LexThe Assam Fixation of Ceiling on Land Holdings (Amendment) Act, 1975
Assam · state statute
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this actReg istered N o. —A-12 s b j s s t r he Assam G a z e tt e w i f w EXTRAORDINARY «)t<s PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY 121, 17 1975, 26 s® tw , 1897 * t< p No . 121, Dis pur , W ed ne sd ay , Se ptem be r 17, 1975, 26th Ehadra, ________ ___________ 1897 (S. E.) ________ GOVERNMENT OF ASSAM OR DE RS BY TH E GO VE RN OR LAW DE PA RT ME NT NO TIFIC AT ION The 17th September 197 5 No. LJL . 290 /73 /20 .—The following Act of the Assam Legislative 882 THE ASSAM GA ZETTE EXTRAO RD INA RY , SEPT. 17, 1975 Assembly which received the assent of the Pre sident is here by published for genera] info rma tion . ASS AM ACT IX OF 1975 ( Received the assent o f the President on the 16 th Septe mber, 1975 ) THE ASSAM FIXA TION OF CE IL IN G ON LAN D HO LD INGS (AME ND ME NT ) ACT, 1975 An Act fur the r to amend the A ss am Fixation o f Ceiling on Land Hold ings Act, 1956. Preamble. Whereas it is exped ient fur the r to amend the Assam Fixation of Ceiling on Lan d Holdings Act, (d? 195 > hereinafter calle d the principal Act in the mam er hereinafte r appearing : It is hereby enac ted in the Twen ty-sixth Year of the Rep ublic of Ind ia as follows :— ex te nt ta'id 1 (1 ) This Act may be called the Assam com me nce- Fixatio n of Ceiling on Land H oldings (Am endm ent) men t. Act, 1975 . (2) It shall have the 'ike extent as the princi pal Act. (3) This Act shall be deemed to have come into force on the Thi rtee nth day of October, Nine teen hundred Seventy-two. Amendm ent of Section I o f Assam At t I of 195 7. 2. In sectio n 1 of the principal Act — (1) Sub- section (2) shall be sub stituted by the follow ing, namely :— “ (2) It extends to .t h e distr icts of La khimpur, Di brug arb , Sibsagar, Now gong , Dar rang , Ka mr up , Go alp ara an d Cacha r in the Sta te of Assam.” (2) Aft er sub-section (3), the following shall be inserted as s ub-section (4), namely: — “ (4) The Sta te Governme nt may, by notifica tion ■ ’cb'ishecl in the OG cia, Gazette from time to time, ex .t id th e Act to such o the r area s as may be specified in the not ific atio n.” *& E AS SA M GA ZE TT E. EX TR AO RD IN AR Y, SEPT. 17, 1& 75 883 Substitution 3, Sectio n 2 of the princis al Act, shall be stfb- rfAwam Act s t i t u t e d b Y t h e following, namely:— 1 of 1957. “ 2. Exception— The provisions of this Act shall A ssam A c t not apply to -(l) lands he ld by the State Go ver nm ent vill of 19 73 . or by the U nion Gov ern ment or b y any local au tho rity or by any Agricultural Far min g Corpo ration con stit ute d under the Assam Agricu ltural Far ming Corpo ration Act, 1973 . (2) (a) Lan ds held an d utilised for special cul tiva tio n of tea and purposes ancillary thereto ; (b) Lan ds held by a mill, a facto ry or a workshop, as the case may be, for the purposes of expa nsion of the mill, factory or workshop or for ancillary purposes of the mill, fact ory or work shop such as setting up of schools, dispensaries an d road s bu t no t for any oth er purpos e : (c) Lands held by a Co-operativ e Farmin g Society for cultivation of sugar-cane only for the purpos e of feeding a Co-operative Sug ar Fa cto ry : Provided th at if at any tim e, such lands cease to be utilised for the purp oses mentio ned in the aforesaid sub-clauses, the prov ision s of this Act shall apply ; (3) Land vesting in a Gram Sab ha under the 5 S Sp™,.^c!: Assam Gran adan Act, 196 i’’ Am endm ent of Sec tion 3 of Assam Ac t I of 1957. mg, 4. In Section 3 of the principal Act, (1) Clause (a) shall be sub stituted by t he follow-: nam ely :— “ (a) ‘Agricu lture’ includes hor ticulture , arb ori cul ture, pisc iculture, piggery, anim al husba ndry, po ultry and oth er allied pursuits (2) Cla use (d) sha ll be subs tituted by the follow ing, namely :— “ (d) ‘Family’ means a fami ly consisting of any one or more or all of the following, namely :— (1) hus ban d, (2) wife, (3) min or children , nd also includes a joi nt family. 