LexThe Gujarat Private Forests (Acquisition) Act, 1972.
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GOVERNMENT OF GUJARAT
LEGISLATIVE AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
Gujarat Act No. 14 of 1973
The Gujarat Private Forests
(Acquisition)
Act, 1972
(As modified upto 31st August, 2007)
THE GUJARAT PRIVATE FORESTS (ACQUISITION) ACT, 1972.
CONTENTS
PREAMBLE
SECTIONS
1. Short title, extent and commencement.
2. Definitions.
3. Vesting of private forests in State Government.
4. Duty of person to hand over possession of private forest.
5. Settlement of disputes.
6. Payment of amount to owners of private forests.
7. Application for payment of amount.
8. Collector to determine amount.
9. Manner in which amount to be paid.
10. Deduction of amount of encumbrances from amount payable to owner.
11. Payment of amount for extinguishment of rights of other persons.
12. Appeals.
13. Procedure before Tribunal.
14. Limitation.
15. Court fees.
16. Finality of award and decision of Tribunal.
17. Revision.
18. Inquiries and proceedings before Collector and Tribunal to be judicial proceedings.
19. Indemnity.
20. Declaration of certain lands as private forests.
21. Owner of private forest to deliver records to authorised officers.
22. Power to make rules.
23. Repeal of sections SCHEDULE 34A to 37 of the Forest Act.
GUJARAT ACT NO. 14 OF 1973.1 οͺ
[THE GUJARAT PRIVATE FORESTS (ACQUISITION) ACT, 1972.]
[30th June, 1973.]
Amended by President's Act No. 9 of 1974. ο«
Amended by Guj Act No. 6 of 1985.
An Act to acquire private forests in the State of Gujarat for conserving their material resources
and protecting them from destruction and over- exploitation by their owners and for
promoting systematic and scientific development and management of such forests for the
purpose of attaining and maintaining ecological balance in public interest.
It is hereby enacted in the Twenty-third Year of the Republic of India as follows:β
1. (1) This Act may be called the Gujarat Private Forests (Acquisition) Act, 1972.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Gujarat.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification
in the Official Gazette, appoint.
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-
(a) "appointed day" means the date on which this Act comes into force;
(b) "Code" means the Bombay Land Revenue Code, 1879;
(c) "Collector" includes an officer not below the rank of a Deputy Collector
appointed by the State Government to exercise the powers and perform the duties of
the Collector under this Act;
(d) "Forest Act" means the Indian Forest Act, 1927 in its application to the State of
Gujarat;
(e) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(f) "private forest" means any forest which is not the property of Government, and
includes-
(i) any land declared before the appointed day to be a forest under section
34A of the Forest Act;
(ii) any forest in respect of which any notification issued under section 35 of
the Forest Act, is in force immediately before the appointed day;
(iii) where in a forest, forest -land vests in any person other than the State
Government and trees vest in the State Government, such forest-land;
(iv) sites of dwelling houses constructed in such forest which are considered
to be necessary for the convenient e njoyment or use of the forest and lands
appurtenant thereto;
(v) in a case where the State Government and any other person are jointly
interested in a forest, the interest of such person in such forest;
(g) "Schedule" means the Schedule appended to this Act;
(h) "Tribunal" means the Gujarat Revenue Tribunal constituted under the Bombay
Short title, extent
and
commencement.
Definitions.
Bom. V of 1879.
XVI of 1927.
Bom. XXXI of
1958.
Revenue Tribunal Act, 1957;
(i) words and expressions used but not defined in this Act shall have the meanings
assigned to them in the Code or, as the case may be, in the Forest Act.
3. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force or in
any settlement, grant, agreement, usage, custom or any decree or order of a Court or
any Tribunal or any other document, with effect on and from the appointed day, all
private forests in the State of Gujarat shall vest, free from all encumbrances, in, and
shall be deemed to be, with all rights in or over the same or appertaining thereto, the
property of the State Government; and all right, title and interest of the owner or any
person other than the Government subsisting in any such forest on the said day shall
be deemed to have been extinguised.
