Académique Documents
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VOL 22 NO 253 REGD NO DA 1589 | Dhaka, Thursday, July 30 2015
delegated to GPs.
The principal responsibilities entrusted to the panchayats included implementation of land reforms, two principal poverty
alleviation schemes (the Integrated Rural Development Programme under which subsidised credit is given to the poor, and
employment programmes such as Food for Work (FFW), National Rural Employment Programme (NREP) and Rural Labour
Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP) in the 1980s which were merged into the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY) from 1989
onwards. Others are distribution of subsidised agricultural inputs (in the form of minikits containing seeds, fertilisers and
pesticides), local infrastructure projects (including roads and irrigation), and miscellaneous welfare schemes (old-age assistance,
disaster relief, housing programmes for the poor etc.).
The bulk of the funds for these programmes were devolved to the local governments under various schemes sponsored by the
Indian central and state governments. The funds percolated down from the central government to GPs through the state
government, its district-wide allocations, and then down through the upper tiers of the panchayats at the block and district levels.
Upper tiers of the panchayats thus effected allocation across different GPs, while the main role of the GPs was to select
beneficiaries of these schemes within their jurisdiction.
The LRA has given priority right of purchase to the borgadars. The first option would be a purchase option under which the
borgadar could assume ownership over the entire borga holding by paying the landowner a government-determined sum of
perhaps 50 per cent (or 60 per cent) of the land's market value. The second would be an exchange option under which the
borgadar could unilaterally choose to assume ownership over 50 per cent of the borga holding by giving up his borgadar rights
over the remaining portion of the land. This part would then revert in unencumbered ownership to the landlord who could either
sell or personally cultivate the land subject to other existing restrictions.
The records revealed that many borgadars and landlords are making or have made deals which have resulted in the borgadar
receiving ownership of a portion of the borga land (ranging from 25 per cent to 60 per cent of the land) in return for giving up
protected borgadar rights on the remaining land.
West Bengal has also taken determined steps to bolster the position of borgadars by regulating the borgadar-landlord relationship
through a programme called 'Operation Borga'. The main components of this regulation consist of tenure security protection for
borgadars and control over the share amount paid to landlords by borgadars. Implementation of these protections has been made
possible largely through the determined recording of existing borgadars throughout the state.
Operation Borga is a programme designed to implement and enforce the long-dormant agricultural tenancy laws that regulated
rents and security of tenure of sharecroppers.
At the same time, the present West Bengal government launched Operation Borga, a massive and well-publicised village-tovillage campaign to register tenants and ensure their rights. Under this programme, the process used to register tenants was
altered to make it easier for the sharecropper to register. Operation Borga officials sought out hesitant sharecroppers, explained
the law, and offered them the opportunity to register.
Moreover, the government used its own village political organisations to make sure that landlords did not intimidate tenants, that
tenants who registered did not face reprisal from the landlords, and that disputes were handled fairly in the courts. Operation
Borga is widely regarded as a success. The agricultural productivity grew faster in West Bengal compared to other states in India.
A CARBON COPY: This proposed law in Bangladesh is identical to the now-defunct Land Reform Ordinance, 1884. There is no
initiative for registration of and implementation of borga agreement and protection of rights of the sharecroppers until today. The
proposed law is a carbon copy of the said ordinance. Provisions on distribution of khash land and rights on the household of poor
farmers have not been implemented so far.
The law in Bangladesh proposes share-crop agreement valid for five years while the WB law ensures unlimited period unless
sharecropper or landowner decides to cultivate himself. The WB government does not rely on owner-sharecroppers' initiative to
register the share agreement with the relevant authority. The WB has given the responsibility of registration to the local
government. It has made the programme successful with the active involvement of local government and by creating a social
movement.
The Operation Borga programme is a success story just across the border. Let us take the experience of West Bengal, revise the
law and ensure people's participation in the implementation of reforms to protect the interests of poor farmers over sharecrops
and rights to purchase the land from existing white- collar farmers or landowners for optimum use of very limited agricultural
land of the small country with a huge population.