PSIT COLLEGE OF LAW

UP LAND LAW NOTES (BA.LLB-904)

UNIT I

Progress of Land Reform Measures

During British period, land reforms had a very limited scope and content. These land reforms were motivated not by
consideration of improving production, nor did they have any sense of social justice. They were meant to safeguard
British political influence in the rural areas and save the rural market from being completely pauperized. Thus, the
structure of agrarian society evolved under British rule, created a socio-economic set up in which parasitism
flourished, land concentration in the hands of a few rural rich continued to grow, and landlessness and land hunger of
the peasants mounted at an over increasing pace. Evictions and insecurity of tenancy and rack- renting became a
general phenomenon and the cultivators were ground down by a colossal burden of indebtedness.

Since independence, the government has been laying adequate stress on implementation of land reforms. The land
reforms measures aimed at removal of structural impediments to 16 increasing productivity and to ensure a fair degree
of equality in the distribution of land resources. In the implementation of some such measures numbers of land reform
laws have been enacted by the Central and State government after independence. However, the success of
implementation of various measures varied from State to State.

Following various land reforms measures have been adopted in India in order to make rural India free form all kind of
social injustice and exploitation by the zamindars. They are:

a) Abolition of Zamindar system

b) Ceiling on land holdings

c) Tenancy reforms

d) Consolidation of holding

a) Abolition of Zamindari System:

Abolition of Zamindar system is the first measure in the field of agrarian reform. The general compulsion underlying
the abolition of the intermediaries was the concentration of land ownership in the hands of a parasitic class who
played no positive role in production while the vast mass of small peasants, who were the actual cultivators, were
divorced from the ownership of land. This discrepancy became the root cause of the state of chronic crises in which
the Indian agricultural economy was enmeshed for several decades before the attainment of independence. It remained
a completely stagnant economy.
To overcome from the above, the first step taken towards restructuring the land reforms was in the shape of abolition
of intermediary tenures like zamindaris, jagirs, inams, etc. between the government and actual tillers of the land.
Abolition of zamindari system involved removal of intermediaries, conferring permanent rights in the land actual
cultivators and standardization of land rents.

Legislative measures for the abolition of intermediaries were also initiated soon after the independence, starting with
Uttar Pradesh and being followed up in other States. The whole process of legal enactments on this issue was
completed in the country within a decade, i.e. from 1950 to 1960. Since land reform was a State subject, actual
enactments abolishing intermediaries were marked by certain variations from State to State. This change had been
acclaimed as a major achievement in the field of land reforms during the past few years.

b) Ceiling on Land Holdings:

Ceiling on land holdings refers to the fixation of maximum size of a holding that an individual cultivator or a
household may possess. Ceiling on land holding can be categorized in two ways. Firstly, ceiling for future acquisition
which implies that a tenure holder holding land below ceiling can acquire land only up to that limit and no further.
Secondly ceiling on existing holdings means to permit a cultivator to have in his occupation the fixed maximum land
and no more. The idea underlying fixing of a ceiling on existing land holdings is to acquire surplus over and above the
fixed maximum and distribute the land thus acquired to the landless labourers.

Thus the imposition of ceiling on agricultural holdings is mainly a redistribution measure. The idea basically is to
ration the land in such a way that, above a certain level, the surplus land is taken away from the present holders and is
distributed to the landless or to the small farmers. This will reduce the wide disparities of income and wealth found in
the agrarian structure. The imposition of ceiling on agriculture holdings was found necessary as part of the scheme of
agrarian reform because it was calculated to remove undue balance in society resulting from landless class on the one
hand and concentration of land in the hands of few on the other.

c) Tenancy Reforms:

The first phase of land reforms (1948-55) was mainly concerned with the abolition of intermediaries. The tenancy
reform which is the integral part of land reform policy favoured neither wholesale removal of landlordism nor the
wholesale abolition of tenant cultivators. Hence, the middle course was adopted. Thus certain amendments to the
existing tenancy laws were carried out along with the legislations for the abolition of intermediaries. As a result of
tenancy legislations, in many States the tenants and sub-tenants have been brought into direct relationship with the
State. But the progress was very slow in some States due to the following reasons:

• The legislation has not been able to meet the objects laid down by the Planning Commission. The fixation of
statutory rent was very high in some States.
• The term personal cultivation was defined in a loose manner. Because of this, the lands ostensibly resumed by the
land-lords on the pretext of personal cultivation are cultivated through crop-sharing arrangements where the sharers
are treated as labourers.

• The definition of the term 'tenant' excluded the share croppers who form a vast majority of the tenant cultivators.
Thus share croppers did not get any benefit.

• The non-availability of correct and up-to-date land records has not allowed to carry out the tenancy reforms
properly.

• The tenants can be evicted from their holdings on many grounds. This has been termed as a continuing hang over of
the feudal system.

d) Consolidation of Holding: India is a land of very small, fragmented and uneconomical holdings. That is why need
of consolidating these fragmented holdings was felt in order to improve their productivity and viability of
investments. Legislations have been introduced by various State governments, on these lines. Consolidation of land is
a process of rearrangement of land on the basis of existing rights. Many States have not shown any enthusiasm for
implementing such legislations. Only in Punjab, Haryana and parts of U.P. this programme has made desired
progress. Orissa, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh etc. have also taken up consolidation in a big way.

From the above discussion, it is clear that the introduction of the agrarian measures in a State can bring radical
changes in agrarian reform and no doubt these measures not only help to abolish the zamaindari system but also
increase the agriculture production and productivity to meet the needs of the society and brings drastic changes in
economy of the country also. Keeping above measures in the mind, after independence Congress government both in
Centre and in all States started to implement the above measures in order to bring enormous changes in the agrarian
development.

