Punjab Land Reforms Act, 1972
No: 10 Dated: Apr, 02 1973
The Punjab Land Reforms Act, 1972
Punjab Act No. 10 of 1973
An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to ceiling on land holdings, acquisition of proprietary rights by tenants and other ancillary matters in the State of Punjab.
Be it enacted by the Legislative of the State of Punjab in the Twentythird Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Punjab Land Reforms Act, 1972.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Punjab.
(3) It shall come into force at once.
CHAPTER 1
Preliminary
2. Declaration as to giving effect to certain directive principles. - It is hereby declared that this Act is for giving effect to the policy of the State towards securing the principles specified in clauses (b) and (c) of Article 39 of the Constitution of India.
3. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -
(1) "appointed day" means the twenty-fourth day of January, 1971;
(2) "banjar land" means land which has remained uncultivated for a continuous period of not less than four years immediately preceding the date on which the question whether such land is banjar or not arises;
(3) "Collector" means the Collector of the district or any other officer not below the rank of Assistant Collector of the first grade empowered in this behalf by the State Government;
(4) "family" in relation to a person means the person, the wife or husband, as the case may be, of such person and his or her minor children other than a married minor daughter;
(5) "land" means land which is not occupied as the site of any building in a town or village and is occupied or has been let for agricultural purposes or for purposes subservient to agricultural, or for pasture, and includes -
(a) the sites of buildings, and other structures on such land; and
(b) banjar land;
(6) "landowner" shall have the meaning assigned to it in Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887 (Punjab Act XVII of 1887);
Explanation. - In respect of land mortgaged with possession, the mortgagee shall be deemed to be the landowner;
(7) "minor" means a person who has not completed the age of eighteen years;
(8) "orchard" means a compact area of land having fruit bearing trees grown thereon in such number that they preclude, or when fully grown would preclude, a substantial part of such land from being used for any other agricultural purpose;
(9) "Pepsu law" means the Pepsu Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1955;
(10) "person" includes a company, family, association or other body of individuals, whether incorporated or not, and any institution capable of holding property;
(11) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(12) "Punjab law" means the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953;
(13) "self-cultivation" means cultivation by a landowner either personally or through any member of his family or through his brother, or through a servant or hired labour under the personal supervision of the landowner or supervision of a member of his family, subject to the condition that the servant or hired labour is paid wages in cash or in kind or partly in cash and partly in kind but not as a share of the produce;
(15) "surplus area" means the area in excess of the permissible area;
(16) "tenant" has the meaning assigned to it in the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887 (Act XVI of 1887) and includes a sub-tenant, and self-cultivating lessee, but shall not include a present holder as defined in clause (f) of section 2 of the East Punjab Displaced Persons (Land Resettlement) Act, 1949;
(17) all other words and expressions used herein and not defined but defined in the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887 (Punjab Act XVI of 1887), or the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887 (Punjab Act XVII of 1887), shall have the meanings assigned to them in either of those Acts.