Chapter IV Arrangements for recovery of dues by banks

1. (1) An officer designated by the State Government as the prescribed authority for the purpose of this section may, on the application of a bank, after making such inquiry as he deems fit, make an order on any agriculturist or his heirs or legal representatives, directing the payment of any sum due to the bank on account of financial assistance availed of by the agriculturist, by the sale of any land (or interest therein) upon which the payment of such money is charged or mortgaged : Provided that, no order shall be made by the prescribed authority under this section for the sale of any land (or interest therein) or any other immovable property upon which the payment of money is charged or mortgaged, unless the agriculturist or the heirs or legal representative of the agriculturist, as the case may be, have been served with a notice by the prescribed authority, calling upon them to pay the amount due.
2. (2) Every order passed by the prescribed authority under sub-section (1) shall be deemed to be a decree of a Civil Court and shall be executed in the same manner as a decree of such Court.
3. (3) Nothing in this section shall debar a bank from seeking to enforce its rights in any other manner under any other law for the time being in force.

1. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, a bank shall have power to itself acquire agricultural land (or interest therein) or any other immovable property which has been charged or mortgaged to it by an agriculturist in respect of any financial assistance availed of by him, provided the said land (or interest therein) or any other immovable property has been sought to be sold by public auction and no person has offered to purchase it for a price which is sufficient to pay to the bank the moneys due to it.
2. (2) A bank which acquires land (or interest therein) or any other immovable property in pursuance of the power vested in it under sub-section (1) shall dispose of it by sale, within a period to be specified by the State Government in this behalf.
3. (3) If the bank leases out any land acquired by it under sub-section (1), pending sale thereof as indicated in sub-section (2), the period of lease shall not exceed one year at a time and the lessee shall not acquire any right to purchase that property, notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary in any other law for the time being in force.
4. (4) A sale by a bank of land (or interest therein) under this section shall be subject to any provisions of any law in force which may place restrictions on purchase of land by non-agriculturists or ceiling for acquisition of land (or interest therein) or by a person not belonging to a particular tribe or scheduled caste or fragmentation of land.

Nothing in any law for the time being in force placing a ceiling or limit on the holding of land shall apply to a bank acquiring land under this Act and holding such land till such time the bank sells the land in the manner provided in the last preceding section or otherwise at a price which is adequate to cover its dues.