The Assam Bhoodan Act, 1965

The 20th August 1966
No ,LJL .34JM /13.- The foll ow in g Act of the vssarn Legislati ve Assem­
bly which receive d the a ssen t of the Presiden t is h ereby pub lished for ~ e n era l
information .
ASSAM ACT XXIII OF l:J66
[R ec eive d the as sen t of t h e Pre s ide nt on the 12th Au g us t It)661
THE ASSAM B H OODAN ACT , 1965
, Publislled in th e 4ssam Garette Ext ra or dinary , dat ed the 22nd Augus t 19G Q )
An
Act
;0 facilitate donation and se ttlement of Lands in connection wi th the B h.edon Jajna
movement initiated by Achary aVino;a Bhao e,
Preamble Whe rea s it i s exp ed ient t <l facil itat e t he donati on
of la nds receiv ed as Bhood an in respons e to Bhoodan
jaJI13 movement in it ialed b v Acha rya Vi nob a Bh ave
and to prov ide for re gul ar isa tio n, distri butio n and
settle ment of such lan ds t o the land less p erson s a nd
t o prov ide for m at ters a ncill a ry th ereto ;
-----------~,,/
Short title,
exten t and
com mence­
n. ent.
Defisi tioa s ;
2
It is here by enacted in the Sixteen th Yea r of th e
Repub lic of India as follows :-
1. (1) This Act may be called the Assa m 13ho odan
Act, 1965.
(2) I t extends to the whole of the Sta te of Assam .
(3) It shall come into force at once .
2. In this Act unless there is a n yt hing repu gn ant i n
tle subject or context-
(a) '13hoodan' me i-lns donation of a parcel of
land which is made volunta r ily fo r th e
purpose of this Act;
(b) 'Bhoodan Board' means the Assam Bhooda n
Board established under sect ion 6 ;
(c) 'Declaration' means a Bhoodan de clara tion
made under section 3 ;
(d) 'Government' means the Governm e nt of
Assam;
(e) 'Land' includes all town lan ds;
(f j 'L andless Person ' means a per, on-
(i) whose main source oflivelihoo d is agri cul­
ture or agricultural labour; and
,ii) who docs not hold any la nd or holds a n
uneconomic holding of less than five b igha s
of land;
(g) 'Owner ' means-
(i) in relation to land held by a tena nt with
permanent right s, the tenan t j
(i i) in relation to land hel d under a gra n t,
lease or assignment from Governme n t, the
holders, and
(iii) in relation to any othe r l a nd , th e person to
whom the land belongs ; -
' Person interesied i in re lation to a ny land
means any person cla irnirg a ny righ t, title
or interest in the lan d and incl udes a pe rson
having a right of easeme n t affecting such
land;
/
"
f)gnll tiow (jf
la nd by
way o f
Ill,g(j Ian
(i) 'Pr escri bed ' except where the wel ds " pre s­
cribe d by Regulations" are used , means
prescri bed by rules made under this Act;
(j) 'Revenue officer' means the Dep uty Com­
m issione r and includes the Add itional
Deputy Commissioner, SII b-divisional Officer
or any O fficer not below the rank of a Sub­
Deputy Collector a ppointed by the State
Governm ent by name or by virtue of his
office to d ischarge any of the functions of a
R evenu e O fficer under this A ct;
(k) 'S ub-d ivision al Bhoodan Committee' m eans
the C ommit tee established un der section 9 ;
(I) 'Vill age' means a revenue vi llage register ed as
such in the revenue records ;
(rn) 'T own l a nd ' mean> any land w ith in an
area d eclared or d eemed to be a Munici ­
pa lity c.r notifi ed area under the Assam
M u nicipal Act, 1956 (Assam Act XV of
1957 ) and any other land which th e S ta te
Gcvn nme nt may declare , u nder [he A SS3.m
L and and Kevenu e Regulation, 1886 o r in
acc ord anc e with the provis ion of sectio n ;I
of t he Lan d Revenue Re-assessmen t Act
(Assam A ct V I II of 1936 ), to be to wn.
lan d ,
3. (1) A n y owner of land not ~)eilJg a minor rray
dona te by way of Bhcodan all o r ,m y of his lands
by d ecla rat ion in the prescribed form in writ ing in t hat
beha lf b efor e th e Revenue Officer.