(2) Nothing contained in s ub-section ( 1) shall apply to so much extent of land
comprised in any private forest as is held by the owner or tenant lawfully under his
personal cultivation on the appointed day and as is not in excess of the ceiling area
within the meaning of the expres sion in the Gujarat Agricultural Lands Ceiling Act,
1960 for the time being in force or any building "or structure standing thereon or
appurtenant thereto.
Explanation.βIn this section, the expressions "tenant" and "personal
cultivation" shall have the same meanings as they have in any law relating to
tenancies of agricultural lands for the time being in force in the State of Gujarat.
4. (1) Where any private forest vests in the State Government under the provisions of
this Act, any person who is in possession of such forest at the time of such vesting
shall immediately hand over possession thereof to the Collector or to any other
officer authorised by the State Government or by the Collector in this behalf.
(2) Any person not handing over possession as required by sub -section (1) shall be
deemed to be in unauthorised occupation of such forest and shall be liable to b e
summarily evicted.
5. Where any question arises as to whether any forest is a private forest or not, or whether any
private forest or portion thereof has vested in the State Government or not, the Collector shall
decide the quest ion, and the decision of the Collector shall, subject to the decision of the
Tribunal in appeal which may be preferred to the Tribunal within sixty days from the date of
the decision of the Collector, or the order of the State Government under section 17 b e final.
6. Every owner of private forest which vests in the State Government under the provisions of
this Act shall be paid by the State Government, an amount which shall be the aggregate of the
following, that is to say :-
(a) in respect of forest land, an amount calculated in accordance with the principles
specified in Part A of the Schedule ;
(b) in respect of trees, an amount calculated in accordance with the principles
specified in Parts B and C of the Schedule;
(c) in respect of dwelling houses, an amount calculated in accordance with the
provisions of sections 23 and 24 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.
7. Any owner of private forest entitled to payment of an amount under section 6 shall, within
the prescribed period, make an application in the prescribed form, to the Collector for
determining the amount payable to him under section 6.
8. (1) On receipt of an application under section 7 the Collector shall, after making a
formal enquiry in the manner provided in the Code, make an award determining the
amount payable to the owner under section 6:
Vesting of private
forests in State
Government.
Guj. XXVII of
1961.
Duty of person to
hand over
possession of
private forest.
Settlement of
disputes.
Payment of amount
to owners of Private
Forests.
I of 1894.
Application for
payment of amount.
Collector to
determine amount.
2[ Provided that where the amount so determined exceeds three lakhs of rupees the
award shall not be made without the previous approval of the State
Government.3****;]
(3) Every award under sub -section (1) shall, so far as may be, be in the form
prescribed in section 26 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.
9. (1) The amount specified in the award 4[shall be paid in the prescribed manner]
person entitled thereto.
(2) Where the amount awarded is not paid at the time of or before taking possession
of the private forest, the amount awarded shall be payable with interest thereon at the
rate of four and a half per cent. per annum from the lime of taking possession till the
time the amount is paid.
10. (1) During an inquiry held under section 8 the Collector shall determine in the
prescribed manner the amount of encumbrances, if any, lawfully subsisting on the
private forest in question, on the appointed day.
(2) (a) If the total amount of encumbrances is less than the amount determined
as payable to the owner, the amount of encumbrances shall be deducted
from the amount determined as payable to the owner. The balance shall then
be paid to the owner and the amount so deducted shall be utilised for
payment of the encumbrances; and
(b) if the total amount of encumbrances is equal to or more than the amount
determined as payable to the owner, the amount payable t o the owner shall
be distributed amongst the holders of the encumbrances in proportion to the
respective amounts of the encumbrances and having regard to the claims
inter se of such holders on the basis of their priorities:
Provided that if any sum of mon ey is due to the State Government
by the owner of the private forest in question, such sum of money shall first
be adjusted against the amount payable to such owner by the State
Government and the surplus alone shall be available as the balance to be
paid to the owner under clause ( a) or, as the case may be, as the amount to
be distributed amongst the holders of encumbrances under clause (b).
(3) If the determination of any issue under this section involves any question of law
regarding the validity of any encumbrance or the claim of the holder of any
encumbrance or any question regarding the amount due to the holder in respect of the
encumbrance, the Collector shall, in the manner prescribed, refer the question for
decision to the Civil Judge within the te rritorial limits of whose jurisdiction the forest
concerned is situate. On receipt of such reference the Judge concerned shall, after
giving notice to the parties concerned, try the question referred to him and record
findings thereon and send the same to the Collector. The Collector shall then give
decision in accordance with the said findings.
