Assam Evacuee Property Act, 1951
No: 11 Dated: Apr, 20 1951
The Assam Evacuee Property Act, 1951
Assam Act 11 of 1951
An Act to provide for certain matters relating to evacuee property.
Preamble. - Whereas it is expedient to provide for certain matters relating to evacuee property;
It is hereby enacted as follows :
1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Assam Evacuee Property Act, 1951.
(2) It extends to the whole of Assam.
(3) It shall come into force at once.
2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in subject or context-
(a) "Adhiar" means a person who under the system generally known as Adhi (whether Guchi-adhi or Guti-adhi), barga, chukti, bhag or chukani, cultivates the land of another person on condition of delivering a share or quantity of the produce of such land to that person;
(b) "allotment" means the grant by the Deputy Commissioner of the temporary right to use and occupy and property otherwise than by way of lease ;
(c) "appointed day" means the 3'lst day of March, 1951 ;
(d) "the Committee" means the Evacuee Property Management Committee for Assam constituted under sub-section (1) of Section 12 of this Act;
(e) "the Deputy Commissioner" means the Deputy Commissioner of the district within which the evacuee property is situated ;
(f) "evacuee" means a person ordinarily resident in Assam who, on account of communal disturbances, on the fear of sub-disturbances leaves, or has after the 15th August, 1947 left Assam, for any place in Pakistan and also includes his legal heir ;
(g) "Minority Commission" means and shall be deemed always to have meant commission as may be constituted by the State Government under the Indo-Pakistan Agreement of the 8th April, 1950, by notification in the official Gazette ;
(h) "property" means immovable property ;
(i) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(j) "urban area" means any area included in a Municipality or a small town constituted under the provisions of the Assam Municipal Act, 1923 (Assam Act 1 of 1923) and such other areas as may be notified by the State Government in the official Gazette as urban areas for the purposes of this Act.
3. Evacuee property. - Every property in Assam in which an evacuee has right or interest other than-
(a) property in charge of the Court of Wards ; and
(b) property covered by an annual patta in a tribal belt or tribal block is hereby declared to be evacuee property.
4. Deputy Commissioner's order. - (1) The Deputy Commissioner or an officer to whom the powers of a Deputy Commissioner are delegated under Section 11 of this Act, if he is satisfied with respect to any evacuee properly that such property is lying unoccupied, uncultivated or uncared for, or has come to be wrongfully used or occupied by any person, may make an order in the prescribed form, styled a Deputy Commissioner's order in respect of such property.
(2) While a Deputy Commissioner's order is in force in respect of any evacuee property of an evacuee, the Deputy Commissioner, subject to any general or special orders of the State Government-
(a) may make such measures as he considers necessary or expedient for the purposes of managing, protecting or preserving such property and may for such purposes do such acts and incur such expenses as may be necessary or incidental;
(b) may remove or cause to be removed by force, if necessary, any person who is wrongfully using or occupying such property ;
(c) may, subject to the provisions of Section 5, make any allotment of such property or part thereof to any person on such terms and conditions as he thinks fit;
shall report to the Committee-
(i) if before the expiry of the appointed day, the evacuee makes to the Deputy Commissioner a declaration of his intention not to return to Assam, as soon as may be, after he receives such declaration ;
(ii) if before the expiry of the appointed day, the evacuee does not make a declaration to the Deputy Commissioner of his intention not to return to Assam as soon as may be after the appointed day.
5. Provisions as to allotments. - (1) No allotment shall be made-
(a) where the evacuee property consists of residential or business premises or vacant land situated within an urban area-for a period extending beyond the 7th day of February, 1951;
(b) where the evacuee property consists of land or homestead used for or in connection with agricultural purposes-for a period extending beyond the 7th day of February, 1951.
(2) An allotment and the terms and conditions thereof shall be binding on the evacuee in respect of whose evacuee property the allotment has been made, and also on the Committee but only for the period for which the allotment has been made.
(3) Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to confer on any person to whom an allotment is made any transferable right of the status of a tenant or of a lessee.
(4) No person to whom an allotment of an evacuee property is made, shall remain on such property after the expiry of the period of allotment and any person so remaining, shall if a Deputy Commissioner's order in respect of such property is in force, be deemed to be wrongfully using or occupying such property within the meaning of clause (b) of sub-section (2) of Section 4.