Land-Related Legal Aid in India

1. Land-Related Legal Aid in India Tim Hanstad World Bank March 9-10, 2009

2. Context • Data highlights importance of broad access and secure rights • 15 million rural landless HHs; another 45 million <0.10 acre • Vast majority of landholders are small & marginal, many with insecure rights • Major gaps between land records and rural realities • Key agency (Revenue Dept) has multiple responsibilities and lacks capacity • Gaps in land records/administration + social stratification/disempowerment = problems, especially for poor • Petty corruption -- $700 million per yr • Women face additional constraints in obtaining access and secure rights • Past land reform efforts – mixed results, and offer present opportunities and challenges • Relatively well-developed rules to govern land relations

3. 2 million landless HHs; 5.7m <0.10 acre Past govt land allocations to 2.9m HHs, but 30% not completed Unregistered land sales on 8% of agric land Land records and administration, but lacking capacity to meet needs of poorest Vibrant women SHG structure Political will to address land issues of the poor Andhra Pradesh Context

4. IKP (Velegu) Project • Rural poverty reduction project. • Help poor operate thru self-managed institutions; collective axn; create/enhance livelihoods • Administered by semi-autonomous NGO • Land component added in 2003

5. IKP Land Component: Land Purchase and Paralegal Assistance • Land purchase: helping women purchase small, irrigated plots • 5303 women have purchased 4539 acres • Assessments show signficant benefits, but . . . • Activity currently suspended due to perceived high price of land. • $1750/acre in 2008, up from $1211 in 2006 • Exploring less costly house-and-garden plot pilot and leasing approaches

6. Land Access or Paralegal Assistance • Two objectives: • (1) help target populations obtain secure rights to land; and • (2) legal empowerment of communities • 30% of 2.9 million govt land allottees lacked legal or physical possession • Started small with law students to work with local land administration to help solve lingering issues • Piloted with paralegals and community surveyors in one of 22 districts in 2005 • Rolled out to all 22 districts in 2007 • Costs: $2.67 million per year

7. Empowered through Women SHGs • Paralegals and community surveyors are employed by SHG federations • Supported by district-level legal professional • Paralegals work with SHGs to identify issues, prepare cases and work with govt officers to resolve. • Village inventories to identify gaps between land records and situation on ground • Issues go well beyond govt-allocated land.

8. Cases go beyond “disputes” • 434 paralegals; 527 community surveyors; 12% of all villages • Identified 277,017 “cases/issues” involving 308,127 acres • Successfully resolved 145,916 issues (52%) • Most common cases: (1) house site possession certificates; (2) govt-allocated land; (3) rights to forest land. • 2.2 million poor families likely need assistance

9. Convergence with government • Paralegals support local land officials; community surveyors support local survey official • 21 District Land Centers • Meetings 2x month with district leaders, govt officers • Identify land of the poor needing land development through Employment Guarantee Scheme • Training of SHGs on land laws, rights, how to identify and resolve issues; navigate system • Requires stronger emphasis on women’s rights

10. How can land-related paralegal aid help improve governance? • Identify and address problems faced by poor that would go unnoticed by examining land or court records. • Create awareness and capacity among landholders and local officials • Assisting with “titling” or “survey & settlement” • Preventing dispossession of the poor • Creating awareness • Formalizing unregistered land sales (Nalgonda pilot) • Preliminary evidence on costs is encouraging • Flexible structure can be adapted for different settings. • Other country examples