Chapter II REVISION AND CORRECTION OF MAPS AND RECORDS

(1) With a view to consolidation the Government may declare that it has decided to make a scheme of consolidation for any district or part thereof. (2) Every such declaration shall be published in the Government Gazette and announced by beat of drum in each unit of the said district.

When the declaration under section 4 has been published in the Government Gazette, the consequences as hereinafter set forth, shall, from the date specified thereunder till the publication of the notification in the Government Gazette under section 61 or Sub-section (1) of section 6, as the case may be, ensure in the area to which the declaration relates, namely:-

(a) The district or part thereof, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be under consolidation operations and the duty of maintaining the records of rights and preparing the estate map, the Khasra Girdawari, the Jamabandi and other annual records of each estate shall be performed by the Settlement Officer (Consolidation) who shall maintain or prepare them, as the case may be, in the manner prescribed;

1[(b) all proceedings for correction of records and all suits for declaration of rights and interest over land, both proprietary and tenancy, or for possession of land, or for partition, pending before any authority of Court whether of first instance, appeal, or reference or revision, shall stand transferred to the consolidation authorities for disposal under and in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder;]

2[(c) Omitted]

1[(d) Except with the permission of the Settlement Officer (Consolidation) previously obtained, no tenure holder upon whom the Consolidation scheme is binding shall-

(a) use his holding or any part thereof in the consolidation area for purposes not connected with agriculture; or (ii) transfer by way of sale, gift, lease, mortgage with possession or exchange any part of his holding in the consolidation area;

1. Clauses (b) and (d) substituted by Act XXV of 1966. 2. Clause (c) omitted ibid.

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Provided that, a tenure holder may continue to use his holding or any part thereof for any purpose for which it was in use prior to the date specified in the notification issued under section 4.]

(1) The Government may at any time cancel the declaration made under section 4 in respect of the whole or any part of the area specified therein.

(2) Where a declaration has been cancelled in respect of any areas under Sub-section (1), such area shall, subject to the final orders relating to the correction of records of rights, if any, passed on or before the date of such cancellation, cease to be under consolidation operations with effect from the date of cancellation:

1[Provided that where in any case which is pending and in which final orders have not been passed on or before the date of such cancellation, it shall be transferred for a disposal according to law, to the Court or authority from which it was received by the Consolidation Authority.]

With a view to facilitate revision of records of each estate or part thereof in the unit and subject to the provision hereinafter contained, the Settlement Officer (Consolidation) shall, before the provisional consolidation scheme for a unit is prepared, cause to be revised the estate maps of such unit.

(1) Upon revision of the estate maps under section 7, the Settlement Officer (Consolidation) shall, subject to the provisions hereinafter contained, cause to be revised the khasra Girdawari of the unit after field to field Girdawari and the current Jamabandi after its test and verification. He shall also cause to be prepared in respect of the plots falling in the unit, a statement showing the mistakes and disputes discovered during the course of field to field girdawri and test and verification of the current Jamabandi.

(2) Upon preparation of the statement mentioned in Sub-section (1), the Consolidation Naib-Tehsildar shall, after correcting the clerical mistakes, if any, send notice, together with relevant extracts from the current Jamabandi showing mistakes and disputes discovered under Sub-section (1), to tenure-holders concerned and to the persons interested, calling upon them to file before him objection, if any, with thirty days from the date of the receipt of the notice, disputing the correctness or nature of the entries in the extracts and pointing out any omission therefrom.

(3) The Consolidation Naib-Tehsildar shall, after hearing the parties concerned, or where no objection is filed, after such enquiries as he may consider necessary, make an effort, as far as may be, to settle the disputed entries and mistakes by conciliation between the parties appearing before him and pass orders on the basis of conciliation so arrived at. The Consolidation Naib-Tehsildar while so acting, shall be deemed to be a Court of competent jurisdiction:

Provided that, no order under this Sub-section shall be passed on the basis of conciliation which is repugnant to the provisions of any law or rule or Government order for the time being in force.

(4) The Consolidation Naib-Tehsildar shall sent the remaining disputed cases with a report on each case to the Consolidation Tehsildar for disposal in the manner hereinafter provided.

