Tamil Nadu Land Reforms (Disposal of Surplus Land) Rules, 1965 Tamil Nadu Land Reforms (Disposal of Surplus Land) Rules, 1965 In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 94 of the Tamil Nadu Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Act, 1961 (Tamil Nadu Act 58 of 1961), the Governor of Tamil Nadu hereby makes the following rules, the same having been approved by the Legislature, as required by the proviso to the said sub-section:-- These rules may be called the Tamil Nadu Land Reforms Disposal of Surplus Land) Rules, 1965. In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) "Act" means the Tamil Nadu Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Act, 1961 (Tamil Nadu Act 58 of 1961); 1(b) "Appellate authority" means any Revenue Officer not below the rank of Revenue Divisional Officer authorised by the
2Land Commissioner by notification to exercise the powers conferred on, and to discharge the duties imposed upon, the appellate authority under these rules, for such area as may be specified in the said notification; 3(bb)
"Assigning authority" means any Revenue Officer not below the rank of
Tahsildar authorised by the 2Land Commissioner by
notification to exercise the powers conferred on, and to discharge the duties imposed upon, the assigning authority under these rules, for such area as may be specified in the said notification; (c) "Form" means a form appended to these rules; (d) "landless agricultural labourer" means a landless person, whose principal means of livelihood is the income he gets as wages for his manual labour on agricultural land; (e) [Omitted by G.O. Ms. No. 5267, dated the 29th August 1973] (f) "Section" means a section of the Act; 3(g) "direct cultivation" means cultivation mainly by one's own labour or by the labour of the members of his family supplemented by hired labour on wages payable in cash or in kind in times of special need such as transplantation and harvest. (1) The
4assigning authority shall maintain a register of surplus land in Form A. (2) As soon as may be after the publication of the notification under sub-section (1) of section 18, the assigning authority shall enter the particulars of the surplus land acquired by the Government under that notification and situated within his jurisdiction, in the register. (3) If the surplus land is situated outside the jurisdiction of the assigning authority, he shall communicate the particulars of such land to the assigning authority in whose jurisdiction such land is situated. (4) On receipt of the particulars, the assigning authority in whose jurisdiction such land is situated shall enter the particulars of such land in the register in Form A maintained by him and shall intimate the serial number in the register and the date of entry therein to the assigning authority from wham he received the particulars of such land. The
4assigning authority shall invite applications for the assignment of surplus land and, for this purpose, shall publish a notice in Form B in the following manner, namely:-- (i) by affixture in the village chavadi or if there is no village chavadi in some other conspicuous public place in the village or town in which the land referred to in the notice is situated; (ii) by beat of tom-tom in the said village or town; (iii) by affixture on the notice boards of the offices of the District Revenue Officer, Revenue Divisional Officer, assigning authority and Tahsildar concerned and of the office of the Panchayat Union Council, Panchayat or Municipality, within the jurisdiction of which the land is situated. (1) The following persons and societies shall be eligible for assignment of surplus land and shall be entitled to preference, in the order given below:-- 1(i) A person who has been cultivating the land as on the date of the commencement of the Act and who is completely dispossessed of the land, which is declared surplus as a result of the provisions of the Act: Provided that the person should not have surrendered the lands subsequent to the date of the commencement of the Act; (ii) [Omitted by G.O. Ms. No. 1358, dated the 21st June 1979] (iii) A person whose extent of holding is reduced below
6three acres of dry land or one and a half acres of wet land held by him partly as cultivating tenant and partly as owner or wholly as cultivating tenant by virtue of the provisions of the Act; (iv) A landless agricultural labourer belonging to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe who contributes his own physical labour or that of any member of his family in the cultivation of the land; 1(v) A person who is, or who has been, a member of the Armed Forces including, the persons who had served in the Indian National Army or the Ex-Assam Rifles Personnel or any
para-military force and members of Armed Forces, who retired or were disbanded before the 26th January 1950, and dependents of the persons of the above mentioned categories, killed in action, namely, wife, widowed mother, minor sons and minor daughters. The servicemen not killed in action, but disabled and alive, can get surplus lands in their own names; 3(v-A) A repatriate from Burma or Sri Lanka who is likely to contribute his own physical labour or that of any member of his family in the cultivation of the land and who has brought to India assets not exceeding
