Question : TRANSFER OF LAND

(a) whether there is a provision thatagriculture land held by persons belongingto scheduled castes may be transferred onlyto the persons of the scheduled castes;

(b) if so, the details thereof along withthe name of the States where the saidprovision is under operation;

(c) whether the land use of agricultureland owned by persons belonging toscheduled castes may be converted intonon-agriculture purposes;

(d) if so, whether after change of landuse the land owned by scheduled castes may be given to persons/companies/institutions of other castes; and

(e) if so, the details thereof?

MINISTER OF STATE FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI LALCHAND KATARIA)

(a) to (b): Land and its management is a State subject which falls within the exclusive legislative and administrative jurisdiction of the States as provided under Entry No. 18 of List II (State List) of the Seventh Schedule to the constitution. Various States have their own laws/Regulations/Rules to prevent alienation of land belonging to Scheduled Casts/Scheduled Tribes.e.g. The Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prohibition of Transfer of Certain Lands) Act, 1978 (`the PTCL Act` for short) prohibits transfer of land assigned to SCs and STs by government.Some States have such provisions in their Land Revenue Code. Further, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 has deterrent provisions to stop alienation and restore possession of land. Central assistance is provided to strengthen the enforcement machinery for implementation of this Act. Also a Committee under the Chairmanship of Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment reviews the implementations of this Act by States/UTs.

(c) to (e): Change of land use? is governed by State specific Acts/Regulations/Rules etc. Further, the States use the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act,1894 to acquire land from various land owners and give it to Requiring Bodies for different projects.