Consequently, a number of legislative measures have been taken to facilitate land use and management. The land
reform legislation was passed by all the State Governments touching upon following measures, like:

 Abolition of intermediaries.

 Tenancy reforms to regulate fair rent and provide security to tenure.

 Ceilings on holdings and distribution of surplus land among the landlords.

 Consolidation of holdings and prevention of their further fragmentation and

 Development of cooperative farming etc.

The objective resolution which was proposed by Jawaharlal Nehru which had laid down the philosophy underlying
the present Constitution reads as, “The guarantee and security to all the people of India, justice, social, economic and
political; equality of status of opportunity, before the law; freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship,
vocation, association and action, subject to law and public morality was the objectives for drafting the Constitution.”
Social security was one, inter alia, objectives that Constitution framers had kept in their mind at the time of enacting
the Constitution and to achieve this objective it was quite necessary to review existing (at that time) land tenure and
revenue system and for this purpose the Indian Constitution on the date of 26th January, 1950 contained some
provisions to reform the present agrarian structure and to protect the steps of government from unnecessary attacks in
achieving the objective of social security.

But, due to very shorter foresight, the right to property was included in the Fundamental Rights which proved to be a
major threat to agrarian reform legislation. However the steps of ruling party to give life to the agrarian reforms were
soon subjected to attacks, as being in violation of fundamental rights, by the zamindars, with this handicapped
provisions it was quite difficult for the government to achieve the goal of Socialist India through agrarian reforms to
remove widespread inequality in terms of land tenure which was established rigidly by the British rulers.

Conflict between Right to Property and Agrarian Reforms:

Land, land tenures, land holdings, consolidation etc. are under the exclusive legislative and administrative jurisdiction
of the States. (Entry No.18 of List II (State List) in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India) However, the
Central Government has been playing an advisory and co-ordinating role in the field of land reforms since the First
Five-Year Plan. Agrarian reforms have been a core issue for rural re-construction as a means of ensuring social justice
to actual tillers and the landless rural poor. But attempt of the Centre and States with respect to enact land reform laws
were affected by the fundamental right to property which was guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution of India.
The right to property has been the one which was subjected to the largest number of Amendments. The Principles of
agrarian reforms have become an anti-thesis of the right to property.

As a result, conflict started between agrarian reforms and right to property. Both have become sworn enemies. Right
to property will be given less importance when the State gives scope to the agrarian reform vis-a-vis when the State
shows keen interest to protect fundamental right to property of the citizen, it is very difficult to concentrate on
agrarian reforms. Such a dilemma was faced by the government. But ignoring this and to fulfill the promise made
before independence which was the election manifesto of the Indian Congress, the government started to enact land
reforms legislation to abolish zamindari system. This initiation irked the land lords, as a result, a number of petitions
were filed by the zamindars before the court of law to question the constitutional validity of those agrarian laws.

Firstly, the constitutional validity of Bihar Land Reforms Act, 1950 was challenged in the High Court of Patna in
Kameshwar Singh v. State of Bihar. In this case, Court held that the Bihar legislation relating to land reforms were
unconstitutional. But at the same time on same issues, the High Court of Allahabad and Nagpur upheld the validity of
the corresponding legislative measures passed in those States. The parties aggrieved had filed appeals before the
Supreme Court. At the same time, certain zamindars had also approached the Supreme Court under Art.32 of the
Constitution.
Before Supreme Court entertaining these appeals filed against the decisions of different State’s High Courts on the
validity or otherwise of this type of legislation, the Central Government under the leadership of Shri Jawaharlal Nehru
became restless at the delay being caused by litigation in furthering the programme of agricultural land reforms and
thought of short circuiting the judicial process. Shri Jawaharlal Nehru was an ardent supporter of agrarian reforms
which he regarded as a process of social reform and social engineering. The Centre wanted to remove any possibility
of such laws being declared invalid by the courts and have brought the amendment to put an end to all these
litigations.

Therefore, the Central Government in order to carry out agrarian scheme sponsored by the party in the power brought
the Constitutional (First Amendment) Act, 1951 by which Arts.31-A and 31-B were introduced and in the same
amendment, the Parliament inserted the Ninth Schedule containing thirteen items, all relating to land reform laws,
immunizing these laws from challenge on the ground of contravention of Art.13 of the Constitution. Art.13, inter alia,
provides that the State shall not make any law which takes away or abridges the rights conferred by Part III and any
law made in contravention thereof shall, to the extent of the contravention, be void.

Thereafter, the Constitutional validity of the First Amendment was questioned in Sankari Prasad Singh Deo v.
Union of India Supreme Court in this case upheld the First Amendment since it was protecting the interest of
agrarians. The main object of the amendment was to fully secure the constitutional validity of zamindari abolition
laws in general and certain specified Acts in particular and save those provisions from the dilatory litigation which
resulted in holding up the implementation of the social reform measures affecting large number of people. Upholding
the constitutional amendment and repelling the challenge in Sajjan Singh v. State of Rajasthan the law declared in
Sankari Prasad was reiterated. It was noted that Arts.31-A and 31-B were added to the Constitution realizing that State
legislative measures adopted by certain States for giving effect to the policy of agrarian reforms have to face serious
challenge in the courts of law on the ground that they contravene the fundamental rights guaranteed to the citizen by
Part III. The Court observed that the genesis of the amendment made by adding Arts.31-A and 31-B is to assist the
State Legislatures to give effect to the economic policy to bring about much needed agrarian reforms.

