Orissa Survey and Settlement Act, 1958
This Act may be called the Orissa Survey and Settlement Act, 1958.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Orissa.
(3) This section shall come into force at once. The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that all or any of the remaining provisions of this Act shall come into force in such area and on such date as may be specified in the notification.
In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context-
(1) "Agricultural year" means the year as specified in the Tenancy Laws in force or in the absence of any such laws, as may be prescribed by the Government in respect of different districts or localities according to local customs or usage;
1[(2) "Assistant Settlement Officer" means any officer appointed as such by the Board of Revenue;]
1[(3) "Chief Survey Officer" means any officer appointed as such by Government and includes an Additional Chief Survey Officer appointed by Government;]
(4) "Government" means the State Government of Orissa;
(5) "Landlord" means a persons immediately under whom 1[a tenant holds land] and includes t
1[(1) The Government or subject to their control any Officer or Authority empowered by Government may, at any time, by notification, order a survey to be made of any land in the State or the boundary thereof.]
(2) The Government shall be competent at any time during the continuance of the proceedings of any survey to issue an order to stop such survey and, if subsequently so ordered, such proceeding shall be proceeded with from such stage as may be directed.
(3) The Government may also issue a notification ordering a survey:
(a) on the request of -
(i) any local authority; or
(ii) other persons;
who agree to pay such amount as may be directed by the Governmen
(1) The 1[Board of Revenue,] may, by notification appoint any 2[* * *] officer or person either by name or by virtue of his office to be a Survey Officer for all or any of the purposes of this Act.
(2) Subject to the control of the 1[Board of Revenue] 2[* * *] every officer or person so appointed shall exercise and perform the powers and duties of a Survey Officer within such local limits as the 1[Board of Revenue] may direct.
(3) 2[* * *]
(4) The survey shall be conducted in such manner as may be prescribed by the Government.
CASE LAW :
Power and duties of a Survey Officer can be exercised only by a person so appointed by notification under Section 4 (1) of Madras Survey and Boundaries Act, 1923-Con
(1) When any survey is ordered under Section 3, the Survey Officer shall publish a proclamation in the prescribed manner inviting all persons having interest in the land or in the boundaries of which the survey has been ordered, to attend either in person or by agent at a specified place and from time to time thereafter, when called upon for the purpose of pointing out boundaries and supplying information in connection therewith.
(2) Such proclamation to be valid notice to persons interested - A proclamation published under Sub-section (1) shall be held to be a valid notice to every person having any interest in the land or in the boundaries of which the survey has been ordered.
(1) After the issue of the proclamation under Sub-section (1) of Section 5, the Survey Officer or his subordinates or any other officer acting under the authority of the Survey Officer shall have power to enter upon the land under survey, examine and measure such land and clear by cutting down or removing any trees, jungle, fences, standing crops or other material obstructions to the boundaries or other lines, the clearance of which may be necessary for the purposes of the survey.
(2) Compensation-The Survey Officer shall, after assessing the loss occasioned by may clearance as is mentioned in Sub-section (1), offer reasonable compensation to the owners of the materials so, cleared.
1[(3) Powers of Survey Officer to determine and record disputed boundary - Any person aggrieved by a decision under Sub-section (2) may, within thirty days
(1) The Survey Officer shall prepare a draft survey record which shall comprise-
(a) the map drawn to such scale as may be convenient in the opinion of the Survey Officer; and
(b) such other records as the Board of Revenue may, by order specify in that behalf.
(2) When a draft survey record has been prepared, the Survey Officer shall publish the same in the prescribed manner and for the prescribed period and shall receive and consider any objections which may be made to any entry therein or to any omission therefrom during the period of publication.]
2. Inserted ibid.
An appeal, if, presented within thirty days from the date of the order appealed against, shall lie to the Chief Survey Officer form every order passed by the Survey Officer on any objection made under Section 6-A.]
2. Inserted ibid.
(1) When all such objections and appeals, if any, have been disposed of, the Survey Officer shall finally frame the survey records incorporating all such alterations as may be necessary to give effect to the orders on such objections and appeals and shall cause it to be finally published in the prescribed manner, and the publication shall be conclusive evidence that the record has been duly made under this Chapter.]
(2) Separate drafts and final records may be published for different local areas or parts thereof.
2. Inserted ibid.
The Board of Revenue may, in any case-
(a) of its own motion, at any time after the date of final publication under Section 6-C; or
3[(b) on application made within one year from the said date, direct the revision of any survey record or any portion thereof but not so as to affect any order passed by a Civil Court under Section 42:]
Provided that no such direction shall be made until reasonable opportunity has been given to the parties concerned to appear and be heard in the matter.]
