India after Constitution came into force property right is recognized as a fundamental right under Articles 19(1)(f) and in 1978 (44th amendment) this right is abolished. However, in another part of the Constitution, Article 300 (A) was inserted to affirm that no person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law. The result is that the right to property as a fundamental right is now substituted as a statutory right. The amendment expanded the power of the state to appropriate property for social welfare purposes.
The Right to Property the most amended provision in constitution of India These include the First (1951), Fourth (1955), Seventh (1956), Seventeenth (1964), Twenty-Fourth (1971), Twenty- Fifth (1972), Twenty-Sixth (1972), Twenty-Ninth (1972), Thirty-Fourth (1974), Thirty- Ninth (1975) and Forty Fourth (1978) constitutional amendments.
The constitution of India has included the Land reform in State subjects. The Entry 18 of the State List is related to land and rights over the land. The state governments are given the power to enact laws over matters related to land. Part IV of the Directive Principles of State Policy also indirectly mandates the government to take measures for land reforms to achieve an egalitarian society. The absorption of international obligations, special areas of interest and protection of environment as a whole lies with the Central Government.
In India, land is a state subject, which means that the regulation and management of land is primarily the responsibility of the state governments. The Constitution of India provides for various provisions and articles related to land, which are listed below:
- Article 19(1)(f): This article of the Constitution guarantees to all citizens the right to acquire, hold and dispose of property.
- Article 31: This article provided for the right to property as a fundamental right, but this was abolished by the 44th Amendment Act, 1978. After the amendment, the right to property became a legal right under Article 300A of the Constitution.
- Article 38: This article directs the state to promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting a social order in which justice, social, economic and political, shall inform all institutions of the national life.
- Article 39: This article directs the state to ensure that the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good.
- Article 43: This article directs the state to endeavor to secure, by suitable legislation or economic organization or in any other way, to all workers, agricultural, industrial or otherwise, work, a living wage, conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life and full enjoyment of leisure and social and cultural opportunities.
- Article 46: This article directs the state to promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and to protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.
Indian constitution accepts the federal concept and distributes the legislative powers between the coordinate constitutional entities, namely, the union and the states. Even though the land is considered as the state, subject considering the environmental aspect, the centre could exert some control over the land for the maintenance of environmental quality . Land is treated as resource to be protected and conserved from environmental point of view. This is necessary for the existence of humanity. On the other side, each nation and people who own land consider land as property.
Legislations were enacted because land tenures in each state were different. The property transfer continued to be governed by the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, a Central legislation. It was accepted by all states as a preconstitutional law. Forest was another important area of land and spread over many states. Considering the importance of the area, it was incorporated under concurrent list. Central legislation governing the same brought forest under the control of the Central Government. The Forest Act, 1927
and the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 clearly lays down certain principles which states should necessarily follow.
Apart from the constitutional provisions, the land-related laws in India include The Transfer of Property Act, The Registration Act, The Indian Easements Act, The Land Acquisition Act, The Forest Conservation Act, The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, The Environment (Protection) Act, and The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, among others.