(4) Nothing in this section shall affect the rights of the holder of any such
encumbrances to proceed to enforce against the owner of the private forest his right
in any other manner or under any other law for the time being in force.
11. (1) If any person other than the owner of private forest is aggrieved by any provision
of this Act as extinguishin g any right enjoyed by him otherwise than as a member of
the general public and such person proves that such extinguishment amounts to the
transference to the State Government or to public ownership of such right, such
person may apply to the Collector for payment of amount for such extinguishment.
(2) Such application shall be made in prescribed form and within six months from the
I of 1894.
Manner in which
amount to be paid.
Deduction of
amount of
encumbrances from
amount payable to
owner.
Payment of amount
for extinguishment
of rights of other
persons.
appointed day.
(3) On receipt of an application under sub -section (1), the Collector, shall, after
holding a formal inquiry i n the manner provided in the Code and also giving an
opportunity to be heard to the owner of the private forest concerned, award such
amount to the applicant as the Collector deems reasonable 5[and the amount so
awarded shall be paid in the prescribed manner.]
(4) The amount so awarded to the applicant shall be liable to be deducted from the
amount determined as payable to the owner of such private forest under section 6.
12. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Bombay Revenue Tribunal Act, 1957, an
appeal shall lie to the Tribunal against an award of the Collector under section 8 or against any
order of the Collector passed under section 10 or 11.
13. (1) The Tribunal shall, after giving notice to both the parties, decide the appeal and
record its decision.
(2) In deciding an appeal under this Act the Tribunal shall exercise all the powers
which a Court has and shall follow the same procedure which a Court follows in
deciding appeals from a decree or order of an original court under the Code of Civil
Procedure, 1908.
14. Save as otherwise provided in section 5, every appeal made under this Act to the Tribunal
shall be filed within a period of sixty days from the date of the award or as the case may be,
order of the Collector. The provisions of sections 4, 5, 12 and 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963,
shall apply to the filing of such appeal.
15. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Bombay Court Fees Act, 1959, every appeal
made under this Act to the Tribunal shall bea r a court -fee stamp of such value as may be
prescribed.
16. The award made by the Collector under section 8 and an order passed by the Collector
under section 10 or 11, subject to an appeal to the Tribunal or to an order of the State
Government under section 17, and the decision of the Tribunal on an appeal shall be final and
conclusive and shall not be questioned in any suit or proceeding in any Court.
17. 6[1] Where no appeal has been filed, within the period provided for it, against any
decision, order or award of the Collector, the State Government may, within a period
not exceeding one year from the date of such decision, order or award-
(a) call for the record of any inquiry or proceedings of the Collector for the
purpose of satisfying itself as to the legality or propriety of any decision,
order or award passed by, and as to the regularity of the proceedings of such
Collector, as the case may be, and
(b) pass such order thereon as it deems fit:
Provided that no decision, order or award of the Collector shall be
modified, annulled or reversed unless opportunity has been given to the
interested parties to appear and be heard.
7[(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub -section (1) no record of any inquiry
or proceedings of the Collector in relation to an award made by him under section 8
with the p revious approval of the State Government shall be called for nor shall any
order be passed thereon by the State Government, under sub-section (1).]
18. All inquiries and proceedings before the Collector and the Tribunal under this Act shall be
deemed to be judicial proceedings within the meaning of sections 193, 219 and 228 of the
Indian Penal Code.
Appeals. Bom. XX of 1958.
Procedure before
Tribunal.
V of 1908.
Limitation.
36 of 1963.
Court fees. Bom. XXXVI of
1959.
Finality of award
and decision of
Tribunal.
Revision.
Inquiries and
proceedings before
Collector and
Tribunal to be
judicial
proceedings.
XLV of 1860.
19. No suit, prosecution or other legal pro ceeding shall lie against the State Government, the
Tribunal or any officer of the State Government for anything in good faith done or intended to
be done under this Act.