(2) A de clarat ion unde r sub -sect ion (1) s h i ll not
be vali d in r espect of the following classes of lands-
(a) la nds i.eld by a person under a grant , l ease
or assig nment from the Government with­
out perm a nent r ights , unle ss the previous
appr oval of Go vernmen t is recei ved;
(b) lands w hich are encu mbered ;
(c) land in whi ch the interes t of t he owner is
lim ited to hi s lifetim e;
(d) la nd which ' is he ld by the owner for persona l
serv ice or "bhog" ;
(e) lands under encroachm ent;
4
(J ) land s under liti gation ;
(g) suc h oth er lands as the State Governm ent
may, by notifi cati on in the official Gaze tt e,
specify.
(3) Every declar ation und er sub-section (1) shall
be publi shed in su ch m a nner as may be prescribed,
togeth er wi th a noti ce requ irin g all per sons interested
in the land to sub mit th eir obj ection s, if any, in
writing to the pre scr ibed a uthority withi n thirty days
of the publ ica tion of the d ecla rati on.
(4) On th e ex p iry of the p er iod sp ecified in su b­
section (3), the pr escri bed au thority m ay, after con ­
sideri ng th e obj ection s recei ved if an y, and alter
makin g s uch fUI th er e nq uiries as m ay be necessary, by
order, either co nfirm or r efuse to con firm the declara ­
tion.
(5 ) An y person ag grie ved by an ord er of the
pre scrib ed a uthor ity under su b-section (4 -), m ay file an
ap pea l t o the a uth ori ty pre scr ibe d i n this behalf wi thin
for ty-fiv e days of ti.e d ate of the orde r an d subj ect to
th e d eci sion on such appe al, t he o rde r of the prescr ibed
auth or ity shall be final.
(6) A decl ara tion wh ich the pre scrib ed authority
has, by ord er , refused to co nfirm und er sub- section (4)
s .all h ave no eff ect.
(7) The pr escr ib ed au th orit y shall forthwith inform
the Bh ood an Boa rd of eve ry ca fe of confirmation.
(U) No person w ho has filed a declaration under
sub-s ecti on (1) shall th ere a fter be compe tent to trans­
fer or crea te an y en cumbr an ce 011 a ny land, in resp ect
of which the d eclarati on has been filed, unless and
until an order und er su b-section (4) re fusin g to confirm
the decl aration is made. Any transfer made or encum­
bra nce created in co ntra venti on of thi s provision shall
be void and in- operativ e.
Donation of 4. (l) Where an y land has been donated by way 01
lafndnbY'd"ay Bhoodan pri or t j th e commencem ent of this Act . the
o 1\00 an DC" J II ]' f II ' Iprior to the eputy ornrm ssroner S ia prepare a rst 0 a fUC 1
comm en ce- land s, oth er than lands to wh ich the provision s of
meet of the sub-secti on ( 2) o l secti on 3 a pply , sh owing the rein-
Act.
(a) t he ar ea, (b ) dag number, (c) location,
(d) nam e a nd addre ss of th e don or, (e) date of dona­
tion, (f) the natur e of the int erest of the don or in
the land, (g) land revenue, (h ) local rate, (i) class of
land, (j) if the land has been granted to any perso n
5
by any or ga ni sation a ut hor ised in this behalf iri
purs uan ce of th e Bhood a n Jaj na, the name and
ad dr ess of th e person to wh om the la nd has bee n
granted, (k) th e date of the grant und er sub -clause
(j) , and (1) such oth er part icular s as m ay be pres ­
c ribed .
(2) T h e list so prepa red sha ll be publi shed i n
the m a n ne r prescrib ed.
(3) U pon the p ublica tio n of the li st under sub ­
sectio n (2) a nd n ot wit hstan di Lg a ny thi ng to the
contr a ry in a ny l aw fo r th e time bei ng in torce,
(a) the right, titl e and interest of the c1onor
in su ch land sh all wit h effe c t from the dat e
of d onat ion be d ee m ed to have been ext in ­
guish ed and th e lan d t o have vested in th e
Bhooda n Boa rd as if a Bhoo dan declarati on
has b ee n du ly m ad e and con firm ed i n
re spe ct th er et o , un der and in acco rda nce
with se.::t ion 3;
(b) where such land h as in p u rsua n ce of the
Bh ood a n J aj na has been granted to any
p erson i t sh a ll wLh effect from the d ate
of grant deem ed furt h er to h ave been
gran ted to th e g ran tee und er and in
ac cor danc e with the pro visio n s of su b­
sectio n (1) of sectio n 7.
