Lok Sabha Question No. 2910 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-07
Subject: Transfer of Land in Maharashtra
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Raksha Nikhil Khadse

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 2910

TO BE ANSWERED ON- 07/08/2023

## TRANSFER OF LAND IN MAHARASHTRA

## 2910. SHRIMATI RAKSHA NIKHIL KHADSE:

Will the Minister of Tribal Affairs be pleased to state:

(a) the number of cases where permission has been granted for the transfer of land belonging to scheduled tribes to non-scheduled tribes by the State Government especially in Maharashtra State; and

(b) the details thereof for the period of past 18 years i.e . from 2004 to 2022, district-wise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU)

(a) & (b): Land and its management fall under the exclusive legislative and administrative jurisdiction of States as provided under the Constitution of India [Seventh Schedule- List II (State List)- Entry No. (18)] and as such State Governments concerned are responsible to protect and safeguard the land rights of STs keeping in  view  the  relevant  constitutional  provisions  and  legislative  enactments. Some  of  the  most  important Constitutional and legislative provisions in this regard are at Annexure .

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs had earlier written to the States comprising  Scheduled  Areas  to inter  alia include in the Annual Report of the Governor to the President, required under the provisions of the Fifth Schedule, an assessment of overall evaluation of working of Acts/regulations/instructions relating to land alienation,  displacement  of  tribals  and  so  on  in  1987  and  2012.    Despite  the  above  provisions  and communication in this regard, representations are received of transfer of land from STs to non-STs from time to time.  This is a major concern of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and hence, advisory has been issued to all States,  including  those  comprising  of  Scheduled  Areas,  to  ensure  that  the  Constitutional  and  Legislative safeguards are implemented effectively.  The NCST has also been requested to monitor the implementation of these provisions during its visits to and interactions with the States.

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## Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) & (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2910 for answer on 07/08/2023.

## Constitutional and legal provisions to protect and safeguard the land rights of STs and to address the issue of Land Acquisition and displacement of tribals

i. The Fifth Schedule under Article 244(1) of the Constitution at Part B, Para 5 (2) inter alia states that ' the Governor may make regulations for the peace and good government of any area in a State which is for the time being a Scheduled Area. In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such regulations may- (a) prohibit or restrict the transfer of land by or among members of the Scheduled Tribes in such area; (b) regulate the allotment of land to members of the Scheduled Tribes in such area ii. The Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, also provides that the Gram Sabha or the Panchayats at the appropriate level shall be consulted before making the acquisition of land in the Scheduled Areas or development projects and before resettling or rehabilitating persons affected by such projects in the Scheduled Areas; the actual planning and implementation of the projects in the Scheduled Areas shall be coordinated at the State Level.

iii. Government  has  enacted  the  Right  to  Fair  Compensation  and  Transparency  in  Land  Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013 which stipulates the provisions for Compensation, Rehabilitation and Resettlement in the matter of land acquired for public purposes. RFCTLARR Act also stipulates that as far as possible, no land is to be acquired in the Scheduled areas except as last resort. In case of acquisition or alienation of any land in Scheduled Areas, the prior consent of the concerned Gram Sabha or the Panchayats or the autonomous District Councils, at the appropriate level in Scheduled Areas under the Fifth  Schedule  to  the  Constitution,  as  the  case  may  be,  are  required  to  be  obtained.,  in  all  cases  of  land acquisition in such areas, including acquisition in case of urgency.  The provision of land for land in case of land acquisition prescribed at Serial No. 2 as an element of rehabilitation and resettlement in the Second Schedule  of  the  Right  to  Fair  Compensation  and  Transparency  in  Land  Acquisition,  Rehabilitation  and Resettlement (RTFCLARR) Act, 2013 is another provision.

iv. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA in short) is an Act to recognize and vest the forest rights and occupation in forest land in forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers who have been residing in such forests for generations but whose rights could not be recorded. Section 4(4) of FRA enables that a right conferred to STFDs and OTFDs shall be heritable but not alienable or transferable and shall be registered jointly in the name of both the spouses in case of married persons and in the name of the single head in the case of a household headed by a single person and in the absence of a direct heir, the heritable right shall pass on to the next-of-kin. Section 4(5) of Forest Rights Act, 2006, which mandates that no forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers shall be evicted or removed from the forest land under his occupation till the recognition and verification procedure is complete.

v. The  Scheduled  Caste  and  the  Scheduled  Tribes  (Prevention  of  Atrocities)  Act,  1989'  has  been introduced to prevent the commission of offences of atrocities against members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. Wrongfully dispossessing members of Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribes from their land or premises or interfering with the enjoyment of their rights, including forest rights, over any land or premises or water or irrigation facilities or destroying the crops or taking away the produce there from amount to offence of atrocities and are subject to punishment under the said Act.