20. (1) Whenever it appears to the State Government that any tract of land, not being the
property of Government, so abounds in natural growth of trees, shrubs or grass or in
timber or other forest βproduce that it should be declared in public interest and for
furtherance of the objects of t his Act, to be a private forest, the State Government
shall issue a notification in the Official Gazetteβ
(a) declaring that it has been decided to declare such tract of land to be a
private forest; and
(b) specifying as nearly as possible, the situation and limits of such tract.
(2) On the publication of such notification the Collector or any other officer
authorised in this behalf by the State Government shall issue a notice in the
prescribed manner to the owner of such tract of land and to all other p ersons having
an interest in such tract of land, calling on them to show cause, within a reasonable
period to be specified in such notice, why such declaration should not be made.
(3) After hearing the objections, if any, of the owner and other persons an d
considering any evidence that they may produce in support of the same, the Collector
or, as the case may be, the authorised officer shall submit his report to the State
Government, along with his opinion whether the tract of land should or should not be
declared to be a private forest.
(4) After taking into consideration the report and the opinion of the Collector, or as
the case may be, the authorised officer, the State Government shall decide whether
such tract of land or any part thereof should or sho uld not be declared to be a private
forest and such decision shall be final :
Provided that before taking a decision to declare any tract of land, or part
thereof as private forest, the State Government shall give an opportunity of being
heard to the owner or other persons interested therein.
(5) If the State Government decides to declare such tract of land or any part thereof to
be a private forest, it shall issue a notification to that effect and publish the same in
the Official Gazette.
(6) Upon such issue and publication of the notification under sub-section (5), the tract
of land in question or any part thereof shall be deemed to be private forest and
thereupon all the provisions of this Act shall apply thereto, subject to the
modification that the appointed day in relation there shall be deem ed to be the date of
the issue and publication of the notification under sub-section (5) in relation thereto.
(7) If the State Government decides not to declare such tract of land or any part
thereof to be a private forest, it shall also publish its decis ion by a notification in the
Official Gazette.
(8) On the issue of a notification under sub -section (1) in respect of any tract of land
it shall not be lawful for the owner of such tract of land or any other person to do
therein, except with the previous permission of the Divisional Forest Officer, any of
the following things, for any period not exceeding one year from the date of issue of
such notification or till the date of the publication of the notification under sub -
section (5), or as the case may be , sub-section (7), whichever period expires earlier,
namely :β
(a) the breaking up or cleaning of the land for cultivation ;
Indemnity.
Declaration of
certain lands as
private forests.
(b) the pasturing of cattle ;
(c) the firing or cleaning of the vegetation ;
(d) the girdling, tapping or burning of any tree o r the stripping off the bark
or leaves from any tree ;
(e) the lopping and pollarding of trees ;
(f) the cutting, sawing, conversion and removal of trees and timber, or
(g) the quarrying of stone or the burning of lime or charcoal or the collection
or r emoval of any forest produce or its subjection to any manufacturing
process.
(9) If any person contravenes the provisions of sub -section (8), he shall, on
conviction, be punished with fine, which may extend to five hundred rupees.
21. (1) Whenever an officer authorised by the State Government in this behalf so directs,
the owner of a private forest which has vested in the State Government under the
provisions of this Act shall deliver to such officer or to such other officer as may be
specified in the direction, the records relating to such private forest maintained by the
owner.
(2) If the owner fails without reasonable cause to deliver any such records, he shall,
on conviction, be punished with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees and in
the case of a continuing failure to deliver any such records he shall be punished with
an additional fine which may extend to twenty five rupees for every day during
which such failure continue after conviction for the first such failure.
22. (1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette and subject to
the condition of previous publication, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this
Act.
(2) All rules made under this section shall be laid for not less than thirty days before
the State Legislature as soon as possible after they are made, and shall be subject to
rescission by the State Legislature or to such modifications as th e State Legislature
may make during the session in which they are so laid or the session immediately
following.
(3) Any rescission or modifications so made by the State Legislature shall be
published in the Official Gazette and shall there-upon take effect.
23. Sections 34 A to 37 of the Forest Act shall stand repealed with effect on and from the
appointed day:
Provided that such repeal shall not affect the continuance in force after the appointed
day, of any notification issued under any of these sections before their repeal, until superseded
by the State Government.
Owner of private
forest to deliver
records to
authorised officers.
Power to make
rules.
Repeal of sections
34A to 37 of the
Forest Act.
