Chapter III Chapter III

Fixation of ceiling area, determination of surplus land and acquisition thereof

For the purposes of this Chapter,--

1. (i) where certain land is held by two or more holders jointly or as tenants-in-common, the area of land corresponding to the interest of each holder on the appointed day shall be deemed to be held by such holder;
2. (ii) where land is held by a joint hindu family, each member of such family who is entitled to share in the joint family property shall be deemed to hold an area of such land proportionate to his share in the property to which he would be entitled if a partition were to take place on the appointed day; [(iii) any land belonging to a tenure holder which is held by occupancy tenant specified in sub-section

1. (1) of section 185 of the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 1959 (No. 20 of 1959) shall not be deemed to be held by such tenure holder;]
   • (iv) any land belonging to a tenure holder which is on or after the 1st January 1971 held by an occupancy tenant or a Bhumiswami to whom such rights have accrued under section 169 of the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 1959 (No. 20 of 1959) or sub-section (2-A) of section 190 thereof shall notwithstanding anything contained in the said Code, be deemed to be held by such tenure holder and not by the occupancy tenant or Bhumiswami, as the case may be, to whom such rights have accrued under the said respective sections.]

• • * * * *

B. Where as a consequence of lease given by a tenure holder of land comprised in his holding in contravention of section 168 of the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 1959 (20 of 1959) rights of an occupancy tenant or Bhumiswami, as the case may be, have accrued to the lessee under section 169 or section 190 of the said Code during the period commencing from 1st January, 1971 and ending on the appointed day, accrual of such rights shall be void and of no legal effect whatsoever for the purposes of this Act, notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or any other law for the time being in force or any judgement, decree or order of any court.

BB. Where as a result of operation of section 6-B, there is an addition to the quantum of land held by a holder prior to such operation so as to necessitate declaration of surplus land, then notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the competent authority shall in declaring the surplus land specify the land in the following order :--

1. (i) the land held by such holder other than the land to which section 6-B relates ;
2. (ii) if the land so held by him falls short of the requisite surplus the entire land so held and so much of the land to which section 6-B relates as falls short of the requisite surplus.

