(a) whether the provisions stipulated in the Article 244(i) for areas falling under fifth schedule with regard to the prohibition of land transfer to non-tribals and among members of Scheduled Tribes is being violated;
(b) if so, the details with regard to States where aforesaid provisions are being violated; and
(c) steps taken by the Government to stop violations of such provisions?
MINISTER OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI P.R. KYNDIAH)
(a) to (c) `Land` and its managements falls under the exclusive legislative and administrative jurisdiction of the States as provided in Entry No. 18 of the List II (State List) of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. The Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India has been playing an advisory and coordinatory role in the field of land reforms. As per the reports received from various States, 3.75 lakh cases of tribal land alienation have been registered so far, covering 8.55 lakh acres of land, of which 1.62 lakh cases have been disposed in favour of tribals covering a total area of 4.47 lakh acres. 1.54 lakh cases covering an area of 3.63 lakh acres have been rejected by the Courts on various grounds. The details are given at Annexure-I.
The State Governments have in general accepted the policy of prohibiting of transfer of land from tribals to non-tribals and the States like Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karanataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamilnadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have enacted laws for prevention of alienation of tribal land.
Annexure - I
Statement in respect of parts (a) to (c) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4012 for 15.3.2005 regarding Land Transfer to Non-Tribal in Vth Schedule Areas
STATE-WISE INFORMATION ON ALIENATION AND RESTORATION OF TRIBAL LANDS
(As on March, 2004)
(Area in acres)
Sl.No. State No. of Area Cases Area Cases Area Cases Area Cases Area Cases Area cases disp- Reje- Decided in which Pending filed osed cted in land was in Court in the of by favour restored Court the of to Court Tribals Tribals
1 Andhra Pr. 65875 287776 58212 256452 31737 150227 26475 106225 23383 94312 7663 31324 2 Assam 2042 4211 50 19 - - 50 19 50 19 1992 4192 3 Bihar## 86291 104893 76518 95151 31884 49730 44634 45421 44634 45421 9773 9742 4 Gujarat 47926 140324 40400 120691 119 497 40281 120194 39503 118259 7526 19633 5 Himachal Pr. - NEGLIGIBLE - 6 Karnataka 42582 130373 38521 115021 16687 47159 21834 67862 21834 67862 4061 15352 7 Madhya Pr. # 53806 158398 29596 97123 29596 97123 NR NR NR NR 24210 61275 8 Maharashtra 45634 NR 44624 99486 24681 NR 19943 99486 19943 99486 1010 NR 9 Orissa 1431 1712 594 816 152 204 442 612 212 455 837 896 10 Rajasthan 651 2300 240 774 53 187 187 587 187 587 411 1526 11 Tripura 28926 25295 28888 25274 20084 18366 8804 6908 8551 6732 38 21
Total 375164 855282 317643 810807 154993 363493 162650 447314 158297 433133 57521 143961 @
@ = figures inclusive ## = Including Jharkand # = Including Chhattisgarh