The issue of farmers’ suicides has remained in the headlines even after the April-May round of general elections. Our newly elected governments at both the centre and the state have promised to put land reforms on a fast track, in an attempt to provide relief to our distressed farmers. Moreover, in our state, the recent proposals made by the communist parties and the People’s War Group (PWG) have once again brought the issue of land distribution and reforms into the spotlight.

In the midst of robust growth indicators, one issue which is causing concern is the black economy and the role of real estate in that. Some estimates put this parallel economy between 25 and 50% of the accounted GDP.