Chapter IV ALLOTMENT OF LAND TO GIRASDARS FOR PERSONAL CULTIVATION

(1) Any Girasdar may at any time within four months from the date of the commencement of the Saurashtra Land Reforms (Second Amend ment) Ordinance, 1952 apply to the Mamlatdar for the allotment to him of land for personal cultivation :

Provided that the Government may relax this time limit in the case of a Girasdar who is in service as a member of the Armed Forces:

Provided further that an application by a Barkhalidar for being notified as Girasdar under clause (15) of section 2 of the Saurashtra Land Reforms Act, 1951, shall be treated as an application under this section if he is not declared as a Girasdar.

(2) An application under sub-section (1) shall be in such form as may be prescribed and shall contain the following particulars:-

(a) the area and the location of the land in respect of which the allotment is prayed for;

(b) the right under which the Girasdar claims the land;

(c) the full particulars of his estate containing-

(i) the approximate area of the land in his estate;

(ii) the area and location of Gharkhed in his estate;

(iii) the area of agricultural land, bid land and cultivable waste in his estate; and

(iv) the area of non-cultivable waste in his estate;

(d) the names of tenants and description of land in their possession;

(e) the area of Khalsa land, if any in his possession; and

(f) any other particulars which may be prescribed :

Provided that the Settlement Commissioner may direct generally or in individual case that an application which is not in the prescribed form shall be accepted.

(3) Where a Girasdar makes an application on his own behalf as also on behalf of other Girasdars who are jointly entitled with him to allotment of land under this Act, the application under sub-section (1) shall further contain the names of persons on whose behalf the allotment is prayed for and the full particulars of the joint estate, and of Gharkhed of all such persons.

(1) On receipt of an application under section 19, the Mamlatdar shall issue notice to the tenant or tenants concerned and, after giving the parties an opportunity of being heard, shall make an inquiry in the prescribed manner.

(2) After making such inquiry as may be deemed necessary, the Mamlatdar may, having due regard to the provisions of this Chapter, pass an order, making an allotment to the Girasdar of such land as may be specified in the order.

(3) After making an order under sub-section (2), the Mamlatdar shall issue an occupancy certificate, in such form as may be prescribed, to a Girasdar in respect of his Gharkhed and the land, if any, allotted to him under this section.

(4) No Girasdar shall obtain possession of any land held by a tenant except in accordance with such order.

Subject to the provisions of this Chapter a Girasdar of A class or B class shall be allotted land for personal cultivation to such an extent as, when added to the area of Gharkhed in his estate and of Khalsa land, if any, in his possession, would make up the total area as shown below:- (a) in the case of A class Girasdars 3 economic holdings;

(b) in the case of B class Girasdars—

(i) those having land in excess of one hundred and twenty acres but not exceeding three hundred and twenty acres, one and a half economic holdings;

(ii) those having land in excess of three hundred and twenty acres but not exceeding five hundred and forty acres, two economic holdings;

(iii) those having land in excess of five hundred and forty acres but not exceeding eight hundred acres, two and a half economic holdings.

In making an allotment of land to any Girasdars of A class or B class, the Mamlatdar shall have due regard to the following provisions, namely :-

(a) firstly, such of the bid land cultivable waste of the estate as the Girasdar wishes to utilise for personal cultivation shall be allotted to him;

(b) secondly, if the land allotted under clause (a) is not sufficient, such agricultural lands as is held by a tenant in excess of one economic holding shall be available for allotment.

Explanation.--For the purpose of ascertaining the economic holding of a tenant under this clause, such Khalsa agricultural land as may be in his possession shall be taken into account but no such Khalsa land shall be available for allotment to the Girasdar;

(c) thirdly, if such excess as is referred to in clause (b) is not sufficient for such allotment, the deficit shall be made up by taking agricultural land from all the tenants of the Girasdar in proportion to the area held by them irrespective of the size of their holdings;

(d) the land allotted to a Girasdar from the holding of a tenant shall, as far as may be, have the same proportion of Bagayat or Jirayat and also of good, medium or poor lands as existed in his estate; and the allotment shall, as far as practicable, be made in the form of contiguous block of ten acres or more.

Explanation.-For the purposes of this section agricultural land shall not include sites of farm buildings or dwellings or wadas.