But in I.C. Golak Nath & Ors. v. State of Punjab & Anr, a Bench of 11 Judges considered the correctness of the
view that had been taken in Sankari Prasad and Sajjan Singh. By majority of six to five, these decisions were
overruled. But, the decision in Keshavananda Bharati's case was rendered on 24th April, 1973 by a 13 Judges
Bench and by majority of seven to six Golak Nath's case was overruled. The majority opinion held that Art.368 did
not enable the Parliament to alter the basic structure or framework of the Constitution.

From Shankari Prasad case to I.R. Coelho, many land reforms issues have been discussed by the Indian judiciary.
Many attempts have also been made by the Parliament in order to bring socio-economic development through
agrarian reforms. Judiciary in different cases also agreed and upheld the validity of these land reform legislations
since the object of those Acts is to extinguish the interests of intermediaries like zamindars, proprietors, and estate and
tenure-holders etc., and to bring the actual cultivator into direct relations with the State Government.
Moreover, in the First Amendment, the 13 laws included in the Ninth Schedule by the Parliament were exclusively
relating to land reforms. But after two decades from the commencement of the Constitution, the Parliament started to
abuse this Schedule in the name of land reforms. They started to insert even non-land reform (hybrid) laws into the
Schedule which have no nexus with agrarian reforms such as, The Representation of the People Act, 1951, The
Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951, The Requisitioning and Acquisition of Immovable Property Act,
1952, The Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957, The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade
Practices Act, 1969 etc.

Moreover, to secure above laws, Parliament by First Amendment excluded the judicial review to question the
constitutional validity of those laws placed in the Ninth Schedule. This kind of development is really great treachery
committed against Constitutional principles and values.

In order to prevent the abuse of this Schedule by the Parliament, for the first time Supreme Court, in Keshavananda
Bharahti case invented the device of Basic Structure Doctrine. According to this doctrine, Parliament has power to
amend any provisions of the Constitution including fundamental rights except basic structure. As a result, this
doctrine for the first, time imposed an implied limitation upon the unlimited amending power of the Parliament. Each
judge laid out separately, what he thought were the basic or essential features of the Constitution. This is how, the
judges of Supreme Court started to define what features constitute basic structure.

In Minerva Mills case, Sampath Kumar case, L. Chandra kumar Case, Subhesh Sharma v. Union of India34
and Waman Rao, in these cases Supreme Court considered Judicial Review as a basic Structure. By interpreting and
saying, so many aspects as basic structure, they limited the power of amendment exercised by the Parliament under
Art.368 of the Constitution. In this regard, the Researcher has discussed this concept of basic structure in detail in the
fifth chapter focusing upon the same in pre and post Keshavanand’s case.

However, in I.R. Coelho case, noting the nature of Art.31-B and the Ninth Schedule, the court states that the original
intent of the First Amendment that inserted Art.31-B was only to protect limited laws dealing with land reforms, but
the exercise of this power had resulted in covering numerous laws with in the Ninth Schedule. Finally Supreme Court
held that all laws included in Ninth Schedule after April 24, 1973 are subjected to judicial review if they are violative
of basic structures of the Constitution.
 UNIT II

Meaning of Certain Terms:

 ‘Agriculture’ includes horticulture, animal husbandry, pisciculture, flower farming, bee keeping and poultry
farming;
 ‘Revenue Court’ means all or any of the following authorities (that is to say) the Board and all members
thereof, Commissioners, Additional Commissioner, Collectors, Additional Collectors, Assistant Collectors,
Settlement Officers, Assistant Settlement Officers, Record Officers, Assistant Record Officer, Tahsildar and
Naib Tahsildar;
 ‘Revenue Officer’ means Commissioner, an Additional commissioner, the Collector, an Additional
Collector, the Sub-Divisional Officer, an Assistant Collector, Settlement Officer, an Assistant Settlement
Officer, Record Officer, an Assistant Record Officer, the Tahsildar, Tahsildar (Judicial), the Naib Tahsildar or
the Revenue Inspector;
 ‘Agricultural Year’ means a year which begins from the first day of July and ends on 13 th day of June of a
calendar year. It is also characterized as ‘fasli year’
 ‘Intermediary’ with reference to an estate means a proprietor, under-proprietor, sub-proprietor, thekedar,
permanent lessee and permanent tenure-holder of such estate

Division of State into revenue areas - For the purpose of this Code, the State shall be divided into revenue areas
comprising divisions which may consist of one or more districts, and each district may consist of one or more Tahsils
and each Tahsil may consist of one or more parganas, and each pargana may consist of two or more villages.

Constitution of revenue areas - (1) The State Government may, by notification, specify- (i) the districts which
constitute a division; (ii) the sub-divisions which constitute a district; (iii) the villages which constitute a tahsil (which
shall be co-terminus with a sub-division).

(2) The State Government may, by notification, alter the limits of any revenue area referred to in sub-section (1) by
amalgamation, readjustment, division or in any other manner whatsoever, or abolish any such revenue area and may
name and alter the name of any such revenue area, and in any case where any area is renamed, then all reference in
any law or instrument or other document to the area under its original name shall be deemed to be references to the
areas as renamed unless expressly provided otherwise;

Board of Revenue - (1) There shall be a Board of Revenue for Uttar Pradesh consisting of a Chairman and such other
members as the State Government may, from time to time, appoint; Provided that the Board as constituted and
functioning immediately before the commencement of this shall be deemed to be the Board constituted under this
Section.

(2) The principal seat of business of the board shall be at Lucknow and the judicial members may hold their Courts at
Allahabad or Lucknow as the Chairman from time to time directs.

(3) No person shall be qualified for appointment as – (a) an Administrative Member of the Board, unless he has held
an office not lower in rank than that of a Commissioner;

(b) a Judicial Member of the Board, unless he has been a revenue officer. (4) The State Government may, at the time
of making the appointment or at any time subsequent thereto, designate any member, as Judicial Member of the
Board, and any such member shall be allotted only judicial business.

