LexThe Odisha Merged Territories (Village Offices Abolition) Act, 1963
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The Orissa Merged Territories (Village Offices Abolition) Act, 1963
Act 10 of 1963
Keyword(s):
Bhogra Lands, Emolument, Former State, Gountia, Gounti-Raiyati, Grama
Sasan, Right of Occupancy, Village Office
THE ORTSSA h1ERGED TERRITORIES (VILLAGE
OFFICES ABOLITION) ACT, 1962
CONTENTS
Pnem~ a
SECTIOMS
1. Short titlc, cxtcnt and commcnccmcnt
2. Definitions
3. Abolition of Village Olfjccs and constqucnces tllercof
4. Cullcctilr to dccidc, if a pcrson is thc holder of a Village Office
5. Sctttcment of Bhozra lands
%A. Dc-rcscrvatioo of lands
5-B. Divesting of Water reservoirs alrcady setrlcd.
6. Settlement of Gounti-raiyati lands
7. S$ttlerncnt of aban.loqed and surrend::ed holdings and waste lands
8. Emplovmenr of mrtain Village Officeis in Stat* services and paymc::! of
solatiurn.
9. Submission of records and delivery or possession of land
10. Datermination of question, if thc abolition amounts to acquisition
I I. Settlcmcnt LO be free of premium
12. Pr~ccdure to be foIIowcd in proceedings
13. Appeal and rcvjsion
14. Applicalion of Limitation Act
15. Authorities to cxercisc certain powers of Cjvil Court
16. Porvcr to make rules
17. Power to rcmove doubts and di8iculties
SCHEDULE
'[THE ORlSSA MERGED TERRlTORIES
( VILLAGE OFFICES ABOLITION )
ACT, 19621
[ Received the assent o( the President-on the 23rd ,
Mcy 1 963, Brst pttblished ill aa extraordinary issue
of the Orissa Gazetlgdared the 4th June, 1963.1
Whereas it is expedient in- the ~ublic interest
to abolish cer(ain VjIlage Offices in the merged terri-
tories of the State of Orissa and to provide for
matters incidental thereto in the manner hereinfter . . . appearing j
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of
Orissa in the Fourteenth year ,of the Republic of
India, as follows:-
1. (I) This Act may be called the Ori~sa~~~~~~~~~
Merged .Territories' (Village Ofices . Abolitiorl \c,mmoe
Act, 1963. mmt.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State.of
Orissa ,and shall apply to the merged territories of
each of the former States: specified in column 1 of
the Schedule. .
(3) 111 shall come into force on such date2
as the State Government may, by notScatioa,
appoint in that behalf and different dates may be so
appointed in respect of .difTerent arcas:
- ---
1. For the Stalcment or Object.; and Rcasons. see OILS~ Geelte -
btraordinnry, dated Ihe 11th Scptembcr 1962 (No. 462 ) and tor Rtpor( of
Sclcct Cammiiice,. see ibid, dated the 7th Fobruaq I963 (No. 83).
2, Grnc into [om with cfkt from-
(i) Thc I st Aplil 1965 ic the.Mcrgcd'Tcrritoriqs of the Pormcr States or Dnspa:la, ~Candpara, Mn);Grblu nnd Nayagarh, sea .
Notification. No 21496-I!. A*-I-N.D.-3%-R., darcd &p 31st
,March 1965, Published in Orisja Gazefte, Extraordinary, dated
Lhc 31st hlarch 1965( No. 419 );
(ii) Thc 1st May 1965 in thc Merged TcrriCorics of the former -
Slat- or Bamra and Rair~kbol, see Nolification. No. 24210-
E, A. I. (N:D$ 5165-R., datcd tbc 220d A il 1965, pub[ished
!(l Orisin Gaxfi~, ExIfl~rdinfiry dated &c Ilid APd 1965
(No. 557-A);
{iii! 'rh, 1st April 1566 in Ihc M-Gcd Temtorics comprised in ma
;1;s;ricis ol Boudh, Dbcnknnal and Sundqgarh, see
:ion. No. 20335 E- A*-I-C.-D.-41/66-R., dared tho 31st March
1966, i!ub:rzh .d ir: Orlrs6 Garelte, Extrzord~nary, da(cd bc
31:' ;:lar~:~ s'<$ ( No. 340-B); and
ti;.) ':'hi IsL .> pi4 19-57 in thr: Merged Tcirilories compdscd in (he
GiS:ricf OC :LC ;:jh?, See Notification. NO. 16333-B.~.-1~.~
P1i67-R.. dated .the 31~t March 1967, published in ~fi~~
Gazelre, &lraordma;y, dated thc 1st April 1967 ( No. 336).
