Land, Property & Housing in India:

A legal & anthropological Inquiry

A 25-hour online Course on

LAND, PROPERTY & HOUSING IN INDIA: A LEGAL & ANTHROPOLOGICAL INQUIRY

I. Course Instructor

Harshit Anand
Advocate
BA LLB (Hons), CNLU (Class of 2018)

II. Course Duration

11 September 2021-30 October 2021

III. Course Description

One of the preconditions for getting a grasp of any legal system is a nuanced understanding of the people who such legal system
intends to regulate. In India, the land question does not limit itself to the legal idea of property- it goes beyond the framework of formal
law and is intricately intertwined with socially, politically and economically relevant facts. Thus, it is not enough to straitjacket the
dynamics of land governance- and the relationship of ordinary individuals with their piece of land- into mechanical codes of law; it is
essential that laws which govern land and land administration incorporate social, political and economic realities.

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 Land, Property & Housing in India:
A legal & anthropological Inquiry

This Course is an attempt to blend in the law and anthropology of land governance. While the first and the foremost task would be to
critically examine land and property legislation in India, an equal emphasis shall be on making sense of the background and rationale
behind the enactments of such legislation. The Course intends to drive home the point that land relations are not merely factors or
symptoms of rights but also markers of fairness and egalitarianism.
Part A of the Course shall deal with the basics of land governance in India. After giving the students an overview of the genesis of the
right to property under the Constitution, the instructor intends to briefly deal with land reform and allied concepts. Thereafte r, the
instructor will take up the issue of governance in the Scheduled Areas of India with a special focus on land administration. This part of
the Course shall also deal with certain environmental concerns, indigenous practices and their impact of land use and development.
Lastly, the law of land acquisition and a few expropriatory legislation shall be critically examined.

Part B of the Course confines itself to certain real estate laws and instruments and their legal effects and operation. Concepts of lease,
license, force majeure, mortgage, stamping and registration shall be touched upon to acquaint students with latest trends in the practice
area. The instructor shall also deal with mechanisms of real estate dispute resolution.

Part C of the Course shall cover laws and policies which regulate immovable property in urban India. Role of local authorities in
governing urban spaces and property shall be analysed with a special focus on the role of development authorities in developi ng urban
and industrial properties. The last lecture of the Course will try to ascertain the contours of an individual’s right to the Indian city. Legal
and political claims over urban spaces shall be critically assessed with the help of latest policy and legal developments.

IV. Course Objectives

This Course has several distinct yet entwined objectives. To the uninitiated, it intends to provide a gentle entry into the world of land
relations and administration in India. To policy researchers who are predominantly occupied with the political economy of land issues,
this Course may provide an opportunity to conduct socio-legal and judicial analysis. To students of law, the Course may act as a critical

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 Land, Property & Housing in India:
A legal & anthropological Inquiry

and multi-dimensional discourse by mapping out exchanges between various stakeholders. Lastly, to students of sociology and
anthropology, the Course may demystify the limits of legal regulation and the extent to which laws encompass social realities.

While the Course is far from comprehensive, it may prove to be useful to aspiring scholars and researchers of development studies, law,
politics, sociology, anthropology, to professionals and practitioners of law, NGOs, civil societies, think tanks, public administration and to
those working on rural and urban land issues, land management, land governance, environmental laws, property rights, resource
conflicts and rural development.

V. Course Outline/Course Schedule/Lectures

Sl No Topic Subject Matter (Non-exhaustive) Date Duration

INTRODUCTION
 Overview of the Course, objectives and
assignments
1. Course Introduction 11 September 2021 90 minutes
 Introduction to land laws in India: first
principles
PART A: BASICS OF LAND GOVERNANCE
 Right to property under the Indian
Lecture No 1
Constitution
120
2.  Right to property as a fundamental right: 12 September 2021
Right to property under the Indian minutes
Constituent Assembly Debates and the
Constitution
‘Original’ intention

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 Land, Property & Housing in India:
A legal & anthropological Inquiry

Sl No Topic Subject Matter (Non-exhaustive) Date Duration

 Fundamental Rights & Directive Principles:
Conflict, Reconciliation & Integration
 Parliament and the Judiciary: Kesavananda
and the Basic Structure
 Fundamental concepts of reform
 Law of land redistribution
Lecture No 2
 Law of land records 120
3. 18 September 2021
 Approaches and methods to land title minutes
Law of land reform in India
legislation in India
 Case study from West Bengal
 Overview of governance in Scheduled
Areas
Lecture No 3  Role of tribal autonomous councils in land
administration 105
4. 19 September 2021
Land Administration in India’s  Customary rights and traditional wisdom: minutes
Schedules Areas Case Study from Northeast India
 Pathalgadi movement: Dispossession, and
conflicting ideologies of governance
 Overview of relevant laws
Lecture No 4  Forest rights and redefining the frontiers
of governance: Nascent jurisprudence and 105
5. 25 September 2021
Environmental Protection and participatory evidence making minutes
Regulation of Land  Common property rights and resources:
Case study from Jharkhand