Jurisdiction of the Board - (1) The Board shall be the Chief Controlling Authority- (a) in all matters relating to
disposal of cases, appeals, references or revisions; and (b) subject to the superintendence, direction and control of the
State Government, in all other matters provided in this Code.

(2) Subject to the provisions of the sub-section (1), the Board shall exercise, perform and discharge powers, functions
and duties conferred upon it by or under this Code or any other law for the time being in force.

(3) The State Government may authorize any member of the Board to exercise, perform and discharge either generally
or in respect of any particular locality or matter, all or any of the powers, functions and duties conferred or imposed
on the Board.

Decision of the Board - (1) Where any proceeding coming under the consideration of the Board on appeal or in
revision is heard by a Bench composed of two or more members, the case shall be decided in accordance with the
opinion of such members or of the majority, if any, of such members.

(2) Where the members of the Board constituting the Bench are equally divided in opinion as to the decision of a case,
it shall be heard by a larger Bench to be constituted by the Chairman, and the case shall be decided in accordance with
the opinion of the members constituting such Bench or of the majority, if any, of such members.

(3) All decision given by a members sitting singly, or by a Division Bench comprising two members or a larger Bench
constituted as aforesaid shall be deemed to be decisions of the Board.
 UNIT III

Fixation and demarcation of boundaries - (1) Boundaries of all villages in the State and of all survey numbers in a
village shall be fixed and demarcated by boundary marks. (2) The boundary marks shall, subject to the provisions
hereinafter contained in this Chapter, be of such specifications and shall be constructed and maintained in such
manner as may be prescribed.

Destruction etc. of boundary marks.- (1) if any boundary mark lawfully erected in a Lekhpal circle is destroyed,
removed or damaged, then the concerned Lekhpal shall be bound promptly to report the matter to the Naib Tehsildaar.

(2) The Naib Tahsildar shall make an inquiry in respect of such report and shall submit his recommendation to the
Sub-Divisional Officer.

Power to require erection, repair or renewal of boundary marks.- (1) The Sub-Divisional Officer may, on receipt
of the recommendations of the Naib Tahsildar under Section 22, or otherwise, require a Gram Sabha in relation to a
village and a tenure holder in relation to his holding, to erect or restore proper boundary marks or to repair or replace
the same in such manner as may be prescribed.

(2) Where the Gram Sabha or a tenure holder fails to erect, restore, repair or replace the boundary marks as required
under sub-section (1), the Sub-Divisional Officer may cause such boundary marks to be erected, restored, repaired or
replaced, as the case may be, and recover the cost thereof from such Gram Sabha or the tenure holder in the manner
prescribed.

Dispute regarding boundaries - (1) The sub-Divisional Officer may, on his own motion or on an application made
in this behalf by a person interested, decide, by summary inquiry, any dispute regarding boundaries on the basis of
existing survey map or, where the same is not possible, in accordance with the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh
Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1953, on the basis of such map.

(2) If in the course of an inquiry into a dispute under sub-section (1), the Sub-Divisional Officer is unable to satisfy
himself as to which party is in possession or if it is shown that possession has been obtained by wrongful
dispossession of the lawful occupant, within a period of three months preceding the commencement of the inquiry, the
Sub-Divisional Officer shall –

(a) in the first case, ascertain by summary inquiry who is the person best entitled to the property, and shall put such
person in possession. (b) in the second case, put the person so dispossessed in possession, and for that purpose use or
cause to be used such force as may be necessary an shall then fix the boundary accordingly.
(3) Every proceeding under this section shall, as far as possible, be concluded by the Sub-Divisional Officer within six
months from the date of the application.

(4) Any person aggrieved by the order of the Sub-Divisional Officer may prefer an appeal before the Commissioner
within 30 days of the date of such order. The order of the Commissioner shall be final.

Maintenance of Map and Field Book - The Collector shall maintain, in the manner prescribed, a map and a field
book (khasra) for each such village and shall cause to be recorded therein, annually, or at such longer intervals as may
be prescribed, all changes in the boundaries of the village or survey numbers, and shall also cause to be corrected, any
errors or omissions which are, from time to time, detected in such map or field book (khasra).

Record of Rights - The Collector shall maintain, in the form and manner prescribed, a record of rights (khatauni) for
each village, which shall contain the following particulars, namely- (a) the names of all tenure holders together with
survey numbers or plot numbers held by them and their areas; (b) the nature or extent of the respective interests of
such persons and the conditions or liabilities, if any, attaching thereto; (c) the rent or revenue, if any, payable by or to
any such person; (d) particulars of all land (other than holdings) belonging to or vested in the State Government,
Gram Sabha or a local authority; (e) such other particulars as may be prescribed.

Public Land: -

Title of State in all lands etc.- All public roads, lanes and paths, bridges, ditches, dykes and fences on or beside
them, the bed of rivers, streams, nallas, lakes, ponds and tanks and all canals and water channels, and all standing and
flowing water, and all lands wherever situated, which are not owned by any person, and except insofar as any rights of
any persons may be established in or over the same, and except as may be otherwise provided in any law for the time
being in force, are hereby declared, with all rights in or over the same, or appertaining thereto, to be the property of
the State Government: Provide that nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect the rights of any person subsisting
in any such property immediately before the date of commencement of this Code.