7 50 Tm ORISSA MERGED TERRITOR[ES- [ Or. Act 10
Dtfinitionr 2. Inthis Act unless the- context otherwise
requires--
(a) ."appointed date'' in relation to any area
means the dare appointed 'in respect of
' such area by a notification : under sub-
section (3) of section 1;
(b) "Ehogra IandsYJ in relation to any village
office means lands by whatevcr name
described or locally known; wbelher or
not recorded , as such in the settlement
papers, held as emolument 'in respect -of
such office;
(c) "ColIector" inchides any officer, not being
. below the' rank of an Additional District
Magistrate appointed by the Siate Govern-
ment to 'perform a11 o,r any of the
functions of a Collector under this' Act;
'(d) "emolument" in reIation to any -village
office means salary, cash yayment,
commission, use or enjoyment of lands
held and all kinds of privileges and bene-
fits in respect of or annexed to such
office in lieu of remuneration for the
performance of the duty appertaining
thereto and includes- right to fees or
perquisites in money or in kind, whether
at fixed tiyes or . otherwise as incidental
to such office;
(e) "former State" means a Merged State '
within the meaning of the States Merger
(Governor's Provinces) Order, 1949;
(S) "Gountia" inclrldes Gountia with protected
status; .
(g) "~ouhti-raiyat i lands" means land record-
ed as such in the settlenlent pzpers
in the merged territories of the former
State of Bamra;
(h) "Grama Sasan" means the Grarna Sasan
constituted under the provisions of the Orissa Act
15 of 1948.
Orissa Grama Panchayats Act, 1948;
(See. 3)
(ij "right ofoccupancy'' shall have Ibe same
meaning as has been assigned to it in the Orjssa Acr
4 or 1950. Orissa Merged States' (Laws) Act, 1950 in respect of an occupancy tenant ;,
(j) "Village Office'' in relation to any of the
merged territories specified in column 1
of .the Sched uIe shall mean the office-
. -
shown in column 2 of the said Schedule
in respect of such merged territories; and
(k) words and expressions used in this Act
- but not defined shall have the same
meaning as assigned to them in the
relevant law, ruIe, order, usage, settle-
ment, 'sanad ,3r -other grant - relaling to
the Village Offices in the corresponding
merged territories.
3. Notwithstanding anything in any law, usage, Abolition ot Vitlnge
settlement, grant, sanad or order or in any judgment, ofiwand
decree or order of a Court, with effect from and on ;;;;~~ccI 1
the appointed dale-
(a) the Village Offices, if any, nithin the
respective territories shall be deemed to
have been abolished ;
(b) all the incidents of the service tenures
relating to such offices shall be deemed to
have been extinguished;
(c) all settlements, sanads, and all grants in
pursuance of which such tenures were
being held immediately before the
appointed date shall be deemed to have
been cancelled;
(6) the rights of the holders of such offices to
receive any emolument shall be deemed ,to
have been terminated;
(e) all rights to hold office and any liability to
render service appertaining to such office
shall stand extinguished;
(f) allBhogra lads shill stand resumed and
vested absolutely i the State Government
free from all encumbrances ; and
(g) the holder-of any Village Office shall cease
to have the right to hold all other lands.
whichhe would not have continued to
hold exkept by vjrtue of or as incidental
to his office.
