Evaluating REVENUE ADMINISTRATION AND LAND RECORDS: THEIR STRENGTHENING AND UPDATING IN MIZORAM Prem Singh Saroj Arora L.C. Singhi CENTRE FOR RURAL STUDIES - NIAR Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration Mussoorie - 248 179 (INDIA) Evaluating REVENUE ADMINISTRATION AND LAND RECORDS: THEIR STRENGTHENING AND UPDATING IN MIZORAM Prem Singh Saroj Arora L.C. Singhi CENTRE FOR RURAL STUDIES - NIAR Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration Mussoorie - 248 179 (INDIA) Mizoram is our homeland It is not given or gotten as a gift It is not acquired by privilege Or potential contracts It is not bought with gold or held by the force No, it is made with us the sweat of the brow It is the historic creation And the collective enterprise of a people Bodily, spiritual and moral Over a span of generations - People of Mizoram!! Copyright © October, 2012 CRS, NIAR, LBSNAA Published by : CENTRE FOR RURAL STUDIES National Institute of Administrative Research Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration Mussoorie (Uttarakhand) Produced by : Print Vision, 41-C, Rajpur Road, Dehradun Mizoram is our homeland It is not given or gotten as a gift It is not acquired by privilege Or potential contracts It is not bought with gold or held by the force No, it is made with us the sweat of the brow It is the historic creation And the collective enterprise of a people Bodily, spiritual and moral Over a span of generations - People of Mizoram!! Copyright © October, 2012 CRS, NIAR, LBSNAA Published by : CENTRE FOR RURAL STUDIES National Institute of Administrative Research Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration Mussoorie (Uttarakhand) Produced by : Print Vision, 41-C, Rajpur Road, Dehradun PREFACE Mizoram (earlier known as Lushai Hills District) was a part of Assam till 1972. The parliament passed the Lushai Hills District (Changing Name) Act, 1954; hence, the name of the Lushai Hills District was changed to the Mizo Hills District with effect from 1 September 1954. The Mizo Hills District was separated from Assam in 1972 and elevated to the status of Union Territory of Mizoram. Due to political upheaval and demand for greater autonomy, including recognition of customary laws, a Memorandum of Settlement was signed between the Mizo National Front and the Union Government. Thereafter, the Constitution of India was amended in 1986 and Article 371G was incorporated with special reference to Mizoram. In February 1987, Mizoram became the 23rd state of the Indian Union. The state shares its boundaries with three states -- Assam, Manipur and Tripura -- and international boundaries with two countries -- Bangladesh and Myanmar (earlier known as Burma). The state has three Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) -- Lai, Mara and Chakma ADCs -- which come under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India. As per 2001 Census, tribals in the state constitute 94.75 per cent of the total population and majority of them are Christians. Mizoram is a hill state. Vast land in the state belongs to the community and administered by the customary laws. Village council is entrusted to allot land for shifting cultivation per year and it works in accordance with the guidelines/ rules of Local Administration Department. Village council allots non agricultural land in rural areas. Land in town and sub-town areas in six districts -- Aizawl, Champhai, Kolasib, Lunglei, Mamit, and Serchhip -- comes under the Directorate of Land Revenue & Settlement, Mizoram. The revenue land is of two types -- agricultural and non-agricultural land. Land ownership pattern shows that there are four kinds of land ownership -- land allotment on pass, periodic patta basis, permanent ownership of land with land settlement certificate and land lease. Land in the three Autonomous District Councils (Lai, Mara, and Chakma) comes under the jurisdiction of the respective district council. As per rough estimation, only 2 per cent of the total land in Mizoram has been cadastral surveyed. Cadastral survey was restricted to town and sub-town areas of the six districts, which come under the purview of Directorate of Land Revenue & Settlement, Mizoram. Land in the three autonomous district councils is yet to be surveyed. Though autonomous district councils do not come under the purview PREFACE Mizoram (earlier known as Lushai Hills District) was a part of Assam till 1972. The parliament passed the Lushai Hills District (Changing Name) Act, 1954; hence, the name of the Lushai Hills District was changed to the Mizo Hills District with effect from 1 September 1954. The Mizo Hills District was separated from Assam in 1972 and elevated to the status of Union Territory of Mizoram. Due to political upheaval and demand for greater autonomy, including recognition of customary laws, a Memorandum of Settlement was signed between the Mizo National Front and the Union Government. Thereafter, the Constitution of India was amended in 1986 and Article 371G was incorporated with special reference to Mizoram. In February 1987, Mizoram became the 23rd state of the Indian Union. The state shares its boundaries with three