The Assam Bhoodan Act, 1965

The 20th August 1966 No,LJL.34JM /13.- The foll ow in g Act of the vssarn Legislative Assem­ bly which receive d the assen t of the Pres iden t is h ereby published for ~e nera l information . ASSAM ACT XXIII OF l:J66 [R ec eived the assen t of t h e Pres ident on the 12th Au gus t It)661 THE ASSAM BH OODAN ACT , 1965 , Publislled in the 4ssam Garette Ext raordinary, dat ed the 22nd Augus t 19GQ) An Act ;0 facilitate donation and settlement of Lands in connection with the Bh.edon Jajna movement initiated by Acharya Vino;a Bhaoe, Preamble Whe rea s it is exp ed ient t <l facil itate the donation of la nds received as Bhoodan in response to Bhoodan jaJI13 movement init ialed bv Acharya Vi nob a Bhave and to provide for re gular isa tio n, dis tri butio n and settlement of such lands to the landless persons a nd t o provide for m at ters a ncilla ry th ereto ; -----------~,,/ Short tit le, exten t and commence­ n. ent. Defisi tioa s ; 2 It is here by enacted in the Sixteenth Year of the Republic of India as follows :- 1. (1) This Act may be called the Assam 13hoodan Act, 1965. (2) I t extends to the whole of the State of Assam . (3) It shall come into force at once . 2. In this Act unless there is a n yt hing repugnant in tle subject or context- (a) '13hoodan' me i-lns donation of a parcel of land which is made voluntar ily for the purpose of this Act; (b) 'Bhoodan Board' means the Assam Bhoodan Board established under section 6 ; (c) 'Declaration' means a Bhoodan de claration made under section 3 ; (d ) 'Government' means the Governm ent of Assam; (e) 'Land' includes all town lands; (f j 'L and less Person ' means a per,on- (i) whose main source oflivelihood is agri cul­ ture or agricultural labour; and ,ii) who docs not hold any la nd or holds a n uneconomic holding of less than five bighas of land; (g) 'Owner ' means- (i) in relation to land held by a tena n t with permanent rights, the tenant j (i i) in relation to land held under a gra n t, lease or assignment from Governmen t, the holders, and (iii) in relation to any other la nd , th e person to whom the land be longs ; - ' Person interesied i in re la tion to any land means any person cla irnirg a ny righ t, title or interest in the land and incl udes a pe rson having a right of easeme n t affecting such land; / " f)gnll t iow (jf la nd by way o f Ill,g(j Ian (i) 'Prescri bed ' except where the wel ds " pre s­ cribed by Regulations" are used , means prescri bed by rules made under this Act; (j) 'Revenue officer' means the Deputy Com­ m issione r and includes the Additional Deputy Commissioner, S II b-divisional Offic er or any O fficer not below the rank of a Sub­ Deputy Collector a ppointed by the State Government by name or by virtue of h is office to d ischarge any of the functions of a R evenue O fficer under this Act; (k) 'S ub-d ivision al Bhoodan Committee' m eans the Committee established under section 9 ; (I) 'Village' means a revenue village register ed as such in the revenue records ; (rn) 'T own la nd ' mean> any land with in an area declared or deemed to be a Munici­ pa lity c.r noti fied area under the Assam M u nicipal Act, 1956 (Assam Act XV of 1957 ) and any other land which th e Sta te Gcvnnment may declare , u nder [he ASS3.m L and and Kevenu e Regulation, 1886 or in accordance with the provis ion of section ;I of the Lan d Revenue Re-assessmen t Act (Assam Act V I II of 1936), to be to wn. land , 3. (1) An y owner of land not ~)eilJg a minor rray donate by way of Bhcodan all or ,m y of h is lands by decla rat ion in the prescribed form in writing in that beha lf before th e Revenue Officer. (2) A de clarat ion under sub -sect ion (1) sh i l l not be vali d in respect of the following classes of lands- (a) la nds i.eld by a person under a grant , lease or assig nment from the Government with­ out perma nent r ights , unless the previous approval of Go vernment is received; (b) lands which are encu mbered ; (c) land in which the interes t of the owner is limited to his lifet ime; (d) la nd which' is held by the owner for persona l serv ice or "bhog" ; (e) lands under encroachment; 4 (J ) lands under liti gation ; (g) suc h other lands as the State Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, specify. (3) Every declaration under sub-sec tion (1) shall be published in su ch m a nner as may be prescribed, together wi th a noti ce requ iring all per sons interested