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S.1 Short title, extent and commencement.

(1) This Act may be called the Maharashtra Agricultural Lands (Ceiling on Holdings) Act, 1961.

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(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Maharashtra.

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(3) It shall come into force on such ¹date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.

S.2 Definitions.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-

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(1) "agriculture" includes-

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(a) horticulture,

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(b) the raising of crops, grass or garden produce or singhare (trapa bispinosa),

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(c) the use by an agriculturist of land held by him, or part thereof, for grazing,

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(d) the use of any land, whether or not an appanage to rice or paddy land, for the purpose of rab-manure,

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¹[2A. Constitution and reconstitution of Tribunals.- (1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, from time to time, constitute as many Tribunals as may be necessary for such area or areas and for such purpose or purposes of this Act or for such provision or provisions thereof as may be specified in the notification.

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(2) Where a Tribunal is constituted or reconstituted for the purpose of determining surplus land under the provisions of this Act, the Tribunal shall be called the Surplus Lands Determination Tribunal. Where a Tribunal is constituted or reconstituted for the purpose of distributing surplus land under this Act, it shall be called the Lands Distribution Tribunal.

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(3) Each Tribunal shall consist of not less than three members of whom one shall be

S.3 Prohibition on holding land in excess of ceiling area; and area in excess of ceiling to be surplus land.

¹[CHAPTER II

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LOWERING OF CEILING ON HOLDINGS

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3. Prohibition on holding land in excess of ceiling area; and area in excess of ceiling to be surplus lands.- (1) Subject to the provisions of this Chapter and Chapter III, no person or family unit shall, after the commencement date, hold land in excess of the ceiling area, as determined in the manner hereinafter provided.

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Explanation.- A person or family unit may hold exempted land to any extent.

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(2) All land held by a person, or as the case may be, a family unit whether in this State or any other part of India in excess of the ceiling area, shall, notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the t

S.4 Land held by family unit.

(1) All land held by each member of a family unit, whether jointly or separately, shall for the purposes of determining the ceiling area of the family unit, be deemed to be held by the family unit.

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Explanation.- A "family unit" means,-

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(a) a person and his spouse (or more than one spouse) and their minor sons and minor unmarried daughters, if any; or

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S.5 Ceiling area.

(1) In each of the districts and talukas specified in column 1 of the First Schedule, for each class of land described in columns 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 thereof, the ceiling area shall be the area mentioned under each such class of land against such district or taluka.

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(2) If a person, or a family unit, holds land of only one class, the ceiling area for his or its holding shall be the ceiling area for that class of land.

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(3) Where a person or a family unit holds different classes of land, then, for calculating whether the holding is equal to or in excess of the ceiling area, that total area of the holding shall be calculated in the following manner :-

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The area of each class of land falling under sub-clauses (a

S.6 Lands held in excess of ceiling area deemed to be within ceiling area in certain circumstances.

¹[6. Lands held in excess of ceiling area deemed to be within ceiling area in certain circumstances.- Where a family unit, consists of members which exceed five in number, the family unit shall be entitled to hold land exceeding the ceiling area to the extent of one-fifth of the ceiling area for each member in excess of five, so however that the total holding shall not exceed twice the ceiling area, and in such case, in relation to the holding of such family unit, such area shall be deemed to be the ceiling area.]

S.7 Persons holding both exempted land and other land.

Where a person or family unit holds both exempted land and other land (that is, land which is not exempted land) then,-

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(a) if the area of exempted land is less than the ceiling area, he or it shall be entitled to hold so much only of other land as together with the area of exempted land, equals the ceiling area; and in such case, in relation to the holding of that person, or as the case may be, family unit, such area shall be deemed to be the ceiling area;

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(b) in any other case, he or it shall not be entitled to hold any land which is not exempted land.

S.8 Restriction on transfer, etc.

