Assam Fixation of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1956

No: 1 Dated: Jan, 16 1957

THE ASSAM FIXATION OF CEILING ON LAND HOLDINGS ACT, 1956

ASSAM ACT I OF 1957

An Act to impose limits on the amount of land that may be held by a person.

Preamble. - Whereas it is deemed necessary to make provision for imposition of limits on the amount of land that may be held by a person ;

It is hereby enacted in the Seventh Year of the Republic of India as follows :

CHAPTER I

1. Short title, extent and commencements. - (1) This Act may be called the Assam Fixation of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1956.

(2) It shall extend to the Districts of (1) Goalpara (2) Dhubri (3) Kokrajhar (4) Bongaigaon (5) Barpeta (6) Nalbari (7) Kamrup (8) Darrang (9) Sonitpur (10) Lakhimpur (11) Dhemaji (12) Nagaon (13) Morigaon (14) Sibsagar (15) Jorhat (16) Golaghat (17) Cachar (18) Karimganj (19) Hailakandi (20) Dibrugarh (21) Tinsukia in the State of Assam.

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

(4) The State Government may, by notification published in the official Gazette from time to time, extend the Act to such other areas as may be specified in the Notification.

2. Exceptions. - The provisions of this Act shall not apply to-

(1) lands held by the State Government or by the Union Government or by any Local Authority, or by any Agricultural Farming Corporation constituted under the Assam Agricultural Farming Corporation Act, 1973 ;

(2)(a) lands held and utilised for special cultivation of tea and purposes ancillary thereto;

(b) lands held by a mill, factory, workshop, as the case may be, for the purposes of the expansion of the mill, factory or workshop, or for ancillary purposes of the mill, factory, workshop, such as setting up of schools dispensaries and roads but not for any other purposes;

(c) lands held by a Co-operative Farming Society for cultivation of sugarcane, only for the purpose of feeding a Co-operative Sugar factory :

Provided that , if at any time, such lands cease to be utilised for the purposes mentioned in the aforesaid sub-clauses, the provisions of this Act shall apply ;

(3) land vesting in Gram Sab ha under the Assam Gramdan Act, 1961.

3. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) "agriculture" includes horticulture, arboriculture, pisciculture, piggery, animal, husbandry, poultry and other allied pursuits ;

(b) the words "annual lease" has the meaning assigned to it in the Settlement Rules framed under the Assam Land and Revenue Regulations, 1886 ;

(c) "Collector" means the Deputy Commissioner or any other officer authorised by the State Government to perform the function of a Collector under this Act;

(d) "family" means a family consisting of any one or more or all of the following, namely :

(1) husband, (2) wife, (3) minor children, and also includes a joint family.

Explanation. - "Joint family" means a family of which the members are descendants from a common ancestor and have a common mess, and shall include wife or husband, as the case may be, but shall exclude married daughters, married sons and their children :

Provided that a family consisting of father , and/or mother, sons and/or unmarried daughters holding lands jointly shall be presumed to be joint in spite of any one or more having a separate mess ;

(e) [Deleted],

(f) "land" means land which is or may be utilised for agricultural purpose or purposes subservient thereto, and includes land which is or may be utilised for quarrying stones ;

(g) the word "land-holder" has the meaning assigned to the Assam Land and Revenue Regulations, 1886 ;

(h) "landlord" means a person immediately under whom a tenant holds land out but does not include the Government;

(i) "owner" includes proprietor,land-holder or settlement holder as defined in Section 3 of the Assam Land and Revenue Regulations 1886 but does not include Government;

(j) "person" includes an individual, a family, a joint family, a trustee, a company, a body corporate, a partnership firm, a society or an association of individuals whether incorporated or not;

(k) "personal cultivation" means cultivation-

(i) by the person himself, or

(ii) by any member of his family, or

(iii) by servants or hired labourers on fixed remuneration payable in cash or in kind but not in crop share, under personal supervision of the person himself or any member of his family :

Provided it is accompanied by the bearing of risk of cultivation by the owner and by residence in village in which the land is situate or in a nearby village or town within a distance of 8 kms. during the greater part of the agricultural season :

Provided further that in the case of a person who is a widow or a minor, or is subject to any physical or mental disability or is a member of the Military, Naval or Air Force of the Union, or who is a student below the age of twenty-one years of any educational institution recognised by the State Government, the land shall be deemed to be under personal cultivation even in the absence of such personal supervision;

(l) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(m) the expression "public purpose" include a purpose connected with settlement of land with actual cultivator or co- operative farming society;

(n) "rent" means whatever is fully payable in money or in kind on account of the use and occupation of the land;

(o) "tenant" means a person who holds land under another person and is or but for a special contract would be liable to pay rent for that land to that other person, and includes a person who cultivates the land of another person on condition of delivering a share of the produce.

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