NITI Aayog constituted T Haque Expert Group on Land Leasing

Agriculture Division of National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog in the fourth week of September 2015 constituted an Expert Group on Land Leasing. The expert group will be headed by former Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) chairman T Haque.

The 10-member committee was formed in pursuance to decision taken in the meeting held under the chairmanship of Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, on 24 August 2015.

The committee comprises of members from Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Maharashtra, Assam, Rajasthan, Meghalaya and Joint Secretary HS Meena from the Department of Land Resources. While JP Mishra, the Adviser (Agriculture) in NITI Aayog will act as the member secretary.

Works to be performed by the expert committee includes
• To review the existing agricultural tenancy laws of states, including hilly states and schedule areas.
• It will examine the distinctive features of land system in erstwhile zamindari, ryotwari and mahalwari areas.
• It would also suggest appropriate amendments, keeping in view the need to legalise and liberalise land leasing for much needed agricultural efficiency, equity, occupational diversification, and rapid rural transformation.
• It will also prepare a model agricultural land leasing act in consultation with states.

Besides, the Aayog also extended the tenure of the Task Force on Agriculture Development up to October 2015. It was formed to frame policy recommendations in areas such as land, national common market, crop prices, fertiliser use, seeds and genetically modified (GM) technology and agrarian distress.

Task force, which was constituted in 16 March 2015 under the chairmanship of NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya, was supposed to finalise its report by 31 August 2015.

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