ANDHRA PRADESH LAND REFORMS CEILING ON AGRICULTURAL HOLDINGS ACT, 1973
This Act may be called the Andhra Pradesh Land Reforms (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1973.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of A.P.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette, appoint.
It is hereby declared that this Act is for giving effect to the policy of the State towards securing the principles specified in clauses (b) and (c) of Article 39 of the Constitution of India.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires :
(a) Appellate Tribunal means the Appellate Tribunal constituted under Section 20; and where no such Appellate Tribunal is in existence the District Collector concerned;
(b) bank means a banking company as defined in Section 6 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, and includes the State Bank of India, constituted by the State Bank of India Act, 1955, a subsidiary bank as defined in State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959, and a corresponding new bank as defined in the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970, and such other financial institution owned, controlled or managed by a State Government or the Central Government as may be notified in this behalf by the Government;
(c) ceiling area means the exte
Notwithstanding anything in Section 4, where an individual or an individual who is a member of a family unit, has one or more major sons and any such major son either by himself or together with other members of the family unit of which he is a member, holds no land or holds an extent of land less than the ceiling area, then, the ceiling area, in the case of the said individual or the family unit of which the said individual is a member computed in accordance with Section 4, shall be increased in respect of each such major son by an extent of land equal to the ceiling area applicable to such major son or the family unit of which he is a member, or as the case may be, by the extent of land by which the land held by such major son or the family unit of which he is a member falls short of the ceiling area.
(1) The ceiling area in the case of family unit consisting of not more than five members shall be an extent of land equal to one standard holding.
(2) The ceiling area in the case of a family unit consisting of more than five members shall be an extent of land equal to one standard holding plus an additional extent of one fifth of one standard holding for every such member in excess of five so however that the ceiling area shall not exceed two standard holdings.
(3) The ceiling area in the case of every individual who is not a member of a family unit, and in the case of any other person shall be an extent of land equal to one standard holding.
Explanation:- In the case of a family unit, the ceiling area shall be applied to the aggregate of the lands held by all the members of the family unit.
(1) For the purposes of this Act, land shall be classified as set out in the First Schedule. The extent of land which shall constitute a standard holding for the class of lands specified in column (1) of the Table below shall be as specified against it in column (2) thereof;
Provided that
(i) in the case of any double crop wet land falling under sub clause (i) of Clause (d) of Section 3, covered by Part II of Schedule C appended to the draft rules referred to in that sub clause for the irrigation of lands in the Godavari Western, Eastern and Central deltas, the extent of standard holding shall be increased by twelve and a half per centum;
(ii) in the case of any double crop wet land irrigated solely by a private tube well, the extent of standard holding shall be increased by twenty five per
(1) The Government may, by notification, constitute as many Tribunals as may be necessary for the purpose of this Act, and shall specify in such notification, the jurisdiction of each such Tribunal.
(2) Each Tribunal constituted under sub section (1) shall consist of not more than three members, of whom one shall be a person who holds or has held a civil post under the State, not below the rank of a Deputy Collector, or a person who hold or has held or is qualified to hold the post of a District Munsiff; and such person shall be the Chairman of the Tribunal.
(3) The Government may, from time to time, likewise reconstitute any Tribunal constituted under sub section (1) or may at any time abolish such Tribunal.
(4) The quorum to constitute a meeting of the Tribunal and the procedure to be follow
(1)Where on or after the 24th January, 1971 but before the notified date, any person has transferred whether by way of sale, gift, usufructuary mortgage, exchange, settlement, surrender or in any other manner whatsoever, any land held by him or created a trust of any land held by him, then the burden of proving that such transfer or creation of trust has not been effected in anticipation of, and with a view to avoiding or defeating the objects of any law relating to a reduction in the ceiling on agricultural holdings, shall be on such person, and where he has not so proved, such transfer or creation of trust, shall be disregarded for the purpose of the computation of the ceiling area of such person.
