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Govt. set to bring back provisions in land reforms Act that bar non-farmers from buying land
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at an exhibition on the life of the former Chief Minister late D. Devaraj Urs at the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR
It is likely to table the Bill in the legislature once the Congress secures majority in the Legislative Council
In a move to check the purchase of farmland by non-farmers, the Congress government led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah proposes to bring back provisions of the law that barred non-agriculturists from purchasing farmland.
The previous BJP government, in 2020, had amended the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961, to permit non-agriculturists to purchase farmland in the State to liberalise landholdings.
Provisions in question
Speaking at the 109th birth anniversary programme of former Chief Minister late D. Devaraj Urs at the State Secretariat, Mr. Siddaramaiah said he would propose amendments to restore Sections 79A and 79B of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act.
However, the ruling party is likely to introduce the Bill to restore the original Act only after it secures a majority in the Legislative Council. The Opposition combine of BJP and JD(S) has the majority in the Council at present.
The Chief Minister recalled the contributions of Urs, who was the architect of land reforms in the 1970s, and said according to Urs, land should belong to the tiller, but owing to changes made to the Act during the BJP regime, anyone can buy land. The BJP government did it and surrendered to the vested interests who have been against social transformation in rural areas, the Chief Minister said.
Amended in 2020
In 2020, the BJP government amended the Karnataka Land Reforms Act by omitting Sections 79 A, B and C, and allowed non-agriculturists to purchase and own farmland.
Section 79A barred a person (or a family) with an annual non-agricultural income of ₹25 lakh from acquiring agricultural land. Section 79B specified that only a person cultivating land personally could hold agricultural land. Section 79C prescribed penalties for falsely claiming eligibility to hold agricultural land.
Mr. Siddaramaiah, who was then the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, had termed the BJP government’s amendments as “a scam bigger than illegal mining”, and anti-farmer and claimed that farmland parcles worth ₹50,000 crore would be lost.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah presented the Devaraj Urs award to social activist and former Labour Minister S.K. Kanta at the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit:
K. MURALI KUMAR
Award to Kanta
On the occasion, social activist and former Labour Minister S.K. Kanta was honoured with the Devaraj Urs award for 2024 by Mr. Siddaramaiah. The award carries a purse of ₹5 lakh and a citation. Mr. Kanta has fought tirelessly for labour rights and social causes for more than three decades.
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