At present
settlement of Government waste land is being made according
to the executive instructions issued from time to time and also
according to provisions in various Acts, Rules, Orders, customary
practices and usage in force in various parts of the State.
The power to reserve land for communal and other public purpose
levy of Salami, charging of rent, application fees and other
fees and the authority to dispose of such application are different
according to the laws and rules in force in different parts
of the State. This makes its administration difficult and gives
cause for complaint by the public due to lack' of uniformity.
The present Bill is therefore proposed to be enacted as a general
legislation formulating a set of uniform principles regarding
lease of Government waste lands over-riding provisions of various
Acts, Rules, Orders, customary practices and usage in force
in various parts of the State instead of tinkering with the
individual laws with the primary objective of governing the
settlement of waste lands in a planned manner uniformly throughout
the State.
1.
Short title, extent and-commencement-
(1) This Act may be called the
Orissa Government Land Settlement Act, 1962.
(2) It shall extend to the whole of the State of Orissa.
(3) This section shall come into force at once and the remaining
provisions of this Act shall come into force on such date as
Government, may. by Notification, appoint in that behalf-Sections
2 to 9 came into force w.e.f. 1st January. 1965 vide Revenue
Deptt. Notification No. 43 GD (GI)-425/64-R-D/ 1st January1965,
published in Orissa Gazette, Extraordinary No. 2-D/1st January,
1965.
2.
Definitions -In this Act, unless the context otherwise
requires:
1[(a) Collector shall include an
Additional District Magistrate];
2[(aa) Government means the State
Government of Orissa;
(b) Government land means any waste
land belonging to Government, whether cultivable or not, recorded
as House-site, Anabadi, Chot Jungle, Puratan Patit, Nutan Patit,
Paritvakta Beda-khali 3[Gochar] or by any other description,
whatsoever;
4[Explanation - The expression
'any other description whatsoever' shall include-
(i) Khasmahal lands, that is to
say Mahals held under Khas which are treated as Government estates
and the rent of which are payable under Section 3 of the Bengal
Land Revenue Settlement Regulation, VII of 1822 or Section 4
of the Bengal Revenue Settlement Regulation, IX of 1825;(ii)
Nazul lands situated in the State;
(ii) Gramakantha Parambok land
in the ex-Madras areas; and
(iii) Abadi land situated in the
State];5[(b-1) Landless agricultural labourer means a person
who has no means of livelihood other than agriculture, provided:
(i) he or any member of his family owns no land excluding homestead;
and
(ii) his total annual income, together with the total annual
income of alI the members of his family who are living with
him in common mess from all sources, does not exceed rupees
three thousand and six hundred or an amount which the State
Government may, by Notification from time to time, specify in
that behalf]; and
6(b-2) Person means any person,
the total extent of whose land excluding homestead, together
with lands held by all the members of his family who are living
with him in common mess is less than one standard acre and whose
total annual income, together with the total annual income all
the members of his family living with him in common mess, does
not exceed rupees three thousand and six hundred or an amount
which the State Government may, by Notification from time to
time, specify in that behalf];
c) prescribed means prescribed
by Rules under this Act;
1[(d) Revenue Officer means any
officer appointed as such by the Government to discharge any
of the functions of a Revenue Officer under the provisions of
the Orissa Land Reforms Act, 16 of 1960;
(e) Tahasildar includes an Additional
Tahasildar].
3.
Reservation and settlement of Government land -
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any law or any custom,
practice or usage having the force of law ,Government shall
not be deemed to be debarred from exercising all or any of the
following powers in respect of Government lands, namely :-
(a) to reserve such portion of the lands as they deem proper
for the purpose of being used as house-sites or for any communal
or industrial purpose or for any other purpose whatsoever ;
(b) to charge premium for settlement of any such land ;
(c) to charge rent for the lands so settled ;
(d) to charge fees on applications for settlement of land and
such other fees as may be necessary for or incidental to the
disposal of such application at such rates as may be prescribed
and all such fees shall be payable in the prescribed manner
; and.
(e) to authorise any office of Government not below the rank
of a Tahasildar to dispose of applications for settlement of
lands and to settle the same in such manner as may be prescribed
and subject to the provisions of sub-sections (2) & (3):
(Provided that no government land recorded as Gochar shall be
reserved for any purpose mentioned in clause (a) or settle under
clause (e) without being dereserved in accordance with the provisions
contained in Section 3-A.
2. In the settlement of lands under clause (e) of sub-section
(1), seventy per centum thereof shall be settled with the person
belonging to the Scheduled Tribes and the Scheduled Castes in
proportion to their respective populations in the village in
which the land are situated and the remaining lands shall be
settled with the other persons not belonging to the aforesaid
categories:
Provided that if sufficient number of persons belonging to the
aforesaid categories are not available in the village in which
the lands are situated, or being available, are not willing
to accept the settlement of land so much of the land reserved
for the said persons as cannot be settled with them may be settled
with other persons.
(2-a) The maximum extent of land to be settled under this section
with any person for purposes of homestead shall be such as may
be determined by Government from time to time.
