Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land) Act, 1961

Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land) Act, 1961

Purpose

Fair and equitable distribution of land for agricultural purpose-(discourages large khas possession).

To facilitate personal cultivation of land.

Allows under Raiyat to acquire the status of Raiyat.

The Act

Fixes the maximum ceiling of land for statutory family- no one can keep land more than ceiling.

State government then acquires excess land (surplus land) to distribute it among landless.

Intent

Land holders try their level best to avoid ceiling and acquisition. For this they generally transfer the surplus land to someone else. The idea of this law is to catch such transfer.

Summary

If someone has land more than ceiling area he needs to file return with collector. Collector can also collect information through various agencies. If the person has surplus land but he does not file the return the person is eligible for fine. On the basis on return statement draft publication is made. Next is final publication and finally acquisition of surplus.

Section 5 is the back bone of the law.  5(i) says no person will hold land above ceiling. Section 5 (ii) says that collector permission will be needed for any transfer after 9.9.70. Section 5(iii) says collector will make enquiry of any transfer made between 22.10.59 and 9.9.70.

Fixation of Ceiling area

In the Section 4 under Chapter II of the Act, provisions have been made for fixation/determination of ceiling area. The section says that on the appointed day[1] the following shall be the ceiling area of land for one family[2] consisting of not more than five members for the purpose of the Act,( that is on appointed day the maximum land which a family /landholder can keep in its occupation is)-

(a)                  Fifteen acres (7.0705 hectares[3] of land) of Class I land, that is, land irrigated or capable of being irrigated by flow irrigation works or tube wells or lift irrigation which are constructed, maintained, improved or controlled by the Central or the State Government or by a body corporate constituted under any law and which provide or are capable of providing water for more than one season. A land shall not be regarded as class I land, despite above features, unless it is capable of growing at least two crops in a year.

(b)                  Eighteen acres (6.2846 hectares) of Class II land, that is, land irrigated by such private lift irrigation or private tube-wells as are operated by electric or diesel power, and provide or are capable of providing water for more than one season.

(c)                   Twenty five acres (10.1175 hectares) of class III land, that is, irrigated or capable of being irrigated by works which provide or are capable of providing water for only one season.

(d)                  Thirty acres (12.141 hectares) of class IV land, that is, land other than those referred to in clauses (a), (b), (c), (e) and (f) or land which is an orchard or used for any other horticultural purpose.

(e)                  Thirty seven and half acres (15.368 hectares) of class V land, that is, Diara[4] land, or Chaur land.

(f)                   Forty-five acres (18.211 hectares) of hilly, sandy, forest land, even land perennially submerged under water or other kind of land none of which yield paddy, rabi or cash crops, that is, class VI land.

Sec. 4(A) Redetermination of Ceiling Area  :-        Where the ceiling area of the land for any family or any member of the family constituting the family on the appointed day has been determined by any order passed by any authority in accordance with the provisions of this Act prior to the Commencement of the BLR(Fixation……………Surplus Land) (Amendment) Act, 1972 (Bihar Act 1 of 1973), the ceiling area of such family or member of the family shall be re-determined under this Act with reference to the appointed day in accordance with the amended provisions.

                Authority, under this section, includes the Collector, Commissioner of the Division and the Board of Revenue.

Acquisition of Surplus Land (Procedure)

As a first step towards the acquisition of surplus land, the Collector shall cause a draft statement to be prepared based on the information given by or on behalf of the landholder u/s 6, 8 and 9 or the information obtained by the Collector u/s 7. The draft statement would contain the area and description of the concerned land. This draft statement shall be published in the official gazette of the district and a copy shall also be served on the land-holder concerned. Any objection to the draft statement can be filed by the landholder or any person having interest in the land within 30 days from the publication (can be extended by 15 days by the Collector).

                                                Final statement is prepared u/s 11 after necessary disposal of the objection and corresponding alterations in the draft statement, if any. This final statement shall also be published in the official gazette of the district.

                                                The State Govt. or the Collector shall now, u/s 15, acquire the surplus land by publishing in the official Gazette of the district, a notification to the effect that such land is required for a public purpose and such publication shall be conclusive evidence of the notice of the acquisition to the person or persons concerned, provided that a copy of the notification shall also be sent to the landholder concerned by registered post with acknowledgement due. Thus section 15 confers power on State Government and the Collector of district to acquire surplus land.

                                                According to Sec. 15(2), on the publication of the notification u/s 15(1), the land specified in the notification shall, subject to the provisions of the Act, be deemed to have been acquired for the provisions of the Act, and vested in the State, free from all encumbrances with effect from the date of the notification and all right, title and interest of all persons claiming interest therein shall, with effect   date, be deemed to have been extinguished.

15(3):-   Subject to any order made on appeal or revision, the Collector may at any time, after the publication of the notification under sub-section(1), take possession of any land specified in the said notification and may for that purpose, use such force as may be necessary.

15(4):-(Acquisition of Mortgaged land)  If a mortgagor becomes entitled to recover possession of his mortgaged land u/s 12 of the Bihar Money Lenders Act, 1974, and the area of such mortgaged land, together with the land, if any, held by him anywhere in the State, exceeds the ceiling area, then the provisions of Section 18 (restriction on future acquisition) shall apply thereto as if such mortgaged lands were in acquisition under that section and thereafter the land which the mortgagor is not entitled to retain shall be deemed to have been acquired for the purposes of this Act and  vested in the State in accordance with sub-section (2).

Other important section

Resumption of land by a Raiyat from his under Raiyat

Section 12 says that a raiyat whose surplus land has been acquired by state government can resume land from his under Raiyat.

Restriction on future acquisition by transfer

Section 16 says that a transferee shall not be allowed to keep in his possession any transferred land[5]together with his other land which is in excess of the ceiling area.

Law of Pre-emption and powers of Collector w.r.t. law of pre-emption

Section 16(3) makes provision for the right of pre-emption. It lays down that if any transfer of land is made after the commencement of this act to any person who is not a co sharer of the transferor or an adjoining Raiyat , then such transferor co-sharer or adjoining Raiyat who has land contiguous to the transferred land becomes entitled to claim the land by paying the price for which the land was sold together with the 10 percent compensation payable to the transferee who will then be bound to transfer the land by the order of collector to the transferor co-sharer or adjoining Raiyat as the case may be.

However to claim such right the transferor co sharer or the Raiyat of an adjoining land is required to make an application in the prescribed form to the collector within 3 months from the date of registration  of the transfer deed by registering office. If the transferee himself is the co sharer Raiyat of the transferor then the Raiyat of the adjoining land shall not be entitled to claim such right of preemption. Similarly if the land is transferred by the transferor to the Raiyat of the adjoining land then the transferor co share Raiyat shall have no right for the preemption as aforesaid. The proceedings of the pre emption are regular proceeding in which the transferor and transferee both shall be party.

The sections

                Sec. 16 (3) (i)  :-When any transfer of land is made after the commencement of the act to any person other than a co-sharer or a raiyat of adjoining land, such co-sharer or raiyat of adjoining land shall become entitled to file an application for preemption within three months from the date of registration and the challan registration deposit of the purchase money a/w a sum equal to 10% thereof be filed within that period. These are the only limitations on this right and any application is maintainable if only these requirements are made (Moti Mandal vs State of Bihar).

                Sec. 16(3)(ii)- The co-sharer or raiyat mentioned above becomes entitled to be put in possession even if an appl. Is pending u/s 16(3)(i).  When an appl is rejected the co-sharer or raiyat is evicted from the land and the possession is restored to the transferee a/w[6] the sum of 10% of the purchase money out of the above deposit.

                Sec. 16(3)(iii)- If this application is allowed, the collector shall order the transferee to transfer the land in favor of the applicant vide a document of transfer. This transfer has to take place within the time allowed in the said order failing which order 21, rule 34 of CPC 1908 becomes applicable.

Appeal against an order of Dy. Collector u/s 16(3) can lie before the Addl. collector as well as the High court.

