Meghalaya Transfer of Land (Regulation) Act, 1971
No: 1 Dated: Jan, 01 1972
THE MEGHALAYA TRANSFER OF LAND (REGULATION) ACT, 1971
ACT I of 1972
An Act to regulate transfer of land in Meghalaya for the protection of the interest of the Scheduled Tribes therein. Be it enacted by the Legislature of Meghalaya in the Twenty-Second Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
1. Short title, extent and commencement:- (1) This act may be called the Meghalaya transfer of Land (Regulation) Act, 1971.
(2) It extends to the tribal areas within the State of Meghalaya as specified in Part II of the Table appended to paragraph-20 of the Sixth Scheduled to the Constitution.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Government of Meghalaya may, by notification, appoint.
2. Definition:- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:-
(a) “competent authority” means such authority as the Government of Meghalaya may, by notification, appoint for the purpose of exercising all or any of the functions of a competent authority under this Act for the whole of Meghalaya or any part thereof;
(b) “land” includes immovable property of every descriptions and any rights in or over such property;
(c)”notification” means notification in the Official Gazette of Meghalaya;
(d) “transfer” means the conveyance of land of one person to another and includes gift, sale, exchange mortgage, lease, surrender or any other mode of transfer;
(e)” tribal” means a person belonging to any of the Scheduled Tribe pertaining to Meghalaya and as specified in the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order 1950, as amended from time to time and, for the purpose of this Act shall also include the Rabhas, Kacharis (and Koches) resident in Meghalaya.
3. Transfer Of Land:- . (1) No land in Meghalaya shall be transferred by a tribal to a non-tribal or by a non-tribal to another non-tribal except with the previous sanction of the competent authority:
Provided that the Government of Meghalaya is satisfied may, from time to time, by notification, prohibit any transfer of land within such area or areas as may be speci- fied in the notification and there upon the competent authority shall not sanction any such transfer of land under the provision of this Act, within such area or areas. Provided further that no notification made under the preceding proviso shall apply to transfer of land for any of the purposes mentioned in clause (e) or clause (f) of sub-section (I) of Section 4.”
(2) Every notification issued under the proviso to sub-section (1) of this Section shall:-
(i) have effect on the date of its first publication in the official Gazette of Meghalaya;
(ii) be laid, as soon as may be after its publication in the official Gazette, before the House of the Legislative Assembly of the State;
(3) Any transfer of land made in contravention of the provisions of this section shall be void and shall not be enforceable in any Court.