The Colonization of Government Lands (Punjab) Act, 1912

1. (1) This Act may be called the Colonisation of Government Lands (Punjab) (Himachal Pradesh Repealing) Act, 1984.
2. (2) It shall come into force at once.

Repeal of the Colonisation of Government Lands (Punjab) Act, 1912.-The Colonisation of Government Lands (Punjab) Act, 1912 (5 of 1912), as in force in thc areas added to Hiinachal Pradesh under section 5 of the Punjab Re-organisation Act, 1966 (3 1 of 1966), is hereby repealed : Provided that such repeal shall not affect-

1. (a) any previous operation of the Act so repealed or anything duly done or suffered thereunder ; or
2. (b) any right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired accrued or incurred under the Act so repealed ; or
3. (c) any investigation legal proceedings or remedy in respect of any such right, privilege, obligation or liability as aforesaid ; and any such investigation, legal proceedings or remedy may be instituted, continued or enforced as if this Act had not been passed.

Definitions.--In this Act, unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context,- "Collector" means the Collector of the district as described in the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887 and includes

1. (1) any officer appointed by the State Government to perform all or any of the functions and exercise all or any of the powers of the Collector under this Act, and
2. (2) any Colonization Officer or Assistant Colonization Officer appointed as such before the commencement of this Act, whether or no such officer was by notification appointed to perform all or any of the functions of a Deputy Cominissioner under the Act hereby repealed. "Commissioner" includes any officer appointed by the State Government to perform all or any of the functions and exercise all or any of the powers of a Commissioner under this Act. "Colony" means any area to which this Act shall be applied by order of the State Government and, unless the State Government otherwise directs any area to which the Government Tenants (Punjab) Act, 1893, has been applied. "Prescribed" means sanctioned by the State Government under this Act or under the Act hereby repealed. "Improvements" means such improvements as defined in section (4)(19) of the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887 as the tenant is permitted to make under the conditions applicable to his tenancy. "Tenant" means any person holding land in a colony as a tenant of Government and includes the predecessors and successors in interest of a tenant. "Original tenant" means any male, to whom a tenancy is first allotted by the Collector, and includes the male transferee of such a tenant and any male nominated by the Collector in accordance with the provisions of section 21 to succeed a female, to whom a tenancy was first allotted.

Application of the Act.-This Act shall, unless the State Government otherwise directs, apply to land to which the provisions of the Government Tenants (Punjab) Act, 1893, have been applied and to any other land to which the State Government may by notification in the Official Gazette apply it and which at the time of the notification was the property of the State Government ; Provided that unless the State Government by general or special order otherwise directs nothing in sections 20, 21, 22 and 23, or in the proviso to section 14, of this Act, shall apply to any class of tenancies created hereafter which the State Government may declare to be scheduled tenancies under this section.

Power to withdraw a colony from the operation of the Act.-The State Government may, at any time, by notification in the Official Gazette, withdraw a colony or any part of a colony from the operation of all or any of the provisions of this Act.

Applicability of the Punjab Tenancy Except as provided in section 7 of this Act, the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887 shall not be applicable to tenancies held under this Act.

1. (2) Nothing in sub-section
2. (1) of this section shall affect the application of the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887, to any matter or dispute arising between tenants of the Government and their sub-tenants to whish Government is not a party.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Punjab Land Revenue Act, and Chapter VII of the Punjab Tenancy Act and the rules made thereunder shall, in so far as they are applicable, apply to all proceedings under this Act, But nothing in the Punjab Land Revenue Act or the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887 shall be so construed as to vary or invalidate any condition entered in any statement of conditions issued by the State Government, and in particular shall not be so construed as to limit successions to tenancies otherwise than as provided in such statement of conditions.

Section 136

1. (1) of the Punjab Land Revenue Act, shall be amended by inserting after the words "Under section 49", the words "or any Revenue Officer in a colony".

Notwithstanding anything in section 4 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887, the provisions of Chapter IV of that Act shall apply to all village sites in a colony.