Under the provisions of this Chapter, land shall be allotted-

(a) in the case of an undivided family of Girasdar, only to the head of the family on behalf of the family; or

(b) in the case of a family divided in interest only, to all the members of the family jointly as to a single unit, or

(c) in the case of a Girasdar whose land was separate from that of the other members of his family by metes and bounds before the 1st February, 1951 to such Girasdar; or

(d) in the case of one whose father has died after that date and whose land has been so separate after that date, to such Girasdar; or

(e) in the case of one who before that date has held his land separa tely with a tenant deriving title from him, to such Girasdar.

Explanation.-Land allotted to an undivided family or to a family divided in interest only shall be in full satisfaction of the claims of all the Girasdars of such family.

(1) Agricultural land to be allotted to a C class Girasdar for being cultivated personally shall, subject to the provisions of this section, be one half of the total area of the land held by each of his tenants:

Provided that the total area of the holding of a C class Girasdar made up of Gharkhed in his estate and any bid land or cultivable waste which he desires to utilise for personal cultivation and Khalsa land, if any in his possession, together with the land allotted under the provisions of this section shall not exceed:-

(a) one economic holding, in the case of one in whose estate agricultural land does not exceed eighty acres; and

(b) one and half economic holdings, in the case of one in whose estate agricultural land exceeds eighty acres but does not exceed one hundred and twenty acres :

Provided further that where in making such an allotment of one economic holding, or one and a half economic holdings, as the case may be, it is not necessary to take half of the total area of the land held by each of the tenants, agricultural land shall be taken from each of the tenants in such proportion as may be necessary to make up one economic holding or one and a half economic holdings, as the case may be.

(2) The area allotted to a C class Girasdar shall not include Khalsa land, if any, held by a tenant.

Explanation 1. - The total area of land held by a tenant means the land held by a tenant from his Girasdar together with Khalsa land, if any, held by the tenant.

Explanation. 2 - For the purposes of this section, agricultural land shall not include sites of farm, buildings or of dwellings, or wadas.

In any verayati land

(a) no land in which the State had a share in the vaje on or before the 1st January, 1948 shall be allotted to a Girasdar for personal cultivation; and

(b) any land in respect of which the vaje belongs exclusively to the Girasdar shall, notwithstanding that the santi vero in respect of such land belonged to the State on or before the 1st January, 1948, be available for allotment to a Girasdar in accordance with the provisions of this Act:

Provided that no land in which there is any mine, minerals, stones, coal, Kankars, trees, aval or any other similar thing and which is declared to belong exclusively to the State or to the State jointly with the Girasdar, shall be allotted to any Girasdar.

Explanation.-For the purposes of this section, State means any Covenanting State or any talukdar who has accepted privy purse.

(1) For the purposes of this Chapter, the villages specified in the Second Schedule shall be deemed to be Girasdari Majmu villages and the Girasdars of such villages shall be called the Majmu holders of the said villages.

(2) In any Majmu village one-sixth of the total area of land under cultivation shall be allotted for personal cultivation amongst the Majmu holders of the village jointly in full satisfaction of their claim for land for personal cultivation in that village.

(3) The land allotted to Majmu holders shall, as far as may be, have the same proportion of the good, medium or poor land, as also of Jirayat and Bagayat land, as the one-sixth share of the Majmu holders bears to the total area of land under cultivation in the village.

(4) For the purposes of allotment under this section, land already under personal cultivation of the Majmu holders in the said village shall be taken into account.

(5) The provisions of section 22 shall, as far as may be, apply to the allotment of land in Majmu villages as they apply to land in other villages.

(6) The total area of land in the said villages shall not be taken into consideration for determining the land for personal cultivation in any other village either in favour of or against such Majmu-holders.

(7) A Majmu-holder shall be entitled to compensation and rehabilitation grant in respect of his share in the Majmu village from the tenant and the Government to the same extent and in the same manner as a Girasdar is entitled to in respect of any other land under the provisions of this Act.

(8) The Government may, from time to time, by notification in the Official Gazette, amend, add to or substract, from the Schedule the name of any village and on the issue of such notification the Schedule shall be deemed to have been amended accordingly.

Nothing contained in this Chapter shall apply to any land in respect of which a tenant has acquired chav or buta hak.