CASE LAW :
Govt. Notification dated 15.11.07 - Incorrect recording of land in the Hal R.O.R. - Revision - Refused by Commissioner - Legality of : 2008 (I) OLR 471.
2. Inserted i
After a survey record has been finally published, the Board of Revenue shall, by notification, declare that such record has been finally published, and such notification shall be conclusive proof of such publication.]
3. Substituted by Act No. 6 of 1981.
(1) Subject to such conditions as may be prescribed in this behalf, every person interested in the land shall be bound to maintain, renew and repair the survey marks on or within the boundaries of his holding and in default of his doing so, the Collector may, at the cost of the Government maintain, renew and repair such survey marks, determine and apportion the cost of so doing, and recover such costs as a public demand or arrear of land revenue, as the case may be.
(2) Before the Collector renews or repairs any survey marks, he shall serve a notice in writing on the cultivator or other person interested in the prescribed manner intimating him the action proposed to be taken by him specifying the time fixed for such action.
(1) The whole or such portion of the costs as may be ordered in respect of survey made on the application of parties under Sub-section (3) of Section 3 shall be borne by them :
Provided that where the application is made under Clause (b) of the said sub-section, the amount recoverable under this section shall be recovered from all the raiyats of the local area including the applicants.
(2) The Government may prescribed the manner in which such costs shall be assessed. The costs so assessed shall be 1[recoverable as arrears of land revenue].
1. Substituted by Act No. 7 of 1962.
2[* * *]
2. Omitted by Act No. 7 of 1962.
3[(1) The Government may, in any case, if they think fit, make an order directing that a record-of-rights be prepared in respect of lands in any local area in the State.]
(2) The Government may also make an order under the preceding sub-section-
(a) on the request of -
(i) any local authority, or
(ii) other persons,
who agree to pay such amount as may be directed by the Government forwards the cost of preparation of the record-of-rights; or
(b) on the request of not less than one half of the total number of raiyats having land in the village and on their depositing such amount for payment of expenses as the Government may direct.
&nb
When a draft record-of-rights has been prepared, the Assistant Settlement Officer shall publish the same in the prescribed manner and for the prescribed period and shall receive and consider any objections which may be made to any entry therein or any omission therefrom during the period of publication.]
Against preliminary publication under Section 12 the power of suo motu revision cannot be exercised by the Board - The Board of Revenue under Section 15 of its own notion can direct the revision of any record-of-rights of any portion at any time after date of final publication under Section 12-B : 1992 (I) OLR 494.
2. Substituted ibid.
An appeal, if presented within thirty days from the date of the order appealed against, shall lie from every order passed by the Assistant Settlement Officer under Section 12 to the Settlement Officer or to any other officer especially empowered by the Government in this behalf.]
1. Inserted by Act No. 7 of 1962.
2[(1) Any record-of-rights prepared and finally published under this Chapter or a certified copy thereof or extract therefrom shall be conclusive evidence of such publication.
(2) The Government may by notification declare with regard to land in any local area or village that record-of-rights has been finally published and such notification shall be conclusive evidence of such publication.]
(3) Every entry in a record-of-rights so published shall be evidence of the matter referred to in such entry and shall be presumed to be correct until it is provided by evidence to be incorrect :
Provided that, if any entry in a record-of-rights is altered in a subsequent record-of-rights, the later entry shall be presumed to be correct until it is proved by evidence to be correct, but the previous entry
1[* * *]
1. Omitted by Act No. 7 of 1962.
The Board of Revenue may in any case direct-
(a) of its own motion the revision of any record-of-rights, or any portion of a record-of-rights, at any time after the date of final publication under 2[Section 12-B] but not so to affect any order passed by a Civil Court under Section 2[42];
3[(b) on application made within one year from the date of final publication under Section 12-B the revision of record-of-rights or any portion thereof whether within the said period of one year or thereafter but not so as to affect any order passed by a Civil Court under Section 42 :]
Provided that no such direction shall be made until reasonable opportunity has been given to the parties concerned to appear and be heard in the matter.
CASE LAWS :
&
In order to keep the map and the record-of-rights up-to-date same shall be maintained in accordance with such rules as may be prescribed in that behalf.]
