The Puducherry Occupants of Kudiyiruppu (Conferment of Ownership) Act, 1973

THE PUDUCHERRY OCCUPANTS OF KUDIYIRUPPU (CONFERMENT OF OWNERSHIP) ACT, 1973

(No. 8 of 1974) ______________________________________________________________________________

Provided that where the kudiyiruppu or the land forms part of a survey field and is not separately assessed to revenue, the amount payable for such kudiyiruppu or land shall be deemed to be one hundred times such proportion of the survey assessment as the part bears to the entire survey field:

Provided further that where the survey field in which the kudiyiruppu or land exists is unassessed, the amount shall be determined with reference to the highest rate of survey assessment of the village, and where no such rate exists, the highest rate of survey assessment of the village situated nearest to the kudiyiruppu, or land, as the case may be.

Explanation. --- For the purposes of this paragraph, "survey assessment" means the land tax levied in accordance with the Deliberation of the Counseil General dated the 24th December, 1933 enforced by the Arrete dated the 22nd August, 1934 and includes fifty per cent surcharge levied pursuant to the Deliberation dated the 20th September, 1950 enforced by the Arrete dated the 4th December, 1950.

Explanation.—For the purpose of this schedule, –

1. (i) "kudiyiruppu" means the kudiyiruppu vested in the occupant of kudiyiruppu +[under the provisions of this Act];
2. (ii) "land" means the land acquired under section 19, and
3. (iii) "superstructure" means the superstructure on the kudiyiruppu vested in the occupant of kudiyiruppu +[under the provisions of this Act]. ______ Amended vide Act 5 of 1983 and shall be deemed to have came into force w.e.f 1.12.1974. STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS FOR ACT NO.8 OF 1974 The Puducherry Occupants of Kudiyiruppu (Protection from Eviction) Act, 1970 (Act 4 of 1971) is already in force in Puducherry, Karaikal and Yanam regions of this Union Territory. The Act provides for prevention from eviction of homestead lands by the landlords, pursuant to the policy of this Government to bring forward progressive Land Reforms Measures with a view to usher in a socialist society, the Chief Minister, during the Budget Speech of the Legislative Assembly on 27-3-72, announced, among others, the proposal to confer rights of ownership to the occupants of kudiyiruppu in Puducherry, Karaikal and Yanam regions on the pattern of the Tamil Nadu Occupants of Kudiyiruppu (Conferment of Ownership) Act, 1971. Under the proposal, any agriculturist or agricultural labourer who not having a dwelling house or house site or a hut of his was occupying on 27-3-72 any kudiyiruppu either as tenant or as licensee, shall, with effect from the date of commencement of the Bill, be the owner of such kudiyiruppu and such kudiyiruppu shall vest in him free from all encumbrances. The present Bill seeks to achieve the above object. ______ STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS FOR ACT NO.5 OF 1983 The Puducherry Occupants of Kudiyiruppu (Conferment of ownership) Act, 1973 was intended to make the agriculturists and agricultural labourers the owners of the houses occupied by them as on 27-3-1972 provided that they do not have any house or hut of their own. The principal Act permits by implication alienation of kudiyiruppu. But on the instructions from the Home Ministry and also in accordance with the recommendations of the State Housing Ministers’ Conference held at Srinagar in 1973, a policy decision was taken to prohibit alienation of kudiyiruppu. The Tamil Nadu Government had also introduced certain amendments to its kudiyiruppu (Conferment of ownership), Act. Since our Act is also based on the Tamil Nadu Act, such amendments are also sought to be incorporated in our Act. The Government of India also have agreed to the proposal of this Administration for waiving the amount to be collected from the beneficiaries. All these measures have been incorporated in the draft Bill. This consolidated amendment thus seeks to achieve the following objects: --
4. (i) to enable the landowner to provide alternative site where the vesting of any kudiyiruppu in any kudiyiruppudar may cause inconvenience for the convenient enjoyment of the land as a whole by the landowner subject to the conditions that the alternative site should be of the same extent of the existing site and that a reasonable cost for shifting and for erecting the superstructure in the alternative site as fixed by the Authorised Officer should be borne by the landowner;
5. (ii) to recover the amount under the Revenue Recovery Act if the kudiyiruppudar refuses or fails to move to the alternative site after having received amount from the owner and to make him not eligible to get the benefit of this Act, but continue to be entitled to the protection under the Puducherry Occupants of Kudiyiruppu (Protection from Eviction) Act, 1970;
6. (iii) to amplify section 5 of the Act to enable the Authorised Officer to decide whether a person is an agriculturist agricultural labourer, whether any land is an agricultural land, etc.;
7. (iv) to enable the Government to define the terms “rural area” and “urban area” by notifications issued from time to time;
8. (v) to define the term owning a house-site as “owing a house site of 84 square metres or more in extent within any area to which the Act applies”;
9. (vi) to delete section 15 of the Act so as to issue the title deed to the beneficiary under the Act, free of cost;
10. (vii) to amend section 17 of the Act so as to make the conferment of ownership under the Act heritable but not alienable;
11. (viii) to permit the kudiyiruppudar or his heir to surrender the kudiyiruppu to Government and to receive back the amount if any already paid to Government;
12. (ix) to enable the Government to take the kudiyiruppu on violation of conditions without refunding any amount paid to the Government and to regrant it to such person as may be prescribed; and
13. (x) to provide a period of three months to give notice to the specified officer about the death of any person in whom the kudiyiruppu had vested under the Act. ________