1. (1) The State Government may grant land in a colony to any person on such conditions as it thinks fit.
2. (2) The State Government may issue a statement or statements of the conditions on which it is willing to grant land in a colony to tenants.
3. (3) Where such statements of conditions have been issued, the Collector may, subject to the control of the Financial Commissioner, allot land to any person, to be held subject to such statement of conditions issued under sub-section
4. (2) of this section, as the Collector may by written order declare to be applicable to the case.
5. (4) No person shall be deemed to be a tenant or to have any right or title in the land allotted to him until such a written order has been passed and he has taken possession of the land with the permission of the Collector.

Legal effect of statement of conditions Subject to the provisions of this Act, the grant of any tenancy in accordance with any statements of conditions which have been or may hereafter be issued by the State Government under the Government Tenants (Punjab) Act, 1893, or under this Act shall be deemed to be transfer of a land within the meaning of the Government Grants Act, 1895, and shall be governed by the provisions of the said Act.

Any condition included in any statement of conditions which imposes an obligation of residence shall not be deemed to have been infringed by reason only of the temporary absence of a tenant who has established a permanent residence in the estate in which his holding is situated.

Where in any statement of conditions issued before the commencement of this Act reference is made to any register prescribed under the Government Tenants (Punjab) Act, 1893, then the record-of rights or the annual record shall, so far as may be, be deemed to be such a register.

Any

Notwithstanding anything entered in any statement of conditions issued under the Government Tenants (Punjab) Act, 1893, a tenant who, either in pursuance of any such condition or otherwise by agreement with, or under rules issued by the State Government, has acquired proprietary right in any land included in his tenancy shall in respect of such land cease to be subject to any statement of conditions issued under the above mentioned Act;

Rights of alienation in respect of, and rule of succession to, certain proprietary rights acquired by a female A. Rights of alienation in respect of, and rule of succession to, certain proprietary rights acquired by a female.-(1) Notwithstanding any custom and the provisions of any law to the contrary, when after the commencement of the Colonization of Government Lands (Punjab) (Amendment) Act, 1944, proprietary rights in any land are acquired by a female tenant, her rights of alienation of any such land shall be the same:-

1. (a) if she succeeded to the tenancy directly or indirectly from a male tenant, as if the proprietary rights had been acquired by the last male tenant, and she had succeeded to such rights as his heir; and
2. (b) if the tenancy was first allotted on account of some male person, either to her, or to another female to whom she succeeded either directly or in a continuous line of female succession, as if the proprietary rights, had been acquired by such male person and she had succeeded to such rights as his heir, and in cases falling under clause
3. (a) or clause
4. (b) in the event of such female proprietor dying while in possession of the proprietary rights in question, the said rights shall devolve upon the person who would be entitled to succeed, if such rights had been acquired by the last male tenant, or the male person on whose account the tenancy was first allotted, as the case may be.

1. (2) Nothing herein contained shall be construed to alter the law of succession applicable to any female tenant, in respect of proprietary rights in land acquired by her, if the tenancy in such land was acquired by or accrued to her in circumstances other than those specified in sub-section (1).
2. (3) For the purposes of this section the expression "any such land" shall be deemed to include any land obtained in exchange for part or all of the land in which proprietary rights have been acquired.

Mares, camels, or their progeny maintained under prescribed conditions not to be attached or sold.-No mare or camel or other animal maintained in accordance with any prescribed statement of conditions and no progeny, if less than eighteen months old, of any mare or camel so maintained, shall be liable to attachment or sale in execution of any decree.

Power of re-entry in case of squatters and trespassers.-When the Collector is satisfied that any person has taken or is in possession of land in a colony to which he has no right or title, the Collector may, in addition to any other powers he may possess, forthwith re-enter upon the land and resume possession of it and take possession of all crops, trees and buildings thereon on behalf of the Government without payment of any compensation whatsoever.

Penalties.-If any person, without permission of a Revenue Officer of a grade to be specified by the State Government -

1. (a) clears or breaks up for cultivation, or cultivates any land which is owned by, or is in the possession of the Government and is not included in any tenancy or allotted residential enclosure or which has been set apart for the common purposes of a town or village community or section of the same or for a road, canal or watercourse; or
2. (b) erects any building on any such land ; or
3. (c) fells or otherwise destroys standing trees on such land ; or
4. (d) otherwise encroaches on any such land ; or
5. (e) makes an excavation or constructs a water channel on any such land ; he shall, on complaint made by order of or under authority from the Collector, be punished on conviction with a fine not exceeding Rs. 200. Explanation.-The felling of trees planted by an owner or tenant on any village road or water-course traversing his holding is not an offence under this section.

