The Assam Fixation of Ceiling on Land Holdings (Amendment) Act, 1975

Reg istered No.—A-12 sbjsst r he Assam G a z e tt e w i f w EXTRAORDINARY «)t<s PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY 121, 17 1975, 26 s®tw, 1897 *t<p No . 121, Dis pur , W ed ne sday , Se ptem be r 17, 1975, 26th Ehadra, ________ ___________ 1897 (S. E.) ________ GOVERNMENT OF ASSAM OR DE RS BY TH E GO VE RN OR LAW DE PART ME NT NO TIFIC AT ION The 17th September 1975 No. LJL. 290 /73 /20 .—The following Act of the Assam Legislative 882 THE ASSAM GAZETTE EXTRAO RD INA RY , SEPT. 17, 1975 Assembly which received the assent of the Pre sident is here by published for genera] info rma tion . ASS AM ACT IX OF 1975 ( Received the assent o f the President on the 16 th September, 1975 ) THE ASSAM FIXA TION OF CE ILIN G ON LAN D HO LDINGS (AME ND ME NT) ACT, 1975 An Act fur the r to amend the A ssam Fixation o f Ceiling on Land Hold ings Act, 1956. Preamble. Whereas it is exped ient fur the r to amend the Assam Fixation of Ceiling on Lan d Hold ings Act, (d? 195 > here inafter calle d the principal Ac t in the mam er hereinafte r appearing : It is hereby enac ted in the Twen ty-sixth Year of the Rep ubl ic of Ind ia as follows :— ex te nt t a'id 1 (1 ) This Ac t may be called the Assam com me nce- Fixatio n of Ceiling on Land Holdings (Amendm ent) men t. Act, 1975. (2) It shall have the 'ike extent as the princi­ pal Act. (3) This Act shall be deemed to have come into force on the Thi rteenth day of October, Nine­ teen hundred Seventy-two. Amendm ent of Section I o f Assam At t I of 1957. 2. In section 1 of the principal Act — (1) Sub- sect ion (2) shall be sub sti tuted by the following, namely :— “ (2) It extends to .t he distr icts of Lakhimpur, Di brugarb , Sibsagar, Now gong , Dar rang , Ka mr up , Go alp ara and Cacha r in the Sta te of Assam.” (2) Aft er sub-sec tion (3), the following shall be inserted as sub-section (4), namely: — “ (4) The Sta te Governme nt may, by not ifica tion ■’cb'ishecl in the OG cia, Gazet te from time to time, ex .t id th e Act to such o the r area s as may be specified in the not ific atio n.” *& E AS SA M GA ZE TT E. EX TR AO RD IN AR Y, SEPT. 17, 1&75 883 Subst itution 3, Section 2 of the princis al Act, shall be stfb- rfAwam Act s t i t u t e d b Y t h e following, namely:— 1 of 1957. “ 2. Excep tion— The provisions of this Act shall A ssam A c t not apply to -( l) lands he ld by the State Gover nm ent vil l of 1973. or by the U nion Gov ernment or by any local au tho­ rity or by any Agr icul tura l Farmin g Corpo rat ion con stit ute d under the Assam Agricu ltural Far ming Corpo rat ion Act, 1973. (2) (a) Lan ds held an d utili sed for special cul tiva ­ tio n of tea and purposes ancil lary thereto ; (b) Lan ds held by a mill, a facto ry or a workshop, as the case may be, for the purposes of expansion of the mill, factory or workshop or for anc illa ry purposes of the mill, factory or work­ shop such as setting up of schools, dispensaries and road s bu t no t for any oth er purpose : (c) Lands held by a Co-operativ e Farmin g Society for cultivation of sugar-cane only for the purpose of feeding a Co-operative Sugar Fa cto ry : Provided that if at any tim e, such lands cease to be util ised for the purp oses mentio ned in the aforesaid sub-clauses, the prov ision s of this Ac t shall apply ; (3) Land vesting in a Gram Sabha under the 5 SSp™,.^c!: Assam Gran adan Act , 196 i’’ Am endm ent of Sec tion 3 of Assam Ac t I of 1957. mg, 4. In Section 3 of the princ ipal Act , (1) Clause (a) shall be sub stituted by t he follow-: nam ely :— “ (a) ‘Agr icu ltu re’ includes hor ticulture , arb or i­ cul ture, pisc icul ture , piggery , anim al husbandry, po ul try and other allied pursuit s (2) Clause (d) sha ll be subs tituted by the follow ­ ing, namely :— “ (d) ‘Family’ means a fami ly cons isting of any one or more or all of the following, namely :— (1) hus ban d, (2) wife, (3) min or children , nd also includes a joint family. 