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 Land, Property & Housing in India:
A legal & anthropological Inquiry

Sl No Topic Subject Matter (Non-exhaustive) Date Duration

 Rights of landless and women collectives:
A case study of Maharashtra Agricultural
Land Leasing Bill, 2017
 Framework of law of land acquisition:
interaction of land reform and acquisition
 Displacement, dispossession,
Lecture No 5
compensation and rehabilitation 120
6. 26 September 2021
 Changing contours of ‘public purpose’ minutes
Land Acquisition in India
 Acquisition for economic development:
comparative analysis of cases from the
USA and India
PART B: AN OVERVIEW OF CERTAIN COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE LAWS
 Lease of mortgaged property
 Brief overview of debt recovery laws: RDB
Lecture No 6 Act, 1993, SARFAESI Act, 2002 and IBC,
120
7. 2016 2 October 2021
minutes
Rights of Secured Creditors  Rights of secured lenders over mortgaged
property: interplay with tenancy and other
rights
 Leases and licenses in India
Lecture No 7
 Force Majeure and leases
120
8.  Law of stamping in India 3 October 2021
Real Estate Instruments: Certain minutes
 Law of registration in India
Aspects
 Arbitrability of tenancy disputes in India

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 Land, Property & Housing in India:
A legal & anthropological Inquiry

Sl No Topic Subject Matter (Non-exhaustive) Date Duration

PART C: PROPERTY LAWS IN URBAN SPACES
 Overview of Urban Local Bodies
Lecture No 8  Overview of Gram Panchayats
 Development Authorities: Constitution, 120
9. 9 October 2021
Role of Local Authorities and Urban powers and role as developers minutes
Development  Case studies from Jharkhand, West Bengal
and Delhi
 Critical assessment of recent real estate
regulatory reforms in urban spaces
 Legal and political claims over housing and
Lecture No 9
urban space in India
120
10.  Indian jurisprudence on housing and 10 0ctober 2021
The Right to the City in India: Who minutes
evictions
Owns the Urban Spaces?
 Housing policies and impact of recent
legislation on urban housing: RERA, 2016
and MTA, 2021
CONCLUSION
 Quiz
11. Conclusion of Course  Revisiting important concepts 16 October 2021 60 minutes
 Important takeaways
12. Letter of Course completion - On 30 October 2021 -

VI. Course Methodology

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 Land, Property & Housing in India:
A legal & anthropological Inquiry

The Course will aim to blend theoretical discussions along with discussion on various case laws. The Course will also build upon the
learnings gathered by students in their law/social studies courses. While dealing with topics, the modus used will be like a clinic-oriented
course covering the practical aspects of provisions of law. Students will be expected to read up prescribed text and have freewheeling
discussions during the lectures. Methodology used will mostly comprise such discussions, lectures and group assignments. At the end of
the Course, a letter evidencing course completion and total marks obtained shall be issued by the instructor to each of the s tudents.

VII. Readings (Non-exhaustive)

Primary as well secondary reading materials will be prescribed for each of the topics. However, the primary reading material shall be the
Constitution of India, 1950.

VIII. Assignments

Assignment Type Marks

Assignment I Short Note 30 marks
Assignment II Essay 40 marks
Assignment III Quiz 15 marks
Classroom participation - 15 marks
Total Marks 100 marks

IX. Course Fee

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 Land, Property & Housing in India:
A legal & anthropological Inquiry

Course fee shall be INR 650/- (Indian Rupees Six Hundred Fifty Only) for each student enrolling for the Course (inclusive of GST
and/or any other applicable taxes).

The entire amount collected from the Course shall partly be donated to help frontline (ASHA) workers who are supporting on -the-ground
surveys and outreach programs in the fight against COVID-19 and partly to flood affected families of Bihar.

Payment can be made through Google Pay on 9471004694.

X. Enrolment & Class Strength

Students are requested to fill this Form as an expression of interest. The last date of registration is 9 September 2021.

The Course will have a maximum of 40 students and the mode of selection shall be on a first-come, first-served basis. However,
selection of students shall be at the sole discretion of the Course instructor and his decision in this regard shall be final.

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