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.
[1]
Means the 9th 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
[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
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