(3) The settlement of lands under this section shall be made
in the following order of priority, namely-
(a) co-operative farming societies formed by landless agricultural
labourers;
(b) any landless agricultural labourers of the village in which
the land is situated or of any neighboring village;
(c) ex-servicemen or members of the Armed Forces of the Union,
if they belong to the village in which the land is situated;
(d) raiyats who personally cultivate not more than one standard
acre of land;
Explanation-:ln this clause the
expression "Standard Acre" has the meaning assigned
to it in the Orissa Land Reforms Act 16 of 1960; and',
(e) in the absence of. person belonging to any of the foregoing
categories, any other person.
(4) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the
preceding sub-sections or in any law or any, custom, practice
or usage having the force of law-
(a) any Khasmahal land or such land, except where such land
is used as homestead in any urban area, which has been leased
out prior to the appointed date, shall, whether the lease, where
it had already expired, has been renewed or not prior to such
date, be deemed to have been leased out under this Act to the
person holding such land whether as a lessee, or as, a sub-lessee
either under the lessee or under a sub-Iessee :
Provided that-
(a)(i) any such lessee who is entitled to receive any rent from
a sub-lessee under him; or
(ii) any such sub-lessee who is entitled to receive any rent
from a subsequent sub-lessee under him, under any instrument
executed for such lease or sub-lease, as the case may be, shall
be paid a compensation by the said sub-lessee or subsequent
sub-lessee, as the case may be, equivalent to ten times the
said rent in the manner as may be prescribed;
(b) the compensation so payable shall, if not paid by the concerned
sub-lessee or subsequent sub-lessee, as the case may be within
the prescribed period, be recoverable from him by the Tahasildar
having jurisdiction over the area as arrears of land revenue
and be paid to the concerned lessee or sub-lessee, as the case
may be, in the manner as may be prescribed;
(c) any Gramkantha parambok land or Abadi land, except where
such land is used as homestead in any urban area, which is in
occupation by any person for not less than five years as on
the appointed date, shall be settled with the said person in
such manner, by such Officer and subject to such terms and conditions
as may be prescribed:
Provided that any such land which is situated in an urban area
shall be settled on lease-hold basis and in case of other land
settlement shall be on raiyati basis.
(c) any Khasmahal land, Nazual land, Gramakantha Parambok land
or Abadi land, which is used and in occupation by any person
as homestead in any urban area for not less than five years
as on the appointed date, shall, subject to the payment of compensation
in the case of Khasmahal and Nazul land as mentioned in the
provision to clause (a), be settled, -
(i) in the case of Khasmahal or Nazul land, with the person
lawfully holding such land on and from the date the compensation
is paid; and
(ii) in the case of Gramakantha parambok and Abadi land, with
the person in occupation of such land on and from the appointed
date, on permanent basis with heritable and transferable rights.
Explanation - For the purposes
of this sub-section, the expression "appointed date"
shall mean the date of publication of the Orissa Government
Land Settlement (Amendment) Act, 1990 in the Official Gazette".
3-A. Power to de-reserve land
-
The Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,
authorise any officer, not below the rank of a Collector, to
de-reserve any land which has been reserved under clause (e)
of Section 3 [or any Government land recorded as Gochar] or
any portion thereof.
(2) Any officer authorised under sub-section (1) shall subject
to such conditions and limitations as may be prescribed, have
power to de-reserve any land referred to in that sub-section
or any portion thereof, if such Officer is satisfied that such
land or portion thereof, as the case may be:-
(a) is no longer required for the purpose for which it was reserved;
or
(b) can no longer serve the purpose for which it was reserved;
or
(c) is in excess of the reasonable requirement for the purpose
for which it was reserved;
Provided that the officers so authorised shall in assessing
the reasonable requirement for the purpose of gochar, follow
the prescribed principles laying down the extent of gochar land
to be set apart for use by the community.
3-B. Resumption of land and imposition
of penalty -
(1) Any officer authorised under clause (e) of the Section 3
may resume any land settled by him, if he has reasons to believe
that the person with whom the land was settled has used it for
any purpose other than that for which it was settled and may
impose a penalty of an amount not exceeding one hundred rupees
on such person;
Provided that no order under this sub-section shall be passed
without giving such person a reasonable opportunity of being
heard in the matter.
Notes- In Sections 3A and 3B there is reference to clause (a)
and clause (e) of section 3 with regard to de-reservation and
resumption of the Government land. But after going through Section
3 it would be seen that there is no such clause(a) and (e) of
Section 3 respectively rather the same would indicate and mean
to clause (a) and clause (e) of Sub-section (1) of section 3
-Legislatures must have meant the same -but somehow the mistake
has crept in.
4.Settlement of char and diara
lands-
Nothing in any other law or custom or usage having the force
of law shall debar the Government from making a settlement of
any char or diara land coming into existence after the date
of commencement of this Act with such persons and subject to
such terms and conditions as Government may deem fit:
3[Provided that nothing in this section shall apply to any char
land which may form part of the holding of a raiyat under Section
21 of the Orissa Land Reforms Act, 16 of 1960.