Mines and minerals.- (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Code, the right to operate or work in any mine
or to extract any mineral therefrom shall be governed by the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulations) Act,
1957. (2) Every lessee of building or land, leased or deemed to have been leased out by the State Government under
any of the enactments repealed by this Code, for the purposes connected with the working or extraction of any mine
or mineral, and operating on the date of commencement of this Code, shall continue to retain possession thereof on
payment of such rent as was in force on the date of such commencement.

Rights in trees - (1) All trees existing on any holding or grove shall, subject to the provisions of this code or any
other law for the time being in force, be deemed to belong to the person who holds such holding or grove.
(2) All trees existing on the boundary of any holdings shall be deemed to belong jointly to the persons who hold the
holdings on either side of such boundary.

Fruit bearing trees - (1) Where before the commencement of this Code, any fruit bearing tree was planted by any
person on either side of any public road or path or canal with the permission in writing of any revenue officer or any
officer of the Forest or Public Works Department or Irrigation Department of the State Government, no below the
rank of a Tahsildar or an Assistant Conservator of Forest or an Assistant Engineer, as the case may be, then,
notwithstanding that such land vests in the State Government, such person and his legal representative shall be
entitled to the fruits of such trees without payment of any charges whatsoever.

Entrustment of land etc. to Gram Sabhas and other local authorities - (1) The State Government may, by general
or special order to be published in the manner prescribed, entrust all or any of the things, which vest in the State
Government, to a Gram Sabha or other local authority for the purposes of superintendence, preservation, management
and control in accordance with the provisions of this Code.

(2) The following things may be entrusted to a Gram Sabha or other local authority under sub-section (1), namely- (i)
land, whether cultivable or otherwise, except land for the time being comprised in any holding or grove; (ii) grove
standing on the Gram Sabha land, pasture land, graveyard, cremation ground, manure pits, Khaliyans, Chakroads, link
roads, sector roads, land in river bed, road, Sadak Khanti, Sullage farm; (iii) forests and fisheries; (iv) trees, other than
trees in a holding or on the boundary of a holding or in a grove or abadi, or any trees on unoccupied land; (v) hats,
bazaars, melas, tanks, ponds, water-channels, private ferries, pathways and abadi sites

Duties of the Bhumi Prabandhak Samiti - (1) Subject to the provisions of this Code, every Bhumi Prabandhak
Samiti shall be charged, for and on behalf of the Gram Sabha, with the superintendence, preservation, management
and control of all land and other things entrusted or deemed to be entrusted to that Gram Sabha or over which such
Gram Sabha is entitled to take possession.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions, the functions and duties of the Bhumi Prabandhak
Samiti shall include: (a) the settlement and management of land; (b) the preservation, maintenance and development
of forests and trees; (c) the maintenance and development of abadi sites and village communications; (d) the
management of hats, bazaars and melas; (e) the maintenance and development of fisheries and tanks; (f) the
development of cottage industries; (g) the development and improvement of agriculture; (h) the conduct and
prosecution of suits and proceedings by or against the Gram Sabha; and (i) such other matters as may be prescribed.

Classes of tenure holders - There shall be following classes of tenure holders, namely-

(a) Bhumidhar with transferable rights:

(b) Bhumidhar with not-transferable rights:

 (c) Asami; and

(d) Government lessee.

Bhumidhar with transferable rights- Every person belonging to any of the following classes shall be called
bhumidhar with transferable rights and shall have all the rights and be subject to all the liabilities conferred or
imposed upon such bhumidhar by or under this code namely- (a) Every person who was a bhumidhar with
transferable rights immediately before the date of commencement of this code. (b) Every person who in any other
manner acquires on or after the said date the rights of such a bhumidhar under or in accordance with the provisions of
this coder under any other law for the time being in force.

Bhumidhar with non-transferable rights- (1) Every person belonging to any of the following classes shall be called
a bhumidhar with non-transferable rights and shall have all the rights and be subject to all the liabilities conferred or
imposed upon such bhumidhar by or under this code namely- (a) every person who was a bhumidhar with non-
transferable rights immediately before the date of commencement of this Code; (b) every person who is admitted as a
bhumidhar with non-transferable rights on or after the said date by the Bhumi Prabandhak Samiti to any land.

Asami - Every person belonging to any of the following classes, shall be called as asami, and shall have all the rights
and be subject to all the liabilities conferred or imposed upon such asami by or under this Code, namely- (a) every
person who was an asami immediately before the date of commencement of this Code; (b) every person who is
admitted as an asami on or after the said date by the Bhumi Prabandhak Samiti to any land under or in accordance
with the provisions of this Code; (c) every person who is admitted as lessee on or after the said date, by a bhumidhar
of any land.

Right of Bhumidhars to exclusive possession - (1) A bhumidhar with transferable rights shall, subject to the
provision of this code have the right to exclusive possession of all land which he is such a bhumidhar and to use it for
any purpose what so ever.

(2) a bhumidhar with non-transferable right shall, subject to the provisions of this code have the right to exclusive
possession of all land of which he is such a bhumidhar, and to use such land for any purpose connected with
agriculture.

Mortgage of land by bhumidhar with non-transferable rights.- Subject to the provisions of this Code, the interest
of a bhumidhar with non-transferable rights in any holding or its part may be- (a) transferred by mortgage without
possession as security for a loan taken or to be taken from the State Government or a bank or a cooperative society or
the U.P. State Agro Industrial Corporation Ltd., or any other financial institution owned and controlled by such
Government. (b) sold in execution of a decree of any Court regarding the matter referred to in clause (a) or in
proceedings for collection of land revenue under Chapter XII.
Restriction on lease - No bhumidhar or asami shall let out his holding or any part thereof, except- (a) in the cases of
lease by a disabled person or (b) to a recognized educational institution imparting instruction in agriculture.

