Question 17:How did the Land Ceiling Act prove to be toothless in most of the states?
The correct answer is – The Land Ceiling Act, also known as the Agricultural Land Ceiling (ALC) Act, was introduced in India in the 1960s with the aim of redistributing land from large landholders to small and marginal farmers. The act set a limit on the amount of land that an individual or family could hold, with the excess land being redistributed to landless and marginal farmers.
However, the Land Ceiling Act proved to be largely ineffective in many states due to several reasons:
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Poor implementation: The act was poorly implemented in many states, with weak administrative capacity and lack of political will leading to a lack of enforcement of the law.
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Loopholes and exemptions: Many states included exemptions and loopholes in the Land Ceiling Act, which allowed large landholders to retain their land holdings by exploiting these loopholes. For example, some states allowed landowners to retain additional land by claiming it was being used for non-agricultural purposes, such as setting up a factory or a school.
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Lack of political will: In many states, powerful landowners and political elites were able to influence the implementation of the act, leading to a lack of political will to enforce the law.
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Inadequate compensation: The act required the government to compensate landowners for any excess land that was acquired, but in many cases, the compensation was inadequate or delayed, leading to resistance from landowners.