The right of preemption is a very weak right. The onus is upon the preemptor to prove his case absolutely.

Power of collector to declare a transfer void if made in contravention of section 16

Section 17 says that if as a result of transfer the transferee becomes in possession of more land than the ceiling area then he shall acquire no right title or interest in the land so transferred to him and the collector may declare the transfer to be void giving to the transferor and the transferee an opportunity of being heard. Also if the transfer is by sale the transferred land shall vest in the state. If otherwise then transferred land shall vest in the transferor.

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[1] Means the 9^th September, 1970. This date was appointed for the ceiling of land. The family number and land classification is calculated on this date.

[2] Means (includes )a person his or her spouse and minor children

[3] One Hectare = 2.47 acres

[4] Means any land which is subjected to diluvion or alluvion on account of any change in the course of river, Lies between two embankments constructed to control the river.

[5] Whether by sale, exchange, mortgage, lease, agreement or settlement

[6] a/w-along with

Perspective on burial analysis.....continued

Goodenough 1965- Connection between personal identity and last rites performed:

Goodenough points out that the intervening variable of personal identity affects the manner in which the last rites or duty is exercised/ performed. The operation of personal identities will produce variability that a model of strictly social personae will not take into account. Saxe based his own premise from the methodology provided by Goodenough.

Arthur Saxe 1970- Patterning and variability in mortuary remains reflects the “social position”:

 In his 1970 PhD dissertation, Saxe proposed the differentiation accorded to the positions that he or she occupied in his/her community during life. In order to explain why this should be, he argued that at the time of death a series of choices are made among the various aspects of a person’s social personae: choices made by the living based on their relationship to the deceased. These decisions then determine the nature and details of the mortuary treatment. Thus, the patterning and variability observed in mortuary remains reflect the social positions held by the deceased. Saxe was among the first to attempt to construct a coherent theoretical basis for mortuary analysis by essentially extending the normal behaviour of a society to the cemetery. But Saxe’s work is entirely based on ethnography of three different cultures, (the Ashanti, the Kapauku and the Bontoc Igorot) and does not take into account mortuary differentiation in an archaeological context with its attendant complications. However, his work was a clear break with the particularizing culture history that preceded it and a breakthrough for the New Archaeologists and their interest in broader questions of social change. The search had thus begun for categorical regulations rather than specific artifacts.

Binford 1971- Linking mortuary behaviour with social complexity:

In 1971, Lewis Binford, offered the hypothesis that there should be a high degree of isomorphism between (a) the complexity of the status structure in a sociocultural system and (b) the complexity of mortuary ceremonialism as regards differential treatments of persons occupying different status positions. Binford implies that status corresponds to mortuary complexity. He surveyed forty cases from the Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) to test this hypothesis by noting a striking difference between agriculturalists and hunter-gatherers, where agriculturists symbolized a greater number of social dimensions in their mortuary ceremonialism, such that the variability of a culture’s burial could be used to show inter social differentiation. Binford takes an even more direct route from graves to social complexity. The more complex the society, measured solely by its primary method of food production, the more complex the mortuary rituals are. Again conspicuous by their absence are archaeological data. And where Saxe has used ritual obligation toward the deceased to link mortuary behaviour with social dimensions, Binford does not specify how social complexity and mortuary behaviour are linked or by what mechanism complexity is extended from the society to the cemetery.

Later theories- Utilizing Saxe-Binford’s premises:

In the intervening years since Saxe and Binford developed their theories regarding the relatedness of mortuary complexity and social complexity, there have been many fine examples of mortuary analysis, most of which utilize the Saxe-Binford premises in order to explain observed mortuary variability.

Brown, 1971- Ethnographies inadequate with respect to funerary practices:

James Brown’s studyin 1971, came close on the heels of the Saxe-Binford publications. Brown was the first to struggle with the problem or how to relate the regulations of ethnographic funerary practices to archaeological remains. In fact, he made one of the few early critiques of ethnographic documentation, noting that it is frequently inadequate with respect to funerary practices.

Meillasoux 1972- “Mortuary practices vary with economic base of the society”:

Some anthropologists have emphasized that the beliefs and practices associated with the disposal of the dead vary with the economic base of the society. Meillasoux in his 1972 work, for example, shows the interrelationship between subsistence, social groupings, territoriality and ancestor cult by studying two idealized subsistence types: hunter-gatherers and agriculturists. In the former type, there is an absence of elaborate mortuary rituals, territoriality based descent groups and celebrations relating the living to dead ancestors. On the other hand, among agriculturists, descent that provides for group membership and renews the relations of production is a major concern. In these societies one finds conceptual continuity with the past that is reflected in ancestor cults, developed genealogies and symbolic representation such as elaborate mortuary rituals.

Tainter 1978- “Mortuary population reflects the structure of extinct society”:

Joseph Tainter’s 1978 study, built upon his previous mortuary analysis in Hawaii. He used six mortuary data sets from West-Central Illinois, dating from the middle and late woodland periods, from A.D. 200 to 800. He echoed Saxe and Binford in his premise that the time of death, occasions the expression of a greater range of the deceased’s social identities than in any time in life. Also, the higher the relative rank of an individual, the greater will be the amount of disruption in normal community activities the mortuary ritual will cause. He built the idea of energy expenditure from this which included various mortuary rituals. However his model rested on several assumptions that cannot be justified.

 

Kirch and Hodder 1980 and 1982- Inadequacies in Mortuary Studies:

In contrast, many authors have questioned the assumption that burial organization equals social organization (Kirch1980, Hodder 1982). These stated reservations concerning the relationship between burial structure and social structure and meaning, result from ethno­-graphic research which indicated that the most we can hope for is relative social political status, not the societal rank of the participants in the now extinct social system (Kirch 1980: 306). According to this view, the burial pattern is codified, and the code of expression can be manipulated in different social strategies. The excavated object can only inform on so­ciety through an adequate understanding of cultural context (Hodder 1982: l0).

        

On the one hand, the earlier approach leads to the quantitative com­parison of counts and levels of energy expenditure, while the other tends­ towards a consideration of the symbolic meaning of particular objects, treatments, and arrangements. Both approaches are informative: the sta­tus of different groups-may be expressed in different ways in the same society.

Goldstein 1981- The Saxe-Goldstein Formulation:          

Goldstein (1981) sees the determination of status from burials as crucial, “since burials afford archaeologists one of the best means for examining social interaction. The particular social relationships involving the deceased account for the specific disposal treatment. However, because different types of social organization allow for different sets of social relationships, different organizations will also exhibit different disposal treatments. Mortuary analysis must link social relationships, social structure, and disposal treatment”, (Goldstein 1981:54). Goldstein suggests that spatial organization of the cemetery can indicate the organizing principles of the society, as well as differentiation.

          

The study of spatial arrangements of burials has also been useful in attempting to reconstruct prehistoric social organization. Goldstein car­ried out two levels of analysis, the formality and spatial separation of the disposal area as a unit and the relation of individuals to each other (Gold­stein 1980: 7). Goldstein concluded from an analysis of ethnographic cases from different parts of the world, that the existence of a formal, exclusive disposal area for the dead, set apart for this purpose alone, usually means that the society is likely to have corporate groups organized by lineal descent (Goldstein 1980: 8). Not all corporate groups will choose to express there identity in this fashion, but in the cases in which the pattern occurs, the existence of such corporate groups is usually the case. It is also most likely that such corporate groups will control access to critical resources.

          

Saxe’s (1970) hypothesis says, to the degree that corporate group rights to use and/or control crucial but restricted resources are attained and/or legitimized by means of lineal descent from the dead (i.e., lineal ties to ancestors), such groups will maintain formal disposal areas for the exclusive disposal of their dead and conversely. Goldstein (1981) modified Saxe’s hypothesis by postulating that if a permanent, specialized bound area for the exclusive disposal of the group’s dead exists, then it is likely that this represents a corporate group that has rights over the use and/or control of crucial but restricted resources. This corporate control is most likely to be attained and/or legitimized by means of lineal descent from the dead, either in terms of actual lineage or in the form of a strong, established tradition of the critical resource passing from parent to offspring.

