Maharashtra to repeal Gramdan Act, fold 21 villages into panchayats
Maharashtra is planning to repeal the Gramdan Act of 1964, which could see 21 villages' gramdan mandals scrapped and the villages folded into the regular panchayati raj system, with land restored to original owners or legal heirs based on historical revenue records and land allotted to landless people or community groups regularized under Occupant Class-II.
The government says this will help bring these villages into the regular panchayati raj system and fix some administrative headaches tied to the old law.
Ramesh Dane urges updating Gramdan law
The Gramdan Act was all about sharing: the movement evolved into a system under which entire villages were run on the trusteeship model rather than as agglomeration of individual landholdings.
If the law goes, land would go back to individual owners based on old records.
Critics worry this could lead to unfair grabs and hurt tribal communities.
Activists like Ramesh Dane, president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Sarvodaya Mandal, are urging the government to update the law instead of scrapping it completely, saying community welfare should come first.