752 THE OR~SSA MERGED TERRITORIES [Or. Act 10
(Secs. 4-5 )
Collector to 4. (I) Ifany question arises as to whether a
decide, if a person was immediately before the appointed date
pcrson is lhc
holder or a the .holder of any Village Office the Collector shall
villac after giving the person affected an oppor tunily of
Omw- being heard and after holding an enquiry decide the
question.
(2) Any person aggrieved by the decision of the
Collector under sub-section (I) may within thirty
days sf such decision prefer an appeal. to the Board
of Revenue and the decision of the Board on such
appeal subject to the provisions of sub-section (3) of
section 13 sball be final. .
5, (1) All Bhogri lands resumed under the
Scrt'cment provisions of this Act shall subject to the provisions or Bhogca
1 ands. of sub-section (2) be settled with rights of occupancy
therein on a fair and equitable rent with the holder
of the Village Office or with him apd all those other
persons, if any, who may be in the enjoyment 01 the
land or any part thereof as his co-sharer or as tenants
under himor under such 'co-sharer to the extent
that each such person was in separate and actual
cultivating possession of the. same immediately before
the appointed date:
i[Provided that no water reservoir, whether
known as tank, munda, bandha, kata or by any
other name whatsoever, which- foms Part of such
bhogra land and which was being- used fcr the
Furposes of irrigation or for any communal purpose,
shall be settled with the holder of the village office
or with any other person as -aforesaid.]
(2) The total area of such land in possession of
each such person shall be subject to a- reservation' of
a certain fraction thereof in favour of the Grama
Sasan within whose limits tbe land is situate and the extent of such reservation shall,be. determined'- in the
,folowing manner, namely :-
1. IUrted by thc Orissa Mcrgcd Tcrritorics [Village Ofices Abolilion)
Amendmmt Acl, 1976 (Or. Act 33 or 19'79, s. 2.
Land in possession Extent of rcszrvat icn
For the first loacres . ,, Nil
For the next 20 acres . . 5 per cent
For the next 70 acres . . 10 per cent
For thc next 100 acres - 30 per cent
For the remaining . . 40 per cent:
Provided that the area- reserved shzll: as far as
practicabIe, be in compact block' or blocli; of one
acre or mare.
][5-A. The State Government shall, at any time, Dt:resfr-
if it is necessary in the public interest, de-rcserve ;&;Dn Or
any land reserved in favour of any Grama Sassln
under section 5, an& an such de-reserva tio n the land shall vest in the State Government frcc from all
encumbrances.]
2[5-B. Nothwithstanding any judgment, decree 3i'dslific
or rvatcr or order of any Court, Tribunal or other authority, m,,i,,
the settlement of any water r~servoir of the descrip- already
tion mentioned in the proviso to sub-section (I) settled.
of section 5 made under that section priortothe '
date of commencement of the Orjssa Merged
Territories (Village Oftices Abolition) Amendment
Act, 1976, shall be of no effect whatsoever ; and all
such water reservoirs shaI1, for all intents and pur-
poses, be deemed to have vested absolutely in the
State Government free frcm all encumbrances.]
6. All Gounti-raiyati lands shall be settled with sertlerne~~
~f.Gounli- rights of occupancy. therein on a fair and equitable rriyr,i
rent with the Gountia or, as the c,ase may be, with.
him and all those other persons who may be in the
enjoyment of the land or any Far t thereof as .his co-
sharers or as tenants under him or under such co-
sharer to the extent that each such person was in
separate ,and actual cultivating possession of the
same immediately before the appointed date.
1. lnscrled by [he Orissa Mcrgcd Territories (ViUagc OEces Abolilloo)
~mendmenl Act, 1975 (Or. Act 26 of 1975)l s. 2n
2. ~~~~~~d by ihc 'Ori~sa Mcrgcd Tcrrirorics (Villa~c ofkcs Abolition)
Amendment Act, 1976 (Or. Acr 33 of 19761, 5. 3.