in the land to submit their obj ections, if any, in writing to the prescr ibed authority withi n thirty days of the publ ication of the d ecla ration. (4) On th e exp iry of the per iod specified in su b ­ section (3), the pr escribed authority m ay, after con­ sideri ng th e obj ec tions received if any, and alter making such fUI ther enq uiries as m ay be necessary, by order, e ither co nfirm or refuse to confirm the declara ­ tion. (5 ) An y person aggrie ved by an ord er of the prescribed a uthori ty under su b-sec tion (4-), m ay file an ap pe a l to the a uth ori ty prescr ibe d in this behalf wi thin for ty-five days of ti.e date of the order and subj ec t to th e d eci sion on such appeal, the orde r of the prescr ibed author ity shall be fina l. (6) A decla ra tion wh ich the prescribed authority has, by order , refused to co nfirm under sub-section (4) s .all h ave no effect. (7) The pr escrib ed au thority shall forthwith inform the Bh oodan Board of eve ry ca fe of confirmation. (U) No person w ho has filed a declaration under sub-section (1) shall therea fter be competent to trans­ fer or create an y en cumbrance 011 a ny land, in respect of which the declarati on has been filed, unless and until an order under su b-sec tion (4) re fusin g to confirm the declaration is made. Any transfer made or encum­ brance created in co ntravention of this provision shall be void and in-operative. Donation of 4. (l) Where any land has been donated by way 01 lafndnbY'd"ay Bhoodan prior t j th e commencement of this Act. the o 1\00 an DC" J II ] ' f II ' Iprior to the eputy ornrmssroner S ia prepare a rst 0 a fUC 1 comm en ce- lands, other than lands to wh ich the provisions of meet of the sub-section (2) o l secti on 3 a pply , sh owing therein- Act. (a) the ar ea, (b ) dag number, (c) location, (d ) name a nd address of th e donor, (e) date of dona­ tion, (f) the nature of the interest of the donor in the land, (g) land revenue, (h ) local rate, (i) class of land, (j) if the land has been granted to any person 5 by any or gani sa tion a uthor ised in this behalf iri pursuance of th e Bhood an Jaj na, the name and ad dr ess of th e person to wh om the la nd has been granted, (k) the date of the grant und er sub-clause (j) , and (1) such other particulars as m ay be pres­ c r ibed . (2) T h e list so prepared shall be published i n the m an ner p rescr ibed. (3) U pon the publica tio n of the list under sub ­ section (2) a nd not wit hstandi Lg any thi ng to the contra ry in a ny law fo r the time bei ng in torce, (a) the r ight, title and interest of the c1onor in such land sh all with effe c t from the date of d onat ion be d eem ed to have been extin ­ guished and th e land to have vested in the Bhooda n Boa rd as if a Bhoo dan declaration has b ee n duly mad e and con firm ed in re spect th er et o , un der and in acco rdance with se.::t ion 3; (b) where such land h as in pu rsuan ce of the Bh ood an J aj na has been granted to any p erson i t sha ll wLh effect from the d ate of grant deem ed furth er to have been gran ted to the g ran tee under and in ac cordance with the provisio ns of su b­ section (1) of section 7. Eflecl s of 5. N otwithstanding anything to the contra ry con- dec~aralion ra ined in an y other law for the t ime b ein : in force I J d ~ " ,~h a~ s a, with effect from the d a te of confirmation of the lan~. an declaration, all r ights, t itle and interest of p erso ns wh ose declarations h ave b een co nfirmed under sub ­ sec t ion (4) of section 3 in Or ove r th e lands covered by such declaration s, shal l c-ase and shall stan d tr a nsferr ed to a nd vest in th e Bhoodan Board . Estab lish- 6. (L) As so on as may b e after the commencement me nl t ! incor- of this Act, there shall b e established by the State para Ion G I ifica t i 0 h ffi ci 1 Gand consti tu- overnmen t . Jy no n ca tron In te o ic ia azette , ti on of th e a Board to be called th e "Bhoodan Board" for pur- Slate poses of carrying ou t the p r.wisions of this Act. Bbood an Board. 