CASE LAWS :
Orissa Survey and Settlement Rules, 1962 - Rule 34 - Petition filed before Revenue authority for mutating the name of petitioner after she obtained ex parte decree in Civil Court against State and opp. parties - Petition was rejected by Revenue authority - Held, the duty of the Revenue authority is to act in accordance with the decision of Civil Court - Even though the decree is ex parte and no action was taken under Order 9, Rule 13, CPC to set aside the decree it is incumbent on the part of the Revenue Officer to respect the decree and act according to direction of Civil Court decree : 2001 (I) OLR 530.
Provision has been mad
(1) The cost of operation of record-of-rights on an application made under Sub-section (2) of Section 11 or such portion thereof may be ordered shall be borne by the applicant:
Provided that where the application is made under Clause (b) of the said sub-section, the amount recoverable under this section shall be covered from all the raiyats of the village including the applicants.
(2) The Government may prescribe the manner in which such cost shall be assessed. The cost assessed shall be recoverable as arrears of land revenue.
(1) The Government may at any time direct 1[the settlement of] rent in respect of land situate in any village or local area for which a record-of-rights has already been finally published.
(2) The Government may also issue a direction under the preceding sub-section -
(a) on the request of-
(i) any local authority; or
(ii) other persons;
who agree to pay such amount as may be directed by the Government towards the cost of the settlement of rent; or
(b) on the request of not less than one-half of the total number of raiyats having land in any local area on their depositing such amount for payment of expenses as the Government may direct.
&n
2[(1) The Government may prescribe the principles for fixing fair and equitable rent for any land used for agriculture having regard to-
(a) the average price of crops, during the preceding ten years other than the years which the Government may notify to be or to have been either famine years or abnormal years in respect of any local area;
(b) the crop or crops normally grown on such land;
(c) the situation of the land and the nature of the soil; and
(d) the maximum rent assessed on land of similar quality and productivity elsewhere in the State.]
Explanation - For the purpose of this sub-section -
(a) agriculture includes raising of crops/grass or garden pro
When an order is made under Section 18, the Assistant Settlement Officer shall fix the fair and equitable rent in the prescribed manner.]
1. Substituted by Act No. 7 of 1962.
1[(1) Went rent has been fixed, the Assistant Settlement Officer shall prepare a Settlement Rent Roll containing such particulars as may be prescribed and shall cause the same to be published in the prescribed manner and for the prescribed period and shall receive and consider any objections which may be made to any entry therein or omission therefrom during the period of publication.
(2) The Assistant Settlement Officer may, of his own motion or on the application of any party aggrieved, at any time before a Settlement Rent Roll is submitted to the Settlement Officer under Section 22, revise the rent entered therein :
Provided that no such revision shall be made until reasonable opportunity has been given to the parties concerned to appear and be heard in the matter.]
CASE LAW :
&
(1) When all such objections have been disposed of, the Assistant Settlement Officer shall submit the Settlement Rent Roll to the Settlement Officer with a full statement of the grounds of his proposals and a summary of the objections, if any, received by him.
(2) The Settlement Officer shall -
(a) of his own motion; or
(b) on application without thirty days from the order passed on an objection preferred under Sub-section (1) of Section 21, have power to modify any such order.
(3) The Settlement Officer may sanction the said Roll with or without amendment or may return the same for revision by the Assistant Settlement Officer.
(4) No modification or amendment or revision shall be made under Sub-sectio
(1) After sanction of the Settlement Rent Roll, the Assistant Settlement Officer shall incorporate the settled rent in the record-of-rights, make such amendments or alterations in the said record and the map, if any, and shall cause a fresh copy of the record-of-rights to be finally published in the prescribed manner.
(2) Such publication shall be conclusive evidence that the rent has been duly settled under this Chapter and the record-of-rights so published shall be deemed to be the record-of-rights published under Section 12-B.]
1. Substituted by Act No. 7 of 1962.
2[* * *]
2. Omitted ibid.
The Board of Revenue may, in any case -
(a) of its own motion, at any time after the date of final publication under 3[Section 23]; or
4[(b) on application made within one year from the said date] direct the revision of the rent so settled, but not so as to affect any order passed by a Civil Court under Section 42 :
Provided that no such direction shall be made until reasonable opportunity has been given to the parties concerned to appear and be heard in the matter.
3. Inserted ibid.
4. Substituted by Act No.6 of 1981.
1[* * *]
1. Omitted by Act No. 7 of 1962.
Subject to the provisions of Sections 2[25 and 42]; all rents settled under Section [20, 21 and 22] and incorporated in a record-of-rights finally 3[published under Section 23] shall be deemed to have been correctly settled and to be fair and equitable rent within the meaning of this Act.
