Chapter VIII Chapter VIII

(1) The State Government may, from time to time, by order direct that certain proportions of land revenue, rents and cesses collected or fixed contributions shall be credited to the Consolidated Fund of the State and the Grama Funds within the Anchal and the Anchal Sasan shall duly credit such proportions of the collections or such fixed contributions as so directed : Provided that the proportion of such collections and the amount of such contributions and the date with effect from which the amount shall be so credited shall be determined in the prescribed manner. (2) Any amount not duly credited in accordance with the aforesaid directions of the State Government shall be a first charge on the Anchal Fund and without prejudice to any other mode of recovery shall be realisable from the Anchal Sasan as arrears of land revenue.

On and after the date of notification under section 4 declaring an area to be an Anchal the provisions contained in Chapter III of the Orissa Estates Abolition Act, 1951 shall stand repealed in their application to any estate or part thereof as may be included in the Anchal: Provided that all actions taken, things done, notifications issued, orders passed, rights accrued and liabilities incurred shall be deemed to have been validly taken, done, issued, accrued and incurred in exercise of the powers conferred and in discharge of duties imposed by or under the provisions of this Act: Provided further that on and after the said date the State Government shall have power by notification to direct that the whole or any part of the Anchal Fund of the Anchal Sasan constituted under sub-section (1) of section 14 of the Orissa Estates Abolition Act, 1951, the area comprised within which is affected by the formation of the Anchal.

(1) Notwithstanding anything in section 116, if at any time any Grama Sabha within an Anchal decides to collect land revenue, rents and cesses in relation to any Grama Panchayat area, such decision shall be communicated to the State Government within the prescribed date and in the prescribed manner and thereupon the State Government shall, as soon as maybe, by notification published in the Gazette and in such other manner as may be prescribed, declare that from and after the first day of the agricultural year next following it shall be the duty of the said Grama Sabha to collect such dues on behalf of the Anchal Sasan constituted for the said Anchal. (2) Such Grama Sabha shall collect such dues in accordance with the provisions of this section and shall deposit the collections, as often during any agricultural year, and in such manner, as may be prescribed, in the Anchal Fund to the extent of the total demand for the agricultural year less such remuneration for the Grama Sabha as may be prescribed subject to the minimum of 16 per cent of the total demand for the year and the balance of such demand shall be collected by the Grama Sabha and appropriated by it to the Grama Fund: Provided that if the total deposit in the Anchal Fund during the agricultural year falls short of the amount as aforesaid, such shortage shall be paid from out of the Grama Fund to the Anchal Fund by the last day of the said agricultural year. (3) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (2) in case of any gross or persistent default on the part of the Grama Sabha in the discharge of its duties imposed under sub-section (1), the Collector, on his own motion or on the report of the Anchal Sasan in that behalf, may, after giving the Grama Sabha an opportunity to show cause, relieve the Grama Sabha of the said duties and issue such other order or orders as he may deem necessary and consequential thereto and such order or orders of the Collector shall be published in the Gazette and from and after the first day of the agricultural year next following the date of such publication, the notification issued in pursuance of sub-section (1) shall stand cancelled. (4) The arrears of land revenue, rents and cesses, if any, that may be due for collection by the date of the notification issued by the Collector under sub-section (3) shall be collected in accordance with the orders in that behalf issued by the Collector under the said sub-section and credited as soon as may be to the Grama Fund. (5) The Grama Sabha which has been relieved of its duties of collection in pursuance of sub-section (3) may apply to the State Government in the prescribed manner to resume collection of the land revenue, rents and cesses and the State Government may, by notification, published in the Gazette and subject to the provisions of sub-section (2) and to such conditions and restrictions, if any, as may be specified in the said notification, allow the Grama Sabha to resume collection of such dues. (6) Any Grama Sabha duly authorised to collect land revenue, rents and cesses in pursuance of sub-section (1) or sub-section (5) may, on application to the State Government in the prescribed form and manner, be relieved of its duties of such collection by the State Government as soon as may be by a notification published in the Gazette and in such other manner as may be prescribed, and from and after the first day of the agricultural year next following the date of the notification it shall cease to be the duty of the said Grama Sabha to collect such dues on behalf of the Anchal Sasan.

From and after the first day of the Agricultural year next following the notification under section 118 all Sarbarakars, Gountias, Thikadars, Pradhans, Village Munsifs and Karanams and all other village officers, servants or headmen by whatever name designated or locally known, engaged within the Grama Panchayat areas as revenue agents or as agents or servants for the collection of land revenue, rents and cesses by or on behalf of the State Government under the provisions of the Madras Hereditary Village Offices Act, 1895 or any other law, or contract, grant, custom or usage, shall, in relation to such area, cease to exercise any of the powers, discharge any of the duties and perform any of the functions in respect of such office and shall not to that extent be entitled to earn any remuneration, with respect to such office after the said date, anything in any such law, contract, grant, custom or usage to the contrary notwithstanding.