754 HE ORISSA MEKGED TERR[ToRIB [ Or. Act 10
StttIcmcnt 01 7. (1) All abandoned and surrendered holdings abandoned
nndsurrun- in the possession of the bolder of a Village Ofice -
dtrrd hold- and all waste lands reclaimed by him from aud after lngs nnd
wnsrclands. the 1st day of January 1949 shall be, so far as may
be practicable, settled with the previous holders or
their heirs, ur with landless persons and small-ho lders
of Iand in the prescribed manner.
(2) All waste lands reclaimed priclr to the said
date shall'be settled with tbe hoIder of a .Village '
. Office with rights of occupancy therein on a 'fair and
equitable rent.
(3) .Notwithstanding any thing to the contrary
in sub-sections (I) and (2) in the territories of the
former State of Pal-Lahara, waste lands reclaimed
by the Sarbarakar prior to the first day of January
1942 shall .be settled j n the manner specified in
sub-sect ion (2) and waste lands reclaimed on and
after the said date in themanner specjfiedin sub-
section (I).
Emp~~~mcnl 8. The Village Officer shall, on abolilion of the of certain
Vilkigc office, if there are no Bhogra lands to be settled
Oficcr5 in him, be paid by way of solatiun~ a lump sum S~atr wrvlcc
payment grant or fifteen times the annual commission recei-
OrsO~~iu~. ved by him during the year immediately pri~r to
the appointed date :
Provided that no svch solatiurn shall be payable,
if such officeih on his application has been appointed
bcfore the expiry of a pe~,i:!d of six n~oi~ths from the
1 pointed date to any suitablc post undcr the State
government in accordance with such rules as may
t e prescribed :
Providcd further that wherc a Gountia in the
former State of Bamra holds -. any Gounti-raiyat i
lands immediately beforc the appointed date-
(a) no solatiurn shall be payable, it the market
value of such lands is not less than fifteen times the
annual commission ; and
(b) in any other case the solatiurn s11all be equal
to the iimount by.which fiftccn times sucIi commission
exceeds the said marker value:
'
I[ Provided aiso that wherz the aunual commission
received by any Viltage Officer during the year
immediately prior to the appointed date has been
affected as a result of remission of rent or revenue
payable in respect of that year or as a result of
suspension of realisation of suctz lent 01- revenue,
the solatiurn -under this section shall be calculated
on the annual corni~lission received by the Village
Officer during :he year next preceding the appoin-
ted date the rent in respect of which year has not
been so affected. ]
9. (1) It shalI be the duty of every Village Oficer Submi~ion
in the prescribed manner- and or rccords delivery
or pOSScssion
(a) to deliver all records maintained by him or land.
before the appointed date in respect of the
land or village held by him io relation to
his office ;
(6) to render all accounts appertaiuing to his
office in respect of dues payable by and to
him; and
(c) to deliver to the State Government posses-
sion of a11 abandoned and surrendered
holdings and all lands to which they have
no right to a set tIement by or under the
provisions of this Act.
(2) Whoever: without sufficient cause fails to
comply with the provisions of any of the clauses of
sub-section (I) within thirty days from the date of
service of a notice in that behalf or such fu: ther
period as the Collector may aIIorv, shall be further
able on conviction with fine which may extend .to two
. -
1. Insencd by thc Orissa Mcrgcd Tcrritorics ( vii1agc Offices A bo[i\io,l )
( Amrndmcnt ) Act, 1967 ( Or. Act 26 ol 1967 ), s. 2.
7 56 HE ORISSA MERGED TERRITORIES [ Or. Act 10
hundred rupees and in the case of continuing failure
with an additional fine which may extend to ten
rupees for every day during which such faihire con-
tinues aftcr the conviction for the first such faiIure.
(3) The Collector may for the purpose of recover-
ing the records specified in cIause (a) of sub-section
(I) issue a search warrant and exercise all such
powers with respect thereto as may be lawfuIly
exercised by a Magistrate under Chapter VII of the
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898. s of 1898
De~errnina- 10. (I) lf any person is aggrieved by the provi-
lion lion, orqucs-~ion~ if tho of tbis Act on the ground that it provides for
abolition 1 he acquisition of property by the State, su:h person
amounls acquisjt ion. to may apply to the Collector for the determination of
the question and compensation, if any, within a
period of three months from the appointed date.
