Prevention of fragmentation

(1) No agricultural land in a locality shall be transferred or partitioned so as to create a fragment. (2) No fragment shall be transferred except to a land-owner of a contiguous Chaka : Provided that a fragment may be mortgaged or transferred in favour of the State Government, a co-operative society, a scheduled bank within the meaning of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 or of such other financial institution as may be notified by the State Government in that behalf as security for the loan advanced by such Government, Society, Bank or Institution, as the case may be. (3) When a person intending to transfer a fragment is unable to do so owing to restrictions imposed under sub-section (2), he may apply in the prescribed manner to the Tahsildar of the locality for this purpose whereupon, the Tahsildar shall, as far as practicable within forty-five days from receipt of the application determine the market value of the fragment and sell it through an auction among the land-owners of contiguous Chakas at a value not less than the market value, so determined. (4) When the fragment is not sold in course of the auction, it may be transferred to the State Government and the State Government shall, on payment of the market value determined under sub-section (3), purchase the same and thereupon, the fragment shall vest in the State Government free from all encumbrances. (5) Nothing in sub-sections (1) and (2) shall apply to a transfer of any land for such public purposes as may be specified by notification in this behalf by the State Government.