00 4.05 7.00 7.28 4.86 5.06 4.00 7.30

06.07 to 10.93 06.74 10.12 06.07 to 10.93 10.90 06.07 03.6 to 5.06 10.12 to 12.14 04.86 to 6.07 10.93 10.93 05.00 06.07 11.00 10.93 12.14 04.00 10.95

"To provide for the imposition of a ceiling on vacant land in urban agglomerations, for the acquisition of such land in excess of the ceiling limit, to regulate the construction of buildings on such land and for matters connected therewith, with a view to preventing the concentration of urban land in the hands of a few persons and speculation and profiteering therein and with a view to bringing about an equitable distribution of land in urban agglomerations to subserve the common good.

The Sole objective of this law is to ensure equal distribution of the economic resource of the country among the citizens & to uplift the eco. Weaker section of the society.

Thanks