Karnataka HC Issues Notice To State Govt On Plea Challenging Amendment To Land Reforms Act

A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Ashok S Kinagi issued the notice while hearing a petition filed by journalist NAGARAJ SHESHAPPA HONGAL and directed the respondents to file their statement of objections by the next date of hearing, September 28.

Following the amendment, restrictions on buying agricultural land and the limit for holding agricultural land by a family is eased. The petition states that the Ordinance had brought tremendous pressure on farmers to sell their land and no farmer could purchase agricultural land any time in future due to highly speculative agricultural investment, which is happening now and the same would further destroy interest of farmers.

It is further stated that "The Karnataka government has been attempting to defeat the very objective of the Land Reforms Act slowly, but deliberately. In 2015, the government had increased the non-agricultural income limit for purchasing agricultural land from ₹2 lakh to ₹25 lakh. This also opened the market of farm land in favour of a large number of affluent classes of people."

It is also claimed in the petition that the younger generation of farmers are forced to migrate to cities due to various acts of anomaly caused by the waves of globalisation. The economic forces who want to snatch away agricultural land from the vast population of India will benefit from the amendment of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961, through the Ordinance.

The Ordinance, the petitioner contended, would attract urban investments in agriculture and as a result, a farmer cannot compete with this price in the open market to purchase farmland.

The plea prays for directions to quash the Ordinance insofar as it pertains to amendment of sections 63,and omission of section 79-A,79B and 79C of Karnataka Land Reforms Act and declare it unconstitutional and void.