Revoking ban on Section 12 of Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976 in J&K would bring greater prosperity

21 December 2024

By S. Amin Mir

The Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976, was enacted to improve land use and transfer land ownership to tillers. The Act, with its various sections and sub-sections, aimed to set land ceilings, make tillers owners of the land they cultivated, ensure ownership through personal cultivation, and redistribute surplus land to the poor and landless.

Section 12: Key to Land Transactions

Section 12 of the Act permits private agreements between ex-landowners and prospective owners. These agreements, registered under the Jammu and Kashmir Registration Act, 1977, and authenticated by revenue officers like Tehsildars, enabled prospective owners to be relieved of their liability to pay levies to the state.

Before the Act’s commencement, revenue records called Jamabandies, written in 1967-68, recorded tenants in the tenancy column as “protected tenants.” In 1970-71, these protected tenants, along with other on-spot tenants, became “prospective owners” under Section 4 of the Act by Kharief 1971. This foundational step transferred ownership rights to the tillers, marking a pivotal moment in the region’s agrarian reforms.

Land ownership and restrictions

Under Section 4, tenants became owners after fulfilling certain obligations, including paying lagan (land revenue) to the ex-landowners. Sections 6, 8, and 12 governed the mechanisms of ownership transfer:

Section 6: Related to constructions like houses or shops.
Section 8: Required prospective owners to pay levies to the government and lagan to ex-landowners, after which ownership mutations were processed.
Section 12: Governed private agreements between ex-landowners and prospective owners.

Historically, land transferred under the Act could neither be sold nor mortgaged. However, two years ago, the government amended key revenue laws, allowing the transfer of ownership rights for land under Section 8 through sale deeds.

Recent Developments

On October 26, 2020, amendments to Sections 21 and 28-A of the Agrarian Reforms Act lifted the prohibition on land transfers under Section 8. This allowed sale deeds for such land to be attested and registered. However, restrictions on land under Sections 6, 7, and 12 remain in place.

In January 2023, the Administrative Council, chaired by the Lieutenant Governor, authorized the Revenue Department to propose amendments to Sections 21 and 28-A to lift these prohibitions. If enacted, these amendments would bring land under Sections 6, 7, and 12 on par with Section 8, allowing landholders to sell their parcels freely.

Impact of the proposed amendments

The proposed amendments would be a significant relief for landholders vested with ownership under Sections 6, 7, and 12. It would enable them to sell or mortgage their land, thus unlocking its economic potential, which has long been restricted.

The move aligns with the government’s efforts to modernize land laws and provide greater economic flexibility to landowners while respecting the spirit of the original Agrarian Reforms Act.

The author is an Office Patwari at the Tehsil Office, Qazigund.