Pearson 1982- Mortuary ritual to manipulate social relations

The relationship between burial pattern and cultural pattern was found to have several properties. M. Pearson (1982: 112) states that groups may use the occasion of mortuary ritual to manipulate social relations to im­prove their own status. He notes that the burial preparation and ceremony involve living cultural groups who surround the deceased and that objects in the burials must be seen in terms of their mutual interaction. Thus, not all the objects in the tombs "belonged" to the deceased in the same way. Some may have been personal ornaments and possessions, while others may have been collective tributes or ritual paraphernalia used in the fu­neral.

Renfrew and Bahn 1992- Megalithic monuments were public monuments and territorial markers:

Renfrew along with Bahn in their 1992 work, believe that the Megalithic monuments of North-West Europe, besides being related to the burial practice, were viewed as public monuments designed to be seen and were territorial markers of small-scale segmentary societies where competition for resources were legitimized by reference to the dead ancestors.

Ian Morris, 1992- Burial evidence and social structure

Ian Morris, in his 1992 study, makes extensive use of archaeological materials from various regions off the Greco-Roman world. It is an ambitious work that aims to study regional social change. The main theoretical thrust of his work is that the potential for using burial evidence to reconstruct social structure increases directly in proportion to the amount of other types of information available.

Simon and Ravesloot, 1995- Interpreting the ceramic vessel placement in burials

Arleyn W. Simon and John C. Ravesloot in an article in the Journal of Anthropological Research (Vol. 51, 1995) attempt to suggest that though archaeologists have often interpreted ceramic vessel accompaniment in burial as indicators of personal wealth or the social status of the deceased, however alternative interpretations that are related to gender and age of the individual may better explain the patterns of vessel placement. In this piece of work the authors depend upon ceramic vessel accompaniments recovered during the Roosevelt Platform Mound study and are used to examine gender rules among the prehistoric Salado and Central Arizona. Their main implication is that the patterns of vessel placement within Salado burials as identified by compositional groups, give ideas for the roles of individual within the larger context of social relationships that comprised the prehistoric community.

 

O'shea, 1996- Reconstructing social organization from mortuary remains using numerical methods:

In his 1996 Mortuary study of seven early Bronze Age cemeteries of the Maros people (present day Hungary), John O'shea demonstrates an overt concern with social dimensions, but he also focuses on the archaeological processes of site formation that complicate the task of the analyst. While he acknowledges that the reconstruction of social organization from mortuary remains may indeed be distorted, it is distorted in a regular and predictable manner. He offers an informed and sophisticated use of numerical methods and explores horizontal social differentiation in addition to hierarchical differentiation in both diachronic and synchronic syntheses.

          

From historical Arikara burials, in which status could be checked by independent records, O'Shea found differences in the artifactual expression of chiefly rank and that of ritual offices (O'Shea 1984: 271). Chiefly rank was indicated by a central position in the ceme­tery, an arrow-maker's kit, and other artifacts characteristic of an upper wealth level, whereas, in another case, it was indicated by burial with a stone pipe and upper wealth level objects (ibid). Similarly, bird beaks, which marked the ritual office at one site, were designators at another site of a special prestige position. Arikara society, admittedly, was undergoing rapid change, but despite the changes in symbolic ex­pression, in our opinion the relative social position of the individual is still recognizable.

Discussion

Many theories discussed above advocate universality in the behaviors that cause differentiation in mortuary treatment. Some archaeologists advocate that “burial rites are known to change frequently in many situations”, (Ucko 1969:203) and that human society is not static. The ethnographic information upon which Binford and other archaeologists based their theories is not without limitations. Ethnographic information was compiled from cultures in the present to derive universal theories of human behavior and impose them onto the distant past. The ethnographic cultures used to generate these theories are not necessarily comparable to prehistoric cultures. We have no reliable way to gauge the fit of the analogy between all of these cultural groups. Instead, hypotheses should be generated on a case per case basis, so that the analogical fit may be more accurately determined. Ucko (1969) demonstrates that there is a wide variety of ethnographic reasons for the inclusion or lack of grave goods with the deceased, creation of monuments, and location of burial. As a result of the extreme variation in reasons for mortuary treatment observed ethnographically, archaeologists must be cautious when attributing universal causes to mortuary treatment. Instead, where possible, archaeologists may achieve a better understanding of social implications of mortuary treatment by generating hypotheses using ethnographic analogies that are a close fit with the prehistoric culture under analysis.

         

Several methods have been used to examine the reflection of the symbolic order in graves. Hodder (1982) examined the symbolism of European Neolithic burials by comparing them, along several dimensions, with Neolithic houses. McGuire (1992) conducted a statistical analysis of multidimensional cemetery information at La Ciudad to make statements about the social order as seen in contradictions between different classes of remains. Shanks and Tilley (1982) sought to determine the nature of social structuring principles by analyzing the physical positions of skeletal remains in Neolithic barrows. Pearson (1982) conducted an analysis of Victorian Period mortuary practices to determine how the deceased are manipulated so that the upper class can maintain their influence. Morris (1987) demonstrated that the spatial arrangement of Greek burials is based upon corporate group membership by examining literary sources, burial type, and spatial patterning. Morris used these multiple dimensions of burial practices and literary evidence to trace the development of the Polls, or Greek City State concept. These studies are all based on the concept that burial ritual manifests social ideology and as such, play a role in the negotiation of power between social groups (McGuire 1992). This ideological approach to the study of mortuary behavior demonstrates that there are multiple causes for the complexity of mortuary activities.

         

Many archaeologists focus on the exclusive use of grave inclusions to determine the role of an individual in society in the past. Once the role of a person has been identified, archaeologists can determine the social level of the society they are studying (Rothschild 1979). This method of conducting burial analysis has been criticized because not all grave inclusions deposited with skeletal remains will be preserved (Ravesloot 1988:71). Consequently, the presence or absence of grave goods alone can not be used to infer the possible existence of ascribed status (Ravesloot 1988:71). Additional dimensions of mortuary treatment must be examined to generate a more adequate picture of the social organization of groups in the past.

         

Some archaeologists have also looked at the quantity and quality of grave goods interred with an individual to further assess the status of the individuals in a cemetery. Others have used historical records to assign value to grave goods in order to quantify the wealth interred with an individual and thereby determine his or her rank (Rothschild 1979).

         

Many archaeologists, recognizing the limitations of mortuary studies focused strictly on grave goods, have advocated a multidimensional approach to determine status differences reflected in mortuary treatment (Goldstein 1981; Ravesloot 1988; Rothschild 1990; Chapman and Randsborg 1981; Ucko 1969; Howell and Kintigh 1996; and Binford 1971). Simply stated, the multidimensional method of analysis examines a number of dimensions of mortuary treatment. In addition to grave goods, this group of archaeologists advocates the examination of demographics, burial orientation, paleopathologies, and spatial distribution. They argue that by examining multiple dimensions of mortuary treatment we may obtain a more detailed understanding of status differentiation in the past. Comparisons and correlations can be made between the various dimensions of the mortuary domain to understand more fully the social and cultural issues that are reflected in cemeteries. Archaeologists must study all dimensions of mortuary treatment in order to form a model of the burial treatments practiced by a group and to understand the level of organization reflected (Ravesloot 1988:19). Ravesloot advocates that “regardless of the approach used in a mortuary study, it is important not to limit analysis to one dimension over another, but to examine the total mortuary program of the society being investigated” (Ravesloot 1988:18).

