Kerala Agrarian Relations Act, 1960

No: 4 Dated: Feb, 03 1961

THE KERALA AGRARIAN RELATIONS ACT, 1969

(ACT 4 OF 1961)

    An Act to enact a comprehensive legislation relating to agrarzan reforms zn the State of Kerala.

    Preamble.-Whereas it is expedient to enact a comprehensive legislation rdating to agrarian reforms in the State of Kerala ;

Be it enacted in the Eleventh Year of the Republic of India as follows:-

CHAPTER I

PRELIMINARY

1. Short title extent and commencement.-(1) This Act may be called the Kerala Agrarian Relations Act, 1960.

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

(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act.

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

(1) "agricultural labourer" means a person whose principal means of livehhood is the income he gets as wages, in connection with the agricultural operations he performs ;

(2) "agricultural year" means the year commencing with the 1st April in any year and endmg With the 31st March of the year next succeedmg, except in the case of puncha and kole nilams in which case it shall be the year commencing with the 15th June m any year and ending with the 14th June of the year next succeedmg :

    Provided that the District Collector may, with respect to any crop, area or category of land within his district, by notification in the Gazette, specify the year between such other dates as he may deem fit as an agncultural year ;

(3) "ceiling area" means the area of land specified in section 88 as the ceiling area ;

(4) "Cochin" means the area comprising-

(i) the portion of the State of Kerala which before the first day of July 1949 formed the State of Cochin, less the enclaves absorbed m the Malabar district under the Provmces and States (Absorption of Enclaves) Order, 1950 , and

(ii) the enclaves which formed part of the Malabar district absorbed in the State of Travancore-Cochin under the said Order ;

(5) "court" means, where a particular court is not specifically mentioned, the court havmg Jurisdiction under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, to entertain a sUlt for the possession of the holdmg or part thereof to which any legal proceeding under this Act relates ;

(6) "cultivate" With its grammatical vanations means cultivate either solely by one's own labour or with the help of the members of his family or hired labourers or both, or personally direct or supervise cultivation by such members or hired labourers, or both, provided that such members or hired labourers have not agreed to pay or to take any fixed proportion of the produce of the land they cultivate as compensation for being allowed to cultivate it or as remuneration for cultivating it ;

(7) "customary dues" means onakazhcha, utsavakazhcha, perunnalkazhcha or aradiantharam or the like, due annually or periodically on specific dates or at periodical mtervals, or on the happenmg of any event or on the occasion of any festival, specified or not, but does not mclude rent or mtchavatam specified as such in the contract of tenancy;

(8) "double crop nilam" means ndam on which more than one crop of paddy is ordinarily raised in an agricultural year ;