The Kerala Hereditary Village Offices (Abolition) Act, 1961
The Kerala Hereditary Village Offices (Abolition) Act, 1961
This Act regulates the modernization of local governance in Kerala by abolishing hereditary village offices and extinguishing their associated traditional privileges, custom fees, and duties. It applies directly to individuals who held these inherited administrative roles in the Malabar region, which typically involved revenue collection, maintaining order, or settling village boundaries. The legislation matters because it transitioned local administration into a democratic public service system. To ease this transition for affected officeholders, the law required the state government to provide them with either alternative public employment or financial compensation, ensuring a fair shift toward modern administration.
- 0. Preamble
- 1. Short title and extent.
- 2. Definitions.
- 3. Abolition of hereditary village offices together with incidents thereof.
- 4. Power of District Collector to decide whether a person was the holder of a hereditary village office and appeal therefrom.
- 5. Relief to holders of village offices abolished under the Act.
- 6. Power to take evidence on oath, etc.
- 7. Enquiries and proceedings to be judicial proceedings.
- 8. Power to make rules.
- 9. Power to remove difficulties.
- 10. Repeal and savings.
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