The Assam Land Revenue Re-Assessment Act, 1936

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THE ASS~-1 ~~AND REVENUE RE- ASSE$MENT ACT, 1936 
(ASSAM ACT VIII OF 1936) 
(As amended upto date ) 
An 
Act 
to r ogu~ate re-assessment of Land Revenue in 
Assam 
Whereas it is expedient that the 
process of revising the assessment of 
the land revenue in Assam should be 
brought under clos e r r egu lation by 
statut e : 
It is hereby enacted as follows : -
CHAPTER I 
Preliminary 
1 . (1) This Act may be call Gd the Ass­
am Land Revenue Re- assessment Act, 1936 . 
(2) It exte nds to thos e areas in the 
1 Stat e of Assam in which section 29 of 
the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation, 
1886 (hereinafter r eferred to as the 
Regulation) is, or may be , in forc e and 
in such areas the provisions of the 
Regulation shall be subject to the pro­
visions of this Act . 
(3) It shall come into forc e at once 
Preamble 
Short 
title . 
Extent 
1 Substituted for the words "Province" by the .Adap­
tation of Laws and Order, 1950. 
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Provided that anythin which had 
already bLen done under the Regulation 
(or the rules made under the Regulation ), 
but; for the doing of which this Act 
pre: scrib(.d new conditions or a new pro ­
cedure , sha1J be deemLd to have been 
done in ac::::ordance with the provisi ons 
of this Act~ 
2. In thls Act, unless a different Definitions 
intention appears from the subject 
or context, -
(i) the t~rms defined in t he 
Regulation and not defined 
in t his Act, shall have the 
same meanings as in t he 
Regulation . 
(ii)" village" means, subject to "Vill agt. 
(fil) 
any general or special orders 
of the 1 Sta t e Government , 
the Area surveyEd and r ecor-
ded in any survey .made by or 
under the authority of the 
Go~rnment as a dist:nct and 
separate village; 
"establ ish ed village" means a village whe re in the opinion 
of the 1 State Gover nment; 
(a) the culti vated fields and 
homesteads are per manent , and 
(b) the area of waste land, se ­
ttled and assessed as waste 
or aYailable for se ttlemen-t 
is inconsiderable . 
"Establish ­
ed village " 
1 Substituted for the word " Province " by the Adapta ­
tion Laws Order 1950. 
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(1v) "ir.lmatur e villa ge" means a 
v i l lag~ which is not an e st­
ablish ed villag e . 
"Immature 
village ". 
(v) "as se ssment group" means a 
group of villages or e stat es 
wich are includ ed by the sett­
lement Off icer, subj e ct to 
"Ass e ssment 
gr oup" . 
ru le , in one se t of prpposals 
for assc ssment; 
(vi) "pr escrib ed" means pre scrib ed 
by rule s under this Act; 
"Pre scrib ed" 
(v.11) "rule" means a rule made under 
this Act; 
"Rule" 
(v:tli)" set tlement" with re:f er ence t o 
c:.ny local area or clas s of est­
at l s means a special pperation 
carr i ed out in pur ruanc e o f a 
notification under se cti on 18 
"Set tlement" 
of t he Regulation f or the re­
vision of t he land r evenue de­
mand of that local area or class 
of e states; 
(ix) "majo r s e ttle me nt" means a sett­
l ement of any loc al area or 
class of es t ates extending oVt;r 
not l oss than 20 square mile s; 
(x) "last se t tlemen t 11 with r ef er en­
ce to any local area or class 
of e sta tes means the last gen ­
eral r evision of the land reve ­
nue dewand of that area or class 
of es t a t es wheth er carri ed out 
in pursuance of a notification 
under s ec tion 18 of the Regula­
tion or not ; 
"Maj or 
se ttlement" 
" Las t set­
tlem ent". 
