Disposal of surplus rural evacuee agri land

18/12/1987

Punjab Government Department of Rehabilitation

From

The Financial Commissioner ( Revenue) and

Secretary to Government, Punjab Rehabilitation,

Chandigarh

To

All the Deputy Commissioners in the State

No.PIV/2(505) Part/1952-63, dated Chandigarh, the 18th December, 1987.

Sub: Disposal of surplus rural evacuee agricultural land on the basis of possession since Rabi 1984.

Memorandum

1. The State Government has revised the policy with regard to disposal of surplus rural evacuee agricultural land. One of the decisions pertains to the transfer of land to sitting occupants unto the limit of 3 ordinary acres, if it is situated within 2 to 5 miles and unto 10 ordinary acres, when situated beyond 5 miles of the Municipal limits provided that the over-all holding of an occupant does not exceed 10 ordinary acres, inclusive of his own holding, if any.

Condition of eligibility

2. The conditions applicable for the transfer of land on the basis of possession has already been prescribed in the Punjab Package Deal Properties (Disposal) Rules, 1976, which should be followed meticulously. However, the main conditions are that the cultivating possession of an occupant is established to be continuous and undisputed from the entries in the Khasra Girdawaris from Rabi, 1984, he is the head of his family and is self-tiller. A widow who is occupant and is getting the land cultivated by her son(s) or by employing servant(s), or otherwise shall be considered as self-tiller. An occupant who is minor provided he is not a legal heir of an occupant who has died after making an application by the prescribed date or such woman whose husband is alive but is not disabled or incapacitated, an allottee (Displaced Person) or his vendee, the allotment whereof has been cancelled and who has already purchased surplus rural evacuee agricultural land on the basis of possession or in restricted auction and has disposed of the same or has ceased to be entitled to hold the land by reasons of default in the terms and conditions of the transfer of sale shall not be entitled to the transfer of the land in their possession.

Correction of khasra girdawari entries

3. Cultivating possession of an occupant shall be determined strictly on the basis of the entries appearing in the Khasra Girdawari. Doubtful and tampered with Khasra Girdawaris shall be ignored. Similarly, corrections of the Khasra Girdawaris secured on the basis of application filed after 23rd November, 1987, shall not be taken into consideration.

Reserve Price

4. The price of land shall be charged at the following rates except where a variation in the price has been approved by the Financial Commissioner (Revenue):

(a) For Non-Scheduled Caste Occupants.

(i) For Chahi/Nehri land and the land Rs. 20,000/-per ordinary

irrigated by private or Government acre.

tube-well.

(ii) For Barani land Rs. 10.000/-per ordinary acre.

(b) For Scheduled Caste Occupants :

(i) For Chahi/Nehri land and the land irrigated by private or Govt tube­wells	1/3rd of the rate as applicable to the Non Scheduled Castes occupants i.e. Rs. 6,667/- per ordinary acre.
(ii) For Barani Land	1/3rd of the rate as applicable to the non Scheduled Castes occupants i.e. Rs. 3333.35 per ordinary acre.

Assessment & recovery of price of trees

5. The price of the standing trees in the land to be transferred should be assessed by the Tehsildar (Mahal)-cum-(Sales) in consultation with the village Panchayat and amount so assessed recovered at the time of transfer alongwith the first installment.

Assessment & recovery of rent

6. Rent and damage charges in respect of the evacuee land which remained in an unauthorized occupation of the applicant should be assessed for the entire period, if not assessed earlier, unto the date of transfer of land and recovered from him in lump-sum at the time of transfer of land alongwith first instalment. The Sub Divisional Officer (Civil)­cum-Sales commissioner can, however, allow an applicant to make payment of the arrears of rent outstanding against him in such number of instalments, as may be fixed by him, by a specific order keeping in view the circumstances of each case as provided in sub-rule 6(2) of Rule 3 of the Punjab Package Deal properties (Disposal) Rule. 1976. If sale case orders are passed by the Sales commissioner for making recovery of the arrears of rent in instalments , the Tehsildar (Mahal)-cum-Sales should indicate, in his order the amount of arrears of rent to be recovered from the applicant in instalments . In case, full recovery of rent has been made at the time of transfer from the applicant, the Tehsildar (Mahal)-cum-Sales should make it clear in his order that the total amount due from the applicant has been recovered. A certificate in this regard should also be placed on the file.