884 TH E ASSAM GAZ ETT E, EX TR AO RD INAR Y, SEPT. 17, 1971,*- ------------------------------------ -------- ---- ------------------------.-------- ----------- Exp la na tion —“ Joint family” means a family of which the members are descendan ts from a comm on ancestor and have a common mess and shall include wife or husband, as the case may be, bu t shal l exclude marrie d daughte rs, ma rri ed sons and thei r chi ldren : Provide d that a family consisting of fa ther and/o r mother, sons an d/or unma rried daug hters hold ing lands j ointly shall be pre sume d to be "join t insp ite of any one or m ore having a sep ara te mess (3) Clause (e) sha ll be dele ted. (4) Clause ( f ) shall be sub stituted by the fol lo­ wing, namely :— “ (f ) ‘Lan d’ means land which is or may be utilis ed for agricultura l purposes or purpo-, ses subservient thereto and includes the sites of buildings ap pu rte nant to such land and also includes land which is or may be utilised for qua rrying stones (5) Clause ( j ) shal l be sub stituted by the follow ing, namely :— “ (j) ‘Person’ includes an indiv idua l, a fami ly, a jo in t family, a trus tee, a Com pany, a body Co rporate , a partn ers hip firm, a Society or an assoc iation of indiv idua ls whe ther incorporated or no t.” (6) In clause (k), sub-clause (iii) shal l he sub­ sti tu ted by the follow ing, namely :■— "(ii i) by servants or hi red labo urers on fixed rem unera tio n payab le in cash or kind b ut no t in cro p-s hare, un de r p ersonal supervi­ sion of the per son himself or any mem ber of his family prov ided it is accompan ied by the bea ring of risk s of cul tiva tion by the own er and by residence in the village in which the lan d is situ ate of in a nea rby village or town within a distance of 8 K. M. dur ing the grea ter pa rt of the agr icu ltur al season : Provided fur the r that in the case of a person who is a widow or a minor, or is subject to any physical or me nta l disability or is a member of Milit ary , Nav al or A ir Forces of the Union, or who is a stud ent , beiow the age of 21 years of any edu cat ional ins titu tion recogn ised by the State Government , the land shall be deemed to be under persona! cultivation even in the absence of such personal supe rvision;” Th e ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, SEPT. 17, 1975 885 Amendmen t o f Section 4 of Assam Act I of 1957. 5. In Section 4 of the prin cipal Act— (1) Sub-section (1) shall be substituted by the following, nam ely : — “ (1) Notwithstanding any thing to the con tra ry in any law, cus tom or agreement, no person sha ll be ent itled to hold, as owner or ten ant, lan d which exceeds the limit of 50 bighas in the aggre gate and this limit of 50 bighas shal l be applicable to the aggrega te of the land s held ind ividu ally by the mem bers of a fami ly or joi ntl y by some or all the members of such a fami ly : Provide d that where such person holds ‘orch ard’ land the afor eme ntioned limit shal l be increased by the actu al area of orc hard subject to a max imum of 4 bighas over the limi t of 50 bighas men tioned above” (2) In sub-section (2), (I) the first pa rag raph sha ll be sub sti tuted fey the following, namely :— “ (2) No twithsta nding anyth ing to the contr ary in any law, custom or agreemen t, no person shall be ent itle d to hol d, as c.wner or tenant , lands for special cul tivation of tea in excess of such lan d as has been used for specia l cul tiva tion o f tea and purposes anc illary thereto on the day on which the Assa m Fix ation of Ceil ing on Land Holdings (Amendm ent) Act , 1970 came into Assam Act fo rc e; ” V I i lo f l9 7 i . (II ) in the explana tion , item (V) shall be