Explanation-For the purposes of
this sub-section-
(a) "char" means a gradual
accretion to the bank formed by alluvial deposits In a river;
(b) "diara" means an
island formed in the bed of a river or any land formed bv the
recession of a river].
5. Section 61 of Orissa Tenancy
Act, 1913 not to apply to Government lands-
The provisions of Section 61 of the Orissa Tenancy Act,
(Bihar and Orissa Act) 2 of 1913 shall not apply to any Government
land.
[5-A. Preparation of scheme for
management and development of gochar lands-
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any other
law or any custom, practice or usage having the force of law-
(a) the Government may, in the prescribed manner, prepare a
scheme for the management and development of gochar lands and
different schemes may be prepared in respect of gochar lands
situated in different areas;
(b) where any such scheme has been prepared in respect of any
gochar land which vests in a Grama Sasan constituted under the
Orissa Grama Panchayats Act, 1964 (Orissa Act 1 of 1965) the
concerned Grama Panchayat shall manage the gochar land in accordance
with such scheme; and
(c) the Government may, if it deems fit, take over any gochar
land for management and development in accordance with the scheme
prepared in respect of such land].
6. Revision during settlement
proceedings-
The rent payable in respect of any Government land shall
be liable to revision during settlement proceeding under the
Orissa Survey and Settlement Act,3 of 1959.
7. Appeal-
(1) An appeal shall lie against any order made under
Section 3 or Section 3.B-
(a) where such order is made by an officer below the rank of
a Sub-divisional Officer, to the Sub-divisional Officer;
(b) Where such order is made by a Sub-divisional Officer, to
the Collector; and
(c) where such order is made by a Collector to the Revenue Divisional
Commissioner.
(2) No appeal shall be entertained under Sub-section (1) unless
it is preferred within 30 days from the date of the order appealed
against:
Provided that the appellate authority may admit an appeal preferred
after the expiration of the aforesaid period of thirty days
if it is satisfied that the appellant had sufficient cause for
not preferring it within that period.
(3) Every appeal preferred under this section shall be heard
and disposed of in such manner as may be prescribed.
7-A. Revision-
(1) The Collector may revise any order made under Sub-section
(1) 1 [or under Sub-section (3)] of Section 7 by a Sub-divisional
Officer and the Revenue Divisional Commissioner may revise any
order made under that sub-section by the Collector, if an application
Is made by the aggrieved person within a period of ninety days
from the date of the order:
Provided that the Collector or the Revenue Divisional: Commissioner,
as the case may be, may admit an application under this sub-section
after the expiration of the aforesaid period of ninety days
if he is satisfied that the applicant had sufficient cause for
not making the application within that period.
(2) All applications for revision under Sub-section (1) shall
be heard and disposed of in such manner as may be prescribed.
2 [(3) The Collector may of his own motion or otherwise call
for and examine the records of any proceedings In which any
authority subordinate to It has passed an order under this Act
for the purpose of satisfying himself that any such order was
not passed under a mistake of fact or owing to a fraud or misrepresentation
or on account of any material irregularity of procedure and
may pass such order thereon as he thinks fit)-
Provided that no order shall be passed under this sub-section
unless the person affected by the proposed order has been given
a reasonable opportunity of being heard in the matter:
3[Provided further that no proceeding under this sub-section
shall be Initiated after the expiry of fourteen years from the
date of the order.] 7-B. Bar of jurisdiction of Civil Courts
- No Civil Court shall have jurisdiction to entertain any suit
or proceeding in respect of any matter which any officer or
authority is empowered by or under this Act to determine and
no injunction shall be granted by any Civil Court in respect
of any action taken or to be taken in exercise of any power
conferred by or under this Act.
8. Delegation of powers -
The Government may by notification in the Official Gazette direct
that any power exercisable by it under this Act shall, subject
to such conditions, if any,as may be specified in the direction,
be exercisable also by any authority not below the rank of a
Revenue Officer.]
8-A. Power to make Rules -
(1) The Government may by Notification in the Official Gazette,
and after previous publication, make Rules for carrying out
the provisions of this Act.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of
the foregoing power, the Government may make Rules in respect
of all or any of the following matters, namely :
(a) the rate of fees to be charged under this Act and the manner
of payment thereof;
(b) the form and the manner in which an application for settlement
of lands may be made and the manner of settlement of lands;
(c) the conditions and limitations subject to which lands may
be de-reserved;
(d) the preparation of Schemes for management and development
of gochar lands;
2[(e) the procedure to be followed In the settlement of land
and In the disposal of appeals and revision; and
(f) any other matter which has to be, or may be prescribed.
(3) All Rules made under this section shall, as soon as may
be after they are made, be laid before the Legislative Assembly
for a total period of fourteen days which may be comprised in
one or more sessions and if during the said period, the Legislative
Assembly, make modification, if any, therein the Rules shall
thereafter have effect only in such modified form, so, however,
that such modifications shall be without prejudice to the validity
of anything previously done under the Rules.]
9. Removal of doubts or difficulties -
If any doubt or 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 the provisions of this
Act or Rules made there under which appears to them necessary
for the purpose of removing the doubt or difficulty.