Chapter II DISTRICT LAND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE AND LAND DEVELOPMENT SCHEMES

(1) As soon as may be after the commencement of this Act, the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, constitute a District Land Development Committee for each district consisting of the following members, namely:- (a) the Deputy Commissioner of the district concerned who shall be the chairman of the committee; (b) two official members who shall be persons of experience in agriculture or irrigation engineering or forestry; and (c) two non-official members. (2) The term of office of the members of the committee shall, unless extended by an order of the State Government notified in the Official Gazette, be five years from the date of notification under sub-section (1): Provided that the term of office of a member chosen to fill a casual vacancy shall be the unexpired period of the term of the person in whose place he has been appointed. (3) A member may, at any time by notice in writing to the Chairman, resign his office. (4) The State Government may, by notification, remove any member of the committee- (a) if he refuses to act or becomes, in the opinion of the State Government, incapable of acting or has been declared a bankrupt or an insolvent or has been convicted of any such offence or subjugated by a criminal court to any such order as implies, in the opinion of the State Government, a defect of character which unfits him to be a member; (b) if he has been declared by notification to be disqualified for employment or has been dismissed from the public service and the reason for disqualification or dismissal is such as implies, in the opinion of the State Government, a defect of character which unfits him to be a member; (c) if he has without reasonable cause in the opinion of the State Government, and without permission of the committee absented himself from more than ten consecutive meetings of the committee; (d) if, in the opinion of the State Government, he has flagrantly abused his position as a member of the committee; or (e) if, being a legal practitioner, he acts or appears in any legal proceedings on behalf of any person against the committee or on behalf of or against the Government where in the opinion of the State Government such action or appearance is contrary to the interests of the committee: Provided that before the State Government notifies the removal of a member under this section, the reasons for his proposed removal shall be communicated to the member concerned, and he shall be given an opportunity to tender an explanation in writing. (5) No act done by the committee shall be questioned on the ground merely of the existence of any vacancy, or any defect in the constitution of the committee. (6) If there is a difference of opinion among the members of the committee regarding any question, the decision of the majority of members present and voting shall prevail, and in case of equality of votes the chairman shall have a casting vote.

(1) The committee may prepare land development schemes providing for one or more of the following matters, namely:- (i) preservation and improvement of soil by levelling, terracing and embankment of fields; (ii) prevention of soil erosion; (iii) improvement of water supply by utilisation of water in rivers, rivulets or springs, tube-wells, boring or construction of wells, conservation of rain water by constructing dams, or by use of power or any other means; (iv) improvement in the methods of cultivation; (v) introduction of dry farming methods; (vi) supply of seed, improved implements of agriculture, manure and fertilizers; (vii) development of horticulture and planting of fruit trees; (viii) reclamation of land lying waste through water logging, accumulation of sand, growth of jungle, soil erosion, or any other cause; (ix) cultivation of land lying uncultivated owing to the negligence or incapacity or absence of the owner; (x) regulation or prohibition of grazing and browsing; (xi) control and maintenance of tree-growth; (xii) regulation or prohibition of firing of vegetation; (xiii) planting or sowing of trees, shrubs and grasses for the purpose of afforesting uncultivable land or providing shelter-beds against wind or sand or for any other purpose; (xiv) protection from locusts and other pests; (xv) making, improvement and maintenance of village paths and roads; and (xvi) any other matter which may be prescribed. (2) Every scheme prepared under sub-section (1) shall contain the following particulars, namely:- (i) the objects of the scheme; (ii) details of the area to be covered by the scheme; (iii) the work or kind of work to be carried out under the scheme; (iv) the agency or agencies through which the work shall be carried out; (v) the approximate estimated cost of the scheme; (vi) the duties and obligations, financial or other, of the Government as well as of the owner of the area concerned and the manner in which an owner may discharge a part or whole of his duties and financial obligations in the form of labour; and (vii) any other particulars which may be prescribed.

(1) The State Government may, after the committee has prepared the scheme under section 4,- (a) appoint an Inquiry Officer, and (b) cause the scheme to be published in the manner prescribed inviting suggestions from persons affected by it and from the Gram Panchayat, if any, of the area to which the scheme relates within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed. (2) The State Government may, after considering the record of the inquiry and the report of the Inquiry Officer and after consulting the committee concerned, either sanction the scheme with or without modification or reject it.

Every scheme sanctioned under section 5 shall be published by the Deputy Commissioner in the prescribed manner and shall come into force on such date as may be specified by him.

