Commons and powerThis risk must be read against Haryana’s longer history of Shamilat deh governance and Dalit exclusion, where encroachment is rarely accidental. It reported 28,628 acres under encroachment out of 2,01,875 acres of cultivable shamlat land, constituting 14.18% of the cultivable commons. When encroachment is structurally produced and politically protected, a “pay-to-legalise” design predictably advantages those with liquidity, paperwork capacity, and social networks. By treating the problem as backlog management rather than a continuing pattern of dispossession, the amendment risks normalising encroachment and converting that normality into ownership through payment. In a rural political economy structured by caste and unequal access to livelihood diversification, legalising encroachment without first correcting for structural inequality is not merely dispute resolution.

Source: The Hindu January 01, 2026 17:13 UTC