Ahead of the proposed Homestead Bill drafted by his ministry, rural development minister Jairam Ramesh has sent missives to the chief ministers of over a dozen politically crucial states, including Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, suggesting that they reduce the land ceiling limit so that the land acquired could be used for redistribution among homeless people.
The Centre has also asked states to expedite the land reforms and allot surplus land to women.
While the UPA has drafted the Homestead Bill, with an eye to the coming general election, its implementation is conditional on land reforms and the active cooperation of state governments. The Centre has, therefore, issued advisories to state governments on these measures.
In the advisory to Bihar, the Centre asked it to amend the ceiling laws and lower ceiling limits for various categories, including religious establishments and sugar mills. “Take steps to allot at least 10 decimals of land, in the name of women, to each of 5.84 lakh non-farm rural homeless/landless households. Assess the land use of 11,000 acres of land allotted to various institutions. If such land is not being utilised for a public purpose, it should be taken back and redistributed to landless poor.”