         

Multidimensional analysis has been undertaken by classifying and coding the cemetery data recovered from an excavation according to a list of burial traits that can be statistically analyzed to test hypotheses (Rothschild 1990, Ravesloot 1988). Brown (1981) examined multiple dimensions of mortuary treatment such as treatment of the corpse, position and construction of the interment facility, duration and extent of the funeral, differences in the materials contributed to the ritual, and selective sacrifice of humans with the deceased to evaluate the energy expended on an individual's mortuary treatment. As discussed previously, energy expended in mortuary treatment reflects the status of the individual in life.

          

By conducting multidimensional analysis in this manner it becomes possible to distinguish the status of an individual, despite few grave goods and poor preservation (Brown 1981:29). Because of its usefulness as a method for mortuary analysis, the multidimensional approach may be used to test the hypotheses of the New Archaeologists and Post Processualists, despite their theoretical differences. The various examples and theories discussed above, thus is an attempt to exhibit the divergent and myriad processes which can be validated to the study of mortuary practices and how they may help in the reconstruction or study of the socio-cultural life of prehistoric people. 

                                               BIBLIOGRAPHY

Binford, L.S. 1971. “Mortuary Practices: Their Study and their Potential” in Memoir of the Society for American Archaeology. Ed. J.A. Brown. Vol: 25, pp. 6-29.

Childe, V.G. 1945. “Directional Changes in Funerary Practices during 50,000 Years in Man. Vol: 41(3-4), pp. 13-19.

Goldstein, L.G. 1980. “Mississippian Mortuary Practices: A Case Study of Two Cemeteries in the Lower Illinois Valley” in Northwestern University Archaeological Program. Evanston. Illinois.

Kirch, P.V. 1980. “Burial Structures and Social Ranking in Vava’u” in Journal of the Polynesian Society. Vol: 89(3), pp. 291-308.

Pearson, M. 1982. “Mortuary Practices, Society and Ideology: An Ethno archaeological Study” in Symbolic and Structural Archaeology. Ed. I. Hodder, pp. 99-114. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.

Saxe, A.A .1970.Social Dimensions of  Mortuary Practices. Unpublished PhD dissertation .University of Michigan.

Tainter, T.A. 1975. “Social Inference and Mortuary Practices: An Experiment in Numerical classification” in World Archaeology. Vol: 7, pp.1-15.

Tainter, T.A. 1978. “Mortuary Practices and the Study of Prehistoric Social Systems” in Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory. Ed. M. Schiffer. Vol: 1, pp.105-141. Academic Press. New York.

Perspective on Burial Analysis

The study of Prehistoric Mortuary Practices has enriched our knowledge of past societies in varied ways. It gives us a vivid description of the physical and biological aspects of people studied, belonging to the prehistoric times, and also an idea about the social and ideological dimensions of them. Mortuary symbolism has been interpreted variously in Anthropology. Understanding about shared ancestry, place and history are the symbolic raw material from which a sense of mutual interest and community is built. One can visualize an important emotional relationship between the people concerned and their dead ancestors. Archaeologists can benefit from looking at mortuary practices by observing the manner in which the dead were disposed, as well as spatial and architectural associations with the burials. While looking at mortuary practices, archaeologists can compare the material culture shown in the burial along with age and sex to answer questions about social status and gender. Archaeologists see mortuary practices as a communication that expresses the social role at death of an individual. Archaeologists in different parts of the world have studied the socio-economic and ideological roles of individuals through mortuary evidence.

Archaeologists have devoted much energy to the study of cemeteries and skeletal remains. A body of theory and corresponding methods has therefore developed to determine the level of information archaeologists can gain from cemetery data. This article does not attempt to conduct a comprehensive review of the copious literature devoted to the archaeology of death. Here I would examine some theoretical approaches and methods used in burial analysis. Before delving into this discussion it is necessary to define mortuary practices.

          

I should describe here what the mortuary practices are. Simply stated, mortuary practices are made up of actions that are carried out by the living when an individual dies. Such practices consist of ceremonies performed for the dead and may leave no traces in the archaeological record. Archaeologists use the physical remnants of mortuary practices left in the archaeological record, to make statements about the ceremonies and practices that patterned their creation. Why should archaeologists concern themselves with studying mortuary practices? According to Metcalf and Huntington(1991), the study of death ritual is a positive endeavour because ,regardless of whether custom calls for festive or restrained behaviour, the issue of death throws into relief the most important cultural values by which people live their lives and evaluate their experiences. Life becomes transparent against the background of death, and the fundamental social and cultural issues are revealed.

         

It would follow that social and cultural issues are reflected in both the mortuary behaviours accorded to an individual upon death and its physical manifestations. As a result, an archaeologist may examine social and cultural issues by studying the physical manifestations of mortuary behaviour.  Saxe states that "How people dispose of their dead is a reflection of the socio-cultural system in which they participate" (1977:74).

         

A method for determining the status of archaeological skeletal remains is suggested by Saxe (1970), Brown (1971), and Tainter (1978). They use Binford’s theory to develop a methodology, formal analysis, to quantify the amount of energy invested in the mortuary treatment of skeletal remains. Peebles (1971) developed a method based on Binford's theory, evaluating the status of grave goods by classifying them according to technomic, socio-technic, and idiotechnic categories. Once the status of the deceased is determined, Peebles pose that archaeologists can ascertain the level of social organization characterizing the group the individual lived within.

Know me

My PhD research was on the Mortuary Practices in the Central Ganga Valley where I tried to evaluate from an anthropological/archaeological perspective. My main focus was on social differentiation, cultural change and demography. I have tried to see the mortuary rituals in living social context where I have utilized the richness of symbolic material available to the anthropologist to put “flesh on the bones” of mortuary customs to draw an ethnographic parallel about much of the activity surrounding death rituals which have left no physical evidence at all.

As a student of Social Anthropology, I have conducted research involving primary means (field work) and secondary means (literature review) and am well equipped with the various techniques and practices that Social Sciences require for a comprehensive empirical study. Besides my academic leanings towards the myriad possibilities Social Anthropology as a discipline has to offer, I have an avid interest in the world of computers. I am fully comfortable and integrated with both hardware and software and with no formal training in it, I took it as a personal challenge to understand it to the core. Today my life includes a virtual cyber arena where the usability, working and distribution of various softwares and the understanding of the handling of hardwares give me a sense of creative satisfaction.

Record of Rights

Section 101 to 120 in the chapters X and XI of BT act 1885 lays down the provision of survey and settlement. The operation of occupancy right provisions and use of fair and equitable rent provisions need a record of right to be prepared. The details of the process for this is given in rules under BTA, Bihar Survey & Settlement Manual and technical rules of the settlement department. The principal object of he survey and settlement is to prepare upto date village-wise survey map and khatian. Survey is under jurisdiction of the revenue and land dept. following are the main components of record of right:-

i)    Village map  :- this is prepared on the scale of 32 inches=1 mile or 64 inches=1 mile. In this the maps of village boundaries and plots are prepared.

ii) Khatian ::_ this is also prepared village-wise. The main details in this are khata no., name of the khatadhari raiyat and their addresses, khesra under khata, chauhaddi, type and rakba, rate of rent. For this khasra register is prepared a/w sikmi khatian.  Following are the main stages in thepreparation of records of rights:-

1.  Notification :- u/s 101 state govt. issues notification generally for  a district area. After this an army of non-gazetted staff are recruited under the settlement officer. They are kanungo, surveyor, chainman, amen, etc headed by  an Asstt SO. The survey camp is divided into various halkas.
2. Kishtwar :- it can be understood ;as new map of the village. For this, first the village boundary is decided and points of mushtkil; are estd on the same. Joining the mushtkil, murabba is drawn. After the preparation of murabba, the new field map called kishtwar comes into existence. The word kisht or the installment is for the block prepared.
3. Khanapuri :- it is the preliminary preparation of the record of rights. In this stage the blocks or khanas in the map are filled with plot nos. the filling of the khanas gives it the name khanapuri. Following other things are added to the map in this stage- khesra, parcha, khatian, teriz (brief index of khatian), kursinama of raiyat.
4. Tanza :- it is the objection filed on any land where there are two or more ;claimants. In this stage the disputes are solved and “a not final” map is prepared.
5. Tasdeeq :- it means the attestation of the record of rights. It is done in the village itself in the camp. The stages in this are distribution of parcha, bujharat (correcting the entries of objections after local enquiries) and final tasdeeq (attesting the name of khatadhari, area of khesra, rent, cess).
6. Publication  of Draft records :- after checking and verifying the record of rights, the attesting officer u/s 61 of BTA makes entries into the prescribed forms and puts signature over the map. This completes the preparation of draft records. In this stage an object camp is organized by ASO where objections are disposed of summarily.
7. Final Publication of record of Rights : When all objections are disposed U/s 103-A the revenue officer finally frames the record and cause it to be finally published in prescribed manner. He then submits the report to state government with necessary particulars to enable state government U/S 103-B to issue a notification declaring that a record Of right has been finally published for every village.

