Maharashtra govt. tables Women Farmers’ Empowerment Bill in Assembly

What Happened

• The Maharashtra government tabled the Maharashtra Women Farmers' Empowerment Act, 2026 (L.A. BILL No. XLVIII OF 2026) in the State Legislative Assembly.
• The Bill introduces a "Woman Farmer Certificate" — an official identity document that will serve as the primary credential for landless women engaged in agriculture and allied sectors to access government schemes, subsidies, institutional credit, and market support.
• The certification process involves Gram Sabhas or Urban Local Bodies, with an appeal mechanism for rejected applications.
• The Bill redefines "farmer" expansively to include any woman resident of Maharashtra engaged in agriculture, allied sectors such as dairy, fisheries, poultry, animal husbandry, sericulture, apiculture, and minor forest produce collection — explicitly covering landless cultivators.
• The Bill mandates creation of the Maharashtra State Fund for Women Farmers (drawing from the state's Consolidated Fund, Central grants, and donations) and establishment of Women Farmer Support Officers at district and taluka levels, along with a State Monitoring Committee and Women Farmers Empowerment Cell.

Static Topic Bridges

Women and Agriculture in India — The Structural Gap

India presents a stark paradox: women constitute over 42% of the agricultural labour force and approximately 80% of economically active women work in agriculture, yet they own less than 2% of agricultural land. According to the Agriculture Census 2015–16, only 13.78% of operational landholdings were held by women — a rise of merely 1 percentage point from 12.78% in 2010–11. This disconnect between women's labour contribution and legal recognition as farmers has historically excluded them from institutional credit (which requires land as collateral), crop insurance, PM-KISAN (which credits money to landowners), and agricultural extension services. The Maharashtra Bill directly attacks this structural exclusion by creating a non-land-based identity mechanism.

Land Rights and Legal Framework for Women in India

The Constitution guarantees equal rights to property without discrimination (Article 300A — right to property as a legal right; Article 15 — prohibition of discrimination on grounds of sex). The Hindu Succession Act, 1956, amended significantly in 2005, gave daughters equal coparcenary rights in joint Hindu family property — but agricultural land in many states was historically carved out or protected by state amendments. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, recognises "shared household" rights. Despite these provisions, customary practices and procedural barriers mean land records rarely reflect women's ownership. State-level innovations like Telangana's Rythu Bandhu (per-acre payment to land-owners) similarly excluded landless women, highlighting a systemic gap.

Gram Sabha as a Certification Authority

The Bill's mechanism of routing the Woman Farmer Certificate through Gram Sabhas places the constitutionally recognised village assembly at the centre of rural identity verification. Under the 73rd Constitutional Amendment (1992), Article 243A establishes the Gram Sabha — a body of all voters registered in a village's electoral rolls — as the foundational unit of grassroots democracy. Article 243G empowers state legislatures to devolve functions listed in the Eleventh Schedule (which includes agriculture, minor irrigation, animal husbandry, fisheries, women and child development — all relevant here) to Panchayats. The Maharashtra Bill's use of Gram Sabhas for certification aligns with this constitutional vision and also gives the community a verification role that formal land records cannot play for landless women.

Key Facts & Data

• Women: over 42% of India's agricultural labour force
• Women own less than 2% of India's agricultural land (Agriculture Census 2015–16)
• Female operational landholdings: 13.78% in 2015–16 (up from 12.78% in 2010–11)
• Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005: Section 6 amended to give daughters equal coparcenary rights
• Article 243A: constitutional basis for Gram Sabha
• Article 243G: devolution of Eleventh Schedule functions to Panchayats
• Maharashtra Women Farmers' Empowerment Act, 2026: Bill No. XLVIII of 2026
• Certificate body: Gram Sabhas / Urban Local Bodies; appeal mechanism provided
• Scope: agriculture + allied sectors (dairy, fisheries, poultry, animal husbandry, sericulture, apiculture, minor forest produce)
• New institutional architecture: Women Farmer Support Officers (district and taluka), Women Farmers Empowerment Cell, State Monitoring Committee
• Fund source: Maharashtra State Fund for Women Farmers (Consolidated Fund + Central grants + donations)