Eflecl s of 5. N otw ithstandi ng anyt hing to t he cont ra ry con -
d e c ~arali o n ra ined in an y other law for the time b ein : in forc eI J d ~ " ,~ h a~ s a, with e ffect from the d a te of confirm ation of t he
la n~. an declarati on, all rights, t itle an d int erest of p erso ns
wh ose declarations h ave b een co nfirm ed under sub ­
section (4) of section 3 in Or ove r th e land s cove red
by such d ecl ar ation s, shal l c -ase and shall sta n d
tr a nsferr ed to a nd vest in th e Bh oodan Boar d .
Estab lish- 6. (L )As so on as may b e after the commenc eme nt
me nl
t
! incor- of this Act, there shall b e esta blishe d by the State
para Ion G I ifica ti 0 h ffici 1 Gand consti tu- overnm en t. Jy no n c a tron In te o ic ia azette ,
ti on of th e a Board to be called th e "Bhooda n Board " f or pur-
Slate p oses of carrying ou t the p r.wi sions of this Act .
Bbood an
Board.
6
(2) Th e Bhood an Board s hall be a b ody cor po­
rat e with per petu al successio n and a co mm on seal
a nd sha ll have power to acce pt, re guJa rise and distri­
bute land s received as Bhood an .
(3 ) T he Bho odan Boa rd sha ll consi st of the fa" ­
k.wing members, n ame ly ;-
the Cha irma n to be nom ina ted by the
Stat e Gove rn ment In consultatio n with
Ac ha rva V ino ba Bhav e or any per sol'
i'li thor ised by hi m ill this beh al f,
(b) a r epr esent ativ e of th e S ta te Gover nme nt
in t he Reven ue D epar tm ent,
(c) on e rep rcsen trit ive from t h e Assam Sarbo­
day M andai ,
(d) on e repre sentat ive fro m the Akhil Bh ara t
Sarba S eva Sa ng ha t o be nom inated b v
th a t bo dy,
( e) one repr e,rn tative from t he Assam Cra m
S wa rajy a Sam ittee,
e
(1 ) one rep resen tati ve from
Sma ra k Nid hi,
(g ) one repr esent ative from th e Assam Khadt
an d Village I nd ustr ies B oard , and
(It) one rep resen tati ve from th e Kast urb a
Gandh i Rast riya S mara k Trus t, Assam .
(4) T he Cha irm an and Me mber s of t he Bh cod an
Board sha ll hold office for a term of three yeatS fr om
the d at e o f publ ica tion ot their nan .e in the o fficia l
Gazette a nd sh all be el!1:' ib le lor re-nom in ation .
(5) T h e Bho odan
Gauh ati b u t may hold
consid ers expedie nt for
duties and fu nctions .
7
Board shall hold its office at
it s m eetings a t a n y p lace it
conven ien tly ca rryi ng o ut its
I
,
(6) T h e Bhooda n Boa rd shall a p poin t one of its
Mem b ers as Sec reta ry.
(7) T h e Bh oodan Board ma y d elega te a n y of
its powers and functions un der this Act exce p t the
power to make regulations under sectio n 19 to the
Sec ret ary or any Member or to a Sub -co mm itte e of
thr ee or more of its Members .
(8) The State Government m ay, by order in the
official Gazett e, r em ove from office , the C ha irm an
or any Member of the Bhoodan Boar d who , in the
opin ion of the State Governme nt h as fail ed to
perform or is un abl e to carry out h is duti es, or has
abus ed hi s position as a Member of the Bho odan
Beard.
(9) Any vacancy of a Chairman or a M ember
caus ed b y death, resignation, remova l o r ot h erwise
shall be filled up for the rema in ing perio d of the tel m
in the manne r la id down in s ub-section (3) of secti on 6.