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* (xi) 11 town land" means any land "Town land" 
within an area declared or 
deemed to be a ounicipality 
or notifi ed area under the 
A~sam Munici pal Ac t, 1923 (Ass am 
Act I of 1923) and any othe r 
:?and w!'lich the 1 State Gover ­
rllllent may decla r e under t he 
Assrun land f.U1d Revenue Regula ­
tion 1886 (Regula tion I of 
1886) or under provisions of 
t his Act, to be town land; 
(xll) "special cultiv ation" means "Special cul -
cultiv ation which invo l ve s tivation ". 
either owing to the nature of' 
the crop or owing to th e pro -
cc ss of cultivation a much 
l arger expGndi ture of capi t al 
pvr acre than is incurr ed by 
most of the cultiv at ors in tre 
1 State. 
3. (1) The State Governmen] may at any 
time by notific ation, signify its int ­
ention to declare any specified area 
which is not already town l and t o r ~ 
town land f or the purpose of this Act . 
Declaration 
of any spe ­
cifi ed area 
as t own land . 
(2) A copy of the notification under 
sub-section (1 ) shall be published in 
such place s within the arE: a concerned 
and e lsewhere as t he State Government 
may by general or S'O€cial order dire ct . 
(3) Any person aff ected by the pro­
posed doclaration may, with in six weeks 
from the date of publicat i on of the 
Vide As~am Act XIV of 1957. 
I 
Substitut~d for the worM. " Province" by Adaptation 
of Laws and Order , 1950. 
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notification, submit any objGction in 
writing to the 1 Stat e Governmen t 
through t he Deputy Canmission e r and 
the 1 State Government shall t ake 
t his- objec tion into consid eration . 
(4) After con sidering all the 
objecti on re ceived under sub-section 
(3), t he Sua~ 8 Government may, by no ­
tification, de~lare the area or any 
par·t ther eof to be town land for the 
purpose of this Act . 
4. Nothing in this Act shall apply 
to ·t;he settlement of land over which 
no pe rson ha~ the right of a propri ­
e tor or se ttlement -holder. 
5. Notwi t hstanding anything, cont­
ained in sec tion 18 of the Regu la­
tions th~ notification mentioned 
ther 0in shall be issued in the case 
of eve ry major se ttle oen t and of 
ever y settlem€nt of town land not 
included in a major se ttlement . 
6 . (1) Befor e i s suing any r.otifi ­
cation of sett lement under section 
18 of the Regulation for any l ocal 
ar ea or class of estates , the State 
Government shall require fr om an 
officer appointed for the purpose a 
forec as t report . The r eport shall 
explain the main f actors justifying a 
revision of t he as se ssment and shall 
Bar to appli ­
cation of Act 
t;o certain 
land. 
Issue of 
fic;ition 
o:-i.j or and 
wn land se 1i -
lerren-t . 
Forecast 
report . 
i:11fiicate the probable financial #' #'resu lts of 
e stateJ , as a wbole, and also , as far the settl ement 
as can be f ore seen, of each part of local area 
tht r eof which is distinct in charact er . or class of 
The report shall be publish ed in the 
Gazette at least three months befor e 
the issue of the notification of 
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settleaent and along with the report 
thert shall be nublishcd a notice 
sp€ cifying a da:'.;c on or after which :t 
is propo3cd t o issu e the notific ation 
and t he State Gove rnmnnt shall consi­
der nny obiectibn or suggE.stion with 
respect Go the proposE.d notif'ication 
the.t may be r eceiYE:d befor e the date 
so specified from any person likely 
to be affected thereb y. 
(2) If the local are a to be se t tled 
is not less than a subdivision of a 
district or if the cla ss of e states 
to be so ttled e xtends over more than 
one subdivisi on, the officer appointed 
f or the preparation of the fore cast r e ­
port shall be an off ice r not below the 
rank of Extra Assistant Commission e r 
and he shall be r eli eved of all othe r 
duties f or such period as the Stat e 
Gove rnment may judge t o be necessary 
for the pr ope r preparation of the r eport . 