Lease by a disabled person - (1) A bhumidhar or an asami holding land from a Gram Sabha, may let out the whole
or part of his holding for a period not exceeding three years at a time, if he is a disabled person, that is to say, he
belongs to any one of the under mentioned classes: (a) a mentally ill or mentally retarded person, the letting in such a
case being made by his guardian or by the manager of his property. (b) a person incapable of cultivation by reason of
any physical infirmity; (c) a deity or a waqf; (d) a widow or an unmarried woman; (e) a married woman, provided she
is divorced or has been deserted by her husband or is judicially separated from her husband or is living separately on
account of cruelty of her husband or her husband’s relatives, or her husband belongs to class (a), class (b), class (g) or
class (h); (f) a minor whose father is either dead or belongs to class (a), class (b), class (g), class (h) or class (i) or
class (j), the letting in such a case being made by guardian of his property; (g) a person blow 25 years in age who is
prosecuted studies in any recognized educational institution and whose father is either dead or belongs to class (a),
class (h), class (i) or class (j): (h) a person serving in Military, Naval or Air services of the Union of India or his wife
or her husband living with him or with her; (i) any other Government servant or his wife or her husband living with
him or with her; (j) any person under detention on undergoing imprisonment.

Lease how made.- Notwithstanding anything contained in the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (Act No.14 of 1882), or
the Indian Registration Act, 1908 (Act No.16 of 1908), a lease for a period exceeding one year shall be made either by
a registered instrument or in the manner prescribed.

Restrictions on transfer by bhumidhars belonging to a scheduled case.- (1) Without prejudice to the provisions of
this Chapter, no bhumidhar belonging to a scheduled caste shall have the right to transfer, by way of sale, gift,
mortgage or lease any land, situate outside the limits of development authorities constituted under Uttar Pradesh urban
Planning and Development Act, 1973, to a person not belonging to a scheduled caster, except with the previous
permission on the Collector in writing : Provided that no such permission shall be granted by the Collector, if the
transferor will come to hold less than 1.265 hectare of land in Uttar Pradesh as a result of such transfer.

Restriction on transfer by bhumidhars of scheduled tribes.- Without prejudice to the provisions of this Chapter, no
bhumidhar belonging to a scheduled tribe shall have the right to transfer, by way of sale, gift, mortgage or lease any
land to a person not belonging to a scheduled tribe.

Mortgage by members of scheduled caste and scheduled tribes.- A bhumidhar or an asami belonging to a
scheduled caste or a scheduled tribe may, notwithstanding anything contained in any other provision of this Code,
transfer his interest in any holding or part, by mortgage without possession as security for a loan taken or to be taken
from the State Government.

Exchange.- (1) No bhumidhar shall without prior permission in writing of the Sub-Divisional Officer exchange his
land with the land- (a) held by another bhumidhar, or (b) entrusted or deemed to be entrusted to any Gram Sabha or a
local authority.
Consequences of exchange.- (a) the parties to the exchange shall have the same rights in the land received in
exchange as they had in the land given. (b) the Sub-Divisional officer shall order the record of rights (Khatauni) to be
corrected accordingly; and (c) the amount of land revenue assessed, payable or deemed to be payable for the land so
exchanged shall not be affected thereby.

Succession of the property of a male bhumidhar or asami: -

The following are the heirs of a male bhumidhar or asami at the time of his death:

(a) widow, and the male lineal descendants in the made line of descent per stirps; Provided that the widow and the son
of a predeceased son how low-so-ever shall inherit per stirps the share which would have devolved upon the
predeceased son had he been alive; (b) mother and father: (c) unmarried daughter; (d) married daughter; (e) brother
and unmarried sister being respectively the son and the daughter of the same father as the deceased; and son of a
predeceased brother, the predeceased brother having been the son of the same father as the deceased. (f) son’s
daughter; (g) father’s mother and father’s father; (h) daughter’s son; (i) married sister; (j) half sister, being the
daughter of the same father as the deceased; (k) sister’s son; (l) half sister’s son, the sister having been the daughter of
the same father as the deceased; (m) brother’s son’s son; (n) mother’s son’s son; (o) father’s father’s son’s son.

Succession to woman inheriting interest as a female heir - Where before or after the commencement of this Code,
any woman inherits the interest of a male bhumidhar, asami or government lessee in any holding, and such woman
dies, marries or remarries after such commencement, then, her interest in the holding shall devolve upon the nearest
surviving heir of the last male bhumidhar, asami or government lessee, as the case may be.

The following are the heirs of a female bhumidhar or asami at the time of her death:

(a) son, unmarried daughter, son’s son, son’s son’s son, predeceased son’s widow, and predeceased son’s predeceased
son’s widow, in equal shares per stirps: Provided firstly that the nearer shall exclude the remoter in the same branch:
Provided secondly that the a widow who has remarried, shall be excluded. (b) husband; (c) married daughter; (d)
daughter’s son; (e) father; (f) widowed mother; (g) brother, being the son of the same father as the deceased and
brother’s son per stirps; (h) unmarried sister; (i) married sister; (j) sister’s son.

Other conditions regarding succession: - (a) If a bhumidhar or asami dies intestate, and at the time of his death, a
child was in the womb who was subsequently born alive, then such child shalh have the same right to inherit as if he
or she has been born before the death of such bhumidhar or asami, and the inheritance shall be deemed to vest in such
a case with effect from the date of death of such bhumidhar or asami;

(b) Where two persons have died in circumstances rendering it uncertain whether either of them and if so which
survived the other, then for purposes of devolution of interest in any holding, it shall be resumed, until the contrary is
proved, that the hounger survived the elder;

(c) A person who commits murder of a bhumidhar or asami, or abets the commission of such murder, shall be
disqualified from inheriting the interest of the decreased in any holding.
(d) If any person is disqualified from inheriting the interest in the holding of any bhumidhar or asami under clause (c),
such interest shall devolve as if the disqualified person had died before the death of such bhumidhar or asami.
 UNIT IV

Surrender by bhumidhar.- (1) A bhumidhar may surrender his interest in any holding or any part thereof by giving
an application in writing to the Tahsildar intimating his intention to do so and by giving up possession thereof to him
whether or not such holding is let.