Duties and 7. (1) I t sha ll b e t he du ty of the Bh ooda n Board to
functions of distr ibu te lands vested in it to the poo r land less
the Board, cu lt iva tors for the benefit and furt herance of the
Bhooda n Jajna, in the m a n ner prescribed
P rovi ded that any tow n lan d vested in it m ay also
be set a p ar t for t he use of the Bhooda n Board or the
Sub -divi siona l Bhocdan Cornrr irt ee.
(2) 1 he Bhooda n Board shall for t he purp ose
a nd furtheran ce of the Bhoc dan ]ajna perfor m s uch
other functi ons as may be necess ary in re spe ct of
such lan d s.
(3) In forma tio n of every case of distribution
shall fort hwith be se nt by th e Bho odan Board to the
local R even ue Officer.
Supersession 8. (1 ) If at any tim e , in the opinio n of the Sta te .
or Disaolu- Go vernm en t, th e Bhood an Boar d-e-
lion of the
Jlurd.
(a) is not compe tent t o per form or pe rsi stent ly
de fau lts in d ischal gi ng the d uti es o r per­
formi ng the func tions assigne d to it b) th is
.A,.ct withou t ) eason ....ble <ause or excuse ; o r
8
(b) exce eds or abuses the powers assigned to it
under this A ct ; or
(c) is n ot f unctio ning in a manner consistent
with the pro visions of this Act or the rules
fram ed th er eund er; or
(d) circumst anc es hav e so arise n that the
Bhoodan Board is rend ered u nable to
discharg e duties or t o p erform functions
assign ed to it under this Act ; o r
(e) it is uth er wise expedie nt or necessary to
dissolve the Bhood an Board ;
the Stat e Gov ern ment may, by notifica tion in
the official Gaz ette statin g the reasons for its orde r-
(i) dissolve or superse de the Bho oda n Board
for suc h p eriod not exceeding o ne year
at a tim e, prov ided t hat be fore any
such notifica tion is iss ued, the Bho odan
Boar d sha ll be giv en a reasonable
op portu nity of sho wing ca use why the
p rop osed notificatio n sho uld n ot be
issued,
(ii) di rect the reconst ituti on o f th e Bhoodan
Boar d in accorda nce wit h the provi­
sions of sect ion 6 o f this Ac t, and
(iii) decla re t ha t all t he power s a nd dut ies of
the Bhood an Board shall during the
pe riod of d issolu tion or su pe rsession
a nd unt il th e Bhoodan Board is recon­
stit ut ed b e e xercised and performed
by such pers on o r per sons or au thority
as the State Gover nm ent m av , f rom
t ime t o tim e, appoint in t his b eh alf.
(2) The St a te G overnm ent m ay make such inci­
dental an d con sequential pro visions a s may appear to
he necessary for this p urpose.
Sub.d ivision- 9. (1) T he Bhoodan Boa rd may for any Sub-division
C~l Bhoodtan constitut e Sub. division al Bhooda n Com m ittee consist-ornrnlt reo . fmg 0 not more than seve n mem bers who shall be
appoi nted b y the Bhoodan Boa rd fr om amo ng the
Bhood an worke rs who are resident in the area concer ­
ned . The appointmen t of the se memb ers shall be
. subject to th e approval of the G overnmen t a nd s ha ll
be for a perio d of thr ee years.
9
(2) T he B hood an Board shall appoint one of the
members of the Sub-divisional Committee to be its
Chairman who shall also act as its Se cretary.
(3) ( a) The Bhoodan Board may authorise any
Sub- division al Committee constituted under sub­
section (1) to exercise in the area within the jurisdic­
tion of such Sub-div isional Committee all or any of
the p ower s, dutie s or fun ction s vested in the Board by
this Act as m ay be specified b y g ener al o r special
order and in like mann er withdr aw suc h a utho rity ;
(b ) The exercise of any power s, duties or fun ctions
delegated under sub-clause (a) shall be subject to
control and revision of th e Bhoodan Board:
Pro vided that the di ssolution or super session of the
Sub-divisional Bhoodan Committees shall be subje ct
to the approval of the State Government.
(4-) The provisions of section 8 shall apply
mutatis mutandis in m atters of super sevsion or dis so­
lution of the Sub-divisional Bhoodan Committees abo.
