LAND TENURE IN NORTH EAST INDIA: A COMPENDIUM

Land tenure is the possession or holding of the many rights and responsibilities associated with a parcel of land, such as the right of access to the land, the right to control products from the land, the right of succession, the right of transfer, and the right to determine changes in land use. Importantly, land tenure also encompasses obligations to maintain the land. In Northeast India, land tenure is an intricate issue, and the community ownership of land is often misunderstood. The prominent factors in land policies and governance are the Constitutional provisions, ambiguity on the issue of Unclassed State Forests and the tenure system based on customary laws, which are highly variable across the region.

In the present compendium, the authors have made efforts to compile and collate the information on the land tenure system in the North-eastern region of India, which was lying scattered in various documents for a comparative assessment of the system, which has helped in gaining meaningful insight into land use in the region. This publication will be a reference book for the policymakers and the departments working on land-related issues in mainstreaming the intricate land tenure system in North East India.