CHAPTER II 
RE - .ASSESSMENT OF LAND NOT ·BEING TOWN LAND 
7 . The provisions of this part shall 
app ly to the settlement of any local 
area or class of e stat e s not being 
t own lru:id, and in applying them, town 
l and shall be l Lft out of account. 
8~ In t he framing of general propo ­
sals of r e - as so ssment for each assess­
ment group , the Sett l ement Offic e r 
shall have r E.gard t o the chang e s which 
have ofcurred in the locality sinc e 
the fixi ng of the existing assessment, 
mor e particularly in r e spect of -
Bar t o appli­
cation of 
provisi ons 
of Part II to 
town land . 
General pro­
posals of rE. -
assessment. 
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(i) 
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the economic condition of those 
who live mainly by agriculture, 
(ii ) t he value of agricultural pro-
duce , 
Ciii) the cost of production , and 
(iv) th~ letting and selling value 
cf l anJ o 
9~ (1) S~bject to t he provisions of 
section 25, in the determination of the 
amotn1t of the assessment proper for each 
estat e the villages and the fields shall 
be c~a ssified and a fair rate per bigha 
shall be fixed for each class of land 
in each class of village : 
Provided that land settled or used 
for special cultivation may be assessed 
at a fair all-round rate per bigha . 
(2) In classifying the villages 
within each assessment group for the 
purpose of determining how the revised 
assessment of the group should be dist ­
ributed amongst them, the Settlement 
Officer shall have regard to their exi ­
sting as sessment and to their relative 
advantages and disadvantages more par ­
ticularly in respect of -
(i) the fertility of the soil, 
(ii) the economic condition of 
those who live mainly by 
agriculture , 
Detailed 
assessme ­
nt of 
estates . 
... (iii) facilities of communication , 
acce ssi'bll:t ty to markets , 
and liability to damage by 
natural causes or frcrn wild 
animals . 
(3) In classifying the fields the 
Settlement Officer shall have regard to 
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the ca:npar a tive valu e of the land for 
the purposes of agr iculture . 
100 The land r evenue of an estate 
shall not be liab l e to enhancement on 
the ground of drainage works, irrigatie 
on works, :r .::;::...1.ilat' improvements eff ­
ec t ed since i;be la3 t settlement at the 
expense sJunder ~im or of any agency 
other than Governmemt or a local Auth ­
ority, except Vill age Authoritjes und­
er tbe Assam Rural Self-Government Act . 
11 . (1) The total r evenue assess­
ed on an assessment group shall not 
exceed 1 O per cent of the gross pro ­
duce of the group as determi ned by t he 
Settlemen t Offic er . 
(2) The incidence of the 
revenue , tha t is to say , the total 
r evenue assessed divid ed by the to t al 
settl ed area on which it is as se ssed , 
shall not e xceed the incid ence of t he 
revenue immediately before the se t t ­
l ement by more than * 30 per cent in 
the case of the enire area or class of 
es' ate s notified for settlement or by 
more than *50 per cent in the case of 
any villa ge , which was an established 
village at t he last settlemen t. 
Bar to enh ­ancement on 
account of 
improve men ts . 
Limitation 
of demand . 
Limit at:i. 
of enhanc.. 
ment . 
*Provided that for the purpose of 
applying this sub - section, any land which, 
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*Vide Assam A~ t XIV of 19)7. 
# of the Settlement -bolder or of any person 
holding 
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0 
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in t he opinion of the Stat e Government 
had, i mmediately before the settlement 
bee n held on· concessional t Erms or 
settled or used for special cultivation 
or any villages which were immature at 
the time 0~ :~e last se ttlem ent , shall 
b e left o..it of account , and the limi ­
tations ment1o:ied in sub-s ection (2) 
shall not apply to such lands . 
