Excerpts from RAJASTHAN COMMON LAND POLICY
3. Policy Objectives
The principal objectives of this policy are enumerated below:
3.1 To promote community institutions at hamlets/villages and Gram Panchayat level to strengthen decentralized governance of natural resources.
3.2 To protect and conserve commons lands, which are essential for the livelihood support, economic growth and for the overall well-being of humankind.
3.3 To ensure equitable access for all sections of society and the poor in particular, to the environmental services provided by these common lands.
3.4 To ensure sustainable use of environmental resources to meet the needs and aspirations of the present and future generations.
3.5 To restore ecological balance at village level and protect environment in rural Rajasthan.
4. Thrust areas of Rajasthan Common Land Policy
The thrust areas of the Rajasthan Common Land Policy are:
4.1 The major highlight of the Policy is to involve the local community to play a central role in determining the governance and development of common lands. It aims to enable the capacities of the community by facilitating the process of strengthening institutions for collective action around the Commons and build spaces that enable the poor and marginal groups.
4.2 The Policy aims at ecological restoration and collective management of natural resources founded on designing spaces of structure, time and access for the underprivileged, in particular will enable the poor and marginalized to assert their claims and entitlements on common lands.
4.3 The Policy supports revamping of the existing institutions and working with plurality of institutions at the local level to strengthen decentralized governance of natural resources. It attempts to harmonize the various institutions set up at the habitation/ village and nests them within Gram Panchayat level.
4.4 A holistic view to “greening” has been adopted wherein the scope of greening goes beyond trees and plantations. Emphasis is laid on natural regeneration and restoration of Commons, for example, grassland, pastures and other forms of common lands that are available. This will not only strive to restore degraded common lands, but will also contribute in restoration and regeneration of ecosystem functions and services.
4.5 ‘Vulnerability’ and ‘potential’ shall be the criteria for intervention. Common lands shall be identified on the basis of their significance from the ecosystem functions and services such as biodiversity and hydrological services.
4.6 The Policy fosters an integrated approach using inter-sectoral convergence (e.g., livestock, forest, agriculture, rural development, and energy).
4.7 A comprehensive, robust and effective monitoring framework at four different levels has been designed to monitor the development of common lands in the state.
The entire policy document is available at
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