Chapter I PRELIMINARY

1. (1) This Act may be called the Meghalaya Land Survey and Records-Preparation Act, 1980.
2. (2) It extends to the whole of the State of Meghalaya.
3. (3) It shall come into force in such areas of the State and on such dates as the Government may by notification specify and different dates may be specified for different areas.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires.-

1. (a) Director means the Director of Land Records, Meghalaya, and includes such other officers as may be empowered by Government as Director within their respective jurisdictions.
2. (b) estute includes any land over which a person has the right or interest of an owner, holder or occupier, and also includes Government lands (State or Central) District Council lands and land of any local authority;
3. (c) holder means any person who lawfully holds any land under Government or District Council or local authority or hold any land under a person who is an owner or under another holder of land for any purpose whether on payment of rent, land revenues ,or not and whether the person is in actual possession of the land or not, and shall also include a lessee;
4. (d) land includes land covered by or under any forest established or constituted under any law, custom or practice, agricultural or non-agricultural land, waste or arable land and land under any cultivation or otherwise and shall also include fisheries;
5. (e) owner means a person who owns any land as owner or a person recognised as such under any law in force, custom of practice and includes Government (State or Central), District Council or local authority in respect of Government lands, District Council lands or lands of a local authority, as the case may be;
6. (f) occupier means any person who occupies, holds, possesses, manages or acts as custodian of any Ri - Kynti land whether under any custom, usage or practice or otherwise;
7. (g) prescribed means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
8. (h) Revenue Enforcement Inspector or Assistant Revenue Enforcement Inspector means any person appointed as such under Section 4, and includes any Officer of the Government appointed by the State Government to exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the Revenue Enforcement Inspector under this Act;
   • (i) Records includes titles and interests of every owner, holder or occupier of land as maintained in the prescribed registers ;
9. (j) State means the State of Meghalaya;
10. (k) State Government or Government means the Government of Meghalaya;
11. (l) Survey Officer or Assistant Survey Officer means any person appointed as such under Section 4, and includes any officer of the Government appointed by the State Government to exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the Survey or Assistant Survey under this Act;
12. (m) Survey includes identification of boundaries and all other operations antecedent to and connected with Survey.