The KERALA GRANTS AND LEASES (MODIFICATION OF RIGHTS) ACT, 1980

THE KERALA GRANTS AND LEASES (MODIFICA TION OF RIGHTS) ACT, 1980
(Act 16 of 1980)
CONTENTS
Preamble. 
Sections:
1. Short 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.
6. Appeal.
7. No compensation to be payable for modification of rights.
8. Powers of Collector.
9. Bar of suits.
10. Indemnity.
11. Power to remove difficulties.
12. Power to make rules.
13. Repeal and saving.
ACT 16 OF 1980
 THE KERALA GRANTS AND LEASES (MODIFICATION 
OF RIGHTS) ACT, 1980 *
An Act to provide for the modification of rights under grants and leases of lands made or
granted  by  or  on  behalf  of  the  former  States  of  Travancore  and  Cochin  for
cultivation.
Preamble.—WHEREAS the former States of Travancore and Cochin had made grants
and granted leases of lands to certain persons on nominal assessment or rent;
AND WHEREAS under such 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 without any obligation for payment of any value;
AND WHEREAS the assessments and rents charged on the grantees and lessees are only
nominal;
AND WHEREAS 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;
AND WHEREAS the effect of such grants and leases is that the ownership and control
of large extents of lands and many valuable trees belonging to the Government are vested in a
few persons without any liability to pay reasonable assessment or rent or value of trees;
AND WHEREAS for the purpose of securing the principles laid down in clauses (b) and
(c) of Article 39 of the Constitution of India, it is necessary in the public interest that such
undue profits to a few person are utilised for the common benefit of the general public;
BE it enacted in the Thirty-first Year of the Republic of India as follows:—
1. Short title, extent and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the Kerala Grants
and Leases (Modification of Rights) Act, 1980.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Kerala.
(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 25th day of June, 1980.
2. Definitions.—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;
* Received the assent of the President on the 7th day of August, 1980 and published in the Kerala Gazette 
Extraordinary No. 565 dated 7th August, 1980.
(c) “grantee” means the person in whose favour a grant has been made and
includes his heirs, successors and assigns;
(d) “lease” means any lease to which this Act applies;
(e) “lessee” means the person in whose favour a lease deed has been executed and
includes his heirs, successors and assigns;
(f) “lease deed” means the document evidencing a lease;
(g) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act.
3.  Grants and leases to which Act applies. —This Act shall apply to all grants and
leases of lands made or granted by or on behalf of the former State of Travancore 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 standing
on the land except teak, blackwood, ebony, karumthali and sandalwood or any two or more of
those categories, subject to payment of seigniorage at the rates specified in the grant or lease
deed in respect of the timber taken out of the land;
(b) a fine shall be paid when timber is extracted in violation of the grant or
lease deed:
(c) no timber rights  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 trees like ebony, teak and blackwood may be felled
and removed by the Government within 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)  rights  of  the  Government  to  the  trees  standing  on  the  land  are  fully
reserved, the lessees are prohibited from 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 nominal rate has to be paid when the land is cleared; and
(g) the grantee or lessee is not liable to pay any assessment or rent or he is
liable to pay only nominal assessment or rent for the grant or the lease, as the case may be.
4.  Grantees  and  lessees to  pay  current  seigniorage  rates.— (1)  Notwithstanding
anything contained in any law for the time being in force, or in any grant, lease deed, contract
or agreement, or in any judgment, decree or order of any court, with effect on and from the
commencement of this Act, every grantee and every lessee shall be bound to pay to the
Government the seigniorage rates in force for the time being for the timber cut and
removed from any land held by him under the grant or lease.
(2)  If any dispute arises as to the seigniorage rates for the time being in
force, such dispute shall be decided by the Collector.
5.  Power of Collector to revise assessment or rent .— (1)  Notwithstanding
anything contained in any law for the time being in force, or in any grant, lease deed,
contract or agreement, or in any judgment, decree or order of any court, the Collector
may revise, from time to time, assessment or rent stipulated in any grant or lease deed.
(2)  Before revision in any assessment or rent under sub-section (1), the
Collector shall give the grantee or lessee, as the case may be, an opportunity of being
heard and shall make such further inquiry as he deems fit.
(3)  Any revision of assessment or rent under sub-section (1) shall be in
accordance with such principles as may be prescribed.
6.  Appeal.— (1)  Any person aggrieved by any decision of the Collector under
sub-section (2) of section 4 or under sub-section (1) of section 5 may, within sixty
days from the date on which the decision was communicated to him, appeal against
such decision to the government:
Provided  that the Government may admit an appeal preferred after the
said period of sixty days if they are satisfied that the appellant has sufficient cause for
not preferring the appeal within that period.
(2)  An appeal under sub-section (1) shall be in such form and shall
contain such particulars and shall be accompanied by such fee, as may be prescribed.
(3)  On receipt of an appeal under sub-section (1), the Government shall,
after giving the appellant an opportunity of being heard and after such further inquiry
as may be prescribed, confirm or modify the decision or set aside the decision and
direct the Collector to decide the matter afresh.
(4)  The decision of the Government under sub-section (3) shall be final.
7.   No  compensation  to  be  payable  for  modification  of  rights.—
Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, or in any
grant, lease deed, contract or agreement, or in any judgment, decree or order of any
court, no compensation shall be payable for the modification of the rights of any
grantee or lessee under this Act. 
8. Powers of Collector .—The Collector shall, for the purpose of exercising any power
conferred by or under this Act, have all the powers of a civil court while trying a suit under
the Code of Civil Procedure, 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  examination  of  witnesses  or  for  local
investigation;
(e) inspecting any property or thing concerning which any decision has to be
taken; and
(f) any other matter which may be prescribed.
9. Bar of suits.—No civil court shall have jurisdiction to decide or on with any question
or to determine any matter which is, by or under this Act, required to be decided or dealt with
or to be determined by the Government or the Collector or any other officer.
10.  Indemnity.—No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings 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 rules made thereunder.
11. Power  to  remove  difficulties.—If  any  difficulty  arises  in  giving  effect  to  the
provisions of this Act, the Government may, as occasion may require by order do anything
not inconsistent with such provisions, which appears to them necessary for the purpose of
removing the difficulty.
12.  Power to make rules .—(1) The Government may, by notification in the Gazette,
make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such
rules may provide for—
(a) the principles to be followed for the revision of assessment or rent stipulated
in any grant or lease deed;
(b) the form of and the particulars to be contained in, any appeal under sub-
section (1) of section 6 and the fee for such appeal;
(c) any other matter which has to be, or may be, prescribed.
(3) Every rule made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is
made, before the Legislative Assembly while it is in session for a total period of fourteen
days which may be comprised in one session or in two successive sessions and if, before the
expiry  of the  session  in which  it  is  so  laid  out  the  session immediately  following,  the
Legislative Assembly makes any modification in the rule or decides that the rule should not
be made, 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 modification or annulment shall be without
prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.
13.  Repeal and saving. —(1) The Kerala Grants and Leases (Modification of Rights)
Ordinance, 1980 (4 of 1980), is hereby repealed.
(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.
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