Why rural landowners in Delhi want repeal of Sections 33 and 81 of Delhi Land Reforms Act

What are Sections 33 and 81 of the Delhi land Reform Act 1954?

Both sections deal with the use and sale of agricultural land.

Section 33 prohibits the sale, gift or transfer of agricultural land such that the transaction leaves the owner with less than 8 acres. The logic behind this rule is to ensure that agricultural holdings are not fragmented into sizes that are uneconomical for farming. Only the transfer of land to a religious or charitable institution, or a transfer to any person in charge of the Bhoodan movement is allowed under Section 33.

Section 81 states that a landowner will be ejected “for using land for any purpose other than a purpose connected with agriculture, horticulture or animal husbandry, which includes pisciculture and poultry farming…” Such land will be vested in the Gram Sabha, the section states.

Why are these sections contested?

These sections restrict landowners in Delhi’s rural pockets from using their land for housing and other commercial and industrial activity. Landowners have thus long demanded their repeal.

“If I have to sell one acre of land for my children’s wedding or for their education, or for an emergency, I can’t do that. Should I sell all of my land then?” Surender Solanki, head of khap panchayat Palam 360, asked rhetorically.

With regards to Section 81, he told The Indian Express, “A case will be registered against me if I build a room or a boundary wall. This is my land… Why should I go to court for building something on my land?”

According to Paras Tyagi, President of Centre for Youth, Culture, Law and Environment (CYCLE), there are 357 villages in Delhi. Out of them, 308 have already been declared urban. When a village is declared as an urban area, it is no longer governed by the Delhi Land Reforms Act; it comes under the Delhi Municipal Act 1957 and the Delhi Development Act 1954.

Since most villages in Delhi are urbanised and the Delhi Land Reforms Act does not govern them anymore, the cases are redundant, he said.

“Section 81 should be modified and instead of vesting land in the Gram Sabha, the government should impose heavy penalties on people who are actually misusing agricultural land. Furthermore, the government should also provide an alternative to farmers whose lands are too small to be farmed on,” Tyagi said.

“⁠Because the two governments in Delhi and their respective departments pertaining to land management (Revenue Dept, GNCTD and DDA, GoI) have failed to offer alternative for farmers and villagers to use agriculture land holdings that are subdivided in families making farming a less profitable livelihood, no precedent has been set as to what shall be done on this lands that are in a way a green belt for the national capital,” he said.

Over the past decade, the total gross cropped area in Delhi has decreased from 35,178 hectares in 2012-13 to 33,069 hectares in 2023-24, according to Delhi’s latest Economic Survey.

Why has a political blame-game erupted now?

With the Delhi Assembly polls on February 8, AAP and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been trying to corner each other on the issue of development in rural Delhi.

While Kejriwal urged the PM to make sure these two sections are repealed, BJP, in its manifesto ahead of the 2020 Assembly polls said, “…Delhi Land Reforms Act Section 33 and 81A will be finished with the help of the Government of India.”

It is in this context that Kejriwal alleged on Sunday that PM Modi has promised to repeal the contentious sections.