(5) Upon receipt of the disputed cases under Sub-section (4), the Consolidation Tehsildar shall-

(a) issue notice to the parties concerned calling upon them to appear before him on a date and place mentioned therein, and (b) hear the parties concerned and record evidence, where tendered and decide the objections, as if it were a Court of competent jurisdiction.

(6) The annual records shall be revised on the basis of the orders of the Consolidation Naib-Tehsildar under Sub-section (3) and the orders of the Consolidation Tehsildar under Sub-section (5).

(1) Any person aggrieved by the order of the Consolidation Naib-Tehsildar or Consolidation Tehsildar under Sub-section (3) or Sub-section (5) of section 8, as the case may be, may, within 30 days of the date of the order, file an appeal before the Settlement Officer (Consolidation) who shall, after hearing the parties concerned, give his decision thereon.

(2) Any person aggrieved by the order of the Settlement Officer (Consolidation) under Sub-section (1) may, within thirty days of the date of the order, file an appeal before the Director of Consolidation who shall, after hearing the parties concerned, give his decision thereon.

(3) The Director of Consolidation or the Settlement Officer (Consolidation) hearing an appeal under Sub-section (1) or (2) shall be deemed to be a Court of competent jurisdiction and the decision given shall, except as otherwise provided by or under this Act, be final and not questioned in any Court of law.

No question in respect of land lying in a consolidation area, which might and ought to have been raised under section 8 but has not been raised, shall be raised or heard at any future stage of the consolidation proceedings.

The records revised under section 8 shall be published in the unit.

(1) All matters relating to changes and transfers affecting any of the rights or interests recorded in the revised records published under section 11 for which a cause of action was non-existent when proceedings under sections 7 and 8 were started or were in progress, may be raise before the 1[Consolidation Naib-Tehsildar] as and when they arised, but not later than the date of notification under section 61 or Sub-section (1) of section 6.

(2) The provisions of sections 7,8 and 9 shall mutates mutandis apply to the hearing and decision of any matter raised under Sub-section (1) as if it were a matter raised under the aforesaid section.

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act, Svt. 1996, and the Jammu and Kashmir Tenancy Act, Svt. 1980, the Settlement Officer (Consolidation) may, subject to the rules made in this behalf,-

(a) determine the amount of land revenue or rent, as the case may be, payable by a tenure-holder on land on which he acquires rights as a result of orders passed under sections 7 to 9 and 12; and (b) where necessary, also determine the amount of land revenue or rent, as the case may be, payable in respect of a portion of the tenure-holder’s holding.

(2) In assessing the amount of land revenue or rent, as the case may be, under Sub-section (1), the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act, Svt. 1996, and the Jammu and Kashmir tenancy Act, Svt. 1980, shall mutates mutandis apply.

(1) The 1[Consolidation Tehsildar] may-

(a) on his own motion, at any time after the publication of the revised records under section 11 but before the preparation of the Scheme of Consolidation under Chapter III for the unit; and (b) on the application of any of the joint-tenure-holders, and subject to such restrictions as may be prescribed, within twenty-one days from the date of publication of the revised records under section 11; partition any holding recorded in the names of two or more tenure holders.

(2) The 1[Consolidation Tehsildar] may, by order in writing, delegate his powers under Sub-section (1) to the 1[Consolidation Naib-Tehsildar] in uncontested partition cases.

(1) Any person aggrieved by the order of the Consolidation Naib-Tehsildar or the Consolidation Tehsildar under section 14 may, within 30 days of the date of the order, file an appeal before the Settlement Officer (Consolidation) who shall, after hearing the parties concerned, give his decision thereon.

(3) The decision of Director Consolidation and subject thereto of the Settlement Officer (Consolidation) under this section shall, except as otherwise provided by or under this Act, be final and not be questioned before any court of law.

Two or more tenure-holders may, within twenty-one days of the publication of records under section 11, apply to the Consolidation Tehsildar to amalgamate their holdings of like tenure on such terms as may be agreed upon between them. The Consolidation Tehsildar shall where the proposed amalgamation is not in conflict with the general scheme of consolidation of the unit, give effect to the same.