I know that all of you are as deeply concerned about these developments as we are at the Centre. But the conclusion which we must draw from them is that land reforms have become more urgent than ever before and that an active progressive land policy must be a vital part of our socio-economic development policy. I do not wish to belittle the importance of what has been achieved so far such as the abolition of the intermediaries. However, we must honestly face the fact that the pace of agrarian reforms has been disappointingly slow and has not fulfilled the expectations of our people. Many of our laws are themselves defective. For example, the ceilings on land in States are hedged in with so many relocations and qualifications that they have invited evasions. Others have so many lacunae that they have resulted in prolonged litigations. The machinery for their enforcement has been far from adequate. The illiteracy and ignorance of most tenants and the dual role of many owners of being both landlords and money lenders have made it difficult for tenants to insist on their rights. In the assessment of impartial observers, the enforcement machinery itself has tended to be biased in favor of the landlords. No program of land reforms can be successful if it does not take these facts into account and devise measures by which they can be overcome. What needs to be done is fairly well known. The crucial question is how to do it. All of you have given and are giving thought to this matter. The Hon. Member has enumerated the points briefly. They are that land records in each State should be complete and up-to-date in every respect, with the proper records of the rights of tenants. This I feel should be given the first priority because in its absence no further reform is possible and even the credit needs of cultivating tenants cannot be met. Then there is the question of security of tenure which is linked with the regulation of rents. Land ceilings which have been already enacted should be enforced more honestly. Restrictions should be placed on the alienation of land belonging to the members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.