Where a person, or as the case may be, a family unit holds land in excess of the ceiling area on or after the commencement date, such person, or as the case may be, any member of the family unit shall not, on and after that date, transfer any land, until the land in excess of the ceiling area is determined under this Act.

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Explanation.- In this section, "transfer" means transfer, whether by way of sale, gift, mortgage with possession, exchange, lease, assignment of land for maintenance, surrender of a tenancy or resumption of land by a landlord or any other disposition, whether by act of parties made inter vivos or by decree or order of a court, tribunal or authority (except where such decree or order is passed in a proceeding which is instituted in such court, tribunal or before such authority before the 26th day of September 1970), but does not include transfer by way of

S.9 Restriction on acquisition of land in excess of ceiling area.

No person or a member of a family unit shall at any time, on or after the commencement date, acquire by transfer any land if he, or as the case may be, the family unit already holds land in excess of the ceiling area or land which together with any other land already held by such person, or as the case may be, the family unit, will exceed in the total the ceiling area.

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Explanation.- In this section, transfer has the same meaning as in section 8.

S.10 Consequences of certain transfers and acquisitions of land.

(1) If -

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(a) any person or a member of a family unit, after the 26th day of September 1970 but before the commencement date, transfers any land in anticipation of or in order to avoid or defeat the object of the Amending Act, 1972, or

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(b) any land is transferred in contravention of section 8,

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then in calculating the ceiling area which that person, or as the case may be, the family unit, is entitled to hold, the land so transferred shall be taken into consideration, and the land exceeding the ceiling area so calculated shall be deemed to be in excess of the ceiling area for that holding, notwithstanding that the land remaining with him or with the family unit may not in fact be in excess of the ceiling area.
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S.11 Restriction on partition.

Where any land held by a family is partitioned after the 26th day of September 1970, the partition so made shall be deemed (unless the contrary is proved) to have been made in anticipation of or in order to avoid or defeat the object of the Amending Act, 1972, and shall accordingly be ignored, and any land covered by such partition shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be the land held by the family; and the extent of share of each person in the land held by the family shall be taken into consideration for calculating the ceiling area in accordance with the provisions of section 3.

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Explanation.- For the purposes of this section, ‘partition’ means any division of land by act of parties made inter vivos, and includes also partition made by a decree or order of a court, tribunal or authority.

S.11A Ceiling area where land is converted into another class.

If any land held by a person, or as the case may be, a family unit, is converted after the commencement date into any class of land described in sub-clause (a), (b) or (c) of clause (5) of section 2, and thereby, the holding of the person or as the case may be, of the family unit exceeds the ceiling area, the land so in excess shall be deemed to be surplus land with effect from the date of conversion (such date being a date to be notified in the Official Gazette by the State Government in respect of any area); and accordingly the foregoing provisions of this Chapter shall apply to the holding.]

S.12 Submission of returns.

¹[12. Submission of returns.- ²[If any person or family unit] -

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(1) (a) has at any time ³[after the 26th day of September 1970 but before the commencement date] held, or

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(b) on or after the ⁴[commencement date] acquires, hold or comes into possession of, any land (including any exempted land), in excess of the ceiling area, or

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(2) ⁵* * * * * *

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S.12A Power of State Government to extend time for filing return.

¹[12A. Power of State Government to extend time for filing return.- Notwithstanding anything contained in section 12, the State Government may by an order in the Official Gazette extend the time limit of furnishing the return provided under any of the provisions of that section by such further period as may be specified in the order, and any extension of time for furnishing the return made by any order under the provisions of this Act before the commencement of the Maharashtra Agricultural Lands (Ceiling on Holdings) (Amendment) Act, 1975 (Mah. II of 1976), shall be deemed to have been duly made under this section as if this section was in force when such order was made.]

S.13 Failure to submit return.

(1) ¹[Where a person or member of a family unit required] by section 12 to furnish a return,-

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(a) fails without reasonable cause so to do, within the time specified in that section, or

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(b) furnishes a return which he knows, or has reason to believe, to be false, he shall be liable to pay a penalty which may extend in the former case to one hundred rupees, and in the latter case to five hundred rupees.