Rs. 10,000 (Rupees ten thousand only) in value; (vi) A landless agricultural labourer other than the landless agricultural labourer referred in clause (iv) who contributes his own physical labour or that of any member of his family in the cultivation of the land; (vii) A cultivating tenant who is holding land which is less than
6three acres of dry land or one and a half acres of wet land in extent; (viii) [Omitted by G.O. Ms. No. 1358, dated the 21st June 1979]. (ix) A co-operative farming society, the members of which are landless agricultural labourers, provided that the extent of land assigned to the society together with the land, if any, already held by the society does not exceed the ceiling area. (2) The total extent of land that may be assigned to any person referred to in clauses
(i) to (viii) of sub-rule (1) together with the extent of other land, if any, already held by such person or if such person is a member of a family, by such family shall not exceed
6three acres of dry land or one and a half acres of wet land: 7Provided that in the case of any person falling under clause
(i) or (iii) of sub-rule (1), the extent assigned or the total extent of his holding and the extent
assigned, as the case may be, may exceed the above limit by a margin not exceeding half an acre of dry land or quarter acre of wet land wherever such assignment in excess over the limits is unavoidable for practical reasons. 8(1) The assignee shall be liable to pay value for the surplus land assigned. The value shall be twelve times the net annual income from the lands of annual value of the land as determined under paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule III to the Act. 9(1-A) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rule (1), the value for the surplus land assigned to landless agricultural labourers shall be twelve times the annual value of the land as determined under paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule III to the Act. (2) The assignee shall also be liable to pay such value for the buildings and trees, if any, on the surplus land assigned, as may be fixed. 10(3) The value for the surplus land and for the buildings and trees thereon, if any, shall, at the option of the assignee, be payable in a lump sum or in equal annual instalments not exceeding twenty with interest at the rate of five per cent per annum on the outstanding
instalments: Provided that the assignee shall be entitled to pay, at any time, any sum in excess of the annual instalments and such excess shall be adjusted towards the subsequent instalment or
instalments. 11(4) If the assignee had been in possession of the land prior to the assignment, either on account of having been a tenant under the erstwhile land owner or having been put in possession as lessee by the Government, the assigning authority may give effect to the assignment from the dale of vesting of the land with the Government only if the assignee agrees to pay the land value from that date. The amounts collected by way of rent under rule 23 or 23-A of the Tamil Nadu Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Rules, 1962 with reference to section 18-F for the period between the date of vesting of the land with the Government and the date of actual assignment shall be adjusted against such land value instalments of principal and interest as determined: Provided that this provision will be applicable only on initial payment of such amount as may be specified by the assigning authority and on execution of an undertaking by the assignee for payment of the overdue instalments on or before the date or dates specified by the assigning authority. Applications for the assignment of surplus land shall be in Form C and shall be presented within thirty days from the date of publication of the notice under rule 4, in person to the
4assigning authority within whose jurisdiction the land is situated or sent to him by registered post: 3Provided that the assigning authority may, in his discretion, allow further time not exceeding fifteen days for presenting any such application if he is satisfied that the applicant had sufficient cause for not presenting the application within the period specified in this rule. (1) As soon as may be after the expiry of the time allowed for the presentation of applications for the assignment of surplus land, the assigning authority shall prepare a list of all the applications received. (2) The assigning authority shall, then, publish a notice in Form D in the manner prescribed in rule 4, and fix a date for conducting an enquiry. (3) On the date fixed for enquiry, the assigning authority shall conduct or cause to be conducted by an officer of the Revenue Department not lower in rank than a Revenue Inspector, an enquiry. The officer conducting such enquiry shall also give an opportunity to the applicants and objectors, if any, to be heard during such enquiry. 