7. Maximum extent of land to be held by a person or family [

1. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, no holder or where the holder is a member of a family, no such family, shall, as from the appointed day, be entitled to hold land other than exempted land in excess of the land as is specified below :-
   • (a) where the holder is a member of a family.
2. (1) land capable of yielding two crops and receiving assured irrigation or assured private irrigation for both the crops; 10 acres.
3. (2) land capable of yielding one crop and receiving assured irrigation or assured private irrigation for the crop; 15 acres.
4. (3) dry land. 30 acres.
   • (b) where the holder is a member of a family of five members or less.
5. (1) land capable of yielding two crops and receiving assured irrigation or assured private irrigation for both the crops; 18 acres.
6. (2) land capable of yielding one crop and receiving assured irrigation or assured private irrigation for the crop; 27 acres.
7. (3) dry land. 54 acres.
   • (c) where the holder is a member of a family of more than five members.
8. (1) land capable of yielding two crops and receiving assured irrigation or assured private irrigation for both the crops; 18 acres plus 3 acres for each member in excess of five subject to the maximum of 36 acres.
9. (2) land capable of yielding one crop and receiving assured irrigation or assured private irrigation for the crop; 27 acres plus 4.50 acres for each member in excess of five subject to the maximum of 54 acres.
10. (3) dry land. 54 acres plus 9 acres for each member in excess of five subject to the maximum of 108 acres: Provided that where all or any one of the members of a family is also holder and holds land in his own rights, the aggregate land which such family shall hold shall not exceed the ceiling area specified above and the members of the family shall continue to hold land within the ceiling area in proportion to the extent of the land held by each one of them before the appointed day.
11. (2) Where a holder who is member of a family has one or more major sons, each such son shall, subject to the ceiling area specified in sub-section
12. (1) for a holder, be entitled to hold land separately from out of the land belonging to the family before the appointed day, as if each such son were a holder : Provided that if such major son or a member of his family hold land in his own rights and the extent of such land is less than the ceiling area specified in sub-section
13. (1) for the category of holders under which he falls, he shall be entitled to hold land out of such family holding only to the extent by which the land held by him as on 1st January, 1971 falls short of the ceiling area : Provided further that no major son shall be entitled to have land under the preceding proviso, unless he files before the competent authority a declaration in such form and within such period as may be prescribed.
14. (3) In computing the ceiling area under sub-section (1)-
    • (i) orchards other than banana gardens and vineyards shall be treated as dry land; and
    • (ii) land which a holder or member of a family has in a [Joint Farming Society or any other Co-operative Society] as member thereof shall be treated as land held by such holder or member of a family;
    • (iii) one acre of land capable of yielding two crops and receiving assured irrigation or assured private irrigation for both the crops shall be equal to 1.5 acres of land capable of yielding one crop and receiving assured irrigation or assured private irrigation for the crop or three acres of dry land. Explanation :- For purposes of this section different kind of crops grown in either Rabi or Kharif season shall be deemed to be one crop.] 8. [ILLEGIBLE]
      • • * * * * 9. Submission of return by person holding land in excess of ceiling Every holder who on the appointed day holds land in excess of the ceiling area shall in respect of all land held by him including exempted land, if any, furnish within a period of three months from the appointed day to the, competent authority a return containing the following information :--
    • (i) full particulars of land held by him within the State;
    • (ii) full particulars of the encumbrances, if any, on such land together with the name and address of his creditor;
    • (iii) x x x x (iii-a) full particulars of any transfer or partition of land effected by him on or after the 1st January 1971 and before the appointed day;
    • (iv) full particulars of any pending litigation respecting such land or part thereof,
    • (v) full names, ages and addresses of the members of his family, their relation with him and land held by each of them; (v-a) full names, ages and addresses of his major sons and land held by each of them as on 1st January, 1971;
    • (vi) full description of the land which he desires to retain; and
    • (vii) such other information as may be prescribed : Provided that if the holder is a minor, lunatic or idiot, the return on his behalf shall be filed by his guardian. Explanation.--Any person having lawful custody of the minor, lunatic or idiot or of his property, for the time being, shall be deemed to be his guardian : Provided further that where land is held by a joint Hindu family, a joint return may be filed by the manager of such family in respect of such land specifying therein the portion of the land which the family desires to retain. 10. Collection of information
15. (1) If any person holding land in excess of the ceiling area fails to submit the return under section 9, the competent authority may, by a notice in such form and served in such manner as may be prescribed, require such person to furnish the return within the time specified in the notice and on his failure to do so obtain the necessary information in such manner as may be prescribed.
16. (2) x x x x x] 11. Preparation of statement of land held in excess of the ceiling area
17. (1) On the basis of information given in the return under section 9 or the information obtained by the competent authority under section 10, the said authority shall after making such enquiry as it may deem fit, prepare a separate draft statement in respect of each person holding land in excess of the ceiling area, containing the following particulars :-- [(i) the name and address of the holder; (i-a) if the holder is a member of a family, names, address and ages of members of the family; [(i-b) if the holder who is a member of family has major sons, names, ages and addresses of his major sons and land held by each of them as on the 1st January, 1971;]2
    • (ii) full particulars of land held by him and other members of his family within the State and the total area of such land;]
    • (iii) the total area of land which the holder is entitled to hold in accordance with the provisions of this Act;
    • (iv) the description of land which he desires to retain;
    • (v) the description of land which the competent authority proposes to declare surplus; and
