LexThe Kerala Grants and Leases (Modification of Rights) Act, 1980 (Act 16 of 1980)
Kerala · state statute
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THE KERALA GRANTS AND LEASES (MODIFICATION
OF RIGHTS) ACT, 1980
Preamble.
Sections:
(Act 16 of 1980)
CONTENTS
l. Jhort title, extent and commencement.
2. Definitions.
3. Grants and leases to which Act applies.
4. Grantees and lessees to pay current seigniorage rates.
5 Power of Collector to revise assessment or rent.
fi. Appeal.
7. No compensation to be payable for modification of nght<
R. Powers of Collector.
9. Bar of suits.
10. Indemnity.
11 . Power to remove difficulties.
12. Power to make rules.
13. Repeal and saving.
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THE KERALA GRANTS AND LEASES (MODIFICATION
OF RIGHTS) ACT, 1980 •
(Act 16 of 1980)
A11 Act to provide for th~ modifzcatzon of rights under
mad~ or granted by or on behalf of the former
Cochm for cultwatwn
grants and leases of lands
States of Travancore and
Preamble.-WHEREAS the former States of Travancore and Cochin
had made grants and granted leases of hnds to certain persons on nominal
assessment or rent ;
ANn WHEREAS under suc.h grants and leases the grantees and
lessees had been given right to appropriate trees standing on the lands
granted or leased with obligation to pay nominal value or wtthout any
obligation for payment ot any value ;
AND W m.RI:.AS the assessments and rents charged on the grantees
and lessees are only nominal ,
AND Wm.REAS such grants and leases, if allowed to operate without
modifications, will result in heavy loss to the Government and huge un-earned
profits to the grantees and lessees ;
ANn WHEREAS the effect of such grants and leases is that the
ownership and control of large extents ol lands and many valuable trees
br.longing to the Government are vested in a few persons without any
liabihty to pay reasonable assessment or rent or value of trees ;
ANn WHEREAS for the purpose of securing the principles laid down in
clause3 (b) and ~c) of Art1cle 39 of the Constitution of f ndia, it is ne~sary
in the public interest that such undue profits to a few persorn are utilised
for the common benefit of the general public ;
Be it enacted in the Thirty-first Year ot the Republic of India as
follows:-
1 . Short tille, e~lent and commencemmt.-( l) This Act may be
called the Kernla Grants ar.d Lea~es (Modification of Rights) Act, 1980.
. (2) It extends to the whole of the State of Kerala .
(3) It shall be deellled to have cone into force on the 25th day of
June, 19RO.
• Received the assent ot the Pres1dent on the 7th day of August 1980
anci published in the K.erala Gezelte Extraordinary No. 565 dated
7th Augu,t l 980.
34/13!10/B.
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2. Difzmtwns. -In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,
( a) "Collector" means the Collector of the district ;
(b) "grant" means any grant to which this Act applies;
(c) "grantee" means the person m whose favour a grant has been
made and includes h1s hdr•, successors and asssgns ,
(d) "lease" means any lease to wh1ch th1s Act applies ;
(e) "lessee" means the persons m who· e favour a lease deed ha! been
executed and includes his heir~, successors and assigns ; •
(f) "lease deed" means the document evidencing a lease ;
(g) "prescribed" means prescribed by rt~les made under this Act.
3. Grants and leases to whzch Act app!zes.-This Act shall apply J
to all grants and leases of lands made or granted by or on behalf <..f the
former State ofTravancorc or Cochin for cultivatiOn, which contain all
or any of the following terms and conditions, namely :-
(a) the grantees or lessees may appropriate for their own use all trees
stand1ng on the land t>xcept teak, blackwood, ebony, karumthali and
sandalwood or any twa or more of those categoril s, subject to payment of
seigniorage at the rates spwfied in the grant or lease deed in respect of the
timber taken out of the land ;
(b) a fine shall be pard when timber ts extracted in violation of the
grant or Jea~e deed :
(c) no timber nghts are reserved for the Government and the
grantees or lessees can appropriate the timber standing on the land without
any restriction or limitatiOn ;
(d) certain categories of tr("es like ebony, teak and blackwood ITiay be
feUed and removed by the Government wirhin a specified period failing
which they shall become the property of the grantee or lessee on payment of
royalty, kuzhikanam or fee at a nominal rate specified in the grant or lease
deed ;
(e) ttghts of the Government to the trees standmg on the land are
fully teserved, the lessees are prohibited lrom cutting those trees without
prior permission of the Government and they are liable for payment of the
value of the timber when the trees are cut and removed ;
(f) tree value at a nommal rate has to be paid when the land in
cleared ; and
(g) the grantee or lessee is not liable to pay a<.y assessment or rent
cr he is liable to pay only nominal assessment or rent for the grant or the
lease, as the case may be.
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fl Powers of Collector. -The Collector shall for the purpose of exercising
any power conferred by or under thi<> Act, hav ... all the powers of a civil
court while trymg a suit under th'! Cllde ot Civil Proc'!dure, 1908 (Central
Act 5 of 1908), in respect of the following matters, namely:-
(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and
examining him on oath;
(b) requiring the discovery and production of any document;
(c) receiving evidence on affidavit;
(d) issuing commissions for the e.xamination of Witnesses or for local
mvestigation;
(e) inspectmg any property or thing concerning which any decision
has to be taken; and
(f) any other matter which may be prescribed.
9 Jlar of suztr - No civil court shall have jurisdiction to dectde or
deal with nny question or to determine any matter which is, by or under this
Act, rtquired to be decided or dealt with or to be determined by the
Gov<'rnment or th'! Collector or any other officer.
10. Ind1mnity.- No suit, pros~cution or other legal proceedmgs shall
lie against the Government or the Collector or any other person for anything
which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or any
mle made thereunder.
ll. Polt'er to remove diffzcuftzes. -If any difficulty ames m f'IVlng effect to
the provisiom of this Act, the Government may, ~as occasion may reqmre
by order do anything not inconsistent with such provtsions which appears
to them nlccssary for the purpose of removmg thr difficulty.
12. Power to make rules -(1) The Government may, by n•>ttfication
in the Gazette, make rules to carry out the purposes of thts Act.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the
forC'gning power, such rules may provide for-
(.l) the pt inciples to be followed for the rcviston of assessment or
rent sripulatcd in any grant or lease deed;
(b) the form of and the parttculars to be contamed in, any
appeal under subsection ( 1) of section 6 and the fee for such appeal;
(c) any other matter which has to be, or may be, prescribed.
(3) Every tnk made under this set tion shall be laid, as soon as may be
aftC'r it is made, before the Legislative Assembly while it ts m session for a
total petiod of fourtt·en days which may be compri<>ed in one session or m
two surressive sel;.'lions and if, befot e the ex pity of the scss10n in which 1t IS
so lnid ot the 11cssiou 11nmediatcly tollowmg, the Legislatwe Assembly makes
any mmlification in the rule or dec1des that the rule should not be made,
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the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no
effect, as the case may be; so however that any such modd1cation or annul
ment shall be without prejudice to the validitY of anything previously done
under that rule.
13. Repeal and savzng. -(I) The Kerala Grant<; and Leases (Modi
fication of Rights) Ordinance 1980 (4 of 1980), is hereby rer:ealed.
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken
under the said Ordinance shall be deemed to have been done or taken
under this Act. •