(2) Notwithstanding anything in sub section (1), any alienation made by way of sale, lease for a period exceeding six years, gift, exchange, usufructuary mortgage or otherwise, any part
(1) Every person, whose holding on the notified date together with any land transferred by him on or after the 24th January, 1971, whether by way of sale, gift usufructuary mortgage, exchange, settlement, surrender or in any other manner whatsoever, and any, land in respect of which a trust has been created by him on or after the 24th January, 1971, exceeds the specified limits, shall, within thirty days from the notified date or within such extended period as the Government may notify in this behalf, furnish a declaration in respect of his holding together with such land, to the Tribunal within whose jurisdiction the whole or a major part of his holding is situate containing such particulars including those relating to lands held by him in any part of India outside the State, and in such form as may be prescribed.
Explanation I :- Where the land is held or is deemed to be held by
The tribunal shall on receipt of the declaration furnished or information obtained under Section 8, publish the same, and make an enquiry, in such manner as may be prescribed, and pass orders determining whether the person holds or is deemed to hold on the notified date an extent of land in excess of the ceiling area and if so, the extent of land so held in excess as on that date.
Explanation :- Save as otherwise provided in this Act, in the case of a family unit, the number of members of the family unit shall be reckoned with reference to the notified date.
(1) If the extent of the holding of a person is in excess of the ceiling area, the person shall be liable to surrender the land held in excess.
(2) The tribunal shall serve on every person, who is liable to surrender the land held in excess of the ceiling area under sub section (1), a notice specifying therein the extent of land which such person has to surrender and requiring him to file a statement within such period not being less than fifteen days, as it may fix, indicating therein, full particulars of the lands which such person proposes to surrender.
(3) If the person on whom a notice is served under sub section (2), files the statement referred to in that sub section within the period fixed therefor and the Tribunal is satisfied, after making such inquiry as it deems fit that the proposed surrender of the land is in accordance wit
Where any land is surrendered or is deemed to have been surrendered under this Act by an owner the Revenue Divisional Officer may, subject to such rules as may be prescribed, by order take possession or authorise any officer to take possession of such land which shall thereupon vest in the Government free from all encumbrances from the date of such order :
Provided that any claim or liability enforceable against that land immediately before the date of vesting in the Government may be enforced only
(i) against the amount payable under this Act in respect of such land; and
(ii) against any other property of the owner; to the same extent to which such claim or liability was enforceable against that land or other property, as the case may be, immediately before the date of vesting.
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(1) Where any land is surrendered or is deemed to have been surrendered under this Act by any usufructuary mortgagee or tenant, the possession of such land shall subject to such rules as may be prescribed revert to the owner.
(2) The owner to whom the possession of the land reverts under sub section (1) from an usufructuary mortgagee shall be liable to pay the mortgage money due to usufructuary mortgagee in respect of that land with interest at the rate of six per cent per annum from the date of such revision, and the said land shall continue to be the security for such payment.
(3) The owner to whom the possession of the land reverts under sub section (1) from a tenant shall be entitled to receive from the tenant rent due for the period ending with the last crop harvested by such tenant.
(4)
(1) Where the holding of any owner includes any land held by a protected tenant, the Tribunal shall, in the first instance, determine whether such land or part thereof stands transferred to the protected tenant under Section 38 E of the Andhra Pradesh (Telangana Area) Tenancy and Agricultural Land Act, 1950, and if so, the extent of land so transferred; and such extent of land shall thereupon be excluded from the holding of such owner and included in the holding of such tenant, as if the tenant was the owner of such land for the purposes of this Act.
(2) Subject to the provisions of sub section (1), the relevant provisions of this Act aforesaid shall apply in the matter of purchase of such land by such protected tenant.
(1) The lands vested in the Government under this Act shall be allotted for use as house sites for agricultural labourers, village artisans or other poor persons owning no houses or house sites, or transferred to the weaker sections of the people dependent on agriculture for purposes of agriculture or for purposes ancillary thereto, in such manner as may be prescribed:
Provided that, as far as may be practicable, not less than one half of the total extent of land so allotted or transferred shall be allotted or transferred to the members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes and out of the balance, not less than two thirds shall be allotted or transferred to the members of the backward classes of citizens notified by the Government for purposes of clause (4) of Article 15 of the Constitution.