Funds or tb e: 10. (1) The Stat e Bho odan Board shall ha w: its o wn
Hh 0 0 U a II r: d d d 0 Of r:Board. run an may acc ept grants, onat rons or gl ts rrorn
the Ce nt ral and the State Government or any local
authority or any indi vidual or body of persons wheth er
incorporated or not, for all or any 01 the purpose s of
this Act.
(2) The moneys remitted in the Fund shall be
received by t h e Chairman of the Bhoodan Board or by
the Secretary of the Bhoodan Board if he i s au thorised
by the Chairman in this behalf and all such money
shall be :lep,.)oited by th e recipient in :-
(i) till' Assam Co-operative Apex Bank
Limited, or
~ (ii) a Post Office Savings Bank.
- ; '..
(3) All such deposits shall be made in the name
of the Bhoodan Board. The Chairman of the Bhoodan
Board or the Secretary appointed by the Chairman in
this behalf, shall have the power to withdraw such
deposits or any part thereof and operate on the Bank
accounts.
(1) N o mon ey s hall be withdrawn from the Bank
unle ss it i s required lor immediate payment for the
purpo ses of the Bhoodan Board.
Audit of the . ] 1. The Bhoodan Board shall cause accoun ts to
Board' s be kepi of all mone ys rec eived and expended by ' it
aecounts, and suc h a ccounts sh all be audited every yea r by
auditors app ointed by the State ' Board with the '
previous approval of the Government.
l ---...
10
Exempu ou 12. (1) Land whi ch is donat ed by a person
fro mtatt achl- making a Bh ood au declar ation shall not, un less it ismen or sa e .
and f rom the refu sed , be li abl e t o att ach me nt or sale in execution
operation of . of a ny de cre e or order passed by a Civil Court against
the CeiJ.ing the donor of th e Bhoodan L and .Ac-,
(2) The pro vision s of the Assam Fixation of \ . Act
Ceiling on Land Holdin gs Ac t, 1956 shall not apply ' I'S;f~95~'.
in respect of land s don ated by way o f Bh oodan ,
Status ()f
the person tv
whom tbe
land is gra nt.
ed and the
condition OIl
which the
land is held.
13. (I ) The person to whom any land is g ranted
under sub- sectio n (1) of section 7 shall have, -
(a) Where the interest of the donor was that
of a proprietor , land-holder or sett lement ;
holde r the sta tus of a land-h older,
(b) Wh ere t he inter est of the d on or was that of
a t enant ha ving perm anent, heri table and
tran sferable righ t, the status of an occu­
panc y rayat .
r'
(2) The grantee shall hold th e land subj ect t o the
following conditions, n amely:-
(a) th e g rant ee shall n ot be entitled to tr ansfer
or sublet th e la nd o r any part th er eof ;
(b) th e gran te e shall not all ow tne land to lie
fall ow fl)rtwo consecuti ve years with out
reasonable cau se;
(c) a grantee und er clause (a) shall pay to the
State Gov ernm ent land revenue and ot her
dues , if a ny, o n the laud .on due dales
ther eof;
(d) any other condition which may be prescri­
bed by the State Government in c onsult a­
tion with the Bhoodan Board.
(3) The name of the gra ntee shall in the prescri­
bed manner be mutated immediatel y after the informa­
tion of distribution being received from the Bhoodan
Board under sub-s ection (3) of section 7 and recorded
in the record-of-ri ghts maintained by the Deputy Com­
mi ssioner in th e ]amabandi or the rent-roll , as th e
case may be, mentionin g t he fact th at the land is
Bhoodan land.
Consequ e- 14. If the grantee commits a breach of any o f th e
nees of the conditions menti oned in sub-section (2) of section 13,
hreac:h. of the Revenue Officer may , after givin g him an opportu­
con dition s. nity of being heard and after such enquiry as he deems
necessary, terminate the grant and restore the land to
the Bhoodan Bpard.
f . ,.
it
/ '
• , • P cv cev to 15. T he State Go vern rnenr may, if it is satisfied
- remit land that any land vestiu u ill th e Bho odan Board could notrev : nue . o
be granted to any person in any year, remit the land
revenu e du e th ereon for that year.