884 TH E ASSAM GAZ ETT E, EX TR AO RD INAR Y, SEPT. 17, 1971,*-- ----------------------------------- - ------- ---- ------------------------.-------- ----------- Exp la na tion —“ Joint family” mea ns a family of which the members are descendants from a comm on ance stor and have a common mess and shall include wife or husband, as the case may be, bu t shall exclude ma rrie d daughte rs, ma rried sons and th eir childr en : Provide d that a family consisting of father and/o r mother, sons an d/or unma rried daug hters hold ing lands j ointly shall be pre sume d to be "join t insp ite of any one or m ore having a sep arate mess (3) Clause (e) shall be deleted. (4) Clause ( f ) shall be sub stitute d by the follo wing, namely :— “ (f ) ‘Lan d’ mea ns land which is or may be utilis ed for agricultura l purp oses or purpo-, ses subservient thereto and includes the sites of buildings ap pu rte nant to such land and also includes lan d which is or may be utilised for qua rrying stones (5) Clause ( j ) shall be sub stituted by the follow ing, namely :— “ (j) ‘Person’ includes an indiv idua l, a family, a jo in t family, a trustee, a Com pany, a body Co rporate , a partn ers hip firm, a Society or an association of indiv iduals whe ther incorporated or no t.” (6) In clause (k), sub-clau se (iii) shall he sub sti tuted by the follow ing, namely : ■ — "(iii) by servants or hired labo urers on fixed rem un era tio n payab le in cash or kind b ut no t in cro p-s hare, un de r p ersonal supervi sion of the per son himself or any mem ber of his family prov ided it is accompanied by the bea ring of risk s of cultivation by the own er an d by resid ence in the village in which the lan d is situ ate of in a nea rby village or tow n within a distan ce of 8 K. M. during the grea ter pa rt of the agricultur al seas on : Provide d fur the r that in the case of a person who is a widow or a minor, or is subject to any physical or me nta l disability or is a member of Milit ary , Nav al or A ir Forces of the Union, or who is a stud ent, beiow the age of 21 years of any edu cat ion al ins titu tion recognised by the State Gover nment, the land shall be deem ed to be under persona! cultivation even in the absence of such personal supervision;” Th e ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, SEPT. 17 , 197 5 885 Amend men t o f Section 4 of Assam Act I of 1957. 5. In Sectio n 4 of the prin cipal Act— (1) Sub-section (1) shall be substituted by the following, nam ely : — “ (1) Notwith standing any thing to the con trary in any law, custom or agreement, no person shall be entitle d to hold, as owner or ten ant, lan d which exceeds the limit of 50 bighas in the aggre gate and this limit of 50 bigh as shall be applicable to the aggrega te of the land s held individu ally by the mem bers of a family or joi ntl y by some or all the members of such a family : Provide d that where such person holds ‘orch ar d’ lan d the afor eme ntioned limit shall be increased by the actu al area of orc hard subject to a max imu m of 4 bigh as over the limit of 50 bighas men tioned above” (2) In sub-se ction (2), (I) the first pa rag raph sha ll be sub stituted fe y the follow ing, namely :— “ (2) No tw ith sta nding anyth ing to the contr ary in any law, custom or agreemen t, no person shall be ent itle d to hol d, as c.wner or tenant , lands for special cultivation of tea in excess of such lan d as has been u sed for special cultiva tion o f tea and purpos es ancillar y thereto on the day on whi ch the Assa m Fix ation of Ceiling on Land Hol dings (Am endm ent) Act, 1970 came into Assam Act fo rc e; ” V I il o f l9 7 i . (II) in the explana tion, item (V) shall be substitu ted by the following, nam ely :—• “ (v) lan d used for hospitals, dispensarie s, creches, recreation centres an d play -grounds (3) In sub-section (5), the first paragraph shall be sub stitute d by the following, namely :— “ (5) No person who holds lan d in excess of the limit fixed under Section 4 shall, on or after the commenceme nt of the Assa m Fixatio n of Ceiling on Land Hol dings (Am endm ent) A ct, 1970, tran s fer or partit ion any land until the land in excess of such lim it is determ ined and possession v il l of 1971 take n ove r by the Collector under this Act 886 TH E ASSAM GA ZETTE, EX TR AO RD IN AR Y, SEP T. 17, 1975 (4) In sub-section (6), for the wor ds, “ this Act” whereve r they occu r, the words , “ the Assam Fix ation of Ceiling on Land Holdings (Am end me nt) Act, 1970” shall be substituted. of Section 6' After Section 11, the follow ing new Section ’ll A . ’ shall be ins erted as Sectio n 1 1 A, na m el y: — Ta kin g posse ssion in adva nc e. “ 11 A. Notwithst anding any thin g contained in this Act or in any oth er law for the time being in force (1) When it app ear s from a ret urn sub mitted by a pers on under Sectio n 5 or 22 of this Act th at there is any land in excess of the ceiling limit the Colle ctor may by an ord er in writing take posses sion of such excess land s. In doing so the Collector shall take possession of that lan d which has no t been selected to be retain ed an d in case when no such selection has been ind icated in the return the Collec tor shall himself select the lan ds to be take n possession of. (2) When it app ears from a ret urn submit ted by a person under Section 5 or 22, that the pa rti cul ars shown therein are no t correct an d the Col lector finds from info rmation received by him th at there are lands in excess of th e ceiling limit the Co llec tor may by an ord er in writing take over possession of such excess lands. While doing so the Collec tor shall himself select the land s to be taken posses sion of. (3) When no ret urn has been submit ted under this Act by any pe rso n in r espect of his lands but the Collector finds fro m inform atio n received by him th at the person holds lands in excess of the ceiling lim it, the Collector may at any tim e by an order in writing tak e ove r possession of such excess lan ds. While doing so the Collector shall himself select t he lan ds to be taken possession of. (4) Wh en the Collector has passed an order un de r sub-se ction (2) of Section 7 showing therein any lan d to be in excess o f the ceiling limit ap pli cab le to the person con cern ed he shall by an o rder in writing tak e posses sion of such excess iaud. (5) No order for taking possession sha ll be passe d under any of the previous sub-sections unless it appears to the Colle ctor to be necessary to do so in public inte rest or for secu ring proper manage ment of the land s in question. TH E AS SA M GA ZE TT E. EX TR AO RD IN AR Y, SEPT. 17, 1975 887 (6) When possession is taken of any lan d un de r any of the prece ding sub-sections, the person whose land s are tak en possession of shall be pai d fo r each yea r of such possession an amount equal to the annual lan d revenue an d local ra te pay able f or such land . (7) Wh ere t he excess lan d of any person de ter mined finally und er Section 7 is foun d to be less tha n the land of t ha t perso n whic h the Coll ector has take n possession of under this Sectio n, the lan d which is in excess of the area so dete rmined shall be re tur ned by the Collector. (8) Notwi ths tan din g anyth ing in any law for the tipie being in force, any o rder passed bv a Collector under any of the preceding sub-sections shall be final and no court or any oth er aut hority shall ent ertain any suit, proceedin g or apeea l in respec t of any such ord er passed