The Telangana Agricultural Holdings (Census) Act, 1957

(1) This Act may be called the Telangana Agricultural Holdings (Census) Act, 1957. (2) It extends to the territories of the State of Telangana which, immediately before the 1st November 1956, were comprised in the State of Andhra. (3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 21st September, 1957.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,- (a) “holding” means a parcel or parcels of land held by a landholder in one or more villages in the same district or different districts to which this Act applies, and includes land cultivated by him personally or leased out tenants. Explanation- Where a land is held by two or more landholders jointly, only that portion of it which belongs to the share of each landholder shall be deemed to be included in his holding; (b) “land” means, land which is used, or is capable of being used, for agriculture or horticulture, and includes cultivable waste land and land used for grazing purposes; (c) “landholder” means the owner of the land, and includes,- (i) in the case of land held under ryotwari tenure, the person holding such land; (ii) in the case of an inam land other than an estate, the holder of such land; (iii) in the case of an estate notified under the Andhra Pradesh (Andhra Area) Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1948, the landholder or the ryot entitled to ryotwari patta under that Act in respect of the lands to which he is so entitled; (iv) in the case of any other estate, the ryot in respect of the land in which he has a permanent right of occupancy and the landholder in respect of his private land; and the heirs, assignees, legal representatives of such owner, or person deriving title from him.

(1) Every landholder of a holding the total extent of which exceeds twenty acres of land on the date of commencement of this Act, shall within ninety days thereafter, furnish a declaration of his holding as on that date, to the Tahsildar within whose jurisdiction his holding or any part thereof is situated. (2) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (1), the Revenue Divisional Officer or other officer empowered by the State Government in this behalf, shall have power to issue notice requiring any landholder whom he has reason to believe resides, or holds land, within his jurisdiction, to furnish to him a declaration of his holding as on the date of commencement of this Act, within such period as may be specified in the notice (not being less than thirty days from the date of its issue); and it shall be the duty of such landholder to furnish the declaration, whether or not he resides or holds land within the jurisdiction of such Revenue Divisional Officer or other officer aforesaid. (3) Every declaration furnished under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), shall be in the form set out in the Schedule to this Act; and the landholder shall be entitled to obtain a receipt in respect of the declaration so furnished. Explanation.- In the case of a landholder who is subject to any disability (such as being a minor, lunatic or the like), or is an idol, or a religious or charitable institution, the declaration shall be furnished by the guardian, curator, trustee or manager of such landholder.

Any landholder or guardian, curator, trustee or manager, as the case may be, who refuses or fails to furnish a declaration of his holding within the period specified in sub-section (1) of section 3, or in the notice issued under sub-section (2) of that section, or furnishes any declaration which he knows or has reason to believe to be false, incorrect, or incomplete, shall be punishable with fine which may extend to Rs. 500, and with an additional fine which may extend to Rs. 100 for every day after the first during which the offence continues. Explanation- If a false, incorrect or incomplete declaration has been furnished under section 3, the offence shall be deemed to continue until a true, correct and complete declaration has been furnished.

(1) The State Government may, by notification in the Telangana Gazette, make rules to carry out all or any of the purposes of this Act. (2) All rules made under this section after the passing of this Act shall be laid on the Table of the Legislature as soon as possible after they are made and shall be subject to such modifications, whether by way of repeal or amendment, as the Legislature may make within fourteen days thereafter during the session in which they are so laid.

If any doubt or difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the State Government may by order make such provisions, not inconsistent with the purposes of this Act, as appear to them to be necessary or expedient for removing the doubt or difficulty.

(1) The Andhra Pradesh Agricultural Holdings (Census) Ordinance, 1957, is hereby repealed. (2) Any rules made, notifications issued, orders passed, action taken or thing done in the exercise of any power conferred by or under the said Ordinance shall be deemed to have been made, issued, passed, taken or done in the exercise of the powers conferred by or under this Act.