(2) The Collector shall after boldir~g an inquiry
and giving all pa rties interested an opportunity of
being heard .determine the right to and thc amount
of such compensation, if any, as may be payable so
far as may be in accordance with the provisions of
sub-section (I) of section 23 and section 24 of the
Land Acquisition Act, 1894: 1 01 1894
Provided that in determining the con~pensation
the Collm:ctor shall take into account the vaIue of the
interest' acquired by such person as a result of the
settlement, if any, in accordanc2 with the provisions
of sections 5,6 and 7.
(3) Any amount paid as compensation in respect
of any land settled under sections 5,6 and 7 with any
person o-ther than the holder of the VilIage Office
shaI1 be realised b~ the State Govkrnment from such
persan and a11 such amounts shall , be recover-abIe
.as arrears of land revenue.
(4) Any person aggrieved by the decision of the
CoIlector under sub-section(2) may within thirty
days of such detision prefer an appeal LC the Board
of Revenue and the decision of Board on such appeal
shall subject .to - the provisions of sub-section (3) of
' section 13 be final.
.Sctllemcnl 11. In giving effect to the provisions of sec-
tobcrrceortions premium. 5,6 and 7 no premium shalt-be charged for the
settlement of ,lands and the lment, if any, assessed
and in force imniedir~lely 1)efor.e the appointed date
sbaIl in the absence of any procf to the contrary be
deemed to be the fair and equitable rent.
12. The S tate Government may, by rules made pm~durc 10
in that behalf,' specify either generally ofin relation P f!:;;!
to any particular area the time withi'a. ,which, th.3 ding..
authorities by whom and the manner in which pro-
ceedings in respect of matters under sections 5,6
and 7 incIuding matters preliminary, incidental or
anciJIary thereto shall be commenced, heard and
disposed of.
13. (1) Save as otherwise expressly provided in Appeal and
this Act any person aggrieved by any ordcr passed ~visiOn~
under this Act or the rules made thereunder, may
preferanappealwithin thirty daysfromthedateof ,,
the order before the Collector; and if the original
order is passed by the -Collector be-fbre the Board
of Revenue.
(2) Any perso n aggrieved by an order passed
in appeal not bsing an appeal befc re the Board of
Revenue, may within thirty days from the date of
the orl'er prefer an appeal both on questions of fact
and law before the Board of Revenue, who may
iifter calling for the records and givingdhe parties
a11 opportunity of being heard pass such orders
co?,firmingj modifying or reversing the ordei in ques-
tion according as the Board deems proper.
(3) Any person aggrieved by an order passed by
the Board of Revenue in an appeat-
(a) under any of the provisions of this Act
other than sub-section (4) of section 10
may, within sixty days from the date of
such order, file an application for
revison on a question of law before the
High Court: and
(bj under sub-section (4) of section 10 may.
within sixty days from the date of such
orc'er, file 311 appeal before the High
Court,
and subject to the decision of the High Court the
orcit1.s passed by {he Board of Revenue shall be final.
14. ':he provisio~is of sections 4, 5, 12 and 14 Of A~~~ication o rlimitatioll 9 of 190:. the hldiaq Lirnitalion Act, 1908 shal'. be applicable ,i,,, ,,,.
to ti^:: fi!ing of appcds and al~plic~iions for revision
ci!der this Act.
[Or. Act 10
(Secs.15-16)
Aulhoritics
to cxcrcisc 15. (I) Thc coIlector, Board of Rcvenue and the
ccrlain other authorities specified under sectioils 12 and 13
powers or Civil Cour~. shall for the purposes of this Act -have the same
powers as are vested in a Court under the Code or
CiviI Procedure, 1908 when trying a suit ill 5 011908
respect of-
(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance
of witnesses and examining them on oath;
(b) requiring the discovery and production of
documents;
(c) receiving evidence on affidavit ; and
(d) such other matters as may be prescribed.