    • (vi) such other particulars as may be prescribed : [ Provided that if the holder fails to specify the portion of land which he wishes to retain, the competent authority shall, to the extent possible, include the encumbered and improved land in the land to be retained by the holder :]3 Provided further that a joint statement may be prepared in respect of holders who are members of a Joint Hindu Family or who hold land jointly or as tenants-in-common.
18. (2) The transferor shall, for the purpose of this Act, be deemed to be the holder of land the transfer of which--
    • (i) has been declared to be void under sub-section
19. (1) of section 4; or
    • (ii) has been found by the competent authority, on such enquiry as may be prescribed to be in contravention of the provisions of sub-section
20. (1) of section 5.
21. (3) The draft statement shall be published at such place and in such manner as may be prescribed and a copy thereof shall be served on the holder or holders concerned, the creditors and all other persons interested in the land to which it relates. Any objection to the draft statement received within thirty days of the publication thereof shall be duly considered by the competent authority who after giving the objector an opportunity of being heard shall pass such order as it deems fit.
22. (4) If while considering the objections received under sub-section
23. (3) or otherwise, the competent authority finds that any question has arisen regarding the title of a particular holder and such question has not already been determined by a court of competent jurisdiction, the competent authority shall proceed to enquire summarily into the merits of such question and pass such orders as it thinks fit : Provided that if such question is already pending for decision before a competent court, the competent authority shall await the decision of the court.
24. (5) The order of the competent authority under sub-section
25. (4) shall not be subject to appeal or revision, but any party may, within three months from the date of such order, institute a suit in the civil court to have the order set aside, and the decision of such court shall be binding on the competent authority, but subject to the result of such suit, if any, the order of the competent authority shall be final and conclusive.
26. (6) After all such objections, pending proceedings and the suit, if any, filed under sub-section
27. (5) have been disposed of, the competent authority shall, subject to provisions of the Act and the rules made thereunder, make necessary alterations in the draft statement in accordance with the orders passed on objections, the decision of the competent court and the decision of the civil suit, as the case may be, and shall declare the surplus land held by each holder. The competent authority shall, thereafter, publish a final statement specifying therein the entire land held by the holder, the land to be retained by him and the land declared to be surplus and send a copy thereof to the holder concerned. Such a statement shall be published in such manner as may be prescribed and shall be conclusive evidence of the facts stated therein.
28. (7) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-sections (4),
29. (5) and (6), where the competent authority finds that a person holds land, other than the land in respect of which a question of title is pending before a competent court, in excess of the ceiling area, it may proceed to declare such land to be surplus forthwith. The land so declared surplus shall be incorporated in the final statement published under sub-section (6). [(8) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 7, if the land in excess of the ceiling area consists of a small strip of land which cannot be cultivated economically or which cannot be detached from the land having regard to the efficient use thereof for agricultural purposes, the holder of the land may be permitted by the competent authority, for reasons to be recorded in writing, to retain the said strip of land subject to a maximum of one acre in excess of the ceiling area.]1 12. Vesting of surplus land in the State All surplus land shall be deemed to be needed for a public purpose and shall vest in the State absolutely free from all encumbrances with effect from the date declaring it surplus under sub-section
30. (6) of section 11: Provided that if on such land any crop is standing such vesting shall take place after the crop has been harvested.]2 13. Consequence of vesting With effect from the date of vesting--
    • (i) all rights, title and interest of the holder in the surplus land or of any person having interest in such land through him shall cease; and
    • (ii) all arrears of revenue, cesses or other dues, in respect of the land so vesting and due by the holder for any period prior to the date of vesting, shall continue to be recoverable from such holder and may, without prejudice to any other mode of recovery, be realised by deducting the amount from the compensation money payable to such holder under this Act. 13A. Holder liable to pay compensation for profits on surplus land [13-A. Where any land vests in the State Government under section 12, the holder of the land shall be liable to pay to the State Government in such manner and in accordance with such principles as may be prescribed profit earned on the land by him during the period the land has remained with him after the appointed day.]1 14. Demarcation of land and assessment thereof Where any land vest in the State Government under section 12, the Sub-Divisional Officer shall demarcate it in accordance with the rules made under sub-section
31. (5) of section 198 of the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 1959 (20 of 1959), and also fix the land revenue in respect of the land remaining with the holder. 15. Ceiling how effective in future [Where after the appointed day the total land held by any holder and where such holder is a member of a family the total land held by such family at any time exceeds the ceiling area by reason of--
    • (a) acquisition of land by the holder or member of his family; or
    • (b) change in the nature of land, that is to say, dry land subsequently having assured irrigation for one crop or two crops, as the case may be, or land having assured irrigation for one crop subsequently having assured irrigation for two crops; or
    • (c) land having ceased to be exempted land; all the provisions of this Chapter shall, so far as may be, apply to such holder and where such holder is a member of a family to such family: Provided that the period of submission of return by such holder under section 9 shall,--
      • (i) in case of acquisition of land, be ninety days from the date of such acquisition; and
      • (ii) in the case of change in the nature of land, be ninety days from the date the nature of land is changed; and
      • (iii) in the case of land ceasing to be exempted land, be ninety days from the date of commencement of the Madhya Pradesh Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings (Second Amendment) Act, 1972 or the date on which such land has ceased to be exempted whichever is later.]2