General duties of Circle Officers

The Circle officer plays a great role and is taken to be a pillar in the collection of revenue of the state. His basic function is to keep record with regard to agricultural land, waste land, vacant land, Government land and industrial development marked land and homestead land. His work helps the state to fix the rent of the land accordingly and the responsibility again comes on him for the collection of the same.

Every Circle Officer is responsible for the supervision of the revenue administration and the land records of every village in their circles. He from time to time in each year inspects every village in his respective jurisdiction.

The circle officer will discharge all the functions and duties of a khasmahal Officer under the provision of the Bihar Government Estates manual, 1941. In addition, he will discharge the functions and duties noted below.

1.       A circle officer may sanction mutation in respect of holdings with in his jurisdiction.

2.       He may sanction the sale of moveables, fruits and fallen branches up to a value of Rs 50 in each case.

3.       He should exercise effective supervision over the work of Karamcharis and Circle Inspectors, and also over his own office.

4.       He should ensure proper collection of rent and proper deposit of collection by the collecting staff according to the instructions of Government, and should also take particular care to see that the amount in the hands of collecting staff does not in any case exceed their security deposit including personal security.

5.       He will be responsible for the proper custody and deposit of the Government money.

6.       He will be responsible for the punctual submission of all reports and returns.

7.       He will also discharge such other duties and functions as are assigned to him in these instructions or in the instructions for the guidance of Karamcharis, or as may be assigned to him from time to time.

Tours and inspection

The circle officer should tour at least 120 days in a year, of which atleast 90 nights must be spent outside his headquarters. During such tours he should familiarize himself with the prevailing condition of each village in the circle and its people and problems and make a note of all matters of interest relating to each individual village in the village notebook for necessary action.

After collection season is over he deals with all the mutation and land encroachment cases in the camps at suitable centers.

The circle officer must be familiar with the relevant account rules in particular those contained in these inspections as well as in the instruction for the guidance of the karamcharis.

Discharge and Acquittal

An accused may be freed from the charge made against him both by a discharge and by an acquittal.

Distinctions

1.       A discharge take place where there is no prima facie case made out against the accused , and he has not been put on his defense , nor any charge framed against him to which he could plead. Where as an acquittal takes place when accused has been called upon to enter on his defense  or a charge has been framed against him prima facie case having been made out by the prosecution . The accused here can be acquitted or convicted but he cannot be discharged.

2.       A amn who is discharged may again be charged with the same offence if other testimony should be discovered but a man who has been acquitted cannot be put on trial again for the offence of which he has been acquitted.

3.       An order of discharge is not a judgment but of an acquittal is.

4.       An acquittal is always final whereas an order of discharge leaves the matter at large for all purposes of judicial inquiry.

Complaint and Information

Complaint

Section 2(d) of CRPc says complaint means any allegation made orally or in writing to a magistrate with a view to his taking action. It does not include police report.

It further lays down that report by police officer which discloses commission of a non cognizable offence is also deemed to be complaint.

Definition

Thus complaint has to do with the procedure for filing criminal charges. It gives the brief summary of the facts of the case (who, what, where, when etc) and basically explains how the facts show that something illegal took place.

Also it is the representative of government like a public prosecutor who would file the complaint alleging the crime.

Essential features

1. There must be an allegation

2. It must be made to a magistrate.

3. It is against a person known or unknown.

4. The action is to be taken by Magistrate.

It must not be a police report unless it discloses commission of a non cognizable offence.

Information

It is like a criminal complaint to 1.Police Officer

                                                          2. Magistrate

It means report of a crime given with object of setting the police in motion to investigate the matter. Hence information has got the nature of complaint but it is different from it in following regards

1. In Complaint Magistrate acts because complainant has asked him to act wile magistrate acts on information on his own initiative.

2. In complaint if magistrate chooses not to prosecute he can dismiss the complaint under section 203 after recording his reasons while in information if he chooses not to act he need not record any reason or pass any order

3. In complaint the complainant is examined on oath while in information it is not so.

Investigation, Inquiry and Trial

 The three terms investigation, inquiry and trial denotes three different stages of criminal case.

Investigation [2(h)]

Investigation is the first stage and is reached when a police officer either by himself or under the order of magistrate investigates into a case.(section 202).

Thus investigation of a case is a scrutiny which includes all the proceedings conducted by a police officer  or any person (other than magistrate) authorized by magistrate, for collection of evidence to ascertain if an offence has been committed at all ,if so, by whom and what is the evidence which can be adduced in committed offence.

It commences on receiving information.

Its ultimate aim is to get at truth in respect of the information received by investigating officer.

Its steps are

1.Going to spot spot

2.Ascertain facts of the case there

3.Discovery and arrest of suspects

4.Collection of evidence

a.Examination of accused

b.Search of place

Inquiry [2(g)]

After the result of investigation is sent to magistrate the second stage of a criminal case that is inquiry begins before the magistrate. It is a judicial proceeding made by a magistrate or a court.

In inquiry magistrate finds out the truth or falsity of the allegation for taking further step. The inquiry here means everything done in a case that is every inquiry other than trial by magistrate or court. The inquiry results in charge or discharge of accused.

Trial

After inquiry when a magistrate is satisfied that a case has been made out against the accused he places the accused for trial before session courts.

Trial is a judicial proceeding which invariably ends in acquittal or conviction of the accused.

Investigation and inquiry

1.The investigation is made by police officer while enquiry is a judicial proceeding made by magistrate or court.

2.The object of investigation is to collect evidence for the prosecution of the case while the object of inquiry is to find out the truth and falsity of certain alleged facts in order to take further action thereon if warranted.

3. Investigation is the first stage of the case and normally preceeds inquiry by magistrate.

Inquiry and trial

1.Inquiry does not necessarily means inquiry into an offence it may relate to matters which are not offence for eg disputes. Trial, on the other hand is always of an offence.

2. an inquiry in respect of offence never ends in conviction or acquittal but results in discharge or charge. A trial must invariably ends in acquittal or conviction of the accused.

3. Inquiry as defined in the code does not include  a trial but refers only to a judicial inquiry into the matter by magistrate or a court.

