Bengaluru: Governor Vajubhai Vala signed the Karnataka Land Reforms (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, on Monday. The Ordinance brings sweeping changes to the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961, essentially easing restrictions on buying agricultural land. It eases the restrictions on buying agricultural land – who can buy it and the ceiling on the extent of land one can hold. The amendment drops Sections 79A, 79B, and 79C of the Act relating to these restrictions.
The Ordinance faced stiff resistance from the Opposition Congress that termed it “unmaking of land reforms in the State”, even as the BJP argued that it opens up the agriculture sector for “those with a passion for it, much needed for its revival”. Farmer organizations vociferously opposed the amendments and recently wrote to Mr. Vala requesting him not to sign the Ordinance. But now it is a fait accompli.
Besides initiating changes in the Labour Law and how it is applied in the state, the Stage Government has recently promulgated another ordinance that allows private mandis and wholesale markets outside Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC). This dismantles its years’ old monopoly and this too was opposed by farmer groups but is a long-cherished agricultural reform.