12 . (1) If the tonal r evenue ass ­
e ssed under this part on all the e sta ­
t e s held by the same owne r or set of 
co -owners within any *village e xceeds 
the forme r revenue on the same area 
and the revenue as thus enhanced e ni­
ceds ~e*15 then subject as her e inaf­
t er provided , 
(a) 
(b) 
in any case in which the 
enhancement exceeds 25 per 
cent but does not exceed 
100 per cent of the old 
revenue , it shall be eff ­
ected gradually by quin­
quennial increm~nts each 
not exceeding 25 per cent 
of the old revenue; 
in any case in which the 
enhahcement excee ds 100 
per cent of the old reve -
nue the case shall be r e ­
f erred to the 1Stat e Gov­
ernment for orders . 
(2) When the old r evenue is 
less than Ps .*15 and the enhanced r eve ­
nue exceeds ~ . *15 the old revenue shall 
* Vide Assam Act XIV of 1957 . 
Graduat ed 
enhanceme ­
nt . 
1 Substituted for the word ' Provincial' by Adaption 
Laws Or der, 1950 . 
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be taken to be ~~*15 for the purpose of 
applyil).g sub - section (1) . 
(J) It shall be the duty of 
the Settlement Officer, at the time of 
offerj_ng settlement, to endeavour to 
give effc;ct to ·i;ne concession mentioned 
in sub - seclio~ (1) , and in case of ommi­
ssion, it shall be opened to the settle ­
ment -holder to aprly for it to the Sett ­
lement Officer within one year of the 
offer of settlement. 
*Provided that the concession men­
tioned in the sub - section (1 ) above 
shall not be available for any land which, in the opinion of the State Gov­
ernment had, immediately b8fore the 
settlement, been held on concessional 
terms or settled or used for special 
culti vation . 
13 . The term for which the land 
revenue is assessed shall not be less 
than 30 years, provided -
Term of ass ­
essment . 
(1) that the State Government 
may fix a shorte:" term for villages whi ­ch arc immature , or which, 
having been immature at the 
last settlement , were ass ­
igned a shorter term than 
the re st of the assessment 
group in which they were 
i:.1cluded, and 
(ii)tnat the offer of settle ­
ment of any land which i s 
assessed as used f or agri -
* Vide Assam Act XIV of 1957 • 
a 
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-cultural purposes may cont­
ain a condition that if the 
land is used for commercial 
or industrial purposes *or 
if the soil of any estate 
has permanently improved 
or deterioratrd through 
caus es beyond the control 
of the settle ment holder 
the assessment may be revi ­
sed in the prescribed mann­
er before the expiration 
of the term of the lease . 
* (tij) that, if, after the expiry 
of every fift een years, tl'la 
average level of ·prices of 
Agricultu:ral produce for 
the last fift een years has, 
in the opinion of the State 
Government changed by more 
than 25 per cent fr om the 
avGrage price level of the 
period of fifteen years 
preceding the last fifteen 
years, t hen the assessment 
may be reYised at any time 
after the expiration of the 
last fifteen years by incre­
asing or reducing the asse­
ssment accordzilng ~c as the 
prices aise or fall, in the 
manner set out below : -
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Changes in prices 
(a) .}:.pto 25 per cent 
(b) Above 25 per cent 
Changes in Land revenue 
•1 Nil . 
3& pe .. u r cenu . 
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* Vide Assam Act XIV of 1957 . 
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(c) 
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and but not above 31t 
pe r cent . 
Above 31t per cent 
but not above 37t per 
64 per cent. 
cen·i:;, 
:~1 
98 per cent . (d) !~~~ ~~l ~~ g~g~ . but 
(c) Above 43-:f per cent "2 1 t 1 2 per cen • 
CHAPTER III 
RE - ASSESSMENT OF TOltlN LAND 
14. The provisions of this Part 
shall apply only to town land under 
se ttlem ent, 
. t: ~l1.10 
15. Town land shall be divided 
the followin g main classes : -
(a) agricultural land (:L11-
cluding agri~u ltural 
1·.:: sidancc s), 
(b) residential sites, 
(c ) ::r adc s:::. te s. 