Additional powers of Collector in regard to offences.-When the Collector is satisfied that an act punishable under section 33 has been committed, he may in lieu of proceeding against the offender under that section or after conviction of the offender under that section :-

1. (i) in the case of an offence under section 33 (a), confiscate the crops growing on any land cultivated in contravention of this Act or, if the crops have been cut, recover such sum as he may assess as the value thereof from the offender ;
2. (ii) in the case of an offence under section 33(c), recover such sum as he may assess as the value of the trees or tree destroyed;
3. (iii) in the case of an offence under section 33 (b)

1. (d) or (e), cause the building or other encroachment to be demolished or removed or the excavation or channels to be filled up and levy the costs of so doing from the person responsible for such act.

Power to levy a cess for administration of common village expenses.-

1. (1) If in any estate the majority of the tenants and owners of the estate shall apply for the levy of a cess for village purposes, the Collector may order the payment of such a cess from the proprietors, tenants and inhabitants of the village in such way and at such rates as he holds to be suitable:
2. (2) Any cess leviable under this section shall be recoverable by suit under section 77 (3)
   • (j) of the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887.

Jurisdiction of Civil Court barred as regards matter arising under the Act.-A Civil Court shall not have jurisdiction in any matter of which the Collector is empowered by this Act to dispose, and shall not take cognizance of the manner in which the State Government or Collector or any other Revenue Officer exercises any power vested in it or him by or under this Act.

Public servants indemnified for acts done under this Act.-No suit shall lie against any public servant for anything done by him in good faith under this Act.

Legalisation of orders passed previous to the Act.-Anything hitherto done or order passed by the State Government acting in the capacity of, or by any officer holding the post of Colonization Officer, Assistant Colonization Officer or Settlement Commissioner, or exercising the powers of an Assistant Collector or of a Revenue Officer of higher class within any area to which the Government Tenants (Punjab) Act, 1893, has been applied or to which this Act may hereafter be applied, which is not contrary to the provisions of this Act shall be deemed to have been done or passed under this Act.

1. (2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing sub-section, no right of occupancy or right of ownership and no condition applicable thereto shall be invalidated by reason of-
   • (i) the right having been granted before the particulars regarding it have been entered in a prescribed register ; or
   • (ii) the prescribed register not having been signed by the tenant; or
   • (iii) the prescribed statement of conditions having been affixed to the prescribed register instead of being prefixed thereto : Provided that if the register has not been signed by the tenant, the statement of conditions applicable to the tenancy shall be deemed to be that which was in force for tenancies of the same description at the time when the land was allotted.

(Referred to in section 30). Conditions applicable to grantees who acquire proprietary right. 1. Exceptions of channels, rights to minerals, etc.-The Government does not grant to the grantee but hereby absolutely excepts and reserves to itself out of and in respect of the said lands (1) all grounds situate in the said lands or any part thereof already marked out, excavated or otherwise utilized for the distributary channels, and (2) all existing rights to and over all mines and minerals, coals, gold-washings, earth-oil and quarries in or under the said lands or any part thereof, together with all easements heretofore enjoyed by the Government in respect of the said lands or any part thereof. And it likewise excepts and reserves the right of the public to use existing thoroughfares traversing the said lands or any part thereof including a width of 14 Kaddms on either side of survey base line, and also any lines of road which though not yet made, have been marked out upon the ground. 2. Power of Government entry to search for minerals, etc.-The grantee shall at all times permit the officers of the Government to enter and do all acts and things that may be necessary and expedient for the purpose of searching for, working, getting or carrying away any such mines and minerals, coals, gold-washings, earth-oil and quarries, and for the full enjoyment of the ground and of the rights herein before reserved to the Government to and over all mines and minerals, coals, gold-washings, earth-oil, quarries and easements in or under the said lands and all parts thereof.