12(4) The assessing authority shall, then, consider the respective claims of the applicants and pass necessary orders in the light of enquiry conducted under sub-rule (3). If the appointment for assignment of the surplus land in Form "G" is a male member and if there is a female member in his family, the assignment of the surplus land shall be ordered in favour of the female member of the applicant in the following order:-- (i) if the applicant has a wife, the assignment of the surplus land shall be ordered in the name of the wife; (ii) if there is no female member in the family of the applicant, the assignment shall be ordered in favour of the other female members in the family of the applicant (i.e.) to the dependent widowed sister or dependent widowed mother; and (iii) if there is no female member in the family of the applicant, the assignment shall be ordered in favour of the applicant (male member). The order passed by the assigning authority shall be communicated not only to all the applicants and objectors, but also to the female member, who have not applied for assignment of the surplus land including the female member who has got assignment of the land in her
favour. (5) After passing orders under sub rule (4), the assigning authority shall issue to the assignee a notice in Form E specifying the amount which the assignee has to pay as value of the land and of the buildings and trees thereon, if any, the number of instalments in which he can pay it, if he desires to pay it in instalments instead of in a lump-sum, the amount of each instalment, the date on which each instalment is payable every year and the rate of interest payable on the outstanding instalments. The land value specified in the notice is provisional and is liable for revision, if the amount payable to the landowner in respect of the land in question is revised by, or on the order of any competent authority. The notice shall specify accordingly The notice shall also direct the assignee to remit into the treasury, either the full amount payable, or at his option the first instalment thereof, and to produce the treasury, on a specified date, before the assigning authority. After the chalan is produced, the assigning authority shall take action to get the deed of assignment in Form F executed by the assignee. At the time of execution of deed of assignment in Form F the assignee shall nominate, in writing, one of his legal heirs who is otherwise eligible for assignment, as the person in whose favour the assignment shall stand transferred in the event of his death before the expiry of the time limit prescribed in clause (i) of sub-rule (1) of rule 9. (6)
(a) If an assignee dies after the execution of the deed of assignment in Form F, but before the expiry of the time limit prescribed in clause (i) of sub-rule (1) of rule 9, the assignment made in his favour shall stand transferred in favour of the legal heir nominated by such assignee under sub-rule (5) with effect from the date of death of the assignee. If the legal heir nominated as above is not eligible for assignment on the date of the death of the assignee or is not willing to accept, the assignment may be transferred to any one of the eligible legal heirs of the deceased assignee; (b) On such transfer of the assignment in favour of a legal heir of the deceased assignee, the provisions of these rules, shall apply as if it were an assignment made under sub-rule (4); (c) If none of the legal heirs of the deceased assignees are eligible for assignment or are not willing to take up the land on assignment, the land shall revert to the Government. (7) If an assignee dies before the execution of the deed of assignment in Form F, the assignment will be transferred in the name of an eligible legal heir of the deceased by agreement among the heirs or by drawing lots. If such deceased assignee had remitted any amount towards the value of the land, buildings and trees thereon, such amount shall be treated as paid by the legal heir in whose favour the assignment is transferred. The periods mentioned in rules 7 and 8 shall be counted from the last date of publication referred to in rule 4. 13(1) The assignment of land shall be, subject to the following conditions, namely:-- 1(i) The land assigned shall not be sold or otherwise alienated
14before the expiry of the period specified in sub-clause (a) of clause (iii) below: Provided that the lands may be hypothecated to Government under the Land Improvement Loans Act, 1883 (Central Act XIX of 1883) or the Agriculturists Loans Act, 1884 (Central Act XII of 1884) or to a Co-operative Institution or a scheduled bank authorised by the Government for affording credit to the agriculturists under the schemes of institutional financing of agricultural credit as security for loans obtained for improvements to the lands: Provided further that, at any later date, the lands assigned to a member of the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe shall not be sold to any person other than a member of the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, as the case may be. 15(ii) If the land has been assigned, subject to the payment of value of the land and buildings and trees thereon in