(2) All enquiries and proceedings before the
aforesaid authorities under this Act shall be deemed
to be judicial proceedings within the meaning of
sections 193, 219 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code. 4s of 1860
Power to
make ruIu. 16.(1) The State Government may, after previous publication, make rules * to carry out the
purposes Of this Act.
(2),In particular and without prejudice to the
generahty of the foregoing power, such rules may
provide for-
(a) the procedure to be folIowed by the
Collector, the Board of Revenue and other
authorities while proceeding under any of
the provisions of this Act;
(b) the qulifications and other conditions for
the appointment of the holders of ViUage
OEces in suitable posts under Govern-
ment;
(c) all other matters which under the provi-
sions of this Act are required to be or may
be prescribed.
*FOY rulcs. sEe Norifi~tion No. 57418-Tcn. (~egis.)-s163-~.
dated thc 5th October 1963, published in Orisso Guzctre, datcd the 18ii
October 1963, pt . Ul, p. 1927-
(3) All rules made undcr this Act shaIl, ss
Soon as may be after they are made, bu laid before
ihe State Legislature for 2 fat31 period of fourteen
days which may be comprised in one or more
sessions and shall be subject to such nlodiFications
as the State Legislature may make durirlg the said
period .
17. If any dcubt or difficuIty arises in giving Powcr to
effect to the provisions of this Act, the Govern-1- doubts TCfnOvC and
ment may, as occasion lnay require, by order, d 0 diffi~~llies.
anything not ir.consistent wi~h the provisions of this
Act or the rules made thereunder, which appears to
them necessary for purposes of removing the doubt
or difficulty.
760 .THE OR~SSA MERGED TERRITORIES [ Or. Act XO
SCHEDULE
(See sections 1 and 2 )
Name of the former States Name of the Village Officers
1. AthmallIk
2. Brmara
3. Baramba
4. Boudh
4-A.
5. Bonai
7. Dhenkanal
8. Gangpur
.-& Sarbarakar
'[Dangils
Dakua]
. . Goun tia
[K h u n tkat i Gountia
Shikmi Gountia
Gouni Gountia]
.,. Sarbarakar
'[Sard ar
Dakua
Tandakar ]
. . Sar barakar
'I Pradhan
Makaddam ]
... '[ Khuntkati Ganju
Thika Gznju 1
. . Gountia
I[ Naik
Gadn ai k
Makaddam ]
. . Sarabarakar
'I Dalai
Paik
S ard ar
Dangua ]
. . Sarabarakar
I[ Dakua ]
. . Gountia
Sikimi Gountia
Head Ganju
Ganju
Su h-Ganju
I[ Pradhan
Dpkua
Tandakar ]
Sarabara,kar 9. Hind01 . . Pradhan
-
1. lmrtcd by the Om Mcged Territories (Vi'iIlagc Officccs Aboliiion) (Amendment) Act, 194
(Or. Acr 17 OF 1964lS. 2.
10. Keonjhar .,. Pradhan
Prad han
Garhnaik
Dakun
12. Mayurbhanj
13. Narsinghpur
14. Nayagarh
15. Pal-Lahara
16. Rairakhol
'[Prad han
Garhtia
Shikmi Gountia
Gouni Gountia]
.. Sar barakar
, [Makaddam
Gad anaik
Bera Pradhan]
. . Pradhan
Chbatia
' [Collection Moharir]
. . Sarabarakar
. . Sarbarakar
Mallik
. . Sarbarakar
. . Gountia
. . Gountia
Pattidar
Sub-Pattidar
Gar tia
Bir tia
18. Talcher Sarbarakar
19. Tigiria Sacbarakar
I. Iwrlcd by thc Orissa erged Territories (Vilfagc Ofificcs ~bolition) (Arncndmtv) Act. 196c
(01. Act 17 Of 1964). 8.2.