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(2) Where the Collector has reason to believe that a person ²[or a member of a family unit] required by section 12 to furnish a return has, without reasonable cause, failed so to do, or has submitted a return which he knows or has reason to beli

S.14 Power of Collector to hold enquiry.

(1) As soon as may be after the expiry of the period referred to in section 12 or the further period referred to in sub-section (2) of section 13, the Collector shall, ¹[either suo motu whether or not a return had been filed or] on the basis of the returns submitted to him under either of those sections, and such record as he may consider it necessary to refer to, hold an enquiry in respect of every person ²[or family unit] holding land in excess of the ceiling area, and shall, subject to the provisions of this Chapter, determine the surplus land held by such person ³[or family unit].

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⁴[(2) Where a person or family unit holds land in two or more talukas of the same district, the enquiry shall be held by such officer or authority exercising the powers of the Collector whom the Collector-in-charge of the district ma

S.15 Division of survey numbers or of sub-divisions thereof in determining area of surplus land.

(1) Where, in delimiting the actual area of surplus land, a survey number or a sub-division of a survey number, is required to be divided, then-

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(a) if the portion of such survey number or sub-division to be included in the surplus land, is a fragment, the whole of such survey number or sub-division shall be excluded from the surplus land,

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(b) if the portion of such survey number or sub-division to be excluded from the surplus land, is a fragment, the whole of such survey number or sub-division shall be included in the surplus land,

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(c) if on dividing such survey number or sub-division into two parts, each part is a fragment, th

S.16 Selection of land for retention in ceiling area.

¹[(1) Where a person or a family unit holds land in excess of the ceiling area and the whole or part of such land-

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(a) is subject to an encumbrance, or

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(b) answers to the description of clause (bb) of section 18,

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then, subject to the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 10 and section 15, such person or the family unit shall retain such land (whether that land is held as owner or as tenant) up to the extent of the ceiling area.]

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(2) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (1), a person ²[or family unit] shall be entitled to select the lands he ³[or it] wishes to retain with himself

S.17 Notice to persons affected by inquiry under section 14.

(1) For holding an enquiry under section 14, Collector shall cause public notice, in the prescribed form, to be given at convenient places in the village or villages in which the land comprised in the holding is situate, specifying in the notice the land in respect of which enquiry is to be held to ascertain the surplus land (if any) held by the person ¹[or family unit, and calling upon all persons interested in the land to submit to the Collector their objections within a period of ²[fifteen days] from the date of publication of the notice. ³[Where a public notice has been given as provided in this sub-section, then the holder and all persons who are interested in the land shall be deemed to have been duly informed of the contents of such notice. If in the course of any proceedings a question arises whether a person was duly informed of the contents of the notice given in pursuance of this sub-section, th

S.18 Collector to consider certain matters.

On the day fixed for hearing under section 14, or any other day or days to which the inquiry is adjourned, the Collector shall, after hearing the holder and other persons interested and who are present and any evidence adduced, consider the following matters, that is to say,-

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(a) what is the total area of land which was held by ¹[the holder] on the 26th day of September, 1970]

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²[(b) whether any land transferred between the period from the 26th day of September 1970 and the commencement date, or any land partitioned after the 26th day of September 1970, should be considered or ignored in calculating the ceiling area as provided by sub-section (1) of section 10 or section 11;]

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(bb)

S.19 Power of Collector to restore land to landlord in certain cases.

¹[19. Power of Collector to restore land to landlord in certain cases.- Where during an enquiry into holding of any person, or as the case may be, family unit under this Chapter, it appears that-

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(a) the whole or any part of the surplus land, delimited under the foregoing provisions, is held by that person or family unit or is deemed to be held by that person or family unit from a landlord; and

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(b) the landlord has a right of resumption for personal cultivation in respect of that land (or part thereof) under the relevant tenancy law applicable to such land, the Collector shall (unless that right is subject to proceedings instituted before the 26th day of September 1970 before any court, tribunal or other authority and pen

S.20 Manner of considering claim of landlord to land under section 19.

