Land Reforms and Agrarian Structure in Maharashtra

Maharashtra does not have the impressive record of successful implementation of land reforms as that of Kerala or West Bengal. The agrarian structure of the state during the pre-Independence period and the historical emergence of spatially segmented land relations across the geographical regions of the state have together caused the differential impact of land reforms. The paper addresses itself to the specific issue of the impact of land reforms and changes in the agrarian structure in the state during the last five decades. Konkan, Western Maharashtra, Vidarbha and Marathwada regions of the state had a distinct historical emergence of land relations so also the agrarian Structure. After the reorganisation of the state and during the process of reforms, the responses of these regions were quite different. The paper categorically brings out this fact along with the changes in the present agrarian structure in the state. During the discussions on the New Economic Policy, the issue to revisit land reforms featured prominently especially in the context of land market(tenancy and control through land ceiling limits). The paper reviews this paradigm in the context of Maharashtra and concludes by indicating a bi-directional impact process between land reforms and development.