(2) Every person, to whom the land
The amount payable for any land vested in the Government under this Act, shall be a sum calculated at the rates specified in the Second Schedule and it shall be paid at the option of the Government, either in cash or in bonds or partly in cash and partly in bonds. The bonds shall be issued on such terms and carry such rate of interest as may be prescribed.
The Tribunal shall, after giving the persons known or believed to be interested in the land vested in the Government an opportunity of being heard, determine the amount payable under Section 15 and publish a notification containing particulars of the land so vested and the amount payable therefor. Any person having an interest in the said land, may file a claim for the amount due to him from out of the amount payable, within thirty days from the date of publication of the notification and the Tribunal shall after making an inquiry into the validity of the claim, determine the persons who, in its opinion, are entitled to payment from out of the said amount and the amount to which each of them is entitled and subject to such rules as may be prescribed, make payments in accordance with such determination.
(1) No person whose holding, and no member of a family unit, the holding of all the members of which in the aggregate, is in excess of the ceiling area as on the 24th January, 1971 or at any time thereafter, shall on or after the notified date, alienate his holding or any part thereof by way of sale, lease, gift exchange, settlement, surrender, usufructuary mortgage or otherwise, or effect a partition thereof, or create a trust or convert an agricultural land into non agricultural land, until he or the family unit, as the case may be, has furnished a declaration under Section 8, and the extent of land, if any, to be surrendered in respect of his holding or that of his family unit has been determined by the Tribunal and an order has been passed by the Revenue Divisional Officer under this Act taking possession of the land in excess of the ceiling area and a notification is published under Section 16; and any alienation made or
(1) Where on or after the notified date there takes place
(a) any acquisition in any manner whatsoever, usufructuary mortgage, or lease of any land; or
(b) any marriage or adoption ; or
(c) any alteration in the classification of the land; and after such acquisition, usufructuary mortgage, lease, marriage, adoption or alteration, the total extent of land held by any person or by all the members of any family unit in the aggregate exceeds the ceiling area such person or family unit shall within a period of sixty days from the date of such acquisition, usufructuary mortgage, lease, marriage, adoption or alteration furnish a declaration of the holding of such person or family unit; and all the relevant provisions of this Act shall apply as if it was a declaration furnished under Section 8.
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(1) Notwithstanding anything in the Registration Act, 1938, every person presenting before a registering officer appointed under the said Act, for registration on or after the notified date, any document relating to alienation of any land or creation of a trust in respect of any land shall, at the time of such presentation, furnish a declaration, in duplicate by the transferor making the alienation, or creating the trust, to the effect that the holding of the transferor does not exceed the ceiling area, and in a case where such transferor is a member of a family unit, that the holdings of all the members of such family unit in the aggregate do not exceed the ceiling area.
(2) The declaration mentioned in sub section (1) shall be in such form and contain such particulars as may be prescribed.
(3) On or after the notified date, no register
(1) The Government may, by notification constitute as many appellate Tribunals as may be necessary for the purposes of this Act, and shall specify in such notification, the jurisdiction of each such Appellate Tribunal.
(2) Each Appellate Tribunal constituted under sub section (1) shall consist of not more than three members, of whom one shall be a person who holds or has held a civil post under the State, not below the rank of a District Revenue Officer, or a person who holds or has held or is qualified to hold the post of a District Judge, and such person shall be the Chairman of the Tribunal.
(3) An appeal shall lie against an order passed by the Tribunal or the Revenue Divisional Officer to the Appellate Tribunal within thirty days of the date of communication of the order, and the Appellate Tribunal shall pass such orders on the appe
An application for revision from any party aggrieved, including the Government, shall lie to the High Court, within the prescribed period, from any order passed on appeal by the Appellate Tribunal on any of the following grounds, namely :
(a) that it exercised a jurisdiction not vested in it by law, or
(b) that it failed to exercise a jurisdiction so vested, or
(c) that it acted in the exercise of its jurisdiction illegally or with material irregularity.
(1) The Appellate Tribunal, the Tribunal the Revenue Divisional Officer and any Officer authorised by the Tribunal or the Revenue Divisional Officer to exercise any power under this Act shall have the same powers as are vested in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, for summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath and for requiring production of any document.