2. Substituted ibid.
3. Inserted ibid.
When any rent is settled 1[* * *] under this Chapter, it shall take effect from the beginning of the agricultural year next after the date of sanction 1[* * *] under 4[Sub-section (3)] of Section 22:
Provided that the Government may prescribe an earlier date from which such settlement shall take effect and that such date shall not be earlier than the date of notification under Section 18.
1. Omitted by Act No. 7 of 1962.
4. Substituted by Act No. 6 of 1981.
(1) All authorities hearing an application, appeal or revision under any of the provisions of this Act shall do so as Revenue Courts.
(2) Save as otherwise provided in this Act when an order has been made under Sections 3, 11, 18 or 36 no Court shall entertain any application or suit in respect of any matter for determining or deciding which provisions made in the Act and all proceedings in respect of any such matter pending on the date, such order is made shall be stayed till the final publication of records under Section 6-C, 12-B or 23 as the case may be.]
(3) 1[* * *]
CASE LAW :
Restriction of jurisdiction of all Courts - A litigation pending in a Court of law is not a bar for deciding settlement cases while preparing the record-of-rights :
The Government may from time to time make rules consistent with this Act declaring that any provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, shall not apply to applications, appeals or other proceedings under this Act in any Revenue Court or to any specified classes of such applications, appeals or shall apply to them subject to modification and additions specified in the rules.
(1) The 2[Settlement Officer] may by written order, dispute in such manner as appears to him fit any business cognizable under this Act by any 4[Assistant Settlement Officer] and by like order he may withdraw any case pending before such 4[Officer] and either dispose of the same himself or by written order refer it for disposal to any other 4[Assistant Settlement Officer].
1[(2) The aforesaid powers shall, in relation to all business cognizable under this Act, be exercisable by -
(a) the District Collector and the Chief Survey Officer in respect of officers subordinate to them; and
(b) the Board of Revenue in respect of Settlement Officers, Chief Survey Officers and District Collectors.]
CASE LAW :
Muta
The Board of Revenue may call for the record of any Proceeding 1[any Officer] from whose decision no appeal lies if such Officer appears to have exercised a jurisdiction not vested in him by law or to have failed to exercise a jurisdiction so vested or while acting in the exercise of his jurisdiction to have contravened some express provision of law affecting the decision on the merits where such contravention has produced a serious miscarriage of justice and the Board of Revenue after hearing the parties if they attend, shall pass such order as it deems fit.
CASE LAWS :
Revision before Member, Board of Revenue, Orissa, dismissed - Writ - In case a record is prepared during the course of settlement proceeding, the same can be corrected by exercise of power under Sec. 32 of the Orissa Survey and Settlement Act, 1958 - In the present cas
The Government may by notification, delegate the powers of the Board of Revenue to 1[any Officer above the rank of a Settlement Officer].
CASE LAW :
The revisional powers of the Board of Revenue Under Sections 6D, 15, 25 and 32 have been delegated to the Commissioner, Land Records and Settlement in Government of Orissa, Revenue Department, Notification dated, the 16th October, 1971 and the 17th February, 1972-The Commissioner, Land Records and Settlement does not have the power of review under the Orissa Board of Revenue Act, 1951-But can review its own order under Order 47, CPC provided all the conditions laid down therein are fulfilled : JBR Vol.XV (1979) Part-III, 42.
1. Substituted by O.A.No. 5 of 1994.
Subject to the provisions of the next following section, every appeal presented and application made after the period of limitation specified therefor shall be dismissed although limitation has not been set up as a defence.
Subject to the provisions of this Act, the provisions of the Indian Limitation Act 9 of 1908, except Sections 6, 7, 8, 9, 19 and 20 shall apply to all appeals and applications mentioned in Section 34.
2[(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in Chapter II, III and IV the Government may take an order directing that proceedings relating to -
(a) survey and preparation of record-of-right;
(b) preparation of record-of-rights and settlement of rent; or
(c) survey, preparation of record-of-rights and settlement of rent, shall with respect to any local area, be carried on simultaneously and upon such order being made, the provisions of this Act shall apply to such proceeding with such modifications, as may be prescribed.
(2) Where simultaneous proceedings have been ordered under Clause (a) or (c) of the preceding sub-section, the Assistant Settlement Officer and the Settlement Officer shall respectively exercise all the powers of Survey Officer and Chi
1[(1) In the demarcation of village boundaries for the purpose of making a survey and preparing a record-of-rights under this Act, the area contained within the exterior boundaries of the village shall, as far as possible, be preserved as the unit of survey any record and no other area shall be adopted as such unit without the sanction of the Board of Revenue.