Role Of Treasury Officer

TO is the Representative of Collector in treasury. On behalf of the Collector, he supervises the daily functioning of the treasury and compliance of the rules and regulations. He keeps vigil on the working of subordinates. He'll be responsible for the supervision of balances of cash, stamps and advances, etc. He will be also responsible for compliance of all directives of AG/Govt./Collector, etc.
Treasury Officer regulates and authorizes Government Employees and pensions of difference types like Service pension, Political pension, disability pensions etc. He also maintains the accounts of receipts of government revenue and income from other sources. He also compiles the accounts of government receipts & payments and forwards them to AG for further classification and accounting. AG, in turn prepares the State accounts to match them with grants allocated by the state budget passed by legislature.
The Treasury officer is responsible to the Collector primarily for the proper discharge of his duties for thorough observance of all rules prescribed for his guidance in every branch of his duties and for strict attenuation to all details of the daily routine of the treasury work.
The special precautions to be observed by the Treasury Officer in matters relating to receipts, custody and payment of Government moneys are specified in other relevant parts of the rules.
Apart from Government receipt and payment the Treasury Office is also the nodal point of Stamps storage and sales. It has a strong-room for safe custody of stamp papers of difference types such as Non-judicial stamps, Court fees stamps, share transfer stamps etc.
In short making government payments, accepting government receipt, pension disbursement, sale of stamp papers and compilation of accounts of the above mentioned activities are the main functions of the District Treasury.
A Treasury officer may permit withdrawal for all or any of the following purposes, namely:-
(i)    To pay sums due from the Government to the drawing officer;
(ii)    To provide the drawing officer with funds to meet claims likely to be presented against the Government in the immediate future by other Government servant or by private parties;
(iii)    To enable the drawing officer to supply funds to another Government officer from which to meet similar claims;
(iv)    To pay direct from the Treasury or from the Bank sums due by the Government to a Private party;
(v)    In the case of a Government officer or authority empowered to make investments of moneys, standing in the Government Account, for the purpose of such investments;
(vi)    To pay sums to the drawing officer on account of permanent advance sectioned to his office;
(vii)    To pay sums on account of loans and advances;
(viii)    To pay sums on account of grants –in-aid, contributions, scholarships, stipends, etc.

Difference between a Bill and a Voucher.

Difference between a Bill and a Voucher.
Rule 16 of the Bihar Treasury Code mentions that every claim shall be presented in the prescribed format. Bill is a statement of claim prepared on the prescribed form with an objective to present it before treasury to withdraw money. There are different types of bills described in the Bihar Treasury Code. Whereas, a voucher is a pre-receipted bill. When a bill is prepared and signed by a DDO, with quoting “received payment” it becomes a voucher. In other words, if a bill is paid and treasury voucher no. is generated by the treasury, it becomes a voucher.

GIS in Archaeology

GIS in Archaeology
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software provides archaeologists with a powerful set of tools for management, analysis and research of cultural resources. The power of GIS lies in the ability to link objects on a map to a database, combining the graphical display of data with database query and analysis functionality. Similar objects are grouped into layers, which can be turned on or off for mapping. The map below has several different layers, with the Alabama State Site File layer on top, then roads, major bodies of water (turned off) and a series of digital topographic maps as a base layer. Using GIS software, we can pan and zoom across the state to a particular area of interest, and identify features on the various map layers. The identify results window displays the attributes for site 1Ca5 stored in the Site File database.

Government of Bihar

Department of Revenue & Land Reforms
The Bihar Special Survey and Settlement Rules, 2012

Notification No............................ Dated...................... In exercise of the powers
conferred by Section 28 of The Bihar Special Survey and Settlement Act. 2011, the State Government hereby make the following Rules:-

CHAPTER – I

PRELIMINARY

  1.     Short title, extent and Commencement.- (1) These rules may be called "The Bihar
Special Survey and Settlement Rules, 2012".

(2)         It shall extend to the whole of the State of Bihar.

(3)         It shall come into force on such date as may be notified by the Government in the Official Gazette.

 2. Definitions.- In these rules, unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context, definitions of words given in Section-2 of the Bihar Special Survey and Settlement Act, 2011 (Bihar Act 24, 2011) shall apply to the Bihar Special Survey and Settlement Rules, 2012.

CHAPTER – II

NOTIFICATION AND PROCLAMATION

  3.     Notification.- (1) The State Government shall express its intention to conduct special
survey and settlement through publication of a notification in the Official Gazette.

(2) Copies of the notification published under the foregoing rule-3(1) shall also be forwarded to the different offices of the Central/State Government to enable them to put their claims/objections, if any, with respect to the entries during the Special Survey and Settlement operation so that record of rights of lands held/ owned by them, are correctly prepared.

4.          Proclamation.-(1) The Survey and Settlement Officer shall publish a proclamation in Form-1 addressed to the land holders/persons having any interest in the lands of the area under Special Survey and Settlement operation, directing them to demarcate their lands for the purpose of pointing out boundary marks of the land parcels.

(2) After the publication of proclamation under foregoing Rule- 4(1), the survey and settlement officer, or any other officer/employee, acting under the authority of the Survey and Settlement Officer shall have power to enter upon the lands under Special Survey and Settlement, to examine and measure such lands by any method, he deems fit and may clear the lands by cutting down or removing any trees, jungle, standing crops or other obstructions, as may be necessary, for the purpose of survey. However, no claim or compensation as to cost can be claimed for the above action.

CHAPTER – III

REORGANIZATION OF ONGOING SURVEY AND SETTLEMENT OPERATIONS

5.          Reorganization of ongoing survey and settlement operations.- The Government may, by an executive order, reorganize the ongoing survey and settlement operations of a district to bring it in conformity with the provisions of the Bihar Special Survey and Settlement Act, 2011.

CHAPTER – IV

SELF DECLARATION

6. Self declaration by the land holder and its verification.-(1) After the publication of notification under rule 3(1) of the Bihar Special Survey and Settlement Rules 2012, the land owners/holders may submit, in duplicate, a self declaration of lands owned/held by them in Form-2. One copy of the self declaration shall be made over to the person concerned after initialing and putting date and serial number by the receiving officer/employee as a token of acknowledgment of the same.

(2) The self declaration shall be submitted within 30 working days from the date of publication of the notification under rule-3(1). However, in special circumstance the period may be extended by 15 additional working days.

(3)           The self declaration may be submitted before the concerned Anchal Adhikari/Assistant Settlement officer incharge of the concerned camp.

(4)           If a self declaration is submitted before an Assistant settlement officer, the same shall be received in the manner prescribed in the foregoing sub Rule-(1) and shall be forwarded to the Anchal Adhikari of the concerned Anchal for its verification.

(5)           The Anchal Adhikari shall verify the details of self declaration on the basis of revenue records such as the last record of rights, Register- IB i.e Continuous Khatiyan, Register-2 i.e. the tenants's ledger or any such revenue records maintained and available at his level.

(6)           The maximum period for the verification of self declaration shall be 15 working days from the date of the receipt of the self declaration.

(7)           After the verification of the self declaration, the Anchal Adhikari shall prepare the verification certificate in Form-3 and make it available to the Assistant Settlement Officer concerned.

(8)           Any self declaration which could not be verified by the Anchal Adhikari due to non availability of the relevant records or due to disputes, shall be kept and maintained in a separate register giving reasons in brief for non verification in Form- 4 and the register along with the self declarations shall be sent to the concerned Assistant Settlement Officer.

CHAPTER – V

KIST WAR

7. Kistwar by Modern Technology.- (1) The Kistwar of a revenue village shall be carried out by the preparation of map through modern technology inclusive of base mapping, demarcation of plots as well as revenue village and ground verification.

(2)           The revenue map shall be prepared on different scales, keeping in view the density of plots, incorporating the technical details, headings and any other relevant details pertaining to the map so that any land parcel and its boundary may be clearly shown and measured.

(3)           The map, so prepared, shall be made available to the concerned Assistant Settlement Officer for its verification. The Amin shall verify cent - percent of the plots

of the map and the Kanoongo, Assistant Settlement Officer, Charge Officer and the Settlement Officer shall randomly check 25%, 10% ,2% and 1% of the plots respectively.

(4)           The verification of the map shall be carried out by comparing it with the map of the last survey as well as by spot verification of the areas and boundaries of the existing plots.

(5)           The verification of the map of a revenue village shall be completed within a period not exceeding 30 working days from the date of the receipt of the map. (6)  The map, so prepared, after necessary correction shall remain displayed on the
notice boards of the office of the Gram Panchayat of the concerned revenue village as well as at the camp office for the general public.