6 (2) The Bhood an Board shall be a body cor po­ rate with per petua l succession and a common seal a nd shall have power to acce pt, reguJarise and distri­ bute lands received as Bhood an . (3 ) T he Bho odan Board sha ll consist of the fa" ­ k.wing members, n ame ly ;- the Chairman to be nom ina ted by the State Government In consultation with Ac ha rva V ino ba Bhave or any persol' i'li thor ised by hi m ill this beh al f, (b) a representative of th e Sta te Governme nt in the Reven ue Depar tm ent, (c) on e rep rcse n trit ive from t h e Assam Sarbo­ day M andai , (d) on e representative from the Akhil Bh ara t Sarba Seva Sa ng ha to be nom inated b v th a t bo dy, ( e) one repre,rn tative from t he Assam Cra m S wa rajya Samittee, e (1 ) one represen tative from Smara k Nidhi, (g ) one represent at ive from th e Assam Khadt and Village Industr ies Board, and (It) one rep resentative from th e Kast urba Gandh i Rast riya Smarak Trus t, Assam . (4) T he Chairm an and Me mber s of t he Bh codan Board sha ll hold offi ce for a term of three yeatS fr om the d at e of publ ica tion ot their nan.e in the offi cia l Gazette a nd shall be el!1:' ib le lor re-nomination. (5) T h e Bho odan Gauhati b u t may ho ld considers expedient for duties and fu nctions. 7 Board shall hold its office at it s m ee tings a t a n y p lace it convenien tly ca rrying o ut its I, (6) T he Bhooda n Boa rd shall a p poin t one of its Memb ers as Secreta ry. (7) T he Bhoodan Board may d elega te a n y of its powers and functions un der this Act exce p t the power to make regulations under section 19 to the Secreta ry or any Member or to a Sub-committe e of three or more of its Members. (8) The State Government m ay, by order in the official Gazett e , r em ove from office, the Chairm an or any Member of the Bhoodan Board who , in the opinion of the State Government h as fail ed to perform or is un abl e to carry out h is duties, or has abused hi s position as a Member of the Bhoodan Beard. (9) Any vacancy of a Chairman or a M ember caused b y death, resignation, removal o r ot herwise shall be filled up for the remain ing period of the tel m in the manner la id down in sub-section (3) of section 6. Duties and 7. (1) I t sha ll be the duty of the Bh oodan Board to functions of distribu te lands vested in it to the poor landless the Board, cu lt iva tors for the benefit and furt herance of the Bhooda n Jajna, in the m a n ner prescribed P rovided that any tow n land vested in it m ay also be set a p ar t for t he use of the Bhoodan Board or the Sub-divisiona l Bhocdan Cornrr irt ee. (2) 1 he Bhooda n Board shall for the purp ose a nd furtherance of the Bhocdan ]ajna perfor m such other functions as may be necessary in re spe ct of such land s. (3) In forma tio n of every case of distribution shall fort hwith be sent by th e Bhoodan Board to the local R even ue Officer. Supersession 8 . (1) If at any t im e , in the opinion of the Sta te . or Disaolu- Go vernmen t, the Bhood an Board-e- lion of the Jlurd. (a) is not competent to per form or pe rsi stent ly de faults in d ischal gi ng the d uties or per­ formi ng the func tions assigned to it b) th is .A,.c t withou t ) eason....ble <ause or excuse ; or 8 (b) exceeds or abuses the powers assigned to it under this Act ; or (c) is not functioning in a manner consistent wi th the provisions of this Act or the rules framed th ereunder; or (d) circumstances have so arisen that the Bhoodan Board is rendered u nable to discharge duties or to perform functions assigned to it under thi s Act ; or (e) it is uth er wise expedient or necessary to dissolve the Bhood an Board ; the State Government may, by notifi ca tion in the official Gazette stating the reasons for its order- (i) dissolve or supersede the Bhooda n Board for such period not exceeding one year at a tim e, provided that before any such notifica tion is issued, the Bho odan Board sha ll be given a reasonable opportunity of showing ca use why the p roposed notification should n ot be issued, (ii) di rect the reconstitution o f the Bhoodan Board in accordance with the provi­ sions of sect ion 6 of this Act, and (iii) declare that a ll the powers a nd duties of the Bhood an Board shall during the pe riod of d issolu tion or supe rsession a nd until th e Bhoodan Board is recon­ stitut ed b e exercised and performed by such pers on or persons or authority as the State Government m av , from t ime to time, appoint in t his beh alf. (2) The St a te Government may make such inci­ dental an d consequential provisions as may appear to he neces sary for this p urpose. Sub.division- 9. (1) T he Bhoodan Board may for any Sub-division C~l Bhoodtan constitute Sub. division al Bhoodan Committee consist- ornrnlt reo . fmg 0 not more than seven members who shall be appointed by the Bhoodan Boa rd from among the Bhood an workers who are resident in the area concer ­ ned . The appointmen t of the se members sha ll be . subject to th e approval of the Government and sha ll be for a period of three years. 