Land Reforms in India: Issues of Equity in Rural Madhya Pradesh: Volume 7

This is the seventh volume in a major series which studies the status of land reforms throughout the country. It focuses on Madhya Pradesh and includes contributions from activists, scholars and administrators. Each of the five sections in the volume studies various aspects of both legislation relating to, and implementation of, land reforms. Issues of equity concerning non-land resources in rural areas are also discussed. Part I reviews people’s movements relating to questions of land reforms, equity, forest rights and displacement and rehabilitation consequent to the construction of dams. Part II is largely based on reports prepared by the Land Reforms Unit of the LBS National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie. This part also provides discussions on the management of land records and common property resources in Madhya Pradesh. The third part studies the problems affecting the tribals in the state, including displacement, dispossession and survival, and explores possible legislative remedies that could lead to equitable and sustainable development. Part IV provides an in-depth study of forest rights and the issues of equity and sustainable development, while the last section outlines a contemporary agenda for land reforms in Madhya Pradesh which addresses the crucial issue of the livelihoods of the majority of the rural masses. The contributors stress the importance of people’s movements and state intervention working in conjunction with each other. They conclude that land reform measures cannot be successful unless they are related to policies governing other resources such as access to credit, land, water and other common property resources, and unless they are backed by a strong macro economic policy framework. Based on both field-level primary data and secondary sources, this volume vividly describes the ground realities of the status of land reforms in Madhya Pradesh and will serve as a basis to initiate remedial measures. Students of land reforms and agrarian change, state and central government officials dealing with programmes for the rural poor and those interested in areas such as the political economy of agriculture, rural development, agricultural labour and social welfare will find this book of tremendous interest. Those involved in sociology, tribal studies and environmental studies will also find the book very useful while it will be of equal interest to activists and NGOs.