ORDER

Delay condoned.

2. Heard counsel on both sides. Learned counsel for the State of Andhra Pradesh has contended before us that an application for grant of exemption under Section 20(1)(b) of the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 is not maintainable once the excess land has been declared and the excess land has vested in the State under Section 10, in as much as the declarant cannot be said to be "holding" the land any longer. Reliance is placed on Section 2(1) which defines the words `to hold .

3. We are unable to accept the above contention. The scheme of the Act is that any person holding vacant land in excess of the ceiling limit has to file a declaration under Section 6. Vacant land is defined in Section 2(q) as not including land on which construction is not permissible under building regulations, land occupied by building, before the due date or under construction. Section 2(q) defines urban land as urban land which is referred to as such in master plan etc. but does not include agricultural land. As to what is the relevant master plan there are some decisions of this Court. Detailed procedure is specified in the Act as to how individuals, families, firms, comp