Land Reforms to Land Titling: Emerging Paradigms of Land Governance in India

369 Pages·2020·2.128 MB·English

by  Pradeep Nayak

Land Reforms
Land Titling
to
Emerging Paradigms of
Land Governance in India
Pradeep Nayak
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AdvAnce PrAise
This book undertakes a critical analysis of the transformation of
presumptive nature of land records and ownership to a conclusive
land title regime while focusing on its legal and institutional context
along with its relevance to Indian realities. The book examines the
impact of the concerted policy push under the National Land Records
Modernization Programme on diverse land tenure system of the coun-
try by deploying a variety of primary sources to correlate it with the
changing requirements of economic policy. Deploying a historically
informed and politico-economy located frame, the book fills a vital
gap on this subject matter and is a significant contribution in the field.
—Amit Prakash
Professor, Centre for the Study of Law and Governance,
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
In this bold new book, a civil servant with years of experience in land
governance painstakingly traces a land regime in transition. He goes past
the headlines to place the shift from land reform to land titling within
India’s changing politics and political economy. Concern for social jus-
tice and the poor is writ large in this impassioned account as Dr Nayak
interrogates who wins and who is set to lose as India liberalizes and
modernizes its land regime. When much of our land economy is being
regulated and irregulated in a far from transparent manner, this book
is an essential reading for scholars, policymakers and the alert public to
understand the inner workings of India via a vital resource.
—Nikita Sud
Associate Professor, Oxford Department of International
Development, University of Oxford, UK
Treading a delicate path of expositing the political economy of India’s
turn away from redistributive land reforms to achieving techno-
managerial efficiency through land titling, Dr Nayak, like no one else
thus far, has laid bare the trappings of neoliberal designs that under-
mine the pre-existing nature–society relationship of an intrinsically
pluralistic people. Rich in insights, historicity and ability to decipher
the fine print of the legalities in land titling, this masterly study would
not only enrich our knowledge on the complex subject of land rights
but would also set us thinking if the policy aims for social justice and
has not fallen hostage to capital or hegemony.
—Keshab Das
Professor, Gujarat Institute of Development Research,
Ahmedabad, India
Land Reforms
Land Titling
to

Land Reforms
Land Titling
to
Emerging Paradigms of
Land Governance in India
Pradeep Nayak
Copyright © Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS), Shimla, 2021
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
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First published in 2021 by
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2020944944
ISBN: 978-93-5388-521-2 (HB)
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To my parents, Swayamprava and Swati