HOMESTEAD LAND for MAHADALITS: Implementation Experiences from Bihar, India Aniruddha Brahmachari

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1 HOMESTEAD LAND for MAHADALITS: Implementation Experiences from Bihar, India Aniruddha Brahmachari Washington DC, April 2012

2 Background : 2 nd most populous state in India, ¾ of the population in rural area, rampant poverty. Mahadalit Commission (2007), 21 castes grouped under the Mahadalit category Mahadalit Commission focuses on 20 schemes, homestead land is one of them Mahadalit Awas Bhoomi Yojana (house site scheme) Settlement under the Bihar Privileged Persons Homestead Tenancy Act of 1947 Settlement of particular category of government land (Ghair Mazarua Aam & Khas) Land purchase for settlement

3 Background contd: Before the launch of the land scheme for the Mahadalits, the government undertook a village by village census Policy Changes Objectives of the study : Provide an assessment of how this particular scheme was implemented, especially focusing on allotment/non-allotment of land and its specifications such as location and size of allotted land, implementation of cluster approach, status of possession of allotted land Assess whether women received titles to the land that was distributed or possession regularized Assess extent of homesteadlessness in studied villages among dalits Provide an assessment of identification process of beneficiaries for house site scheme Mahadalit Awas Bhoomi Yojana to assess proportion of excluded households if any and study its dynamics Study perceptions of beneficiaries/ potential beneficiaries about the scheme

4 How did we do the study. The selection of districts was based on three considerations: The maximum number of listed beneficiaries in each district. The different socio-cultural regions representing the diverse demography The sample was to be representative of all three categories of beneficiaries Based on the above mentioned criteria the districts of Gaya, Saharsa, Katihar and Vaishali were selected. From the three elements of the scheme, sample were drawn in proportion Type of Beneficiaries Gaya Katihar Saharsa Vaishali Total BPHHT Government Land Purchased Land Total Focus Group Discussion & In-depth interviews

5 Bihar Privileged Persons Homestead Tenancy cases (BPPHT): Beneficiaries of this category already possess plot of land, they needed regularization of the occupied land in their name In majority of the cases the parcel of land was under the HHs possession was there with them for more than 20 years Received Title Document (%): Gaya Katihar Saharsa Vaishali In 70% of the cases the land titling was not done in the name of the women, Vaishali performing the worst Size of regularized land : documentation vs actual holding Location of Mahadalit settlements southern part (T), scattered (P) Distance from main village : 0.5 km to 5kms

6 Government Land Settlements: Cases can be of two types: one, in which the beneficiary is already in possession of the land and it has to be regularized and two, those cases in which the beneficiary is allotted a new piece of land not possessed by her/him per cent already have possession irrespective of receiving Title (50%) In 60% cases, HHs with titles, mutation has been completed Only in 1/3 of the cases the name of the women is listed as owner ( joint or single) More than 40 per cent beneficiaries were allotted land on the southern side of main village : maintenance of status quo Average distance (Km) : Gaya Katihar Saharsa Vaishali Average distance

7 Land Purchase: Up to 3 decimal of land 93 per cent reported that the piece of land chosen by them was selected for purchase : But it was not what was being said in the FGDs FGDs: Circle Officer, Village Head key decision maker, HHs were consulted Why Accepted : fear of losing the small piece of land, they can own Districts reported that it was difficult to procure 3 decimals of land at the budgeted price of $US 400 (Rs 20, 000) Only two fifth of them report to have possession and only one third have mutation done in their favour. Only 16 per cent of them had shifted to newly allotted piece of land 76 per cent of the ownership right in the name of a woman.

8 Across three categories: Access to basic amenities/services limited- electricity, healthcare, Public Distribution System, Awangwadi (ICDS) centers Neighborhood Composition: Majority is still segregated clusters of dalits About 2/5 th of the beneficiaries have received for IAY (housing), but significant majority have not built concrete housing structure as money is inadequate

9 Across three categories: Bottlenecks Time consuming process : 12 to 24 months Non Implementation of Guidelines : ownership of women Lack of clarity :Policies, guidelines and instructions need more clarity for lower level officers to implement, variations across districts significant Officers from other departments are appointed on deputation as Circle Officers: no training on revenue matters Although house site scheme is being implemented by the Revenue Department of Bihar Government the Mission lacks legal status required to intervene in the process effectively. Number of eligible cases left out of the process

10 Recommendations: Size of Plot: Inadequate for homestead development Insufficient Funds: Land Purchase component impacted significantly Training of Revenue Staff: Orientation of revenue staff is required for the implementation as related to revenue laws Monitoring of implementation : Better monitoring mechanisms to track the titling process as well as overall implementation.

11 Let s dig deeper