and one member each from the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes<sup>3 4</sup> . An advisory committee is also to be formed at the range-level to ensure the smooth implementation of the programme, and should include the local MLA.

At the outset, government consolidation officers hold meetings with landowners to explain the potential benefits of land consolidation, the main provisions of the OCH & PFL Act, and the manner in which their interests shall be represented. Villagers are then called upon to nomini-e the names of people for the committee. In practice, there tends to be extensive public involvement in the plains and coastal areas in which a high proportion of the operated area is irrigated, but much less involvement or commitment in the hilly tracts of western Orissa.

**_Survey and correction of existing_** _RORs:_ Consolidation is carried out within the circle of a particular police station. Eventually all villages within the circle are covered. The first step is to conduct a plot-to-plot survey of the village area (similar to the process followed in a survey and settlement operation), beginning in the northwest corner of each village and ending in the south-east corner. The existing RORs are then updated. Following the initial survey, if it is determined that there is too little cultivable land to make land consolidation worthwhile, the operation does not proceed further (i.e. these villages are placed under section 13(4) of the Act).

**_Consolidation of holdings:_** There are two alternative processes of consolidation, depending on the type of terrain: (i) _rectangulation,_ where the entire area to be consolidated is flat and irrigated (as in parts of Ganjam district); and (ii) _amalgamation,_ where there is undulating terrain (as in Khurda and Sambalpur districts).

Under the amalgamation process, the model pioneered in Uttar Pradesh is adopted, in which relative scores are awarded to plots on land of differing quality, subject to agreement among members of the local consolidation committee (Oldenburg 1990). In this process, the land that is locally agreed to be of highest quality is given a score of 100 and declared the 'standard plot'. The relative value of all other land is assessed in relation to this standard plot, and awarded proportionately lower scores. Each landowner's total holding is then calculated as a weighted area; the weightings determined by the relative scores allocated to land of each type.

Following the assessment of the value of each landowner's original holding, the consolidation officers draw up proposals for plot reallocation and amalgamation. The entitlements of individual landowners are decided by 'sector' (normally following natural boundaries within the village). For example, if a farmer originally holds plots in five sectors, his or her claim is eliminated from the two sectors in which s/he has the least land. The aim is that each landowner should end up with a holding of a weighted area within +/- 33 percent of the original weighted holding size, but the new holding should be made up of not more than three individual plots. At this stage, land is also set side for communal use (roads, canals, etc).

Finally, provided there is local agreement, land holdings are reallocated, and the revised RORs and village maps prepared in accordance with the agreed scheme. The OCH & PFL Act specifies a minimum period of 27 months for the completion of land consolidation in a given village, although it normally takes much longer. It takes about five years to consolidate land in all villages within one police station circle.

# _4.2.4 Failure of consolidation in Sambalpur_

In order to gain further insights into the manner in which land consolidation is conducted in practice, and with what consequences, we conducted a short field investigation in several villages of Sambalpur district. On

> 34 Note that this level of representation is lower than the proportionate share of the total population accounted for by people of scheduled castes and tribes (16 and 22 percent respectively).

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