<h1 class="ql-align-center"><strong style="color: rgb(230, 0, 0);">Gramdan Act</strong></h1><p class="ql-align-center"><br></p><h3><strong>Context&nbsp;</strong></h3><ul><li class="ql-indent-1">A village in <strong>Maharashtra</strong> is fighting for the long forgotten <strong>Gramdan Act.</strong></li></ul><h3><strong>About&nbsp;</strong></h3><ul><li class="ql-indent-1">It is a historic act born out of a movement by <strong>Vinoba Bhave in the 1960s.</strong></li><li class="ql-indent-1">The act gives wide powers and responsibilities to the <strong>gram-mandal (Gram Sabha) </strong>for the administration, development and welfare of the village.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">Gramdan is an expansion of the Bhoodan movement started in 1951 by Gandhian Vinoba Bhave.&nbsp;</li><li class="ql-indent-2">While Bhoodan meant redistribution of land from bigger landowners to the landless, under Gramdan, the entire village will put its land under a common trust.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">This way, the land will not be sold outside the village or to one who has not joined Gramdan in the village. But the landowners can continue to cultivate it and reap the benefits.</li></ul><h3><strong>Vinoba Bhave&nbsp;</strong></h3><ul><li class="ql-indent-1">First satyagrahi in <strong>Quit India Movement.</strong></li><li class="ql-indent-1">He did Bhoodan Padyatra to&nbsp;persuade landowners all across India to voluntarily give part of their land for redistribution to the landless. This became Bhoodan Movement.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">Bhave expanded the concept to the entire village putting its land under a common trust and everybody donating not just a small part of the land for the landless but also 1/40th of their income for the welfare of the poorest and village development. This concept was called Gramdan.</li><li class="ql-indent-1"><strong>Today, seven states in India have 3,660 Gramdan villages, the highest being in Odisha (1309).&nbsp;</strong></li><li class="ql-indent-2">The states are <strong>Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.</strong></li></ul><h3><strong>Features of the Act</strong></h3><ul><li class="ql-indent-1">At least 75% of the landowners in the village should surrender land ownership to the <strong>village community.</strong></li><li class="ql-indent-1">Such land should at least be 60% of the village land.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">5% of the surrendered land is distributed to the landless in the village for cultivation.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">Recipients of such land cannot transfer the same without the permission of the community.</li></ul><p class="ql-align-center"><br></p><h1 class="ql-align-center"><strong>PRELIMS NOTES:</strong><a href="https://www.sunyaias.com/subscription-details/prelims-2023-sunya-notes-current-affairs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);"><strong>CLICK HERE</strong></a></h1>