instalments, (a) the first instalment shall be payable before the execution of the deed of assignment; (b) the second and subsequent instalments of land value shall be payable on the 10th February of every succeeding year
16[. . .]; (c) in the event of default in the payment of an
instalment, the amount of the instalment shall be recovered as an arrear of land revenue; (d) in the event of default of the payment of two consecutive
instalments, the amount already paid shall be liable to be forfeited to the Government and the land shall be liable to be resumed; and (e) if in any year, due to adverse seasonal conditions, the land revenue in respect of the land is remitted or suspended, the recovery of the instalment payable in that year and of the instalment payable in subsequent years shall be postponed by one year. (iii)
17(a) The land will vest absolutely in the assignee only after the value of the land and the buildings and trees thereon is paid
18in full or after the expiry of a period of twenty years from the date of assignment whichever is later. 3(b)
19If at any time before the expiry of the period specified in sub-clause (a) above, the land assigned is required for any public purpose, the assignment shall be modified or cancelled and the land shall be resumed by Government. In such cases
20the annual value fixed under Schedule III of the Tamil Nadu Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Act, 1961 (Tamil Nadu Act 58 of 1961), for use of the land from the date of assignment to the date of resumption by Government and the loans and advances, if any, granted for the improvement of the land on the security of the land will be recoverable from the assignee. Subject to adjustment of such dues, the assignee shall be entitled to refund of the instalments of land value paid by him and reimbursement of the cost of any permanent improvement effected or any structure such as wells, buildings, etc., erected on the land at his own expense for agricultural purposes or for his own residence. (iv) The assignee shall engage himself in the direct cultivation of the land assigned: 3Provided that this condition shall not be applicable to persons referred to in rule 5(1)(v) and persons who are physically or mentally disabled, women including widows, and old persons who have no dependents or family members to do cultivation on their behalf. (v) The assignee shall pay, on the due dates, the land revenue assessment, cesses and local taxes in force, from time to time, in respect of the land assigned, with effect from the year in which the assignment is sanctioned. (vi) All sums due to the assignor by virtue of the assignment shall be recoverable from the assignee and his properties, movable and immovable, under the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Revenue Recovery Act, 1864 (Tamil Nadu Act II of 1864), as if such sums were arrears of land revenue or in such other manner as the assignor may deem fit. 3(vi-a) The assignee shall pay the difference of the land value and interest thereon if the amount payable to the land owner in respect of the land is revised by or on the orders of the Land Tribunal, High Court, Land Commissioner or other authority competent to make such revision. (vii) The assignee shall abide by such other conditions as are
21applicable to the assignment of Government waste lands and as may be specified in the order of assignment. 3(2) Where any violation of the conditions of assignment as prescribed in sub-rule (1) or in the deed of assignment in Form F is noticed, the assigning authority shall cancel the assignment: Provided that no such cancellation shall be ordered without giving the assignee an opportunity to make his representation. (1) Any person aggrieved by the orders of the assigning authority under sub-rule (4) of rule 8 may, within thirty days from the date of such order, appeal to the appellate authority. In computing the period of thirty days, the day on which the order appealed against was pronounced or communicated and the time required for obtaining a certified copy of that order, shall be excluded. On all copies issued, the date of the order, the date of communication, the date of application for copy and the date on which the copy was ready for delivery shall be entered. The Court-fee payable in respect of an appeal shall be one rupee: Provided that the appellate authority may, in his discretion, allow further time not exceeding thirty days for the filing of any such appeal if he is satisfied that the appellant had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal within the period specified in this rule. (2) No appeal shall be admitted unless accompanied by certified copies of the order or orders appealed against. (3) On receipt of an appeal, the appellate authority may, after giving the parties a reasonable opportunity of being heard, pass such orders as he deems fit. (4) The orders in appeal shall be communicated to the parties concerned. 2210-A.