Power to 16. The State Gov ernmen t, by notification in the
e x e m p t official Gazette ma y rernit-from Stamp , .
dur y, e tc.
r-
(a) th e Stamp dut y with wh ich, under any law
for the t im e being in for ce, any declaration
of d on ation under section 3 or any instru­
m ent executed by or on beh alf of the
Bhoodan Board .is ch argeable ;
(b) a ny fee payable by the Bhoodan Board or
a ny ow ner who donate s l a nd unde r sec­
tinn 3 un der the law for th e time -b ein g in
force.
Parti tion of 17. Jf th e land don ated forms a part of a hulding,
holding. the Bhoodan Board or the grantee concerned may
. apply to the Revenue Officer for partition and the
Revenue Officer may, notwithstanding an yth ing to the
contrary in any law for the time-being in forc e and
aft er such enqu iry as he deem s nec essary, p artition the
holdin g and demarcat e the land and apportion the
revenue or the rent, as the case may be.
Power to 18. (1) The St ate Gove rnment may, by notifica -
make rules. ti on in the official Gaz ette , make r ule s to carr y ou t
the purpo ses of this Act .
(2) In particula r an d witho ut prejudic e to the
ge nerality o f t he f ore goin g p owers, su ch r ules may
provide 1'01'::-
(a) the matt ers rela ti ng to t he estab lishm e nt
a nd cons titution o f the State Bhood an
Board and the Sub-d ivisio na l Bhoodan
Committees, nomin ati on and appointment
of Chairman or members the ret o, as the
ca se m ay be ;
(b) inc id ental and con seq uenti al pro visio ns to
be f ollowe d on the dissolution or su perses­
sian of the Bhoodan Board or Sub-div i­
sional Bhoodan Committee ;
(c) the form of decl aratio n o f Bhoodan ;
(d) the manner of publication of the Bh ood an
declaration ;
(e) the manner of r ealisa tion of the arrea r
revenue;
.Ii I ,
,,
.~
l~
(J) the man ner o f reco rd ing the name of
the gran tee in the record-of-ri ghts or the
re nt-ro lls unde r sub-section (3) of the sec­
tio n 13 ;
(g) the manner and mode of service of notices
un der thi s Act; and
(It) the matter s whic h are to be and may be
prescr ibed .
(3) Ever y rule made u nd er th is section shall be
laid, as s oon as may be after it is made, befor e the
Assam Legislat ive Assem bly w hile i t is in session fo r
a to tal period of -fo urt cen day s whic h m ay be
comprised in on e session or in two succcss ive
sessions, a nd if, before the exp iry of rhe session in
whi ch it is so laid o r th e sessions immediatel y
followin g the Assa m Legisla tive Assembl y ag ree in
makin g a ny modifica tion in th e r ule or t he Assam
Legisla tive Assem bly ag ree tha t the r ule s ho uld not
be mad e, the rule sha ll thc lca rte r ha n :eflec t onl y in
such modified for m o r be of no effect, as th e case
may be; so however , th at any suc h m o.li fi cation or
a nn ulme n t shal l l.e wi thout p rejudice (0 the valid ity
of any th ing p revious ]v done u nder t hat rule .
Power to 19. ( I ) T he S ta te Bhoo dan Board may , wit h the
~ake rcg ula- p r e vj ous sancti on o f the St ate G ove rnmen t, m ske
nons, regulat io r- s no t inconsisten t w ith th is Act o r the
rule s mad e th er eun der to pro vide tor all m atter s for
whic h provis ion is necessary for the purpo se of
giving ef fect to the provisions of th is Act .
(2) In parti cular and without p rejudi ce to the
generali ty of the foregoing power, such regulation s
may provide [or-
(a) the mee ti ngs o f t he Bhoodan Board. th e
conduc t ol bu sine ss ther e-at and ' the
pro cedur e for dispos al of its bus iness ;
(b) principles to be followed in distribution of
lands vesting in the Board;
(c) fixation of maximum limit 1'01 gran t cf land
to any landless person;
(d) schem e of distr ibutio n of Bhoo dan la nds ;
(e )mai nte nance o f the acc oun t sof the Bhcodan
Board; and
(I) any oth er matter for which provision is
necessary for the purpo se o f enabling th e
Bhood an Board to di scharg e its dutie s a nn
functio ns und er thi s Act .
s, SAl ; :ViA,
S ecre tary t o the Govern men t of Assam ,
L'I.w Dep artmen t.

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