The following articles shall not be distrained for the arrears hereinbefore specified— (1) the necessary wearing apparel, cooking vessels, beds and bedding of the defaulter, and such personal ornaments of a woman as in accordance with religious usage cannot be parted with by her; (2) tools and artisans, ploughs and implements of husbandry, ploughing cattle and manure stocked and such seed grain as may be necessary for the due cultivation of the holding in the ensuing year.

(1) Before or at the time when distraint is made the distrainer shall serve on the defaulter a written demand specifying the amount of the arrear together with an account exhibiting the grounds on which the demand is made. (2) The demand and account shall be dated and signed by the distrainer and shall, within one year from the date on which the arrear became due, be served on the defaulter by delivering a copy to him or to some adult male member of his family at his usual place of abode provided that it is in the neighbourhood of the land to which the distress refers or to his authorised agents or when such service cannot be effected by affixing a copy of the notice on some conspicuous part of the land to which it refers. The demand shall set forth— (a) the amount of the arrear due with interest, if any; (b) the holding in respect of which it is due; (c) the period in respect of which it is due.

The distrainer shall not work the bullocks or cattle or make use of the property distrained. He shall provide necessary food for cattle or other live-stock, and the cost thereof shall be a charge against the defaulter and shall be recoverable as a cost of the distress.

(1) After a distress has been made under the foregoing provisions and at any time before the date appointed for sale, the defaulter, the cultivator or the owner of the property may tender or pay the amount specified in the written document under section 127 with subsequent interest and costs to the distrainer, or may furnish security to the satisfaction of the distrainer, whereupon the distrainer shall give a written acknowledgement of the tender, payment or security and shall withdraw the distress forthwith. (2) At any time before the sale of the distrained property, the defaulter or cultivator or owner of the property distrained pays to the officer specified in section 128 the amount mentioned in the written document under section 127 with subsequent interest and costs, such officer shall grant a receipt for the same and shall withdraw the distress forthwith.

On receipt of the application under section 141 the Officer specified therein shall proceed to hold the sale of moveable properties in such manner and within such time as may be prescribed : Provided that rules made under this section shall not be inconsistent with or repugnant to the provisions of the laws for the time being in force relating to the recovery of arrears of land revenue.

(1) Subject to the following sub-sections and any general or special directions as may be issued from time to time by the State Government on the issue of a notification under section 4, all communal lands, waste lands, pasture lands, village forests, water sources other than water reservoirs or works maintained for irrigation or other purposes situated in any Grama Panchayat area within the Anchal and vested in or belonging to the State Government shall belong to and vest in the corresponding Grama Sabha : Provided that the State Government shall always have the power by notification from time to time to direct that any such communal land, waste land, pasture land, village forest or water source as aforesaid, instead of continuing to belong to and vest in the said Grama Sabha shall from the date of such notification belong to and vest in any other Local authority or Anchal Sasan as may be specified therein. (2) Nothing in this section shall alter, prejudice or affect any existing right or interest of any kind whatsoever of any person or body of persons whether corporate or not, under any other law, contract, custom or usage : Provided that the State Government shall have power from time to time by order to direct that the free right, if any, of user or appropriation of the income or usufruct by the village community under any law, custom or usage shall so far as may be exercised by the Grama Sabha subject to the application by such Sabha of such proportion of the income or usufruct or of the value thereof as may be determined in the prescribed manner on welfare activities for the benefit of such community. (3) The right to all the minor forest produce as specified in Schedule IV to this Act shall remain with the State Government. (4) The right to underground and surface minerals and right of user of the surface lands of mines shall remain vested fully in the State Government. (5) Such of the aforesaid lands, forests and water sources, as may have been in pursuance of any law or authority specifically placed under the management and control of any Anchal Sasan or other Local authority, shall continue to remain under such control until specifically transferred to the Grama Panchayat. (6) Nothing in this section shall affect the powers of the State Government under any other law for the time being in force to declare any area within the jurisdiction of the Grama Panchayat as a reserved forest and to exclude it from the management and control of the Grama Panchayat.

Where under any law or custom, the management and control over any irrigation rights, drainage and distribution of water is exercised by the State Government or authorities subordinate to the State Government, the Stase Government may, by notification, direct that in any Anchal such management and control shall be exercised by the Grama Panchayats and the Anchal Sasan in the following manner :— (a) Where the irrigation right, drainage or distribution of water extends over an area beyond the jurisdiction of a Grama Panchayat or lies in an area where there are no Grama Panchayats the Anchal Sasan shall be given the control. (b) Where the irrigation rights, drainage or distribution of water extends over an area not beyond the jurisdiction of a Grama Panchayat, the control shall be given to the Grama Panchayat. (c) All powers exercised by any revenue authorities lower in rank than that of a Collector shall be exercisable by the Grama Panchayat or the Anchal Sasan, as the case may be. (d) The powers of the Grama Panchayat in pursuance of this section shall be exercised by its Sarpanch subject to confirmation by the Grama Panchayat provided that till the Grama Panchayat confirms, modifies or alters the decision of the Sarpanch such decision shall be final.