Applications 
of provisions 
cf Part III 
to town land. 
Division of 
town land in­
to class es . 
The Settl ement Officer may make as 
many sub - class es under each mai n class 
as he considers necess ary, 
16. The r ate s of r evenu e for ag - Rate s of re ­
ri~ultural 1lkand ~i hnll not 8:x.ceed b y mor -venue for 
re i;han 7t per cen-i;, the r ates fixed ag ricultural 
for similar land in the highest rated land . 
adjoining vi llage. 
! 7. The r a t es of reYenue fixad 
f o:c la.nd se ttJ.ed with a righ r. of r ene -
,,ral and classed as resident:i.al sites 
shall not e xceed 25 per cent cf the 
an.1 .1 al value of the site s • 
Rates of r e ­
venue for 
land classed 
as residenti ­
a: si t es . 
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18 . The rates of reve nue for land Rates of re ­
settl ed with a right of renewal and "1e:-iue :fis::: 0~1 
classed as trade sites shall not exceed land class ed 
50 per cent of the annual value of the as trade sit -
sites . e s. 
19c The rates of revenue for Rates of r e -
land settled without a right of renewal venue for 
for a period not exceeding three years tempora r y 
shall not exceed the full annual value settled land . 
of the sites. 
Explanation : - For the purposes of 
se ctions 17, 18 and 19 the annua l value , 
shall mean the gross annual rent at 
'.vhich land may be reasonably e:x.-pected 
to let and shall be determined . where ­
ever possible , frcm recent records of 
sales and leases relating to lands 0£ 
a sirniJ .ar de script ion and wi th sj_rnilar 
ad-vantages in tbe vi~ini VJ • 
20 . (1) The provisions of section 
12 shall apply to agriculDJ~al land . 
(2) If the total revenu e ass ­
o~sed on all tne r esid8n tial ;;it es 
hcli by the sa:ns owne~' or set cf co·­
cv:ners within a tovm exc ecC::.u the 1 or­
mer revanue on the sarne area and the II 
er::1ancement shall be effected g:-ndually 
by trj ~nnia.1 i ncrements each not excee -
dtng 25 per cent of thc tot c:~ l e nhe.nce me: t 
>'<:Provided that; in 0-'1Y case in which 
the en~ancer1en-c exceeds 400 pe r cent of 
the: old r evenue, the case shall be refe -
3"red. to t he State Govern::nent for orders .. 
Gradua ted 
enhancement 
of revenue 
on agricul 'ti-...l 
ural land 
and re sid.e -
nM.al sites. 
II revenue as thus enhanced exceeds 
RsQ 15, then the 
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(i) When the old revenue is less 
thah ~ . *15 and the enhanced revenu e 
exceed s~ . *15 the old revenue s~all be 
taken to be ~ . *1 5 for the purpose of 
applying sub -section (2) . 
21. F Jr l<....rid settled with a right 
of renewal the t e rm for which revenue 
is assessed shall be not less than 30 years : 
Pr ovided that for r easo ns . to be re­
co:cC.ed the term of set tlement may be for 
a shor ·te r pe riod : 
Provided also tnat the lease which is 
issued for such land may provide that 
the revenue may be re-assessed before 
t11e expi ry of the term of tbe lec-.se if 
ii:; appears to the Denuty Commissioner 
that (a) a5ricultural la!1d has been con­
"l"te:rted into a re sidentiaJ. site or a trade 
sitP or ~,· ice-versa or (b) a resjdential 
site has been ~c...,v-er·ced in:o a t::-ade 
.1t te or vice -ver~a~ 
CEA?~R rl 
GENE:=lAL 
Term of 
a f- se s sme n t . 
22. E:xcept as ot}.(;·:wi se prarid.ed. 3 
trus P:::.rt; ~Jhall i:!T'ply -l;o the ssttle­
menc cf a~iy local ar'32. or class cf 
es~a.te ~;, whether compr::.::;ing town land 
01'." not .. 
