Consolidation of landholdings
Also called: Chakbandi · Topic: Land Use, Farming Systems and Cropping Seasons in India · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 3 "Land Resources and Agriculture"
Meaning
Consolidation of landholdings, called chakbandi, means regrouping a farmer's small, scattered plots into one or a few compact blocks. Fragmentation happens because of population pressure and inheritance. A farmer may own several tiny plots far apart, which wastes time, water and effort and makes machines hard to use.
When the plots are joined, the farm becomes easier to irrigate, fence and plough. Some states never carried out consolidation. In others, holdings have broken up again among heirs, so a second round is needed.
Example
Consolidation worked well in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. Compact farms there made it easier to use tubewells and tractors during the Green Revolution.
Don't confuse with
- Land ceiling: a ceiling limits how much land one owner can hold and gives the surplus to others. Consolidation only rearranges a farmer's own land and does not change how much they have.
Related concepts
- Land revenue systems
- Land reforms
- Fragmentation of landholdings
- Average size of operational holding
- Unique Land Parcel Identification Number