substitu ted by the following, nam ely :—• “ (v) lan d used for hospita ls, dispensarie s, creches, recrea tion centres and play -grounds (3) In sub-section (5), the first paragraph shall be sub stituted by the following , namely :— “ (5) No person who holds lan d in excess of the limit fixed under Section 4 shall, on or after the commencement o f the Assa m Fixatio n of Ceiling on Land Holdings (Am endm ent) A ct, 1970, tran s­ fer or partit ion any land un til the land in excess of such lim it is determ ined and possess ion v il l of 1971 take n ove r by the Col lector under this Act 886 TH E ASSAM GA ZETTE, EX TR AO RD IN AR Y, SEPT. 17, 1975 (4) In sub-section (6), for the words, “ this Ac t” whereve r they occu r, the words , “ the Assam Fix ation of Ceiling on Land Hold ings (Am end­ ment) Act, 1970” shall be substituted. of Section 6' After Section 11, the follow ing new Section ’ll A. ’ shall be insert ed as Section 11 A, na mely: — Ta kin g posse ssion in advance. “ 11 A. Notwi thst and ing any thin g contained in this Act or in any other law for the time being in force (1) When it app ear s from a ret urn sub mitted by a person under Section 5 or 22 of this Act that there is any land in excess of the ceiling limi t the Collector may by an ord er in writ ing take posses sion of such excess lands. In doing so the Col lector shal l take possession of that land which has no t been selected to be ret ain ed and in case when no such select ion has been ind ica ted in the re tu rn the Collec tor shall himself select the lan ds to be take n possession of. (2) When it appears from a ret urn submit ted by a person under Section 5 o r 22, that the pa rti ­ culars shown therein are no t correc t an d the Col lec tor finds from info rmation received by him that there are lands in excess of th e ceiling limit the Co llec tor may by an ord er in writ ing take over possession of such excess lands. While doing so the Collec tor shall himself select the lands to be taken posses sion of. (3) When no ret urn has been submit ted under this Act by any pe rson in r espect of his lands but the Collector finds fro m inform atio n received by him that the person holds lands in excess of the ceiling lim it, the Collector may at any tim e by an orde r in writing tak e ove r possession of such excess lan ds. While doing so the Collector shal l himself select t he lands to be taken possession of. (4) Wh en the Collector has passed an order un de r sub-section (2) of Section 7 showing therein any lan d to be in excess o f the ceiling limit appli ­ cab le to the person concern ed he shall by an o rder in wri ting tak e posses sion of such excess iaud. (5) No order for taking possession sha ll be passed under any of the previous sub-sections unless it appears to the Collector to be necessary to do so in public inte rest or for secu ring proper manage­ ment of the lands in ques tion. TH E AS SA M GA ZE TT E. EX TR AO RD IN AR Y, SEPT. 17, 1975 887 (6) When possession is taken of any lan d unde r any of the prece ding sub-sections, the person whose lands are tak en possess ion of shal l be paid fo r each yea r of such possession an amount equal to the annual land revenue an d local ra te payable f or such land . (7) Wh ere t he excess land of any person de ter­ mined finally under Section 7 is foun d to be less than the land of t ha t pe rso n which the Coll ecto r has take n possession of under this Section, the land which is in excess of the area so dete rmined shall be re tur ned by the Col lector. (8) Notwi ths tan ding anyth ing in any law for the tipie being in force , any o rder passed bv a Collector under any of the preceding sub-sect ions sha ll be final and no court or any oth er authority shall ent ertain any suit, proceedin g or apeea l in respec t of any such order passed or in respect of taking