9 (2) T he Bhood an Board shall appoint one of the members of the Sub-divisional Committee to be its Chairman who shall also act as its Secretary. (3) (a ) The Bhoodan Board may authorise any Sub-divisional Committee constituted under sub­ section (1) to exercise in the area within the jurisdic­ tion of such Sub-div isional Committee all or any of the powers, duties or fun ctions vested in the Board by this Act as m ay be specified b y general or special order and in like manner withdraw suc h a utho rity ; (b ) The exercise of any powers, duties or fun ctions delegated under sub-clause (a ) shall be subject to control and revision of the Bhoodan Board: Provided that the di ssolution or supersession of the Sub-divis ional Bhoodan Committees shall be subject to the approval of the State Government. (4-) The provisions of section 8 sha ll apply mutatis mutandis in matters of supersevsion or dis so­ lution of the Sub-divisional Bhoodan Committees abo. Funds or tb e: 10. (1) The State Bhoodan Board shall haw: its own Hh 0 0 U a II r: d d d 0 Of r:Board. run an may accept grants, onatrons or gl ts rrorn the Ce nt ral and the State Government or any local authority or any individual or body of persons whether incorporated or not, for all or any 01 the purposes of this Act. (2) The moneys remitted in the Fund shall be received by t he Chairman of the Bhoodan Board or by the Secretary of the Bhoodan Board if he is au thorised by the Chairman in this behalf and all such money shall be :lep,.)oited by th e recipient in :- (i) till' Assam Co-operative Apex Bank Limited, or ~ (ii) a Post Office Savings Bank. - ; ' .. (3) All such deposits shall be made in the name of the Bhoodan Board. The Chairman of the Bhoodan Board or the Secretary appointed by the Chairman in this behalf, shall have the power to withdraw such deposits or any part thereof and operate on the Bank accounts. (1) N o money shall be withdrawn from the Bank unless it is required lor immediate payment for the purposes of the Bhoodan Board. Audit of the . ] 1. The Bhoodan Board shall cause accounts to Board's be kepi of all moneys received and expended by ' it aecounts , and suc h accounts sh all be audited every yea r by auditors app ointed by the State ' Board with the ' previous approval of the Government. l ---... 10 Exempuou 12. (1) Land whi ch is donated by a person fro mtattach l- making a Bhood au declaration shall not, un less it is men or sa e . and from the refu sed , be liable to att achme nt or sale in execution opera tion of . of any decree or order passed by a Civil Court aga inst the CeiJ.ing the donor of th e Bhoodan Land . Ac-, (2) The provisions of the Assam Fixation of \ . Act Ceiling on Land Holdings Ac t, 1956 shall not apply ' I'S;f~95~'. in respect of lands donated by way of Bhoodan , Status ()f the person tv whom tbe land is gra nt. ed and the condition OIl which the land is held. 13. (I ) The person to whom any land is granted under sub-section (1) of section 7 shall have,- (a) Where the interest of the donor was that of a proprietor, land-holder or sett lement ; holder the sta tus of a land-h older, (b) Wh ere the interest of the d onor was that of a tenant ha ving permanent, heri table and transferable right, the status of an occu­ pancy rayat . r' (2) The grantee shall hold th e land subj ect to the following conditions, namely:- (a) the grantee shall not be entitled to tr ansfer or suble t th e la nd or any part th er eof ; (b) th e gran tee shall not allow tne land to lie fall ow fl)rtwo consecutive years without reasonable cause; (c) a grantee under clause (a) shall pay to the State Gov ernment land revenue and other dues, if a ny, on the laud .on due dales thereof; (d) any other condition which may be prescri­ bed by the State Government in consult a­ t ion with the Bhoodan Board. (3) The name of the gra ntee shall in the prescri­ bed manner be mutated immediately after the informa­ tion of distribution being received from the Bhoodan Board under sub-section (3) of section 7 and recorded in the record-of-rights maintained by the Deputy Com­ mi ssioner in th e ]amabandi or the rent-roll , as th e case may be, mentioning the fact that the land is Bhoodan land. Conseque- 14. If the grantee commits a breach of any