(1) Any person aggrieved by the orders of the assigning authority under sub-rule (2) of rule 9 may, within thirty days from the date of such order, appeal to the appellate authority. In computing the period of thirty days, the day on which the order appealed against was pronounced or communicated and the time required for obtaining a certified copy of that order, shall be excluded. On all copies issued, the date of the order, the date of communication, the date of the application for copy and the date on which the copy was ready for delivery shall be entered. The Court-fee payable in respect of an appeal shall be one rupee: Provided that the appellate authority may, in his discretion, allow further time not exceeding thirty days for the filing of any such appeal if he is satisfied that the appellant had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal within the period specified in this rule. (2) No appeal shall be admitted unless accompanied by certified copies of the order or orders appealed against. (3) On receipt of an appeal, the appellate authority may, after giving the parties a reasonable opportunity of being heard, pass such orders as he deems fit. (4) The orders in appeal shall be communicated to the parties
concerned. (5) If in a case where no appeal has been presented under rule 10-A, at any time within five years of the date of the order passed under rule 9(2), the appellate authority is satisfied that there has been a material irregularity in the procedure or that the order was grossly inequitable or that it was passed under a mistake of fact, he may set aside, cancel or in any way modify the order. (1) The order of the
24assigning authority, if no appeal is presented., or of the
24appellate authority if an appeal is presented, shall subject to the provisions of sub-rules (2) to (6), be final. (2) If in a case where no appeal has been presented under rule 10, at any time within three years of the date of the order of assignment, the
25appellate authority is satisfied that there has been a material irregularity in the procedure or that the order was grossly inequitable or that it was passed under a mistake of fact or owing to fraud or misrepresentation or that the extent assigned together with other lands, if any, held by the assignee (other than a co-operative society) was in excess of
26three acres of dry land or one and a half acres of wet land, he may set aside, cancel or in any way modify the order. 27(3) The Land Commissioner may, at any time, of his own motion, within a period of five years from the date of the order of assignment or the date of the order of the appellate authority, as the case may be, set aside, cancel, revise or in any way modify the order of assignment or the order of appeal or revision or issue such directions as he may deem fit, if he is satisfied that the order was grossly inequitable. If he is satisfied that there has been a material irregularity in the procedure or that the order was passed under a mistake of fact or owing to fraud or misrepresentation or that the assignee is not eligible for assignment or that the extent assigned together with other lands, if any, held by the assignee or the members of his family other than a co-operative society exceeds the limits specified in sub-rule (2) of rule 5, he may exercise such powers without any limit of lime. He may also issue such directions as he may deem fit even while the proceedings are in progress before the assigning authority or the appellate authority. 1(4) The Government may, at any lime, within one year, from the date of the Land Commissioner's order under sub-rule (3)
16[. . .] set aside, cancel or in any way modify the order of the Land Commissioner, if they are satisfied that the order was grossly inequitable or there has been a material irregularity, in the procedure, or where it was passed under a mistake of fact or owing to fraud or misrepresentation. (5) The authorities competent to pass orders in revision under this rule may also grant stay, pending orders in revision. (6) No order under this rule shall be passed without giving an opportunity to the assignee of being heard. 2712. In the event of the modification or cancellation of an assignment, the land assigned shall be resumed from the assignee, either in part or in full, as the case may be, and, on such resumption, the assignee shall not be entitled to an amount for any improvement effected by him on the land. The value of the land, buildings and trees thereon paid by him may, at the discretion of the assigning authority, be refunded to him, in part or in full. The assignee shall be liable for payment, for each year of occupation, an amount equal to the annual value as calculated in the manner specified in Part I of Schedule III to the Act and ten per cent of the value of trees, structures and fixtures thereon determined: Provided that where the land was such that it could not be cultivated without considerable work and expenditure and also the land was left fallow during any period, the amount may be waived for that period. The assignee shall also be liable for damages, if any, caused by him to the land. The amount for the occupation and the damages shall be recovered from him by deduction from the value of the land, buildings and trees thereon paid by him, and if the amount for the occupation and the damages exceed the value of the land, building and trees thereon paid by him, such excess shall be recovered from him, as if it were an arrear of land revenue. 