(2) Where only part of a holding has been surrendered, the Tahsildar shall apportion the land revenue payable by such
bhumidhar.

Surrender by asami.- An asami may surrender his interest in any holding (but not any part thereof) by giving notice
in writing to the land holder intimating his intention to do so, and by giving up possession thereof to him.

Effect of surrender.- (1) A bhumidhar or asami shall be deemed to have surrendered any land held by him, with
effect from the date when possession over such land is given up.

(2) Where any land is so surrendered: (a) by an asami, his right, title or interest in such land shall be deemed to have
been extinguished from the date of such surrender; (b) by a bhumidhar, the right, title and interest of such bhumidhar
and of every other person claiming through him in such holding or its part shall be deemed to have been extinguished
from the said date.

Liability for rent or revenue on the date of surrender.- the bhumidhar, or asami shall continue to be liable to pay
the land revenue or the rent, as the case may be, for the holding in respect of the agricultural year next following the
date of surrender, unless the notice of surrender was given before the first day of April.

Abandonment by bhumidhar.- (1) If a bhumidhar does not pay the land revenue and does not use it for agriculture
for a continuous period of three agricultural years and has left the village in which he usually resides and whose
whereabouts are not known. Then the Collector may, after such inquiry, as he may deem necessary, take possession of
the land held by such bhumidhar.

(2) Where the Collector has taken possession of any land under subsection (1), he may let it out on behalf of the
bhumidhar for a period of one agricultural year at a time in the manner prescribed.

(3) If the bhumidhar or any other person lawfully entitled to the land claims it within a period of three years from the
commencement of the agricultural year next following the date on which the Collector took possession thereof, it shall
be restored to him on payment of dues, if any, and on such terms and conditions as the Collector may think fit.

(4) Where no claim is preferred or if any claim is preferred but is disallowed, the Colelctor shall make an order
declaring the holding abandoned.

(5) Every order of the Collector shall be published in the manner prescribed and shall, subject to the result of any suit
under Section 144, be final.
(6) Nothing in this section shall apply to any holding held by a bhumidhar in whose favour a declaration has been
made, where such declaration continues to be in force.

Consequences of abandonment.- Where any holding has been abandoned, the following consequences shall ensure,
namely- (a) the holding shall vest absolutely in the State Government free from all encumbrances; (b) the bhumidhar
concerned shall cease to have any right, title or interest in such holding; (c) the bhumidhar concerned shall continue to
be liable for land revenue due in respect of such holding for the agricultural year during which the order referred to in
sub-section (4) of the said section was made.

Delivery of possession to Gram Sabha.- (1) When the interest of a bhumidhar in any land is extinguished under the
provisions of this Code or any other law for the time being in force, the Sub-Divisional Officer may, on the
application of the Gram Sabha concerned evict any person in unauthorized occupation of such land and deliver
possession thereof to the Gram Sabha in such manner as may be prescribed.
 UNIT V

Land consolidation is the process of readjusting and rearranging fragmented land parcels and ownership so as to form
larger and judicious land holdings through proper planning. From an economic growth perspective, land reforms are
considered to be the most crucial in bringing about agricultural improvements. A crucial aim of land consolidation has
been in ensuring redistribution, regulation and rationalisation of the land ownership and subsequently benefit the
cultivating class through the improved size of farmlands, better use of farming technology and also provide enhanced
agricultural produce. It has widely been implemented for improving the rural framework and to develop sustainable
environmental policies.

Historical Background of U.P Consolidation of land holding act-

The state of Uttar Pradesh since the time of independence been a major farming state in the country. It has witnessed
various peasantry movements which had prompted numerous land-reforms in the state to ensure faster agricultural
and economic progress. The Uttar Pradesh Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1953 had received the President assent in
March 1954 was one of the first Acts in the country which took up the process of this land reforming process to boost
the agricultural economy across the state.

Definitions -

Section 3(2) of the Act defines consolidation thereby describing it as a rearrangement of land holdings in a unit
among the tenure-holders such that their respective holdings are made more compact.

Under Section 3 (4C), the term holding has been defined as parcels of land which is held under one tenure by a
tenure-holder single or jointly with other tenure holders.

Furthermore, Section 3(5) of this Act defines land and describes it as which has been held or occupied for the purpose
of agriculture, horticulture and animal husbandry along with the trees, wells, etc. existing on the holding.

Tenure-holder has been defined under Section 3(11) describing it as a bhumidhar with transferable rights or a
bhumidhar with non-transferrable rights which includes:

1. An asami

2. Government lessee or Government grantee

3. a co-operative farming society satisfying such conditions as may be prescribed

Consolidation of land is a complex and lengthy process and involves various steps which have been discussed under
the Act as follows:

Declaration and Notification Regarding Consolidation:

This is the first step in the process of land consolidation and has been described under Section 4 of the Act. Section
4(1)(a) deals with the fact that whenever the government is of the opinion that a district or some part of the state must
be consolidated, the declaration shall be made through a Gazette notification and shall grant powers to the concerned
officers for:

• Taking surveys for rectangulation, or levelling of land

• Fixing pillars for consolidation

• Doing necessary acts to check the suitability of the land for purpose of consolidation

Furthermore, Section 4 (2)(a) of the Act states that when the state government decided to undertake the activities
under section 4(1)(a), then the state government should take requisite steps to inform the public through a gazette in a
daily newspaper along with publishing the same in each unit of the area under consolidation through appropriate
measures. Moreover, if any part has previously been consolidated and closed under Section 52 of this Act, the state
government through desired means in the interest of public must again through a gazette inform about the
consolidation process being undertaken once again.