o f th e nees of the conditions mentioned in sub-section (2) of section 13, hreac:h. of the Revenue Officer may, after givin g him an opportu­ conditions. nity of being heard and after such enquiry as he deems necessary, terminate the grant and restore the land to the Bhoodan Bpard. f . ,. it / ' • , • P cvcev to 15. T he State Go vernrnenr may, if it is satisfied - remit land that any land vestiuu ill the Bho odan Board could not rev : nue . o be granted to any person in any year, remit the land revenue due th ereon for that year. Power to 16. The State Government, by notification in the e x e m p t official Gazette ma y rernit- from Stamp , . dury, etc. r- (a) the Stamp duty with wh ich, under any law for the time being in for ce, any declaration of d onation under section 3 or any instru­ m ent executed by or on behalf of the Bhoodan Board . is ch argeable ; (b) a ny fee payable by the Bhoodan Board or a ny ow ner who donates la nd under sec­ tinn 3 under the law for th e t ime-b ein g in force. Partition of 17. Jf th e land donated forms a part of a hulding, holding. the Bhoodan Board or the grantee concerned may . apply to the Revenue Officer for partition and the Revenue Officer may, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any law for the time-being in forc e and aft er such enquiry as he deems nec essary, p artition the holding and demarcate the land and apportion the revenue or the rent, as the case may be. Power to 18. (1) The St ate Gove rnment may, by notifica- make rules. ti on in the official Gaz et te , make rule s to carry ou t the purposes of this Act. (2) In particula r an d witho ut prejudice to the ge nerality of t he foregoing p owers, such rules may provide 1'01'::- (a) the matters rela ti ng to the establishm ent a nd cons titu tion of the State Bhood an Board and the Sub-divisional Bhoodan Committees, nomination and appointment of Chairman or members thereto, as the ca se m ay be ; (b) incid ental and consequential provisions to be followed on the dissolution or su perses­ sian of the Bhoodan Board or Sub-divi­ sional Bhoodan Committee ; (c) the form of declaration of Bhoodan ; (d) the manner of publication of the Bh oodan decla ration ; (e) the manner of rea lisa t ion of the arrear revenue; .Ii I , ,, .~ l~ (J) the manner of record ing the name of the gran tee in the record-of-rights or the re nt-rolls unde r sub-section (3) of the sec­ tion 13 ; (g) the manner and mode of serv ice of notices un der thi s Act; and (It) the matter s which are to be and may be prescr ibed . (3) Every rule made u nd er th is section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, befor e the Assam Legislative Assem bly w hile it is in session for a to tal period of -four tcen days which may be comprised in on e session or in two succcssive sessions, a nd if, before the expiry of rhe session in whi ch it is so laid or the sessions immediately following the Assa m Legisla t ive Assembly ag ree in making a ny modifica tion in th e r ule or the Assam Legisla tive Assem bly ag ree tha t t he r ule sho uld not be mad e, the rule sha ll thc l ca rter ha n : eflect onl y in such modified for m or be of no effect, as th e case may be; so however , th at any such mo.lifi ca t ion or a nn ulmen t shal l l.e wi thout prejudice (0 the valid ity of anyth ing p revious]v done u nder t hat rule . Power to 19. ( I ) T he Sta te Bhoodan Board may, with the ~ake rcg ula- p r e vj ous sancti on of the St ate Gove rnmen t, m ske nons, regulatior- s not inconsistent with th is Act o r the rules mad e th er eunder to provide tor all m atters for whic h provis ion is necessary for the purpose of giving effect to the p rovisions of th is Act. (2) In particu lar and without p rejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such regulation s may provide [or- (a) the meetings of the Bhoodan Board. the conduc t ol bu siness there-at and ' the pro cedure for disposal of its bus iness ; (b) principles to be followed in distribution of lands vesting in the Board; (c) fixation of maximum limit 1'01 gran t cf land to any landless person; (d) scheme of distr ibution of Bhoo dan la nds ; (e) mai ntenance of the accoun t s of the Bhcodan Board; and (I) any other matter for which provision is necessary for the purpose of enabling th e Bhoodan Board to discharge its duties a nn functio ns under thi s Act . s, SAl; :ViA, S ecre tary to the Govern ment of Assam, L'I.w Dep artmen t.