Chapter 11 ,

Whenever it appears to the Government that in any area not constituted as a reserved forest under the Tamil Nadu Forest Act, 1882 (Tamil Nadu Act V of 1882), it is desirable to provide for the preparation and execution of any land improvement scheme or scheme for the conservation or improvement of sub-soil water or moisture or other soil or water resources or for the prevention or mitigation of soil erosion or the prevention of land degradation by wind or water, or the protection of reservoirs as against siltation, and the maintenance of any work, the Government may, by notification, declare the area to be a notified area for the purposes of this Act. In any such area or in any area in respect of which a notification has been issued under section 24 of the Tamil Nadu Forest Act, 1882 (Tamil Nadu Act V of 1882), or a notification has been issued under section 29 of that Act, the Government may, by notification, regulate, restrict or prohibit -- In section 13 of the principal Act, in sub-section (3), for clause (a), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:-- "(a) the Commissioner of Land Reforms, who shall be the Chairman, ex-officio;".

For section 14 of the principal Act, the following section shall be substituted, namely:-- "14. Matters which a scheme may provide.-- A scheme may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:-- (1) identification of priority watersheds by field survey and by using techniques like remote sensing and by the methodology prescribed by the Land Improvement Board or, as the case may be, by the Soil Conservation Board. Explanation.-- For the purpose of this clause, "priority watershed" means a watershed which is subjected to severe soil erosion hazards leading to loss of valuable top soil, loss of fertility and siltation of reservoirs, tanks down below and the watershed which should be tackled immediately to prevent further erosion and loss of top soil; (2) measures to control soil erosion due to water and wind such as the following, namely:-- (a) construction of contour or graded bunds (narrow base terrace), bench terraces, bundhis with surplusing arrangement and disposal outlets arrangements for planting on earthfill surfaces; (b) levelling of land and improvement of soil by applying appropriate amendments, manures and fertilisers; (c) adopting appropriate farming or tillage practices such as contour cultivation, strip cultivation, shallow or deep cultivation; (d) growing up quick maturing leguminous crops during rainy season and growing row crops with appropriate conservation measures; (e) retirement of any land from cultivation if its continuance under agriculture is prejudicial to that land or some other land; (f) afforestation of degraded forests and non-agricultural lands along with closures and necessary soil conservation practices with a view to promoting improved tree growth, from forests and village woodlots; (g) development of grasslands and fuel-cum-fodder reserves in wastelands, community lands or Government land; with appropriate soil conservation measures such as contour dykes and check dams; (h) control or regulation of grazing, felling or lopping of trees or clearing of bushes; (i) raising of utility tree plants on private lands, community lands or waste lands with a view to provide additional supplies of feed fodder as well as vegetables, besides raw-materials for subsidiary industries and income therefrom such as planting of sisal, cashewnut, sasbania grandiflora, drum stick and amla; (j) planting and growing of trees, shrubs or grasses for providing shelter belt or wind breaks or other protection purposes; (k) prevention of breaking up of marginal and sub-marginal lands for cultivation purposes; and (l) controlling and establishing torrents or choes, landslides and slips, roadside and cattle path erosion, by biological and engineering measures, such as check dams, spurs, retaining walls and revetments; (3) construction of earth and masonary works in fields, gullies and ravines including catch water drains, wherever necessary; (4) (a) construction of small storage structures including ponds at appropriate locations in private lands, community lands or Government lands with a view to increasing surface detention; (b) construction of depression storage in the catchment to promote greater infiltration, reduce silt-load in channel flows and peak flows, farm, ponds and other water harvesting measures combined with erosion and gully control works; (c) restoration of degraded lands for better management; (d) increase institutionalisation of incident rainfall by creating potential for providing protective and supplemental irrigation and thus increase production taking up nalla plugging, field bundhis, tanks, etc., with a view to increase better ground water recharge and some subsequent utilisation for productive as well as domestic use of water; (5) control of water logging and impeded drainage including development of waterlogged areas into ponds, opening of drainage ditch, increasing number of culverts and other cross drainage works for releasing larger portion of the affected area for development and utilisation for productive management; (6) reclamation of lands subject to salinity, alkalinity, by providing appropriate drainage system with storage ponds, wherever necessary; applying amendments; impounding water for washing down the injurious salts and taking up appropriate crops to reduce the harmful salts for increasing aggregate production; (7) improvement of sandy soils by constructing bundhis, planting grasses, shrubs and trees, levelling the land, restricting the depths of cultivation, growing leguminous crops and controlling grazing and exploitation; (8) taking up consolidation of holdings in the notified area, in accordance with the relevant law on the subject, for better use of the land and the available water and for the disposal of the excess water; (9) introducing system for utilising products such as sisal leaf, cashew pods for enhancing employment and income therefrom; (10) protection of land against damage by flood or drought; (11) training of streams; (12) regulation or prohibition of firing of vegetation; (13) improvement of water supply; (15) farm drainage; (16) farm irrigation; (17) control of the strips of land forming swamps and spring sources; and (18) any other matter which may be prescribed.".