CHAPTER – VI

KHANAPURI

 8. Constitution of Khanapuri Party.-(1) Revenue village wise Khanapuri parties shall be constituted by the Settlement Officer of the concerned district consisting of the following :-

(i)             An officer/revenue employee of the Anchal Office concerned;

(ii)           Representative of Director, Land Records and Survey, Bihar;

(ii)      Any other designated officer or employee;

(2)           The constitution of the Khanapuri party shall be published in the concerned District Gazette.

(3)           The Khanapuri party shall be headed by an officer/employee of the kanoongo or equivalent grade.

(4)      The Khanapuri party constituted in the aforesaid manner shall work under the
supervision and control of the Assistant Settlement Officer of the concerned area.

 9. Khanapuri Work:- (1) Before the initiation of Khanapuri work of a revenue village, a teriz i.e, abstract of last record of rights and a Kheshra Register shall be prepared village wise in triplicate in Form-5 and Form-6 respectively.

(2)         The verification certificate in respect of the self declaration of raiyats, issued and made available to the Assistant Settlement Officer of the concerned camp by the Ancahal Adhikari concerned, shall be re-verified with the help of Teriz, khesra register at the camp.

(3)         The self declaration which could not be verified by the Anchal Adhikari due to non availability of the relevant revenue records or due to a dispute, shall be verified by the Khanapuri party on the basis of the available records such as Teriz, khesra register etc.

(4)         The Khanapuri party shall physically verify each plot of the concerned revenue village with the map made available after Kistwar and shall make a note of all the changes in the configuration of plot and also other changes, if any. If any plot differs from the area and boundaries shown in the map, the Khanapuri Party shall ink it up in red in the map. If any plot is found sub-divided into two or more parts then a separate "Bata Number (Division Number)" for each such part shall be given, and in such cases sub-division of plots shall be shown in broken lines. Accordingly, the map of the concerned revenue village shall be altered/corrected. The Amin shall verify cent-percent plots of the revenue village and Kanoongo, Assistant Settlement officer, Charge Officer and Settlement Officer shall randomly verify 25%,10%,2% and 1% of the plots respectively.

(5)         During field verification, the Khanapuri Party shall identify and demarcate public lands, government land and record the same in the preliminary record of rights.

(6)         After the verification, the Khanapuri Party shall prepare raiyat wise Khanapuri purcha in Form-7 in the light of available reference revenue records, verification certificates of self declaration as well as actual field verification.

(7)         The Khanapuri Purcha prepared in Form-7 shall be served to the land holders/owners including officers concerned with Government land/public land. The Land holders/owners shall also be made aware of the entries of the Khanapuri purcha at a convenient place and on fixed date and time.

(8)      Khanapuri purcha prepared in Form-7 shall be served on the raiyat concerned or
his near relative. However, if he declines to receive the purcha the same will be served

on him by pasting it on the front gate of his house/wall. The person responsible for the service of the purcha, shall, as far as possible, obtain the signatures of the panchayat representative, village chowkidar and other local residents on the service report and the same shall be deemed to be a proper service of the Khanapuri purcha.

(9)          Claims/objections against the entries of Khanapuri purcha may be filed by the land holder/owner or any person having interest in the land including representatives of the concerned office of the State Government/Central Government/Public Sector/ Local bodies in Form-8. and a receipt as a token of acknowledgment for the same shall be issued to the person concerned in Form-9.

(10)       Claims/Objections of the land holder/owner or any other person having interest in the land received at the camp office concerned shall be maintained in a separate register in Form-10.

(11) Private agencies may be engaged in the preparation of Khanapuri purcha and its services. Elaborate order to that effect shall be issued by the Director, Land Records and Survey, Bihar. Remuneration/Rates for the private agency to carry out above works shall be fixed by the Director, Land Records and Survey, Bihar, from time to time.

10. Disposal of claims/objections during Khanapuri .- (1) The Knanoongo /Circle Inspector/Assistant Consolidation Officer concerned shall issue separate notices to the parties concerned for the disposal of claims /objections in Form-11 clearly mentioning therein the place, date and time of hearing besides a brief account of the claim/objection.

(2)           The parties concerned shall be given an opportunity of being heard and adduce
evidence, if any.

(3)           Claims/objections shall be disposed off in a summary manner by the Kanoongo/Circle Inspector/ Assistant Consolidation Officer by passing a reasoned order, within a maximum period of 30 working days of filing of such claims/objections.

Provided that if the claims/objections filed pertain to Government/Public Land, the same shall be heard and disposed off by an officer not below the rank of Assistant Settlement Officer /Circle Officer/Consolidation Officer.

(4) If any of the parties does not appear even after proper service of the notice, claims/objections may be disposed off ex-parte on the basis of available revenue records and field verification.

CHAPTER – VII

PUBLICATION OF DRAFT KHANAPURI RECORD OF RIGHTS

11.       Preparation of Draft Khanapuri Record of Rights.- (1) After the completion of Khanapuri work a draft of Khanapuri record of rights shall be prepared in Form-12 incorporating the orders passed with respect to the claims/objections received during Khanapuri operations against the entries of Khanapuri purcha as well as the map. (2)      The Khanapuri record of rights including the map shall be attested by the
Assistant Settlement Officer incharge of the camp.

12.       Publication of Draft Khanapuri Record of Rights.- (1) The draft Khanapuri record of rights including map prepared under rule 11(1) and attested by the Assistant Settlement Officer concerned under rule 11(2), shall be published for a continuous period of 30 days in the following manner :-

(i)             by displaying it in the Special Survey/Settlement camp concerned;

(ii)           by displaying it at a conspicuous public place in the revenue village concerned;

(iii)          by displaying it on the notice board of the office of the Gram Panchayat of the revenue village concerned;

(iv)          by displaying it on the notice board of the Anchal Office concerned;

(2)           The draft Khanapuri record of rights including the map published under rule 12(1) shall remain available in the Special Survey/Settlement camp office for the perusal of the public free of cost.

(3)           The non final copy of the map shall be made available to the desirous raiyats/persons having interest in the land on payment of such fee as fixed by the Director, Land Records and Survey, Bihar.

13. Filing of claims/objections against the entries in the draft Record of Rights.-

(1)      Simultaneous with the publication of draft Khanapuri record of rights under rule
12(1) the Assistant Settlement Officer concerned shall issue a public notice in Form-13

inviting claims/ objections, if any, with respect to the entries of draft record of rights including the configuration of plots shown in the concerned map.

(2)         The public notice shall be displayed by pasting it at a prominent public place of the revenue village concerned, on the notice boards of the Gram Panchayat Office concerned and the concerned Special Survey and Settlement camp.

(3)         The public notice shall clearly mention that claims/objections, if any, against the entries of Draft record of rights including the map may be filed within 30 days, from the date of the publication of draft record of rights, free of cost.

(4)        The claims/objections against the entries in Draft Record of Rights, including the map, may be filed in the Special Survey and Settlement camp concerned, by a land owner/holder or any person having interest in the land including representatives of the concerned office of the State Government/Central Government/Public Sector/Local bodies in Form-14.

(5)        The claims/objections of the land owners/holders or any other person having interest in the land received at the Special Survey and Settlement camp shall be maintained in a separate register in Form-15 and a receipt as a token of acknowledgement for the same shall be issued to the person concerned in Form-16.

(6)         A separate case record for each such claim/objection shall be opened in order of the receipt of the claims/objections.

(7)         The Assistant Settlement Officer shall issue separate notices to the parties concerned in Form-17, whereunder a brief account of claims/objections mentioning therein the place, date and time of hearing.

(8) On the date fixed, the claims/objections shall be heard and evidences shall be recorded. If necessary, the Assistant Settlement Officer shall fix a date for the inspection of the plot/plots either by himself or by any other officer/employee authorized by him in this behalf, to ascertain the physical possession over the plot/plots as well as the veracity of the evidences adduced during hearing. The parties concerned shall be informed in advance. A memo of such spot enquiry shall be prepared and annexed with the case record.

(9)           In case any party does not appear even after given an opportunity for appearance, of being heard and adduce evidence, if any, claims/objections may be disposed off ex-parte on the basis of available records, documentary evidence and spot verification, if necessary.

