A constitutional amendment bill has been tabled before Parliament with the primary aim of overhauling the Constitutional Right to Protection from deprivation of property (Article 26).

An Act to provide for measures to curb organized attempts to grab lands whether belonging to the Government, wakf or the Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments, local authorities or other statutory or non-statutory bodies owned or controlled or managed by the Government.

Contains background to the Acts; the Land Act – concentration of powers in the Ministry, the provisions for a market in land, women’s rights to land, conflict resolution; the Village Land Act – definition and registration of village land, registration and adjudication of customary rights, women’s rights, conflict resolution, the enabling legislation; if not this, then what?; what next?

A guide to a report from the World Bank’s Agriculture and Rural Development Department which is likely to prove extremely helpful to practitioners. The structure of the report is first given in detail to illustrate its coverage. This is followed by a section which gathers together some of its contents and conclusions, interspersed with comments.