Type of land to which policy applies and limits for each type

7. This policy decision shall apply to the transfer of land to an occupant, which is situated beyond 2 miles from the Municipal limits and the kind of soil which Chahi/Nehri Barani or Sailabi. Each sitting occupant would be entitled to the transfer of land unto the limit of 3 ordinary acres, if it is situated beyond 2 to 5 miles and unto 10 ordinary acres when situated beyond 5 miles of the Municipal limits provided that the over-all holding of an occupant does not exceed 10 ordinary acres inclusive of his own holding, if any For, the purpose of classification of the land i.e. irrigated or un-irrigated quality of land for urban, sub-urban or rural location, the prescribed date will be the date of disposal of the application by the Tehsildar (Sales).

Mode of application

8. The form of application to be tendered by eligible occupants has been prescribed and is being got printed, As soon as these are printed, same will be supplied duly numbered for distribution, free of cost. The proper account of these Forms should be kept by the Tehsildar (Mahal)-cum- (Sales). Un-used forms should be returned to this office after the expiry of the date prescribed for the receipt of applications. All the applications received in a Tehsil shall be entered in a chronological order, daily in a separate register, duly page marked and bearing certificate of the Tehsildar (Mahal)-cum- (Sales) concerned recording the total number of pages of the register. On receipt of an application, whether by post or by hand, official receiving the applications will give, on top of the application, its receipt number and the date on which it was received and the same shall be initialed by the Tehsildar (Mahal)-cum- (Sales) concerned and a receipt printed on the bottom of the application issued to the applicant. The Tehsildar (Mahal)-cum- (Sales) shall record a certificate at the end, indicating the total number of applications received within time. The application received after the prescribed date shall also be entered in the same Register after the Tehsildar (Mahal)-cum- (Sales) has recorded the above certificate.

Last date for submission of application

9. The last date for receipt of applications in the prescribed form from the eligible occupants, has been fixed as May 23 1988. A press Note to this effect has been issued and a copy of the same is enclosed at Annexure-l. The Tehsildar (Mahal)-cum- (Sales) should be asked to ensure proper publicity of these decisions in each village, through the Village Patwaries and Rapats with regard to same entered in the Roznamcha Waqiati.

Steps to be taken after receipt of application

10. The work regarding scrutiny and disposal of applications, as and when received, should be taken in hand by the Tehsildar (Mahal)-cum- (Sales). The documents to be supplied by the applicant i.e. copies of the Jamabandi and Khasra Girdawaris in respect of the land sought to be transferred by him, should be carefully verified with the original revenue record by the Kanungo and Tehsildar (Mahal)-cum-(Sales) and they should record a certificate on them that they have compared with the original record and entries appearing in the copies are correct. Similarly, the Tehsildar (Mahal)-cum-(Sales) should also satisfy himself that the applicant is self-tiller and head of the family and living separately from his parents. In this regard, he may place document(s) on the file, such as receipts regarding payment of Chullah Tax and Chowkidara by the applicant and a Photostat copy of the Ration Card.