SCHEDULE
(See section 6)
PART-A
Principles for calculating amount to be paid to owners of private forests in respect of
forest land :β
1. Where the area of land does not exceed 400 hectares, an amount equal to one
hundred times the assessment fixed for such land.
2. Where the area of l and exceeds 400 hectares but does not exceed 2000 hectares, an
amount equal to ninety times the assessment fixed for such land.
3. Where the area of land exceeds 2000 hectares, an amount equal to eighty times the
assessment fixed for such land.
4. The am ount payable under any of the aforesaid paragraphs shall be subject to the
payment of a minimum amount of Rs. 37.50 paise per hectare.
5. If any forest land has not been assessed, the amount of assessment for the purpose of
this Part shall be such as shall be fixed by the Collector, having regard to the amount
of assessment which would have been leviable on the same extent of forest land of
similar nature in the same area.
PART-B
Principles for calculating amount to be paid to owners of private forests in
respect of trees other than bamboos.
Amount per tree in rupees
Girth at breast height
Teak Superior Inferior
Injaili injaili
(a) For trees in Broach, Surat, Bulsar and
Dangs Districts:β
Below 20 cms .. .. Nil Nil Nil
20 cms. and above but below 30 cms 0.66 0.30 0.06
30 cms. and above but below 45 cms 2.27 1.06 0.17
45 cms. and above but below 60 cms 4.05 2.23 0.33
60 cms. and above but below 75 cms 6.64 3.43 0.56
75 cms. and above but below 90 cms 10.08 4.36 0.62
90 cms. and above but below 105 cms 16.02 6.08 1.07
105 cms. and above but below 120 cms 22.26 8.49 1.46
120 cms. and above .. .. .. 27.04 11.51 1.79
(b) For trees in all districts of the State other
than Broach, Surat, Bulsar and Dangs Districts :β
Below 20 cms. .. .. Nil Nil Nil
20 cms. and above but below 30 cms 0.45 0.19 0.03
30 cms. and above but below 45 cms 1.39 0.48 0.12
45 cms. and above but below 60 cms 3.26 1.07 0.27
60 cms. and above but below 75 cms 5.75 1.75 0.60
75 cms. and above but below 90 cms 8.61 2.60 0.63
90 cms. and above but below 105 cms 13.22 4.23 1.02
105 cms. and above . 15.74 5.04 1.74
Note.β-1 No amount shall be paid for any tree the height of which is reduced to 4 metres or
less on account of the upper portion thereof being chopped off.
Note.β2 (a) "Superior injaili" means khair, sisam, haldu, sadad, kalam, bigo,
tannach, sivan and mahuda.
(b) "Inferior injaili" means any tree other than teak or superior injaili.
PART C
Principles for calculating amount to be paid to owners of private forests in respect of
bamboos.
(1) For bamboos having length of 4 meters and above :-
Amount in rupees per 100 bamboos
Kind of bamboo.
Maval Katus Others
(a) in Broach, Surat, Bulsar and Dangs
districts .. .. .. 20 37.50 β¦.
(b) in Panchmahals district β¦. β¦. 7.50
(c) in Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Bhav-
nagar, Surendranagar, Amreli and
Kutch districts β¦. β¦. 10.00
(d) in all districts of the State, other than
those specified above β¦. β¦. 4.50
(2) For bamboos having less than 4
meters length .. .. Nil β¦. β¦.
----------------
1 For Statement of Objects and Reasons, See Gujarat Government Gazette, Extraordinary, Part V, Dated
the 10th November, 1972, page 272.
οͺ This Act was assented to by the President on the 24 th June, 1973.
ο« This Act has ceased to have effect on the expiry of the period of one year after revocation of
the Proclamation by the President.
2 This proviso was added by Guj. 6 of 1985, s. 2 (1).
3 Sub-section (2) was Deleted by guj. 6 of 1985, r.2(2).
4 These words were substituted for the words "shall be paid in cash" by Guj. 6 of 1985 s. 3.
5 These words were added by Guj. 6 of 1985, s. 4.
6 Section 17, was re-numbered as sub-section (1)[ by Guj. 6 of 1985 s. 5.
7 sub-section (2) was inserted by Guj. 6 of 1985, s. 5 of that section 5.