Land Reforms in

Pakistan
 LAND REFORMS

Land reform (also agrarian reform though that can

have a broader meaning) involves the changing of
laws, regulations or customs regarding land
ownership.
Re-distribution of land amongst small land owners
by expropriating land from large land owners.
Breaking up large land holding and thereby
changing the pattern of land ownership to stop the
concentration of land in a selected few hand.
 WHY LAND REFORM IS IMPORTANT

Society has peculiar social economic and

political consequences.
Society becomes stratified
Manorial system hampers social progress and
landless peasants remain politically weak.
Concentration of land is deemed as an
undesirable to social and economic equality.
 OBJECTIVE OF LAND REFORM

To change the agrarian structure in a way as

not to obstruct but promote the growth of
agriculture
To replace the old land system by a new one,
free from the exploitative features which
characterised the former.
The other objectives of land reforms are
abolition of intermediaries and their
exploitative practices on real tillers of the land.
 Ayubs Era Reforms

Land reform commission appointed in October, 1958

A person could not own more than either 500 acres of
canal irrigated land or 1000 acres of un-irrigated land.
Land was to be re-distributed amongst to tenants already
cultivating the land.
Abolition of Jagirs
He proposed the ceiling of 150 and 450 acres of
irrigated/un-irrigated land for individuals and 300/900
acres limit for families (irrigated/un-irrigated).
 Bhuttos Era Reforms

It was promised of fixing a low ceiling ,abolition of

absentees, landlordism and promotion of cooperative
farming.
Landholdings limited to 150 acres irrigated and 300 acres
un-irrigated in 1972.
Landholdings later limited to 100 acres irrigated and 200
acres un-irrigated in 1977.
Rights of pre-emption were granted to the tenants for the
area cultivated by them, to ensure security to the tenancy
rights.
Conti

In 1975, small landholders of 12 acre irrigated

and 25 acres un-irrigated were exempted from
land revenue and cusses.
Generous tax reduction allowed for the
purchase of agricultural machinery, agriculture
credit also channeled into financing
mechanization.
 POWER

Powers of the Chief Land Commissioner:

Subject to the provisions of the Act and these
Rules, the general superintendence, control and
direction of all officers and staff appointed for, or
entrusted with the duly of implementing the
provisions of the Act, shall vest in the Chief Land
Commissioner.
The Chief Land Commissioner may, by special
or general Order, provide for the distribution and
allocation of work to be done by all or any such
officers and staff.
Conti

Power to transfer cases for enquiry and report:

Chief Land Commissioner, a Land Commissioner, or a Deputy
Land Commissioner, may refer any matter which he is empowered
or is required lo dispose of under the provisions of the Act to any
officer or authority subordinate to him for enquiry and report.
Power to transfer cases:
The Chief Land Commissioner may transfer any appeal or
revision pending before him to an officer not lower in rank than a
serving or retired Judge of a High Court or a Member, Board of
Revenue or Additional Chief Land Commissioner, for final disposal
and such officer shall have all the necessary powers to hear and
dispose of such appeals or revisions.
Conti

Officers appointed under these Rules to be Public Servants:

Every officer appointed under the Act and in accordance
with these Rules shall be deemed to be a public servant within
the meaning of section 21 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Pleadings and Appearances

Verification of applications:
Every application or written statement filed by an
applicant in any proceeding under the Act shall be
drawn up and certified in the manner provided for
the drawing up and verification of a plaint or
written statements in the Code of Civil Procedure,
1908, in respect of Civil Suits.
Conti

Persons who may appear before the Officers:

Appearance before an officer exercising his
functions under the Act and all applications in that
behalf may be made or done by -
The applicant himself; or
His representative or recognized agent, duly
authorized by him in writing in that behalf.
 APPEALS
Form of appeal:
Every appeal shall be preferred in the form of a
memorandum and shall be authenticated by the signature
of the appellant or his duly authorized representative,
recognized agent or counsel.
The memorandum shall be accompanied by a
certified copy of the order appealed against and of all the
documents on which reliance has been placed in the
memorandum.
The memorandum shall set forth concisely and under
distinct heads the grounds of objection to the order
appealed against and shall not contain any narrative. All
such grounds shall be numbered consecutively.
Review

Except in a case or class of cases where

direction for review under Section 24 of the
Act is received from the Federal Government,
or where it is necessary to correct an
arithmetical or clerical mistake or an accidental
slip or omission apparent on the face of record
in his own order, no officer of the Commission
shall exercise the power of review.
No appeal shall lie against an order passed on
review.
ADVANTAGES OF LAND REFORMS

Tenants Rights of Ownership

Reduction in the Size of Land Holding

Improvement in Agriculture
ADVANTAGES OF LAND REFORMS

Advantage of Consolidation

Elimination of Big Landlords Superiority

No Further Division

Relief From Exploitation

ADVANTAGES OF LAND REFORMS

Relief from Tax Burden

Increase in Middle Income Group

Changes in Politics

Increase in Aggregate Demand

Obstacles to land reforms:

Incomplete land records

The land reforms at both events had put a ceiling on the

individual holdings of the land instead of family holdings

Majority of landlords in all the ruling parties of the country

who naturally were never in the favor of land reforms.
Obstacles to land reforms:

Individual property rights in Islam are the same as rights over

other categories like goods

Islam has imposed no quantitative limit (ceiling) on land or any

other commodity that can be owned by a person

If the state imposes a permanent limit on the amount of land

which can be owned by its citizen, then such an imposition of
limit is completely prohibited by the Shariah
Suggestions

Reliable land records would be required for all individual and

joint landowners and their holdings above the "ceiling

The ceiling should apply to households to prevent intra-family

transfers as in past reforms.

Only cultivable land should be resumed unlike in past reforms

in which almost three-fifths of total resumed land was waste.
Suggestions

Political interference prevailing in the implementation of land

reforms should be reduced to the minimum level

The provincial land commissions should be given the

responsibility and resources to resume and redistribute the land

Landowners should be compensated at a reasonable rate for the

resumed land; they should be given some cash plus redeemable
long-term bonds.