The 1[Maharashtra] Merged Territories Miscellaneous Alienations Abolition Act
Chapter I Preliminary
General195530 sections4 chapters
Chapter I Preliminary
1. Short title, extent and commencement.
Statutory text
- (1) This Act may be called the 1[Maharashtra] Merged Territories Miscellaneous Alienations Abolition Act.
- (2) It extends to the merged territories in the 2[pre-Reorganisation State of Bombay, excluding the transferred territories.]
- (3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint in this behalf.
Chapter I Preliminary
2. Definitions.
Statutory text
- (1) In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,-
- (i) "alienation" means a grant or recognition as a grant,-
- (I) of a village, portion of a village or land to any person, whether such grant be of soil with or without exemption from payment of land revenue or of assignment of the whole or a share of land revenue thereof,
- (II) of total or partial exemption from payment of land revenue to a person in respect of any land held by him, or
- (III) of cash allowance or allowance in kind to any person by whatever name called, by the ruling authority for the time being before merger or by the State Government after merger, and includes,-
- (a) any total or partial exemption from payment of land revenue reserved to himself or enjoyed by a ruler of a former Indian State in respect of any land held by him in his own State before merger as his private property, and
- (b) Wanta and Giras rights in land or to cash allowances regulated by the rules published under Huzur Cutcherry Notification No. T-3/80 of 1946-47, dated the 24th March 1947 (hereinafter referred to as the Baroda Giras Rules) ;
- (ii) "alienated land" means a village or portion of a village or land, as the case may be, held by an alienee under an alienation ;
- (iii) "alienee" means the holder of an alienation and includes his co-sharer recognized as such for the purpose of such alienation ;
- (iv) "appointed date" means the date on which this Act comes into force ;
- (v) "Barkhali land" in relation to a Wanta or Giras means land held as Jiwai, Jat Dharmadaya, Devasthan, Pirasthan, Vechania, Gharania, pas aita Chakariat, Dharmadaya Chakariat, Jat Pasaita, Kanyadan or Bhatamania and treated as permanent alienations or settled under the Baroda Giras Rules;
- (vi) "Code" means the Bombay Land Revenue Code, 1879 (Bom. V of 1879);
- (vii) "Collector" includes an officer appointed by the State Government to perform the functions and exercise the powers of the Collector under this Act;
- (viii) "Community service inam" means an alienation held for the purpose of performing service useful to the village community and includes an alienation held for such service even where such service has ceased to be demanded;
- (ix) "Commutation settlement" means a settlement made or confirmed under the law applicable to a watan relieving the holder, his heirs and successors of the liability to perform the services appertaining to the watan;
- (x) "Girassia" means the holder of a Wanta or Giras ;
- (xi) "inferior holder" means a person who is in possession of an alienated land not on payment of rent but on payment of assessment in cash or kind to the alienee and includes a person holding such land through or from such person;
- (xii) "merger" means the cession by the Ruler of a former Indian State of full and exclusive jurisdiction and powers for and in relation to the Governance of such State and the transfer of the administration of such State to the 1[pre-Reorganisation State of Bombay] under section 290A of the Government of India Act, 1935 (26 Geo. 5, Ch. 2);
- (xiii) "permanent tenant" in relation to a Wanta or Giras means the holder of a Wanta or Giras land or Jiwai land who has a permanent tenancy in such-land;
- (xiv) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
- (xv) "Wanta" or "Giras" means land held as Wanta or Giras by a Girassia in accordance with the provisions of the Baroda Giras Rules;
- (xvi) "watan" means an alienation held as Watan appertaining to the office of a village accountant commonly known as Kulkarni or known by any other similar name or as watan appertaining to the office of a District (Paragana) Officer commonly known as Sardeshmukh, Deshmukh, Deshpande or Desai or known by any other similar name, whether any commutation settlement in respect of such watan has or has not been effected.
- (2) The other words or expressions used but not defined in this Act shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Code.
- (3) References in this Act to the incidents of alienations shall, notwithstanding the abolition of the alienations by this Act, be construed as references to the incidents as they were in force immediately before the appointed date.
- (4) If any question arises-
- (i) whether any land is an alienation,
- (ii) whether any alienation is a grant of soil or an assignment of land revenue or both or is a grant of total or partial exemption from payment of land revenue,
- (iii) whether any alienation is a community service inam or watan,
- (iv) whether a commutation settlement in respect of any watan has or has not been effected,
- (v) whether any land held under an alienation is or is not alienable without the permission of a competent authority,
- (vi) whether any alienation is hereditary or for the life-time of the alienee, or
- (vii) whether any person is an inferior holder or a permanent tenant, the State Government shall decide the question and such decision shall be final: Provided that the State Government may authorize any officer to decide questions arising under any of the clauses (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi) and (vii) and subject to an appeal to the State Government, the decision of such officer shall be final.
Chapter I Preliminary
3. Act not to apply to certain kinds of alienations.
Statutory text
- (1) Nothing in this Act shall apply to-
- (a) Devasthan inams or inams held by religious or charitable institutions; 1[(b) alienations other than Watan, held for service which was useful to the ruling authority for the time being before merger and has continued to be useful to the State Government after merger ;]
- (c) any pension granted to an ex-servant of a former Indian State in consideration of the service rendered by him to such State;
- (d) revenue-free sites granted by the ruling authority for the time being before merger for the construction of schools, colleges, hospitals, dispensaries, religious or charitable institutions or other public works from which no profit is intended to be derived;
- (e) the sums payable under the rules for the settlement of the saranjams of the Feudatory Jagirdars of Kolhapur published in Government Notification in the Political and Services Department, No. FCK. 1053, dated the 19th April 1954;
- (f) the land tenure to which the provisions of any of the enactments specified in the Schedule apply.
- (2) Where an alienation is held jointly for service appertaining to a Watan and for any other service useful to Government then for the purposes of this Act, the State Government shall, after holding such inquiry as it may think fit, decide what portion of such alienation shall be deemed to be an alienation held for service appertaining to a Watan and what portion thereof shall be deemed to be an alienation held for any other service useful to Government. 2[Explanation.- For the purposes of this section an inam held by a religious or charitable institution means an inam granted or recognised as a grant by the ruling authority for the time being before merger for a religious or charitable institution and entered as such in the record maintained in this behalf in the Indian State concerned before merger.]
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