Assessment of Land Governance in Bihar

Land governance can be briefly described as how property rights to land, for groups or individuals, are defined, enforced, can be exchanged, and transformed. Land governance is argued to be a key to sustainable development and poverty reduction. In India, as well as in Bihar, land has enormous economic, social, and symbolic relevance. The present paper is an attempt to understand the issue of land governance from different perspective. The present study explores the historical background of development of land tenure typology and provides a detail account of land tenure system in the context of Bihar. As there are incidents of concentration in the ownership of the land and large number of disputes related to it, the paper analyse the available legal framework for dispute resolution. The present study also analyse some critical issues related to land governance and provide recommendation to bridge the gap for better land governance in the context of Bihar.