(1) The Collector shall proceed to inquire in the prescribed manner into every claim admitted under section 5.

(2) For the purposes of such enquiry, the Collector may exercise all or any of the powers of a civil court for the trial of suits under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Central Act V of 1908).

(3) The Collector shall, after such inquiry, make an award in writing with respect to each such claim, setting out therein the following particulars, namely:-- (i) the person making the claim; (ii) the nature and extent of the claim; (iii) the extent to which the claim is upheld; (iv) the amount of compensation and the person to whom it is payable.

(4) The Collector shall give notice in the prescribed manner of his award to the claimants or their representatives and to the person to whom compensation is payable. In sections 35, 37 and 39 of the principal Act, for the words "Board of Revenue", wherever they occur, the words "Commissioner of Land Reforms" shall be substituted.

(1) In determining the amount of compensation, the Collector shall be guided, so far as may be, by the provisions of sections 23 and 24 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (Central Act I of 1894), and as regards matters which cannot be dealt with under those provisions, by what is just and reasonable in the circumstances of each case.

(2) If in any case, the exercise of any right is prohibited or restricted for a time only, the compensation shall be payable only in respect of the period during which the exercise of such right is so prohibited or restricted. In section 42 of the principal Act, in sub-section (2),-- (1) for the words "Board of Revenue", the words "Commissioner of Land Reforms" shall be substituted; (2) the word "it" in two places where it occurs, shall be omitted.

The Government may, by order, direct the Land Improvement Board to prepare plans and estimates for a scheme in respect of any notified area or part thereof:

Provided that nothing contained in this section shall apply to any river valley catchment area specified in the notification under sub-section (1) of section 13.

The functions of the Land Improvement Board shall be-

(a) to make recommendations to the Government as to the areas, except a river valley catchment area specified in the notification under sub-section (1) of section 13, in each district for which schemes may be prepared;

(b) to direct, either at its own instance or on the direction of the Government under section 9, the preparation of schemes under sub-section (3) of section 15;

(c) to consider and approve the schemes so prepared;

(d) to devise ways and means for the execution of the schemes approved by it; and

(e) to perform such other functions as may be prescribed. (1) The scheme prepared by the Soil Conservation Board under section 19 or the scheme as sanctioned by the Land Improvement Board or by the Government, as the case may be, shall be published in the District Gazette and copies thereof shall be made available in every village and at the headquarters of the taluk, in which the lands included in the scheme are situated, at such places and in such manner as the Collector may direct. (2) On and from the date of the publication of the scheme in the District Gazette under sub-section (1), the scheme shall come into force and shall have effect. (3) The Land Improvement Board in respect of a scheme sanctioned by it or by the Government and the Soil Conservation Board in respect of a scheme prepared by it may, for the purpose of carrying out the objects of the scheme, make regulations requiring any person or persons or the public generally to take certain action or to refrain from doing certain acts in respect of any matter supplementary or incidental to the scheme.

