Gudalur Janmam Abolition Act
Encyclopedia
The Gudalur Janmam Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) of 1969 was an act aiming at vesting private forest with the state and was specially created for the Gudalur
Taluk of Nilgiris District in Tamil Nadu
State in India
. The Act
passed by the Tamilnadu State Legislature
as Act 24/1969.This was also included in the ninth schedule of the constitution.
The supreme court has held that this inclusion in the ninth schedule of the constitution did not violate any fundamental right or destroy the basic structure of the constitution.
A Bench of chief justice held that the purpose of the Act, enacted by the Tamilnadu government, was meant to do away with hereditary ship.
in India had been adopted to reallocate the agricultural resources among all the people directly connected with agriculture. After independence, the Government of India started the process of building equity in rural population and improvement of the employment rate and productivity. So for this reason the Government had started agrarian reform.
According to agrarian reform land was declared as a property of State Government. So agrarian reform varied from State to State. But the main objectives of agrarian reform in India were:
The land policies of different States faced several controversies. In some States the reform measures were biased.
/Jamindar. Hence Janmi is different from Zamindari. Janmi is the king of that land. Zamindar is a powerful entity having control over an area. Above Zamindar there will be some other King or emperor to collect tax. But above Janmi there is no other entity
This act is placed in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution of India
as entry number 80. Therefore it is exempt from constitutional challenge on civil right grounds
At present this act affects two Talukas as the original Gudalur Taluka is bifurcated into Gudalur and Pandalur. In the guise of giving the lands to the cultivators/tenant, the State government has indirectly acquired large amount of land through this colorful legislation. The majority of the real tenants did not get the benefit of this Act. There are so many large scale lease holders whose land is classified as Section 17 of the Act, as it is leased out for large scale Plantations. But at the same time there are so many small scale farmers whose land also wrongly classified as section 17 of the Act. All lands where proceedings were pending before the Settlement Officer in 1978 was arbitrarily treated as Section 17 of the Act. There are some waste lands are also classified under Section 17. Large area of virgin forests were cleared by the TN Government and converted into State owned tea plantations named TANTEA.
Even before the state reorganization of Kerala and Tamil Nadu (Madras), a number of people migrated from different parts of the country to work in the coffee, tea and singona plantations. Due to the aftereffects of World War II
there was a severe famine throughout the country. To overcome the famine, it was necessary to increase food production and therefore the government invited the people to utilize uncultivated lands and forests for the production of food and other agricultural products. Due to this invitation, many adventuresome people migrated to the Gudalur area from Travancore and Malabar. Most migrants fought animals, malaria and the unadjustable nature of the land to produce food and other agricultural products to sustain themselves and their fellow beings. Research scholar Mr. P. George Giri (Advocate, Supreme Court) has done detailed research on this topic.
The land in Gudalur area, excluding the forest lands, can be categorized as lands belonged to Nilambur Kovilakom, Naduvattu Mana, Nelliyalam Rathi, Kottar Kudiyiruppu, Kurichier Kudiyiruppu, plantations of the British era. Nilambur Kovilakam had more than 120000 acres (485.6 km²) of land. These lands were Janmam lands. After the state reorganization, the land which belonged to Nilambur Kovilakam was supposed to go to those who actually cultivated the land and they were supposed to became the owners of the lands in their possession. However, part of the land was given ryotwari patta and majority of the claims were kept in abeyance. This became possible because of the land reform laws enacted during the period of the EMS Namboodiripad
government in 1957. Thus the cultivators' rights have been protected in Kerala. Following this, the Tamil Nadu government enacted Gudalur Janmam Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1969, to protect the interests of the cultivators of land in Gudalur. Though this Act was passed by the State Legislature of Tamil Nadu on December 6, 1967, it only came into effect on November 24, 1974.
A few cases challenging the constitutionality of the Gudalur Janmam Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act are pending before the Honorable Supreme Court of India
in I.R.Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu; Glenrock Estate v. State of Tamil Nadu and Nilambur Kovilakam v. State of Tamil Nadu.
Gudalur (Nilgiris district)
Gudalur , , , is a panchayat town and taluk in Nilgiris district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is said that Gudalur gets its name from Koodal + uru, meaning the Meeting Place.-Overview:...
Taluk of Nilgiris District in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
State in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The Act
Statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
passed by the Tamilnadu State Legislature
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
as Act 24/1969.This was also included in the ninth schedule of the constitution.