states -- Assam, Manipur and Tripura -- and international boundaries with two countries -- Bangladesh and Myanmar (earlier known as Burma). The state has three Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) -- Lai, Mara and Chakma ADCs -- which come under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India. As per 2001 Census, tribals in the state constitute 94.75 per cent of the total population and majority of them are Christians. Mizoram is a hill state. Vast land in the state belongs to the community and administered by the customary laws. Village council is entrusted to allot land for shifting cultivation per year and it works in accordance with the guidelines/ rules of Local Administration Department. Village council allots non agricultural land in rural areas. Land in town and sub-town areas in six districts -- Aizawl, Champhai, Kolasib, Lunglei, Mamit, and Serchhip -- comes under the Directorate of Land Revenue & Settlement, Mizoram. The revenue land is of two types -- agricultural and non-agricultural land. Land ownership pattern shows that there are four kinds of land ownership -- land allotment on pass, periodic patta basis, permanent ownership of land with land settlement certificate and land lease. Land in the three Autonomous District Councils (Lai, Mara, and Chakma) comes under the jurisdiction of the respective district council. As per rough estimation, only 2 per cent of the total land in Mizoram has been cadastral surveyed. Cadastral survey was restricted to town and sub-town areas of the six districts, which come under the purview of Directorate of Land Revenue & Settlement, Mizoram. Land in the three autonomous district councils is yet to be surveyed. Though autonomous district councils do not come under the purview vi Evaluating Revenue Administration and Land Records: Their Strengthening and Updating in Mizoram Evaluating Revenue Administration and Land Records: Their Strengthening and Updating in Mizoram vii of Directorate of Land Revenue & Settlement, Mizoram, yet to understand the land councils and to assess the impact of the scheme -- Strengthening of Revenue administration system, Lai Autonomous District Council was included in the survey. Administration & Updating of Land Records. We are confident that this report will prove The present study, 'Evaluating Revenue Administration and Land Records: Their useful for the policy-makers, planners, administrators, academicians, researchers and Strengthening and Updating in Mizoram' has been conducted on behest of the Ministry of civil society who are particularly dealing with land administration and development Rural Development, Department of Land Resources, Government of India. The main issues in tribal areas. objective of the study is to evaluate the impact of the Strengthening of Revenue Administration & Updating of Land Records schemes in the effective management of land Dr. Prem Singh, IAS, in the state. It is an empirical study; the impact was assessed mainly in terms of settlement Deputy Director and Centre Director, and land records. The study also identifies impediments in completing the survey Centre for Rural Studies, NIAR, LBSNAA, Mussoorie settlement. The report of the study is divided into fourteen chapters: Chapter 1 gives an overview of Prof. (Dr.) L.C. Singhi, IAS (Retd.) Strengthening of Revenue Administration & Updating of Land Records Scheme and Former Professor & Coordinator, objectives of the study; Chapter 2 gives the evolution of Mizoram state; Chapter 3 deals Centre for Rural Studies with the sample, universe and methodology; Chapter 4 deals with the socio-demographic profile of the respondents; Chapter 5 gives details on land administration in Mizoram Dr. Saroj Arora before and after Independence; Chapter 6 deals with the Jhum cultivation and policy Research Officer (Senior) Centre for Rural Studies, NIAR, LBSNAA, Mussoorie measures; Chapter 7 is on survey settlement and land records management. This chapter focuses mainly on the status of survey settlement, capacity building of surveyors and revenue officials, and hindrances encountered by the revenue department; Chapter 8 is on structure and functions of autonomous district council and the land administration system in ADCs; Chapter 9 deals with the computerization of land records and challenges involved in the implementation of land revenue system in the state; Chapter 10 focuses on land inheritance; Chapter 11 deals with land dispute cases; Chapter 12 is on community land acquisition and its impact on livelihood of the affected families; Chapter 13 focuses on the protective regulations and need for land reforms measures; and Chapter 14 highlights main findings of the study and gives recommendations. The scholarly writings of Late J.N. Das, former Secretary to the Government of Assam in the Revenue Department, who has been recognized as a renowned scholar on land administration in north-eastern states, and Dr Lalneihzovi who wrote extensively on land issues in Mizoram as part of her doctoral thesis which later on was published in the form of a book have enabled to build the framework on the issues in land revenue administration in Mizoram.