Details of Vinoba Bhave’s Noble Bhoodan Mission Were Being Strictly Guarded, Information Commissioner Orders their Transparency under RTI Act: Vinita Deshmukh

Moneylife: Pune: Thursday, 22 August 2024.

Did you know that the long-forgotten noble mission of the Bhoodan Movement initiated by Acharya Vinoba Bhave in the 1950s wherein thousands of acres of land were given away as donation by farmland owners to the landless for social equity has been mired in irregularities despite a Bhoodan Mandal department existing in every district collectorate of the country?
However, when RTI applicant Yadav Kothake sought information on a particular Bhoodan land in Ramtek tehsil of Nagpur district, which included certified copies of related transfer documents, his requisition was stonewalled. The public information officer (PIO) of Nagpur district collectorate replied that it had no records and directed him to another PIO in the same revenue office. The revenue authorities, in turn, pointed out that the collectorate’s record room had not received any documents from the Bhoodan Mandal and stated that the RTI Act did not apply to it as it did not receive any government aid.
Mr Kothake then filed a second appeal with the Nagpur bench of the state information commission (SIC). At the hearing last fortnight, information commissioner (IC) Rahul Pande sternly observed in his order that “The Bhoodan Yagna Mandal, established to supervise and coordinate thousands of acres of land received under the Bhoodan movement initiated by Acharya Vinoba Bhave in the 1950s, falls under the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.”
Regarding the Mandal’s claim, that it did not come under the RTI Act as it does not receive grants from the government, IC Pande qualified it in his order that:

• The Mandal was established under the Madhya Pradesh Bhoodan Mandal Act of 1953 and noted that its official letterhead prominently displays the national emblem.
• Under section 2(h)(c) of the RTI Act 2005, the Mandal is a body constituted by state law and is therefore required to provide information under the RTI.
• Rejection of information by the is equivalent to the Mandal and its office-bearers failing to honour the wishes of Mahatma Gandhi and Acharya Vinoba Bhave who campaigned nationally for distributing land to landless farmers and protecting it from land sharks.

Mr Pande has ordered the PIO of the Bhoodan Mandal to provide information to the RTI applicant. He has also recommended that “a thorough investigation into land parcels that have disappeared over the past few decades should be undertaken.” This, he stated, “would aid the government in better managing Bhoodan lands and taking strict action against those involved in unauthorised transactions.”
When contacted by Moneylife, IC Pande revealed that “My allegation of unauthorised transactions is not without proof. A study conducted by Sarva Seva Sangh has revealed that 76,000 acres of Bhoodan land were missing in unified Andhra Pradesh.”
Mr Pande further referred to a Gujarat High Court order. He stated that “The Gujarat High Court had previously expressed shock over a massive land scam involving Bhoodan lands and recommended the establishment of district-level and state-level panels to investigate the missing lands. The court had also suggested that district-level committees create a database from government records, Bhoodan Samitis, and other sources, detailing the names of original owners, donation dates, Bhoodan Samitis, and current status of the lands.”
In Vidarbha, IC Pande explains, “As per economist Dr Shriniwas Khandewale, an initial 2,246.81 acres of land were donated, with the state government handing over 48,902.72 acres to the Mandal between 1951 and 1969. The Mandal controlled a total of 68,359.76 acres, with government-transferred land accounting for 71.54% of this. Although most of the land was distributed to the landless, controversies over irregular transfers and land grabbing by ineligible persons have periodically surfaced, undermining the Bhoodan movement’s noble objectives.”
While, presently, the Waqf land is gathering storm, what about this patriotic campaign of the 1950s which is being eyed wickedly by the land sharks?
Ruling of the Gujarat High Court
The Gujarat government has been directed to establish the following:

• The state-level and district-level committees to address issues surrounding Bhoodan lands, as per recent orders.
• The chief secretary to constitute a state-level committee, which will include the principal secretary of the revenue department, the principal secretary of the urban development and urban housing department, the secretary of the legal department, and a representative from the Gujarat Bhoodan Samiti (Gujarat Sarvodaya Mandal).
• Additionally, district-level committees will be formed, comprising the respective district collector, chief town planner, and the member secretary of the district legal services authority. 
  
• The district-level committees will be responsible for compiling a comprehensive database of Bhoodan lands from government records, Bhoodan Samiti archives, and other sources. This database will include details such as the original owners, donation dates, Bhoodan Samiti names, and the current status of the lands.
• The committees are required to submit their findings to the state-level committee within three months of their formation. The Gujarat Bhoodan Samiti and Gujarat Sarvodaya Mandal have been instructed to fully cooperate with these efforts by providing the necessary documents and information.
• Upon receiving reports from the district-level committees, the state-level committee will make recommendations to the government regarding the monitoring and distribution of undistributed and unaccounted Bhoodan lands. The committee's recommendations will focus on ensuring that the lands, originally donated under the Bhoodan Movement, are allocated to landless individuals for agricultural purposes or other public uses, in line with the movement's objectives.