Legally stipulated maximum size beyond which no individual farmer can hold any land is
Land ceiling
That legal maximum is the land ceiling — option 2.
The four components of Indian land reform, of which each option names one :
| Measure | What it did |
|---|---|
| Abolition of intermediaries | Ended the zamindari, jagirdari and inamdari systems, bringing about twenty million tenants into direct relation with the state. The Bihar Land Reforms Act of 1950 was among the first |
| Tenancy reform | Regulation of rent, security of tenure, and the right of the tenant to purchase the land he tilled |
| Land ceiling | A statutory maximum on holdings; the surplus is taken by the state and redistributed to the landless |
| Consolidation of holdings | Exchanging scattered fragments so that a farmer’s land lies in one block, which makes irrigation and machinery worthwhile |
How ceilings work. Land is a State subject, so each state legislates its own ceiling, and the limit varies with the quality of the land — lower for irrigated double-cropped land, higher for dry or hilly land. From 1972 the ceiling was applied to the family rather than the individual, precisely because individual ceilings had been evaded by dividing holdings among relatives.
Why it largely failed. Benami transfers, fictitious partitions, long lists of statutory exemptions — plantations, orchards, religious and charitable trusts — poor land records, and litigation together meant that only a small fraction of India’s cultivated area was ever declared surplus and redistributed. West Bengal and Kerala were the notable exceptions, and the Bhoodan movement of Vinoba Bhave, launched at Pochampally in 1951 and taken up vigorously in Bihar, sought voluntary donation instead of compulsion.
Why option 1 is the near miss. Consolidation also concerns the size and shape of holdings — but it rearranges land without changing how much anyone owns, whereas a ceiling limits the quantity. The question’s words “maximum size beyond which no individual can hold” describe a limit, not a rearrangement.
Hence, the answer is Land ceiling.
Similar Questions
Choose the correct pair from the following options.
Important Questions from Post Independence Scenario
With reference to the Union Government, consider the following statements :
1. N. Gopalaswamy Iyengar Committee suggested that a minister and a secretary be designated solely for pursuing the subject of administrative reform and promoting it.
2. In 1970, the Department of Personnel was constituted on the recommendation of the Administrative Reforms Commission, 1966, and this was placed under the Prime Minister's charge.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
How many times a state of emergency has been declared in India since independence?
Rajasthan Union was formed on 25 th March, 1948. Who was the head (Maharaj Pramukh) of it?
Who among the following advocated party-less democracy in India?
In 1960, the bilingual state of Bombay was divided into which of the following two states?