over and ret urn of possession of lan d under any of the preceding sub-sections. (9) For tak ing over possession of any land under any of the prec eding sub-sect ions, the Collector may use such forc e as may be necessary. (10) Any ord er passed by the Col lector for tak ing over possession of any land un de r any of the p re ­ ceding sub-sections shall not affect or prejudice in any manne r, the det erm ina tion of the excess lan d under the prov isions of the Act. (11) Any lan d of which possession is tak en by the Collecto r may be tem porar ily for a perio d not exceeding one year at a time disposed of or utili sed in the spi rit of the provisions of Ch apter II I of this Act. Such tem porary disp osa l shall not create any right, tit le and inte rest whatsoever in fav our o f any person . Inser tio n of Af ter sub-sec tion (2) o f Sect ion 17 insert the new >ub- following as sub-sect ion (3), namely “ (3) In mak ing sett lement under sub-sec tion (1) of this Section preferen ce shall be given as far as pra cticab le t o the following categories of person in the orde r of nar rat ion sta ted below:— (a) Lan dless cul tivato r who has been ren der ed homeless due to flood, eros ion or earth ­ quake. (b) Lan dless cul tiva tor. (c) Agricu ltural Far min g Co rporati on as de- Assam Act fined i n the Assum Agr icultur al Fa rming VIII of Corpo rati on Ac t, 1973. " 1973- section und er Section 17 of Assam Act I of 1957. 888 THE AS SA M GA ZE TT E, EX TR AO RD IN AR Y, SEPT; 17, 1975 ■»<+ Amendment of Section 23 of Assam Act I of 1957, Amendment of Section 34 o f Assam Act I of 1957. Inse rtion of Section 41. Repeal and savings. Insertion of Section 42. Pow er to r e­ move diffi­ culti es. Explanation—For the pur pose of this Section the expression “Landles s cul tivato r” shall mean a person who does not hold any land wh eth er as own er or as ten an t or as bo th exceed ing 3 bighas and whose on lt means of livelihood is cult ivation. 8. Jn Sec tion 23 of *he p rincipal Act , in clause (b), for the figure “ 100” occ urr ing in betw een the words “ o f ” and “bigh as” , the figure “ 50” shall be subs tituted. 9. The exis ting sub-sect ion (2) of Section 34 of the princ ipa l Act shall be substitu ted as fol lows— “ (2) Any person who fails to submit any ret urn required to be sub mitted under Sections 5 and 22 sha ll, on convict ion, be pun ishe d with imprisonment which may extend to one yea r bu t which shall n ot be less t ha n three mon ths and shal l also be liab le to fine which may extend to one tho usand rupees. ” 10. After Section 40 of the princi pal Act , the following shall be added as a new Section, namely— “41 (1) The Assam Fixation of Ceil ing on Land Hold ings (Am endmen t) Act, 1972 is hereby repeale d. (2) No twithstanding such repeal , any decision given, ord er made, any thin g done , any action taken or any proceedings comm enced un de r any of the provis ions of the Act so rep ea+d and in force imme ­ diately befo re such repea l shall con tinue in force and shall be deem ed to have been given, made, done, taken or commenced und er the cor responding pro vi­ sions of this Ac t.” 11. Af ter Section 41 of the prin cipal Ac t the follo wing shall be add ed as a new Section, namely :— “ 42. If any difficulty arises in giving effect to any prov ision of the Assam Fixatio n of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1956, the State Government may, as occas ion requ ires , take any act ion not inco nsis tent with the provisions of the Ac t which may app ear to them necessary for the purpose of removing the difficulty.” MD . SAADULLAH, Jo in t Secy, to the Governmen t of Asaam, Law De partm ent. I Ca uhati :—Prin ted and pub lished by the Sup dt., i/c., Pr int ing Press Direc torate o f Ptg. & Sty. Go vt, of Assam (Ex-G azette ) No. 241—1 ,56 0+ 254-1 7-9 -19 75.