(2) The Appellate Tribunal, the Tribunal, the Revenue Divisional Officer or any officer authorised by the Tribunal or the Revenue Divisional Officer in this behalf may, at any time, enter upon any land but not a dwelling house, with such officers or other persons as it or he considers necessary and make a survey and take measurements thereof or do any other act which it or he considers to be necessary for carrying out any of the provisions of this Act.
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Nothing in this Act shall apply to the following lands, namely :
(a) lands held by the State or the Central Government or any local authority;
(b) lands held by religious, charitable or educational institutions, including a wakf, of a public nature existing on the date of the commencement of this Act.
(c) lands held by an undertaking owned, controlled or managed by
(i) a Government company as defined in Section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956;
(ii) a Corporation established by or under a Central, Provincial or State Act, which is controlled or managed by a State Government or the Central Government;
(d) lands covered by tea, coffee, cocoa, cardamom or rubber p
(1) If any person, who is liable to furnish a declaration under this Act wilfully and without reasonable cause or excuse, fails to furnish the declaration within the period prescribed or specified therefor by or under this Act or furnishes any declaration which he knows or has reason to believe to be false, incorrect or incomplete, he shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees or with both.
(2) If any person wilfully and without reasonable cause or excuse, contravenes any other provisions of this Act or of any rules made or orders issued thereunder, he shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees or with both.
(3) If any Village Officer, or any officer of the Revenue,
(1) No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against any person, officer or authority for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act, or any rules made thereunder.
(2) No suit or other legal proceedings shall lie against the Government for any damage caused or likely to be caused or for any injury suffered or likely to be suffered, by virtue of any provision of this Act, or for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or any rules made there under.
Save as otherwise provided in this Act, no order passed or proceeding taken by an officer or authority under this Act shall be called in question in any suit or application and no injunction shall be granted by any court in respect of any action taken or to be taken by such officer or authority in pursuance of any power conferred by or under this Act.
(1) The Government may, by notification, make rules to carry out all or any of the purposes of this Act.
(2) Every rule made under this Act, shall immediately after it is made, be laid before each House of the State Legislature if it is in session and if it is not in session in the session immediately following for a total period of fourteen days which may be comprised in one session or in two successive sessions, and if, before the expiration of the session in which it is so laid or the session immediately following, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or in the annulment of the rule, the rule shall, from the date on which modification or annulment is notified, have effect only in such modified form or shall stand annulled, as the case may be; so however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously
The provisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith in any other law for the time being in force or any custom, usage or agreement or decree or order of a court, tribunal or authority.
If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the Government may, by general or special order, published in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette, make such provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as appear to them to be necessary or expedient for the removal of the difficulty;
Provided that no such order shall be made after the expiration of two years from the commencement of this Act.
(1) The Andhra Pradesh Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings Act, 1961, is hereby repealed and all proceedings pending thereunder shall abate: Provided that where any land surrendered has been taken over on payment of compensation under that Act the proceedings shall be continued in respect of such land under that Act, as if this Act had not been passed.
(2) The Andhra Pradesh Agricultural Lands (Prohibition Alienation) Act, 1972, is hereby repealed.
Explanation I :- Taram and bhaganna shall be as registered in the revenue and settlement records of the Government as on the notified date.
Explanation II :- If in respect of any land for which no taram or bhaganna is recorded in the revenue and settlement records of the Government or if any land bears a taram or bhaganna not shown in the Tables under
SCHEDULE See Section 15 SECOND SCHEDULE
See Section 15
1. The amount payable for any land vested in the Government under this Act shall be calculated in the manner hereinafter laid down.
2. The total land revenue payable on all the lands surrendered by the person and vested in the Government shall first be calculated. On the total land revenue so calculated the amount payable shall be computed as follows :
(i) when the total land revenue payable does not exceed Rs.50, one hundred times the land revenue;
(ii) when the total land revenue payable exceeds Rs.50 but does not exceed Rs.150, fifty times the land revenue subject to a minimum of Rs.50,000;
(iii) whe
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