(10)        Claims/objections shall be disposed off in a summary manner by the Assistant Settlement Officer/Circle Officer/Consolidation Officer within a maximum period of 60 days from the date of filing of the claims/objections.

Provided if claims/objections with respect to any land during Khanapuri operations had been disposed off by an officer not below the rank of Assistant Settlement Officer/Circle Officer, Consolidation Officer the claims/objections with respect to those lands shall not be disposed off by the same officer.

(11) Private agency may be engaged for the preparation of draft Khanapuri record of rights and draft of notices to serve the claimants/objectors and persons having interest in the land, on remunerations/ rates as fixed by the Director, Survey and Land Records, Bihar, from time to time.

CHAPTER – VIII

RECESS

14. Recess.-(1) Orders passed with respect to claims/objections against the draft publication of Khanapuri record of rights, shall be complied with by making necessary additions/alterations in the draft record of rights including the map which shall be called “Tarmim.”

(2)           A detailed comparison of village boundaries with the boundaries as shown in the last revenue village map and orders passed at different earlier stages shall be made and the process shall be called “Muqabla”. Care shall be taken that the area of plots as shown in the draft record of rights matches with the area shown in the map concerned.

(3)           The area of each plot and total area of revenue village including boundaries of the revenue village in the Last Survey map and area of plots and total area of the revenue village and boundaries as prepared after draft publication of record of rights shall be thoroughly compared, checked and verified and the process shall be called

“janch”. On being satisfied after janch the Assistant Settlement Officer concerned shall pass the new area as prepared after draft publication.

(4)           After passing the area by the Assistant Settlement Officer concerned, a new Teriz in Form-18 i.e, abstract of the new record of rights, new plot register in Form-19 shall be prepared by Amins/Licensed Surveyors.

(5)          The record of rights, before its final publication, shall be arranged according to the names of raiyats alphabetically in Hindi and this process shall be known as “Tartib”.

(6)      On the basis of the new Teriz and plot register, copies of record of rights, shall
be prepared in Form-20 for its final publication in quadruplicate after proper checking

and comparison and the process shall be called “Safai”. A copy of the Records of Rights called “Raiyati Fard” shall be made available to the concerned raiyats. The second copy shall be sent to the concerned Anchal Adhikari for the preparation of Tenants Ledger Register. The third copy called “Maliki Fard” shall be made available to the Collector of the District concerned. The fourth copy shall remain in the custody of the Director, Land Records and Survey for preservation and for future reference.

CHAPTER – IX

FINAL PUBLICATION OF RECORD OF RIGHTS

15. Final Publication of Record of Rights.- (1) The copies of the record of rights and maps finally prepared in Form-20, shall be finally published under the hand and seal of the Settlement Officer of the concerned district. The same shall be placed for public inspection from the date of final publication for a continuous period of 30 days in the following manner.-

(i)             by displaying it in the Special Survey/Settlement camp concerned;

(ii)           by displaying it at a conspicuous public place of the village concerned;

(iii)          by displaying it on the notice board of Gram Panchayat of the revenue village concerned;

(iv)          by displaying it on the notice board of the Anchal Office concerned;

(2)           The government may notify an officer not below the rank of the Deputy Collector Land Reforms for hearing and disposal of claims/objections filed against the entries of finally published record of rights including the map.

(3)          Any person who has an interest in any land or a part thereof may file claims/objections within 90 days from the date of final publication under Section 11(1) of the Bihar Special Survey & Settlement Act, 2011, before the notified officer concerned in Form 21.

(4)           The notified officer concerned shall issue notices in Form 22 containing therein a brief account of claims/ objections to the parties concerned for the disposal of claims and objections.

(5)           The place, date and time of the hearing shall be clearly mentioned in the aforesaid notice. The parties concerned shall be provided an opportunity for appearance, hearing and adducing evidence, if any.

(6)           In case any of the parties does not appear even after given an opportunity for appearance, hearing and adducing evidence, if any, claims/ objections may be disposed of ex-parte on the basis of available records/documentary evidences and spot enquiry, if required.

(7)           Claims/objections shall be disposed of in a summary manner within a maximum period of 90 days from the receipt of the same.

16. Presumption of final Publication and Correctness of Record of Rights.- (1) The State Government may, by notification, declare, with regard to any specified area, that a record of rights has been finally prepared and published for every village included in such area and such notification shall be conclusive evidence of such publication.

(2)           The record of rights finally prepared and published under this Act, shall be presumed to have been finally published.

(3)           Every entry in a record or rights so published shall be evidence of the matter referred to in such entry and shall be presumed to be correct unless it is proved by evidence to be incorrect.

17. Maintenance of Final Record of Rights.- Hard and soft copies of the final record of rights including the map shall be duly maintained and its copies shall be made available

to desirous applicants on payment of fees, as fixed from time to time, by the Director Land Records and Survey Bihar.

CHAPTER – X

LICENSED SURVEYOR

18.       Grant of License to the Surveyor.- (1) With a view to obtaining applications from candidates desirous of getting a license, the Director, Land Records and Survey, Bihar shall prepare an advertisement and cause it to be published through the website of the Department of Information and Public Relations and the Department of Revenue and Land Reforms, Government of Bihar. Besides other facts, age-limit, educational, technical qualifications, experience, reservation roster, the licensed surveyors' functions and duties, fees and remuneration and other conditions shall be incorporated in the aforesaid advertisement.

(2) The Director, Land Records & Survey, Bihar shall grant license to eligible candidates and shall send the list to District Collectors! Settlement Officers as and when required, for use as per executive instructions to be issued in this regard.

19.       Work and Remuneration of Licensed Surveyors.- (1) In order to obtain the services of the licensed surveyors, private individuals may deposit fees, as fixed from time to time, by the Director, Land Records & Survey, Bihar along with an application, in the revenue office concerned. Director Land Records & Survey, Bihar will determine the amount to be deducted out of the aforesaid fees as incidental expenses incurred in the Revenue Office concerned.

(2)           The licensed surveyors shall be paid remuneration as fixed from time to time by the Director, Land Records & Survey, Bihar for carrying out work assigned to them by any Government Department, requisitioning body relating to land acquisition or any public body, institution or authority.

(3)           In case the licensed surveyors are assigned work pertaining to the preparation of maps!record of rights during survey, settlement and consolidation operations or updating of the record of rights and the like, they shall be paid remuneration as fixed by the Director, Land Records & Survey, Bihar from time to time.

20. Cancellation of License of a Licensed Surveyor.- The Director, Land Records & Survey, Bihar may cancel the license of a licensed surveyor due to any of the following reasons:-

(a)      If he is not committed to his work.

(b)      If he is found using intoxicating drugs or in an inebriated condition at work place.

(c)       If he is attached to a political party or takes part in political activities.

(d)      If he is found guilty of immoral conduct or financial irregularity.

(e)      Any such conduct, which is contrary to the code of conduct applicable to a public servant.

(f)       If he is found technically unfit.

Note:- The licensed surveyor concerned shall be given an opportunity to present his case, in accordance with the principle of natural justice, before taking a decision on the aforesaid charges.

CHAPTER – XI

TECHNICAL GUIDELINES

21. Preparation of Technical Guidelines.- Director, Land Records & Survey, Bihar, shall frame Technical Guidelines within 60 (sixty) days from the date of notification of these Rules, for meeting any or all of the purposes of this Act. The said Technical Guidelines shall be notified by the administrative department. The said Technical Guidelines shall include, besides other things, prevalent methods of Kistwar by modern technology. The said Technical Guidelines shall also incorporate works to be done during recess. Necessary provisions shall also be made in the said Technical Rules regarding the maintenance/publication and making available record of rights and map of a revenue village in digital form to interested persons under Section-14 of the Act. Technical aspects of the work of the licensed surveyors under Section-16 of the Act shall also be incorporated in the said Technical Guidelines.