13. Nothing in these rules shall be deemed to affect the power of the Government to retain such portion of the surplus land acquired by the Government as is necessary for the benefit of the public. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in these rules, the lands held by a sugar factory and acquired by the Government as surplus lands may be assigned to the landless agricultural labourers if such lands are not required by the Government on collection of market value, provided that the lands held by such landless agricultural labourers after such assignment do not exceed the ceiling limit specified in sub-rule (2) of rule 5. (2) The assignment of land under sub-rule (1) shall be, subject to the following conditions, namely:-- (a) The assignment shall be modified or cancelled if it is found that the extent assigned to the assignee is in excess of the limits prescribed in the Tamil Nadu Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Act, 1961 (Tamil Nadu Act 58 of 1961) or the Tamil Nadu Land Reforms (Disposal of Surplus Land) Rules, 1965, as the case may be. (b) In the event of the modification or cancellation of the assignment, as aforesaid, the land assigned shall be resumed from the assignee, in part or in full, as the case may be, and on such resumption, the assignee shall not be entitled to any amount for any improvement effected by him on the land, but the value of the land, buildings and trees thereon paid by him may, at the discretion of the Government, be refunded to him, in part or in full. The assignee shall also be liable for the damages, if any, caused by him to the land and the amount for the damages shall be recovered from the assignee by deduction from the value of the land, buildings and trees thereon paid by him and if the amount for the damages exceeds the value of the land, such excess shall be recovered from him as if it were an arrear of land revenue. (c) All sums found due to the Government under, or by virtue of the order of assignment, shall be recovered from the assignee and his movable and immovable properties under the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Revenue Recovery Act, 1854 (Tamil Nadu Act II of 1864), as if such sums were arrears of land revenue, or in any other manner as the Government may deem fit. (d) The annual assessment on the land shall be liable to periodical revision on resettlement. (e) The land assigned shall not be sold or otherwise alienated before the expiry of twenty years from the date of assignment. The land assigned to a member of Scheduled Caste or to a member of Scheduled Tribe shall not be alienated to any person other than a member of the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, as the case may be: Provided that the land may be mortgaged to Government under the Land Improvement Loans Act, 1883 (Central Act XIX of 1883) or the Agriculturists Loans Act, 1884 (Central Act XII of 1884) or to a co-operative institution or a
Scheduled bank authorised by the Government for affording credit to the agriculturists under the schemes of institutional financing of agricultural credits, as security for loans obtained for meeting cast of assignment and improvement to the lands. (f)
(i) The Government will give an interest subsidy of 5 per cent on the loans raised by the assignee towards the cost of assignment. (ii) The repayment of the loan with interest will be guaranteed by the Government. (g) The assignee shall engage himself in direct cultivation of the land assigned: Provided that this condition shall not be applicable to persons referred to in rule 5(1)(v) and persons who are physically or mentally disabled, women including widows and old persons who have no dependents or family members to do cultivation on their behalf. (h) The assignee shall pay, on the due dates, the land revenue assessment, cesses and local taxes, in force, from time to time, in respect of the land assigned, with effect from the year in which the assignment is sanctioned. (i) The assignee shall pay the difference of the land value and the interest thereon, if the amount payable to the land owner in respect of the land is revised by, or on the orders of, any competent authority. (3) The assignment shall be liable to be cancelled in case of violation of any of the conditions of assignment referred to in sub-rule (2). Any surplus land referred to in sub-section (4) of section 94-A may be sold under these rules, on collection of market value, to any person, whose holding after such purchase does not exceed the ceiling limit.
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