(1) For the purpose of deciding the extent of land which should be restored to the possession of the landlord under section 19, the Collector shall issue a notice calling upon the landlord,-

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(a) to state his claim for restoration of possession of such surplus land for the purpose of that section ;

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(b) to show cause why the balance of such land should not be deemed to be surplus land.

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(2) Such notice shall requires the landlord to appear personally or by agent before the Collector on the date, and at the time and place therein mentioned (such date not being earlier than fifteen days after the issue of the notice.)

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S.21 Collector to make declaration regarding surplus land, etc., and consequences thereof.

(1) As soon as may be after the Collector has considered the matters referred to in section 18 and the questions, if any, under sub-section (3) of section 20, he shall make a declaration stating therein his decision on-

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(a) the total area of land which the person ¹[or family unit] is entitled to hold as the ceiling area;

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(b) the total area ²* * * * of land which is in excess of the ceiling area ;

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(c) the name of the ³[landlord] to whom possession of land is to be restored under section 19, and area and particulars of such land;

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¹[21-A. Damages for use and occupation of surplus land.- (1) A person or as the case may be, a family unit which possesses of or after the commencement date any land in excess of the ceiling area shall be liable to pay to the State Government for the period from the year following the year in which the excess area so held is declared surplus till the possession of surplus land is taken under section 21, such compensation for the use and occupation of such land as the Collector may fix in the prescribed manner.

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(2) Where an enquiry is pending on or after the commencement date for determining the surplus land under this Act as unamended by the Amending Act, 1972, the holder shall be liable to pay to the State Government for the period from the commencement date or the date on which the excess area is declared surplus under section 21, whichever is later, t

S.22 Payment of compensation.

Compensation for any land, acquired by the State Government for the purposes of this Act, shall be paid to extent, and in the manner, hereinafter provided.

S.23 Quantum of compensation.

¹[In each of the districts and talukas specified in column 1 of the First Schedule, for each class of land described in columns 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of that Schedule, the amount of compensation for surplus land acquired by the State Government under section 21 shall consist of,-

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(a) in case of dry crop land falling under column 5 or 6 the price calculated at the price per hectare specified in column 7 of that Schedule, or

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(b) in the case of land falling under ²[columns 2, 3 and 4 of that Schedule, the price calculated at the price ³[per hectare] of dry crop land increased by one hundred, by fifty and by twenty-five per cent; respectively.

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S.24 Collector to give notice calling upon interested persons to submit claims to compensation.

(1) After possession of surplus land is taken over under sub-section (4) of section 21, the Collector shall cause public notice to be given in the village where the surplus land specified in the declaration is situate, requiring all claims to compensation from all persons interested in such land to be made to him.

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(2) Such notice shall require the holder of the land and other persons interested therein (including persons who have any encumbrance lawfully subsisting on the land), to appear personally or by agent, before the Collector on the date and at the time and place therein mentioned (such date not being earlier than fifteen days after the date of publication of the notice), and to state the nature and the extent of their interest in the land the value of any trees, works, structures or fixtures and the amount and particulars of their claim to compensation the

S.25 Determination of compensation and apportionment thereof.

(1) On the day fixed under section 24, or any other day to which the enquiry is adjourned, the Collector shall enquire into all claims made for compensation and shall make an award determining,-

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(a) the amount of compensation payable in accordance with the provisions of section 23,

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(b) subject to the provisions of sub-sections (2) and (3), the apportionment of the compensation among the persons known or believed to be interested in the land in respect of whom or of whose claims, he has information, whether or not they have appeared before him.

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(2) (a), In the case of land held by a tenant, compensation therefor shall be apportioned between the t