PUNJAB
VILLAGE COMMON LANDS (REGULATION) ACT, 1953 THE PUNJAB VILLAGE COMMON LANDS (REGULATION) ACT, 1953 [ Act No. 1 of 1954] An Act to regulate the rights in Shamlat Deh and Abadi Deh. It is hereby enacted as
follows :- This Act may be called the
Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1953. 1.
It shall extend to the whole of the State of Punjab : Provided that nothing
contained in this Act shall apply to any land which - (i)
becomes shamlat due to river action; (ii)
which has been allotted on quasi-permanent basis to a displaced
person. 2.
It shall come into force at once. In this Act, unless the
context otherwise requires, - (a)
"house" includes a courtyard whether walled or not. (b)
"Government" means Government of the State of Punjab; (c)
"Collector" means the Collector of the District in which
the village is situated, or any other officer, not below the rank of an
Executive Collector of the First Grade appointed by Government to perform the
duties of a Collector under this Act; (d)
"prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this
Act; (e)
"appointed date", in the case of a village which is
subject to the jurisdiction of a panchayat at the commencement of this Act,
shall be the date of such commencement, and in other cases, the date on which a
panchayat with jurisdiction over that village is constituted; (f)
"inhabitant" of a village means, a person whether a
proprietor or a non-proprietor, who ordinarily resides in the village : Provided that temporary
absence or absence in relation to employment elsewhere shall not affect his
residence in the village; (g) "Panchayat"
means a panchayat constituted or continued under the Punjab Gram Panchayat Act,
1952; (h)
"displaced person" means a person defined as such in the
East Punjab Displaced Persons (Land Resettlement) Act, 1949. Notwithstanding anything to
the contrary contained in any other law for the time being in force, and
notwithstanding any agreement, instrument, custom or usage or any decree or
order of any Court or other authority, all rights, title and interest whatever
in the land - (a)
which is included in the Shamlat Deh of any village, shall, on the
appointed date, vest in a panchayat having jurisdiction over the village; (b)
which is situated in the Abadi Deh of a village and which is under
the house owned by a non-proprietor, shall at the commencement of this Act vest
in the said non-proprietor. All lands vested in a
panchayat by virtue of the provisions of this Act shall be utilised or disposed
of by the panchayat for the benefit of the inhabitants of the village
concerned, in the manner prescribed. (1)
Where, before the appointed date, on any land which vests in a
panchayat under the provisions of this Act ? (a)
a person is in cultivating possession and his uncut and ungathered
crops are standing thereon, he shall not be ejected from such land unless the
crops have ripened and be has been allowed reasonable time to harvest them; (b)
a person has built or erected any house or any other structure, he
shall be allowed by the panchayat to retain possession of the same on such
terms and conditions as may be determined by the panchayat, subject to any
rules which may be framed in this behalf. (2)
If any person has a grievance against any determination made by a
panchayat under sub-section (1), an appeal shall lie to the Collector, whose
order thereon shall be final. Any income accruing from
the use and occupation of the lands vested in a panchayat shall be credited to
the panchayat fund and shall be utilised in the manner prescribed. No person shall be entitled
to any compensation for any loss suffered or alleged to have been suffered as a
result of the coming into force of this Act. No Civil Court shall have
any jurisdiction over any matter arising out of the operation of this Act. No suit, prosecution or
other legal proceedings shall lie against the Government or any person or
authority for anything done or intended to be done in good faith in pursuance
of the provisions of this Act. (1)
The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,
make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act. (2)
In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the fore-
going power, such rules may provide for ? (a)
the principles on which, the extent and manner in which the
inhabitants of the village shall make use of the lands vested in a panchayat; (b)
the maximum and minimum area to be leased to any single persons; (c)
prescribing the forms for such books, entries, statistics and
accounts as may be considered necessary to be kept, made or compiled in any
office or submitted to any authority; (d)
the terms and conditions on which the use and occupation of any
land vested in a panchayat in permitted; (e)
the manner and circumstances in which any land may be disposed of,
transferred or sold; (f)
the purposes for which any land may be given free of charge; (g)
any other matter which can be or may be prescribed.
Preamble - THE PUNJAB VILLAGE COMMON LANDS (REGULATION) ACT, 1953PREAMBLE