or in respect of taking over and ret urn of possession of lan d under any of the preceding sub-s ections. (9) For tak ing over possession of any land under any of the prec edin g sub-sections, the Collector may use such forc e as may be necessary. (10) Any ord er passed by the Collector for tak ing over possession of any land un de r any of the p re ceding sub-sections shall not affect or prej udice in any manne r, the det erm ina tion of the excess lan d under the prov isions of the Act. (11) Any lan d of which possessio n is tak en by the Collecto r may be tem porarily for a perio d not exceeding one ye ar at a time disp osed of or utilised in the spirit of the provisions of Ch apter II I of this Act. Such tem porary disp osal shall not create any right, title and inte rest whatsoever in fav our o f any person . Inser tio n of Af ter sub-section (2) o f Section 17 ins ert the new >ub- following as sub-section (3), namely “ (3) In mak ing settlement under sub-sec tion (1) of this Sectio n preferen ce shall be given as far as pra cticab le t o the follo wing categories of person in the orde r of narrat ion sta ted below:— (a) Lan dless cul tivato r who has been ren der ed homeless due to floo d, erosion or earth qua ke. (b) Lan dless cul tiva tor. (c) Agricu ltural Far min g Co rporati on as de- Ass am Ac t fined i n the Assum Agr icultur al Farm ing VIII of Corpo rati on Ac t, 1973. " 1973 - section und er Section 17 of Assam Act I of 1957. 888 THE AS SA M GA ZE TT E, EX TR AO RD IN AR Y, SEPT; 17, 197 5 ■ » < + Amendment of Section 23 of Assam Act I of 1957, Amendment of Section 34 of Assam Act I of 1957. Inse rtio n of Section 41. Repeal and savings. Insertion of Section 42. Pow er to r e move diffi culties. Exp lana tion —For the pur pos e of this Section the expressio n “Landles s cul tivato r” shall mean a person who does not hold any land wh eth er as own er or as ten an t or as bo th exceeding 3 bighas and whose on lt means of livelih ood is cultivation. 8. Jn Sec tion 23 of *he p rincipal Act, in clause (b), for the figure “ 100” occ urring in betw een the word s “ o f ” and “bigh as” , the figure “ 50” shall be subs tituted. 9. The existing sub-section (2) of Sectio n 34 of the principa l Act shall be substitu ted as follows— “ (2) Any pers on who fails to submit any ret urn required to be sub mitted under Sections 5 and 22 sha ll, on con viction, be punishe d with imprisonme nt which may exte nd to one yea r bu t which shall n ot be less t ha n thr ee mon ths and shall also be liable to fine which may exten d to one tho usand rupees. ” 10. After Section 40 of the princi pal Act, the following shall be added as a new Section, namely— “41 (1) The Assam Fixation of Ceiling on Land Holdings (Am endmen t) Act, 1972 is hereby repeale d. (2) No twith sta nding such rep eal, any decision given, ord er mad e, any thin g done , any actio n taken or any proce edings comm enced un de r any of the provisions of the Act so rep ea+d and in forc e imme diately befo re such repeal shall con tinu e in force and shall be deem ed to have been given, made, don e, taken or commen ced und er the corresponding pro vi sions of this Ac t.” 11. Af ter Sectio n 41 of the prin cipal Ac t the follo wing shall be add ed as a new Section, namely :— “ 42. If any difficulty arises in giving effect to any prov ision of the Assam Fixatio n of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1956, the State Gover nment may, as occasion requ ires, take any action not inco nsis tent with the provisions of the Act which may app ear to them necessary for the purpose of removing the difficulty.” MD . SAADULLAH, Jo in t Secy, to the Governmen t of Asaam, Law De partm ent. I Ca uhati:—Printed and pub lished by the Sup dt., i/c., Printing Press Direc torate o f Ptg. & Sty. Go vt, of Assam (Ex-G azette) No. 241—1 ,56 0+ 254-1 7-9 -19 75.