23 o (1) The class if :Liiation of every 
?teld or site shall, if so requir ed by 
Appltca t j.o::.. 
of provisi··· 
ons of Part 
IV to sett l e ­
ment of cer­
tain class 
of land, 
·~be se t:tlemen- b holder~ be de ciC.ed after Cla s sifi ca-
: )C;c>.l inqui r y by an o:'ficer n0t below t ion of J.and . 
tr.e :rank of Assistant Se :;t2-ement Officer . 
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~ Vica Assam Act XIV of 1957. 
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(2) The settlement -holder may , 
within thirty days of any decision unde r 
su1:-·section (1 ) , arpeal to the Settle­
me1t Offic~r , or to any Additional Sett ­
lmdmt Officer that may be appointed 
by tile State 1 Government for the pur ­
p~e of this se cti on, who shall decid e 
Ue correc~ class if ica·~ion ti'~er local 
i~qr .. iry . The order of 7ihe s~ ttlement 
0.'ficer or .Addi tionn.l Sat tle:ne nt Off i ­
C3r sha.11 subject to the prov isions of 
@ction 151 of the Regulation , oe fin al . 
(3) Notwi thstanding anything con- VII of 
tained in the Court - fees Act, 1870, there 1870. 
shall be payable on ar..y petition of app· -
e~: p~esented under sub - se~tion (2) a 
court - fee calculated at the rate of one 
rupee for each fie ld or site =-~eluded 
the~·eL, su::>iect to a maximum o~~ IL~20 :.:i 
res -.:.,ect of field or sites ~iti.1at c d in the 
s.::i:n'3 i.rillage, the petition~r bein~ en~i-
·~J..t::d , if ·i;he apre al is su;!ce ssful, to the 
refur..d of the fee in propo=tion to his 
success . 
~4 . (1) '!':.1e Set:le~ent Cff:...~er shall Rate renor!; 
eni"ood.y hi~ proposals for 9ad1 assessment of ~he Se­
g.cc-~:'J in a i~a-:e report as ~1ea:rlJ' a~ may 
"Ls in the 1'!'8 3crib\Jd f c·ra and sha:._ 
. :.u·b:-:lilJ the report to the "' Director of 
la: •i Ra corc':.3. 
':tlems nt 
Oi't'icer • 
(2) Si..lb;ec"G ~o r:il;:;, the (Director­
of J.,and RecordsJ* sh~ll ut.«bj .:..sh the T"enort 
ai-:.C.! c::.f ter consider:...ng ai:y o'l1j ection; · 
·Lllai: mF~J be rece;:.•reO., .:..d::. .:ef'~er such .1:urthe r 
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!..'1_0sti t·Jtec for the w')r(i. "Provir.cial 11 oy 
D. L.R, is oubstitu ·~ei: for Commi_ssicner o~ 
D:;...,isicn vide No. . . . 
-16-
inquiry, if any as he may deem necessary, 
submit the r~port with his recommend a ­
tions for the orders of the Statel Gov­
ernment 9 
25. Notwithstanid..tlng anything cor:­
tained in this Act, where land origina ­
lly settled as land is used as fishery, 
the revenue thereon, instead of being 
assessed on the basis of a rate per 
bigh~ , may be assessed according to 
the annual value of the fishery. 
CHAPTER V 
SUPPLEi-1ENTAL 
Assessoenc c'!: 
r eve nue on 
land used as 
fishery. 
-1.:26 The State Government may sub­
.j ec: to the condition of previous 
pu'":::>lication, make rules for :,he pur· ­
pose of carryi.ng out the provisions 
of this Act. 
Power of State 
Goverrnnen t to 
make rules. 
' ... 
* 
f-ubsti tu ted f u:r. chB ·,;o ... ~v. 
1 
Prov lncia.1 11 by 
Adap.:-a.tion Laws G...-C.er, 15)7. 
'l ide .Assam .Act XIV of I 95 l . 
JL/! XII 7€. 
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