Access to Common and Private Property: A Linkage with Migration

Among the components of demographic changes, migration is as important as fertility and mortality. The study explores the availability and use of common property resources (CPRs) like, forest, water and land resources at the village and household levels, and analysed the pattern of land holding and its relationship with access and use of CPRs as means of livelihood and sources of employment among the village poor. Non-seasonal migration was dominated by female in the age group 20-24, In case of seasonal migration, the results of binary logistic regression depicted that age, sex, standard of living, CPRs use and land holding are significantly associated with seasonal migration. Mostly, illiterate with low SLI, less users of CPRs, landless and marginal land holders were more likely to migrate seasonally. The seasonal migrants were migrating for employment and were engaged in construction, collection of tendu leaves, and agriculture. More than one third of migrants were circular migrants and eighty percent intended to migrate seasonally for employment. Thus, to reduce migration from rural areas scientific management of CPRs is necessary.