(1) As soon as may be, after the issue of a direction under section 9, the Land Improvement Board may constitute for the district in which the whole or part of the notified area is situated a committee called the District Land Improvement Committee consisting of-

(i) the Collector who shall be the Chairman, ex-officio;

(ii) the District Forest Officer, ex-officio;

(iii) the District Agricultural Officer, ex-officio;

(iv) the Agricultural Assistant Engineer who shall be the Land Improvement Officer, ex-officio;

(v) not more than four members of the State Legislature and the Parliament from the district, nominated by the Collector; and

(vi) a member who is an active and progressive agriculturist directly concerned with the cultivation of land, nominated by the Collector.

(2) The Collector shall preside over the meetings of the District Committee.

(3) The Land Improvement Officer shall be the ex-officio Secretary to the District Committee.

(1) The functions of the District Committee shall be-

(a) to make recommendations to the Land Improvement Board as to the areas, except a river valley catchment area specified in the notification under sub-section (1) of section 13, in the district for which schemes may be prepared;

(b) to perform such other functions for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act as may be prescribed; and

(c) to carry out the instructions issued by the Land Improvement Board from time to time.

(1) On receipt of an order of the Government under section 9, the Land Improvement Board shall direct the preparation of a scheme for the areas spcified io the order. (2) The Land Improvement Board may, if satisfied that it is necessary so to do, direct the preparation of a scheme in respect of any area in a district other than- (a) the area speqified in the order of the Government undet section 9; and (6) a river valley catchment area specified in the notification under sub-section( 1) of section 13. (3) Oa the issue of a ciirection pnder sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), the Land Improvement Board shall appoint an ~ficer to prepare, in accordance with such instructiorr as tlie Land Improvement Board may issue, a draft sc:hzme setting out- (a) the objects of the scheme ; (b) the boundaries and aJProximate area of the lands to be included in the scheme ; (c) the persons, including the Government, who will be affected bjr the scheme; (d) the works, if any, to be carried out under the scheme ; (e) the agency or agencies through which any such wcrk shall be carrie. d out ; (f) the benits expected directly to 'the lands in which the scheme shall be executed and indirectly off-site to other lands as well as reduction in sedimentation to reservoirs and reduction of flood damage, prevention of road-slips, land-slides and reclamation of lands; and (g) such other particulars as may be prescribed. (4) The draft scheme so prepared shall be submitted to the Land Improvement Bpard which may approve it either with or without modifications or may reject it and prepare, or cause to be prepared, another draft scheme. (5) Whenever the Land Improvement Board prepares or approves any draft scheme, it shall appoint an officer called the Inquiry Officer for the purposes hereinafter specified.

(1) The draft scheme prepared or approved by the Land Improvement Board under sub-section (4) of section 15 together with the connected maps and plans, if any, shall be fcr~wb~icl: to tke Collector who shall publish it in the District Gazette and also in the prescribed manner in every village and at the headquarters of the taluk, in which the lsrnds included in the scheme are situated. (2) The Collector shall simultaueously with the publication of the scherr.: ir the Pictrict Gazette under sub-section (1) require all persons affected by che scheme who wish to make any objection to the scheme or part thereof, to submit their oi~jections in writing to the Inquiry Officer or to appear before him and state their .objections. within thirty days of the date of the publication of the draft scheme in the village.

The Inquiry Officer shall inquire into the objections received or recorded by him and submit them to the Land Improvement Board together with his report thereon and his recommendations, if any, for the modification of the draft scheme.

(1) After considering the objections and the report and the recommendations of the Inquiry Officer 'and an) further report which -the Land Improvembnt Boardl ma! require from him, the Land Improvement Board may- (a) sanction the scheme with or without modification: Provided that a scheme prepared in pursuance of a direction under sub-section (2) of settion 15 shall not be sanctioned by the Land Impovement Board but shall bo submitted to the Government for their sailction ; or (b) reject the scheme, and direct that, in lieu thereof, a fresh scheme t~ prepared and-submitted for its sanction. (2) Where a draft scheme is submitted to the Gdvern- ment under the proviso to clause (a) of sub-section (I), they may sanction the draft scheme with o r without modi- fication or may reject it and direct that a fresh scheme be prepared and submitted for their sanction.

Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the Soil Conservation Board may, of its own motion and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, prepare any scheme for any river valley catchment area specifi ed in the notification under sub-section (1) of section 13 providing for all or any of the matters specified in section 14.