Consolidation of Holdings

♤ In pursuance of this, many States had enacted legislations but not much progress could be made except in the States of U.P., Haryana and Punjab.

♤ In other States, work was continued for some years and lost momentum thereafter.

♤ Farmers are emotionally attached to their ancestral land, and therefore, they are not willing to take advantage of the scheme of consolidation of holding.

♤ Those farmers who own good quality land do not favour the scheme in fear of getting inferior and poor quality land after the consolidation.

♤ Consolidation of holdings is a cumbersome process. The government officials who implement the scheme are generally slow and often corrupt.

♤ In general, the scheme did not receive the desired support and co-operation from the farmers.

♤ The scheme has paved way for litigation and court cases, many of which are pending in different courts for a long time. This vitiates the serene atmosphere of the rural areas.

♤ Under the existing law of inheritance, the fields continue to be smaller and fragmented.

♤ In every consolidation, about 5 to 10 per cent of the village land is taken out for providing house sites to the weaker sections of society, approach roads (chak-roads) and village utility services. Hence, if the process is repeated three or four times, a sizable portion of the agricultural land would go out of agriculture.

♤ The cost of consolidation is realised from the farmers, which has adverse effect on their resources and economy.

♤ It has been observed that small farmers are generally allotted inferior quality land, and due to lack of money power, they are neither able to please the officials nor get justice in the court.