Attachment of estate or holding

(1) At any time after an arrear of land revenue has accrued the Collector may cause the estate or holding in respect of which the arrear is due to be attached and taken under his own management or that of an agent appointed by him for the purpose or that of a Gram Panchayat. (2) The Collector or the agent or Gram Panchayat shall be bound by all the engagements which existed between the defaulter and his tenancy, if any, and shall be entitled to manage the land and to receive all rents and profits accruing therefrom to the exclusion of the defaulter until the arrear has been satisfied, or until the Collector restores the land to the defaulter. (3) All surplus profits of the land attached beyond the cost of attachment and management and the amount necessary to meet the current demand for land revenue and rates and cesses shall be applied in discharge of the arrear. (4) Land shall not be attached for the same arrear for the longer term than five years from the commencement of the agricultural year next following the date of the attachment, but, if the arrear is sooner discharged, the land shall be released and the surplus receipts, if any, made over to the land-owner.