Under the provisions of Section 5 of the Act, it shall be the duty of the District Deputy Director of Consolidation to
undertake the process of consolidation along with diligently maintaining the record of rights, preparing the village
map, field book and the annual register of each village. Also, section 6 of the Act states that it shall not be unlawful
for the state government to cancel any notification issued under section 4 of this Act regarding consolidation of any
area.

Revision of Map and field book (Preparation of consolidation scheme)-

This has been dealt with under Section 7 of the Act but forms a crucial part of the process of land consolidation. The
process of land consolidation deals with altering the land structure and

therefore, it is a very important process with it being the duty of the District Deputy Director of Consolidation to
revise the map of such village keeping in view the consolidated unit.

Section 8 of this Act deals with the revision of the field book and the current annual register for determination of
valuations and shares in joint holdings. After the map has been prepared as per provisions of section 7, the
consolidation committee along with the District Deputy Director of Consolidation shall undertake the process of
evaluation of each plot after taking into consideration its productivity, location and agriculture facilities available like
irrigation etc. along with an assessment of the value of trees, wells and other improvements in the plot to determine
the amount of compensation. Moreover, they shall also ascertain the share of each owner in a holding and
subsequently determine the share of separate tenure-holders in the case of a joint holding to ensure smooth partition to
facilitate proper consolidation.

Preparation of statement of principles and disposal of cases relating to land disputes:

This is the most important process before the enforcement of the scheme of consolidation. Preparation of statement of
principles and disposal of land dispute cases have been dealt under Section 8-A and 9-A of this Act respectively. The
consolidation committee must set forth the principles which need to be followed for the consolidation process, taking
into account the following:

• Details of areas, as far as they can be determined at this stage, to be earmarked for extension of abadi including an
area for abadi site for Harijans and landless persons in the unit.

• The basis on which the tenure-holders will contribute land for extension of abadi and for other public purposes

• Details of land to be earmarked for public purposes out of land vested in a Gaon Sabha or a Local Authority under
Section 117 or Section 117-A of the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950

Under section 9-A, a critical task is to settle the pending land disputes to ensure faster land consolidation process with
it being the responsibility of the Assistant Consolidation Officer to settle disputes, rectify the mistakes and thereby
ensure partition by bringing about conciliation between the parties before him and pass requisite orders. The basic
function of the Assistant Consolidation Officer under this section is to settle:

1) objections in respect of claims to land or partition of joint holdings are filed, after hearing the parties concerned

2) no objections are filed after making such enquiry as he may deem necessary

Enforcement of Scheme:

Section 24 of the Act deals with the possession and accrual of compensation of trees and etc., here the section states
that Consolidation Scheme will come into force when the Settlement Officer of consolidation will fix a date and
inform the concerned unit, from that day the tenure holder would be entitled to enter the property and possession of
the plot, the tenure holder shall be entitled to the wells trees and other things existing on plot and is liable to pay the
former tenure holder for the trees wells and other things and improvements.

Section 27 of the Act talks about the new records which need to be prepared after the new consolidation scheme.
Section 28 of the Act provides for the delivery of possession were the Asst. Consolidation Officer on the application
of the tenure holder has to put the landholder in the actual possession of the property and with that, they have the full
power including contempt resistance which can be exercised by the Civil Court.

Compensation for land contributes by tenure holders-

Section 28 also provides for compensation which must be paid by the tenure holder for the standing crop on the plot
he has been given possession of. Section 29 also talks about the compensation paid where the tenure holder has the
land contributed to public purpose by him, this section provides that if the land is of a bhumidhar with transferable
rights four times and in case of non -transferable rights two times of the land revenue as prescribed under Section
29AA of the Act. Whereas in the case of trees wells and other property on land the amount will be prescribed in
accordance with section 19.
The consequences from the day of possession of the piece of land by the tenure holder in accordance with this Act
are:

The rights liabilities and title of the land are considered to be of the new tenure holder in possession of the land and
the same has been ceased to exist of the previous tenure holder. The new tenure holder entering the possession of the
chak (piece of land) will have the rights liabilities in regard to the as if he had in the holding with benefits of an
irrigation system from a private source till it exists, as the previous tenure holder had. The land conferred upon the
local authority or the Gaon Sabha to the tenure holder shall be presumed by the State Government under section117
&117-A, which would come under the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act and will be handled
with the tenure holder. The rights of the public over the land or in the land for any purpose will cease to exist as after
the declaration made under Section 19-A(2) and be for an only a specific purpose as prescribed in the final
Consolidation Scheme. Any kind of obstruction on the holding of the tenure holder who is deemed to get possession
or is in the possession of the land by any means (lease, mortgage etc.) in regards to the holding, cease which has been
prescribed in the Consolidation Scheme which said to be final.

The key objective of this method of land consolidation has been to bring about equitable distribution of land to
facilitate agricultural growth and thereby aid in economic development. Efficient use of this technique shall not only
improve the productivity of the crop but also support the efficient usage of technology-driven newer techniques which
shall enhance labour productivity, reduce production costs and promote efficient, effective and judicious usage of
land. The Uttar Pradesh Consolidation of Holding Act, 1953 was laid down with similar objectives and if it continues
to be implemented with due diligence and fairness, the state could reap large economic benefits in the long run.