LAND REFORMS AND LAND OWNERSHIP
One of the Top Competitive institutes in West Bengal, MIES Institute, puts an informative article on “ Land Reforms and Land Ownership”. Written by the top faculty Mr. Samrat Bhattacharyya of MIES R. M. Law College under MIES Institute. This is the top Coaching Centre for different government job exam preparation, which will enhance and aware more to peoples. Moreover, the MIES Institute is one of the Best institutes for School Service, WBCS, SSC, PSC, Bank, Rail, etc exams in West Bengal. The Head Office is at Sonarpur, Main City Centre – Sealdah. Branches – Barasat, Behala Chowrasta. This article is most effective for the West Bengal Civil Service Exam and other Govt. Service Examinations.
Land reforms and land ownership is a very vital matters all over the world
“The life of the law has not been logic, It has been experienced”[1]. Is nowhere more clearly illustrated than in the history of the constitutional provisions relating to land reforms in India. There is a wide range of social, political, and economic implications of land reforms in India. Land reforms and land ownership is a very vital matters all over the world. Different political systems prescribed different methods for land ownership and utilization.
Land reforms refer to reforming the ownership and regulation of land or redistribution of land from the erstwhile feudal owners or zamindars to the landless people who are suppressed and exploited for a long time for some special purposes like agriculture or economic development of the state. Moreover, Land was concentrated in the hands of a few and there was a proliferation of intermediaries who had no vested interest in self-cultivation. Therefore, Land records were in extremely bad shape and one problem of agriculture was that the land was fragmented into very small parts.
Different categories of reform
There are different categories of reform abolition of intermediaries, like rent collectors, regulation of tenancy by regulating rent and providing security of tenure, ceiling on land holdings by redistribution of surplus land, consolidation of land, encouraging peasants to form co-operative farming societies so that organized farming can enhance the productivity of the land which can ultimately boost the economy.
The consolidation of land started with the Zamindari Abolition Act and Estate Acquisition Act and in West Bengal, the process of land reforms started with Operation Barga which asked for equal distribution of land among the landless farmers. The aim is to equitable redistribution of land to increase productivity and decrease poverty and this can also help to stop intra-country migration of those people who migrate to other states in search of work.
Transfer of Property Act
As per the Transfer of Property Act, a person cannot transfer a property if he doesn’t have a good title over it. As no one can transfer a better title than he possesses. Earlier ostensible owner of an immovable property who is not the actual owner of that property but rather holds the property in the absence of the real owner with implied or express consent of the actual owner. However after the enactment of Benami Transactions (Prohibition Act) 1988, a transfer by an ostensible owner becomes illegal.
Transfer of land or other immovable property can be effected only by a deed of conveyance which has to be duly stamped and registered as required by law. It has become a practice to effect the transfer of immovable property either through a general power of Attorney sales or sale agreement, this sale generally evades payment of duty, taxes, and other fees payable on transfer and registration, so it is an illegal practice and cannot be recognized as valid under law.
The persons who resort to such practices include vendors with imperfect titles purchasers who purposefully do not wish to disclose such transfers in the public domain, purchasers who avoid the payment of stamp duty that results eventually in loss of revenue to the government and the circulation of the black money in the market.
Sale deed for LAND REFORMS AND LAND OWNERSHIP
Buyer must always ensure that the title of the seller is clear before the execution of the sale deed. A Good Title consists of the right of possession and property. Moreover, the transferee of land must ensure that there is no charge encumbrance or any other legal hindrance on the property. The purchasers must verify the encumbrance status from the register’s office. The owner of the land must have an absolute interest in the plot of land as against the lessee, mortgagee, baradari, and patta holder who have a limited interest in the plot of land.
The record of rights must contain all aspects of good title, the total area of the plot of land, khatiyan number which is the registration information of the complete records of the land or property. The certified copies of all entered documents in the official domain are issued by the revenue department of the state government. Moreover, these copies are proof of ownership, location, usage, and other information about the land property, and share of raiyat in the plot. Nevertheless, accounts of existing encumbrances like mortgage, adverse possession, or bargain the plot.
Without a good title, the transfer is not possible
The transferor who wishes to transfer the plot of land must clear the revenue payable to the state government. And any existing encumbrance like mortgaging the land to any land mortgage bank or any other financial institution or any co-operative society must be timely intimated to the revenue officer having jurisdiction so that the encumbrance can reflect in the record of rights. No transferor can legally transfer his land without having a good title. The buyer or transferee has to make himself satisfied that the seller has a good title over such immovable property given in the transfer if he does not want to face any legal consequence of purchasing such disputed property.
MIES is a renowned coaching center for Govt. Job exams
MIES is a renowned coaching center for Govt. Job exams in West Bengal. Thousands of students appeared in Govt. service exam from MIES every year and got Govt. service maximum of them. MIES is the most popular Institute among Govt. Job aspirants because of their specialty in WBCS, PSC, SSC, BANK, RAIL, etc exams. MIES is a pioneer institute of WBCS coaching in West Bengal. As per the student’s version, MIES is the best training academy for Govt. Job exam in West Bengal.
[1] Holmes, The Common Law, edited by Mark de Wolfe Howe(1963) p.5.