Since the applicant's own holding is to be taken into account while transferring evacuee land to him on the basis of its possession, the Tehsildar (Mahal)-cum- (Sales) should verify personally the exact holding of the applicant and also place on the file a certificate clearly indicating the holding of the applicant, his wife and that of dependent children and also the particulars of Nazool, evacuee or inferior evacuee land., if any. already purchased from the Revenue and Rehabilitation Department, on instalment basis or otherwise even if its price is not fully paid, before passing order for the transfer of evacuee land. No order should be passed by the Tehsildar (Mahal)-cum-(Sales) without giving a reasonable opportunity of being heard to the person concerned as required under sub class (c) of Rule 16 of the Punjab Package Deal Properties (Disposal) Rules, 1976. Proper account in respect of the evacuee land transferred to occupants on the basis of the their possession should be maintained and kept unto date by the Tehsildar (Mahal)-cum (Sales). Each transfer file should be entered daily in the V-S Register and sent to the Sales Commissioner for confirmation immediately after the expiry of 30 days from the date of transfer. The Sub Divisional Officer (Civil)-cum-Sales Commissioner will then, after due scrutiny of the case referred to him, either confirm or reject or modify the recommendation the Tehsildar (Sales) in respect of the transfer of evacuee land to an occupant and return the case to the Tehsildar (Mahal)-cum- (Sales) within 15 days. The Tehsildar (Mahal)-cum- (Sales) shall then work out the instalment to be recovered in each case and prepare Khatouni in respect thereof as already prescribed mentioning there in the total mount recoverable from the transferee including the amount of rent. All this process should be completed within two months from the date of transfer at any cost and the Tehsildar (Sales) and Sub Divisional Officer (Civil)-cum-Sales Commissioner will be personally responsible to ensure meticulous compliance of the time limit mentioned above.

Joint cultivation by more than one person to be considered as one unit

11. Where evacuee land is cultivated jointly by more than one person, maximum area to the extent of 10 Ordinary Acres shall be transferred to all the occupants in equal shares provided they have applied in time in the prescribed form and fulfil all other conditions. For example if four persons are cultivating 30 acres of land, they would be eligible for the transfer of 10 Ordinary Acres of land only in equal proportion of shares as mentioned in the record and the remaining land under their possession would be retrieved and disposed of under the rules.

Mode of payment

12. The price will be payable in 20 equal six-monthly instalments. The first instalment shall be recovered at the time of transfer and on the balance instalments, interest @ 10% shall be charged. In the event of default, penal interest @ 15% per annum shall be chargeable. If the transferee wishes to pay the price in fewer instalments or in lump-sum, he should be permitted to do so.

Action in case of default in payment of price

13. In the event of three successive defaults, committed by any transferee, the transfer of land made in his favour, should be cancelled and land resumed.

Steps to be taken in case of variation in price

14. It has also been decided that if at the local level the situation and quality of a particular land justifies a variation from the prices fixed by the Government, then the concerned Collectors will send up proposals through the Commissioners to the Financial Commissioner (Revenue) with suitable justification for increasing or decreasing the price, In this connection a proforma has been prescribed, which is at Annexure-Il, The Tehsildar (Mahal)-cum- (Sales) shall submit the proposals in this regard to the concerned Sub Divisional Officer (Civil) within one month, From the date of issue of these instructions who, then after making thorough verification will refer the case to the Deputy Commissioner. The Deputy Commissioner shall refer the case to the Commissioner with his recommendations giving detailed reasons for the proposed increase or decrease in the reserve price within one month who will then submit the case to the Financial Commissioner (Revenue) for orders within one month from the receipt of recommendations from the office of Deputy Commissioner, The proposal containing all the necessary details in this regard should be sent in duplicate. in the prescribed form" accompanied by the required documents, duly authenticated. In this regard, a separate register at the Tehsil as well as at the district level should be maintained,

Allotment letter

15. The Tehsildar (Mahal)-cum- (Sales) shall issue an allotment/transfer letter to the applicant in the prescribed form at Annexure-III. after the transfer of land made by him is confirmed by the Sub-Divisional-Officer (Civil)-Sales Commissioner and the first instalment in respect of the land proposed to be transferred, is deposited by the transferee, The conveyance Deed shall be issued in favour of the transferee only after making the full recovery from him on account of price of the land, rent and price of the trees etc,

Procedure for auction of surplus rural evacuee land

16. The new policy besides transferring the land to the sitting occupants as described above, envisages the disposal of the remaining rural evacuee land, which would be left after transferring the land to the eligible occupants, by allotment of land to the displaced land claimants in satisfaction of their claims or transfer of land by negotiation to, Government Departments, village Panchayats, Registered Religious Institutions for public purposes etc., through auction. 25% of the over-all agricultural land available for auction will be disposed of in restricted auction limited to the members of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes as notified by the Government. However, in case the available area for auction is less than one acre in any village. the same shall be disposed of in open auction only. These auctions would be subject to the revised reserve price which has been fixed by the Government i.e. Rs. 20,000/- per acre for Chahi/Nehri land and the land irrigated by Private and Government tube-wells and Rs. 10,000/- for Barani land. At the local level, if the situation of a particular land justifies a variation from the above fixed prices, then the concerned Collectors will send up the proposals, through Commissioners, to the Financial Commissioner (Revenue) with suitable justification for increasing or decreasing the reserve price in the prescribed proforma at Annexure-II. Necessary amendments in the Punjab Package Deal Properties (Disposal) Rules, 1976, are being made and you will be informed of the same in due course to enable you to take in hand the work regarding disposal of evacuee land by auction.