The committee may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make regulations for the purpose of carrying out the objects of the scheme or in respect of any matter supplementary or incidental thereto, and any regulations so made shall be published by the committee in the manner prescribed.

(1) The Deputy Commissioner may grant or advance a loan to any person for carrying out any work under any scheme on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed. (2) The amount of loan or any instalment thereof or interest thereon which may be due but not repaid in accordance with the terms and conditions of the loan may, without prejudice to any other remedy provided by law, be recovered as arrears of land revenue.

(1) In making any scheme or any regulation under section 7 the committee may provide that the contravention of such provision of the scheme or of such regulations as may be specified by it shall be punishable with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month or with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees, or with both. (2) No person shall be prosecuted for any contravention specified in sub-section (1) except on complaint in writing by the Deputy Commissioner or any other officer authorised by the State Government in this behalf.

(1) Where under the scheme any work is to be carried out on any land at the expense of the owner or owners thereof, and such owner, or any one of such owners, is willing to carry out the work, he may give notice to that effect in writing to the Deputy Commissioner within sixty days of the coming into force of the scheme. (2) On receipt of such notice the Deputy Commissioner shall furnish the owner with full details of the work and fix the date before which the owner shall carry out the work. (3) If the owner fails to carry out the work to the satisfaction of the Deputy Commissioner before the date fixed by him or if the owner at any time informs the Deputy Commissioner in writing of his inability to do so, the Deputy Commissioner may get the work carried out by the Gram Panchayat or such other agency as he thinks fit and the expenses incurred in carrying out the work may be recovered from the owner as arrears of land revenue. (4) Where any work is carried out in pursuance of this section by one or more of several owners, the other owners shall be liable to contribute towards the expenses incurred by him or them such amount as the committee may determine.

Where under the scheme any work is carried out by the owner or by the Deputy Commissioner at the expense of the owner and the work is in the opinion of the committee likely to benefit any other land in the area covered by the scheme, the owners of such land shall be liable to contribute towards the expenses of carrying out the work, such amount as the committee may determine: Provided that the State Government may remit the whole or any part of the contribution so payable in respect of any work carried out on land belonging to the Government.

The amount of contribution determined by the committee under sub-section (4) of section 10 or section 11 shall be paid by the persons concerned within such time as may be specified by the committee and in default of such payment, shall be recovered from those persons as arrears of land revenue and paid to the persons entitled to the contribution.

Notwithstanding anything contained in the scheme, the committee may direct that the work to be carried out or remaining to be carried out on any land by the owners thereof shall be carried out by the Deputy Commissioner and that the whole or any specified part of the expenses of carrying out the work shall be recovered as arrears of land revenue from the owners of the land in such proportion at such times, and in such instalments as the committee may fix having regard to the amount to be recovered and the nature and extent of the rights of the owners in the land.

(1) On the completion of any work under the scheme, Deputy Commissioner shall prepare- (a) a statement in such form, and containing such particulars, as may be prescribed, and (b) a map showing the location and other material details of the work. (2) Every statement and map so prepared shall, on approval by the committee, form part of the settlement record, or as the case may be, the record of rights of the estates specified in the statement and the said record shall wherever necessary be corrected in accordance with the statement.

If any person shown in a statement prepared under section 14 as liable to maintain and keep in repair the work, fails to effect such repairs or renewals, or to do so within such time, as the Deputy Commissioner may, by order specify, the Deputy Commissioner may get the repairs or renewals done by Gram Panchayat or such other agency as he thinks fit, and the expenses incurred by him in so doing shall be recovered from the said person as arrears of land revenue.

(1) Any member, officer, subordinate or workman of the committee or any other person authorised by the Deputy Commissioner in this behalf may, after giving such notice, as may be prescribed to the owner in possession of any land, enter upon and survey the land, or do any act, or carry out any work in or on the land for the purpose of preparing, inquiring into or executing any land development scheme under the provisions of this chapter. (2) Every such member, officer, subordinate, workman or person shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).

Any person aggrieved by,- (a) a determination of the committee under sub-section (4) of section 10 or section 11; or (b) making of any entry or the failure to make an entry, in a statement prepared under section 14; or (c) the order of the Deputy Commissioner under section 15; may, within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner, appeal to the prescribed authority, and notwithstanding anything contained in any law to the contrary, the decision of such authority, and where no appeal is preferred, the determination, order or statement aforesaid shall be final and shall not be called in question in any court.

The State Government may from time to time call for any report or give any direction to the committee and the committee shall submit such report and carry out such direction.