(2) In respect of any area which is not a village, the unit aforesaid shall be as may be directed by the Chief Survey Officer or the Settlement Officer.
(3) The procedure to be followed in declaring any tract of land to constitute a village shall be as may be prescribed.]
1. Substituted by Act No. 7 of 1962.
(1) All records published in the course of proceedings relating to survey preparation of record-of-rights or settlement of rent and all records maintained, before the date of commencement of this Act under the provisions of any law for the time being in force or any custom having the force of law or under orders of Government, shall be deemed to have been finally published or maintained under Sections 6-C, 12-B, 23 or 16, as the case may be, and all rents settled prior to the said date under any such law, custom or order, as aforesaid, shall be deemed to be settled under this Act.
(2) The other provisions of the Act shall, mutatis mutandis apply to all such records and rents so settled.
Explanation-For the purpose of the application of Sections 6D, 15, 25 and 42 of the date of final publication shall be taken to be the date of commence
1[* * *]
1. Omitted by Act No. 9 of 1965.
No suit or other legal proceedings shall lie against any person for anything in good faith done or purporting to be done under this Act or any Rule of Order made thereunder.
2[Any Settlement Officer or Chief Survey Officer or any other Officer specially empowered by the Board of Revenue] in this behalf may on application or on his own motion, correct any clerical or arithmetical mistake in any map, plan or in any record-of-rights or any error arising therein from any accidental slip or in omission :
Provided that no such correction shall be made unless reasonable notice has been given to the parties concerned.
2. Substituted by Act No. 7 of 1962.
2[(1) No suit shall be brought in any Civil Court in respect of any order directing survey, preparation of record-of-rights or settlement of rent under this Act or in respect of publication, signing or attestation of any record thereunder or any part thereof :
Provided that any person aggrieved by any entry in or omission from any record finally published under Sections 6-C, 12-B or 23 in pursuance of Section 36 may, within three years from the date of such publication, institute a suit for relief in a Civil Court having jurisdiction.
(2) When such Court has passed final orders it shall notify the same to the Collector of the district and all such alterations as may be necessary to give effect to the orders of the said Court shall be made in the records published as aforesaid.]
CASE LAW : <
(1) The Government may, after previous publications, make rules for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, the Government may make rules-
(i) to regulate the procedure to be followed by 2[different officers and authorities] in the discharge of any duty imposed or the exercise of any power conferred upon them by or under the Act and may by such rules confer upon any such Officer-
(a) any power exercised by a Civil Court in the trial of suits;
(b) power to enter upon any land and to survey, demarcate and make a map of the same 2[* * *]; and
(c) power to cut and thrash the crops on any land and weigh the produ
4[All rules made under Section 43 shall, as soon as may be after they are made, be laid before the State Legislature for a total period of fourteen days which may be comprised in one or more sessions, and if during the said period the State Legislature makes any modifications therein, the rules shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form, so, however, that such modification shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under the rules.]
4. Substituted vide O.A.No. 13 of 1998-O.G.E. No. 1327 dt. 16.10.1998 (w.e.f. 24.3.1976).
With effect from the date, this Act comes into force in any area, the laws mentioned hereunder shall, with respect to the said area, be repealed, namely:
(a) any law in force in any of the merged territories to be extent it is repugnant to the provisions of this Act; and
(b) the enactments specified in Column 2 of the Schedule to the extent specified in Column 3 thereof.
(1) Nothing contained in this Act shall, in any way affect any proceedings on pending the date this Act comes into force under any of the enactments or laws referred to in Section 45 and 1[all such proceedings shall be continued up to the stage of final publication of records under the said enactments or laws].
(2) For removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that the right of the Government to realise the costs of all proceedings relating to survey, record-of-rights and settlement of rent whether continued or completed under the enactments specified in the Schedule shall remain unaffected notwithstanding anything contained in this Act.
1. Substituted by Act No. 7 of 1962.
Notwithstanding anything contained in the Central Provinces Acts mentioned below, the Settlement officers and Assistant Settlement Officers appointed under this Act shall respectively exercised the powers and perform the functions of -
(a) Chief Settlement Officers and Settlement Officers under the Central Provinces Land Revenue Act 18 of 1981, and the Central provinces Tenancy Act 11 of 1898, and;
(b) Settlement Officers and Assistant Settlement Officers under the Central Provinces Land Revenue Act 2 of 1917, and the Central Provinces Tenancy Act 1 of 1920.]
1. Substituted by Act No. 7 of 1962.
If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the Government may, as occasion may require, do anything which appears to them necessary for purpose of removing the difficulty.
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