The Land Question in Neoliberal India: Socio-Legal and Judicial Interpretations

243 Pages·2021·1.835 MB·English

by  Varsha Bhagat-Ganguly

The Land Question
in Neoliberal India
This book examines the land question in neoliberal India based on a
cohesive framework focusing on socio-legal and judicial interactions in a
point of departure from the political-economy approach to land issues. It
sheds light on several complex aspects of land matters in India and evolves a
critical and multi-dimensional discourse by mapping out exchanges between
social and political actors, the State, elites, citizenry, and the legal battle and
judicial interpretations on land as right to property.
Based on the themes of socio-legal policy and perspective on ‘land’ on the
one hand and jurisprudence on the land question on the other, the volume
discusses topics such as conclusive land titling; urban land governance;
governance of forest land; land-leasing practices, policies, and interventions
from the perspective of women; land acquisition policies and laws; how
land matters interface with environmental issues; and judicial debates on
‘compensation’ against land acquisitions. It covers a wide range of case
studies from all over India by bringing together specialists from across
backgrounds.
Comprehensive and topical, this book will be useful to scholars and
researchers of development studies, political studies, law, sociology, political
economy, and public policy, as well as to professionals in NGOs, civil society
organisations, think tanks, planning and public administration, lawyers, civil
services and training institutes, and judicial and forest academies. Those working
on rural and urban land issues in India, land management, land governance,
environmental laws and governance, property rights, resource conflicts, social
work, and rural development will find this book to be of special interest.
Varsha Bhagat-Ganguly has served as Professor at the Centre for Rural
Studies, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration,
Mussoorie; and Nirma University, Ahmedabad; and as Fellow at the Indian
Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla (all in India). She actively researches on
social and developmental issues. Apart from contributions to journals and
books, she has edited three academic journals. Among her 14 publications
are: Protest Movement and Citizens’ Rights in Gujarat (2015); Land Rights
in India: Policies, Movements and Challenges (2016, 2018); Journey towards
Land Titling in India (2017); and India’s Scheduled Areas: Untangling
Governance, Law and Politics (2019). A forthcoming publication is
Electronic Waste Management in India: Opportunities and Challenges.

The Land Question
in Neoliberal India
Socio-Legal and Judicial
Interpretations
Edited by Varsha Bhagat-Ganguly
First published 2021
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
© 2021 selection and editorial matter, Varsha Bhagat-Ganguly;
individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Varsha Bhagat-Ganguly to be identified as the author
of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual
chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-138-58373-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-04238-9 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To all land dependents –
for their land rights and well-being through effective land
governance

Contents
ContentsContents
List of figures ix
List of tables x
List of contributors xi
Foreword xiv
TAJAMUL HAQUE
Acknowledgements xv
List of abbreviations xvi
Glossary xx
1 Introduction 1
VARSHA BHAGAT-GANGULY
PART 1
Socio-legal and policy perspectives on ‘land’ 25
2 Approaches and methods of land title legislation in India:
far from reality or close to the ground? 27
AMLANJYOTI GOSWAMI, DEEPIKA JHA, AND KAYE LUSHINGTON
3 Critical assessment of recent real estate regulatory reforms
in urban spaces: whether trickle-down effect is for all? 51
RAY SHARAT PRASAD
4 The forest rights struggle and redefining the frontiers of
governance: dismantling hegemony, restructuring authority,
and collectivising control 75
C.R. BIJOY
5 Maharashtra Agricultural Land Leasing Bill, 2017:
exploring opportunities for landless and women’s collectives 100
SEEMA KULKARNI AND PALLAVI HARSHE
viii Contents
6 Customary rights and traditional wisdom: furthering land
governance in Northeast India 126
SONALI GHOSH AND CHANDRA BHUSHAN KUMAR
PART 2
Evolving jurisprudence on the land question 149
7 Land acquisition law in neoliberal India: old wine in a
new bottle? 151
RITA SINHA
8 Land acquisition for economic development: a comparative
analysis of some landmark court judgments of the United
States of America and India 172
MALABIKA PAL
9 Neoliberalism, environmental protection, and regulation of land 192
SHIJU MAZHUVANCHERY
Index 211
Figures
FiguresFigures
3.1 Typical structure involved in setting up REIT 61
6.1 Elements of the land acquisition debate in neoliberal
Northeast India 141