Entry in jamabandi – in regard to restricted auction:

17. As and when any land is sold in restricted auction among the members of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes, necessary entries to that effect, should be made in the Jamabandi in remarks column.

Monitoring

18 A register should be maintained at the Tehsil level indicating therein the total number of applications received, disposed of and the area transferred etc. and progress report duly consolidated in respect of the entire district, sent in the prescribed form at Annexure- IV fortnightly i. e. by Ist and 16th of each month without fail.

These instructions should be brought to the notice of all concerned for meticulous compliance.

Deputy Secretary (Reh. )

for Financial Commissioner( Revenue )

Secretary to Government, Punjab,

Rehabilitation Department, Chandigarh.

Endst. No. PIV/2(505) Part V1I/19964-66m dated Chandigarh, the 18th December. 1987

A copy, alongwith its enclosures, is forwarded to the Commissioners Patiala Jul1ndur and Ferozepur Division, for their information and necessary action.

Deputy Secretary (Reh.)

for Financial Commissioner( Revenue )

Secretary to Government, Punjab,

Rehabilitation Department, Chandigarh.

ANNEXURE II

Signature of Collector

Recommendation of the Commissioner

Signature of Commissioner

ANNEXURE-III

From

The Tehsildar (Mahal)-cum-Sales

----------------------------------------

To

Shri-----------------------------------

----------------------------------------

----------------------------------------

No. (File No. )/ Dated:

Sub: Allotment of rural evacuee land on the basis of possession.

Memorandum

Reference your application dated--------------regarding transfer of evacuee land on the basis of possession.

2. You are hereby informed that it has been decided to allot you rural evacuee land measuring--------------comprised in Khasra No (s)------- -----situated in Village------------------/H.B. No"----------------Tehsil------------------District------------------ on the basis of possession from Rabi, 1984, on the terms and conditions mentioned hereunder: -

(i) The transfer of land shall be governed b)- the provisions of Punjab Package Deal Properties (Disposal) Act, 1976 and the rules made thereunder as amended from time to time.

(ii) The sum of Rs. ---------- paid by you at the time of transfer, has been adjusted towards the Ist instalment.

(iii) The balance price of the land i.e. 90% shall be payable by you in nine equated half yearly instalments together with interest thereon @ 10% per annum as per details given on page 2.

(iv) In the event of default in payment of any instalment after it becomes due, penal interest @ 15% per annum shall be pa)'able alongwith the amount of instalment(s).

(v) The transfer / allotment shall stand cancelled and land resumed in the event of default of three consecutive instalments.

(vi) You will become owner of this land on payment of entire consideration money together with interest due to the State Government and Conveyance Deed will be issued in your favour thereafter.

(vii) Until the entire consideration money together with interest/penal r interest, rent/damage charges for the use and occupation of this land prior to its allotment and other amount, if any due to the State Government in respect of the land under transfer is paid, the land shall continue to belong to the State Government.

Tehsildar (Mahal)-cum-Sales,

No. Dated

Copy to the Patwari (Mahal), Village for information. He should keep account of such persons in a separate register.

Details of installments.

Ist installment will be Due Date Amount Tehsildar (Mahal)-cum-sales

Months from the

Date of transfer.

Ist

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

ANNEXURE IV

Statement showing the progress report in respect of the applications received for the transfer of Rural Evacuee Land on the basis of possession from Rabi 1984 and disposal made during the fortnight ending Ist/15^th of the month---------in respect of district---------

Amended vide letter No. 1048-59 dated, Chandigarh, the 31-1-1989