The supreme court has held that this inclusion in the ninth schedule of the constitution did not violate any fundamental right or destroy the basic structure of the constitution.
A Bench of chief justice held that the purpose of the Act, enacted by the Tamilnadu government, was meant to do away with hereditary ship.
Agrarian reform
Agrarian reformAgrarian reform
Agrarian reform can refer either, narrowly, to government-initiated or government-backed redistribution of agricultural land or, broadly, to an overall redirection of the agrarian system of the country, which often includes land reform measures. Agrarian reform can include credit measures,...
in India had been adopted to reallocate the agricultural resources among all the people directly connected with agriculture. After independence, the Government of India started the process of building equity in rural population and improvement of the employment rate and productivity. So for this reason the Government had started agrarian reform.
According to agrarian reform land was declared as a property of State Government. So agrarian reform varied from State to State. But the main objectives of agrarian reform in India were:
- Setting proper land management
- Abolition of Intermediaries
- Preventing fragmentation of lands
- Tenancy reform
The land policies of different States faced several controversies. In some States the reform measures were biased.
Act
Janmam is different from ZamindarZamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
/Jamindar. Hence Janmi is different from Zamindari. Janmi is the king of that land. Zamindar is a powerful entity having control over an area. Above Zamindar there will be some other King or emperor to collect tax. But above Janmi there is no other entity
This act is placed in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution of India
Constitution of India
The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens...
as entry number 80. Therefore it is exempt from constitutional challenge on civil right grounds
At present this act affects two Talukas as the original Gudalur Taluka is bifurcated into Gudalur and Pandalur. In the guise of giving the lands to the cultivators/tenant, the State government has indirectly acquired large amount of land through this colorful legislation. The majority of the real tenants did not get the benefit of this Act. There are so many large scale lease holders whose land is classified as Section 17 of the Act, as it is leased out for large scale Plantations. But at the same time there are so many small scale farmers whose land also wrongly classified as section 17 of the Act. All lands where proceedings were pending before the Settlement Officer in 1978 was arbitrarily treated as Section 17 of the Act. There are some waste lands are also classified under Section 17. Large area of virgin forests were cleared by the TN Government and converted into State owned tea plantations named TANTEA.
Even before the state reorganization of Kerala and Tamil Nadu (Madras), a number of people migrated from different parts of the country to work in the coffee, tea and singona plantations. Due to the aftereffects of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
there was a severe famine throughout the country. To overcome the famine, it was necessary to increase food production and therefore the government invited the people to utilize uncultivated lands and forests for the production of food and other agricultural products. Due to this invitation, many adventuresome people migrated to the Gudalur area from Travancore and Malabar. Most migrants fought animals, malaria and the unadjustable nature of the land to produce food and other agricultural products to sustain themselves and their fellow beings. Research scholar Mr. P. George Giri (Advocate, Supreme Court) has done detailed research on this topic.
The land in Gudalur area, excluding the forest lands, can be categorized as lands belonged to Nilambur Kovilakom, Naduvattu Mana, Nelliyalam Rathi, Kottar Kudiyiruppu, Kurichier Kudiyiruppu, plantations of the British era. Nilambur Kovilakam had more than 120000 acres (485.6 km²) of land. These lands were Janmam lands. After the state reorganization, the land which belonged to Nilambur Kovilakam was supposed to go to those who actually cultivated the land and they were supposed to became the owners of the lands in their possession. However, part of the land was given ryotwari patta and majority of the claims were kept in abeyance. This became possible because of the land reform laws enacted during the period of the EMS Namboodiripad
E. M. S. Namboodiripad
Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad, , popularly known as EMS, was an Indian Communist leader and the first Chief Minister of Kerala. As the first non-Congress chief minister in independent India, he became the leader of the first democratically elected communist government in the world...
government in 1957. Thus the cultivators' rights have been protected in Kerala. Following this, the Tamil Nadu government enacted Gudalur Janmam Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1969, to protect the interests of the cultivators of land in Gudalur. Though this Act was passed by the State Legislature of Tamil Nadu on December 6, 1967, it only came into effect on November 24, 1974.
A few cases challenging the constitutionality of the Gudalur Janmam Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act are pending before the Honorable Supreme Court of India
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...
in I.R.Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu; Glenrock Estate v. State of Tamil Nadu and Nilambur Kovilakam v. State of Tamil Nadu.