11. Title of Government to lands, etc.—(1) All lands, public roads, lanes and paths and bridges,
ditches, dikes and fences on o beside the same, the beds of rivers, streams, nallahs, lakes and tanks, and
all canals and water courses, and all standing and flowing water, and all rights in or over the same or
appertaining thereto, which are not the property of any person, are and are hereby declared to be the
property of the Government.
(2) Unless it is otherwise expressly provided in the terms of a grant made by the Government, the
right to mines, minerals and mineral products shall vest in the Government, and it shall have all the
powers necessary for the proper enjoyment of such rights.
(3) Where any property or any right in or over any property is claimed by or on behalf of the
Government or by any person as against the Government and the claim is disputed, such dispute shall be
decided by the deputy commissioner whose order shall subject to the provisions of the Act, be final.
(4) Any person aggrieved by an order made under sub-section (3) or in appeal or revision therefrom
may institute a civil suit to contest the order within a period of six months from the date of such order,
and the decision of the civil court shall be binding on the parties.
12. Right to trees, forests, etc.—(1) The right to all trees, jungles or other natural products growing
on land set apart for forest reserves and to all trees, brush wood, jungle or other natural product, wherever
growing, except in so far as the same may be the property of any person, vests in the Government, and
such trees, brush wood, jungle or other natural product shall be preserved or disposed of in such manner
as may be prescribed, keeping in view the interests of the people in the area with regard to the user of the
natural products.
(2) All road-side trees which have been planted and reared by or under the orders or at the expense of
the Government and all trees which have been planted and reared at the expense of local authorities by the
side of any road belonging to the Government vest in the Government.
13. Assignment of land for special purposes.—Subject to rules made in this behalf under this Act,
the deputy commissioner may set apart land belonging to the Government for pasturage for the village
cattle, for forest reserves or for any other purpose.
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14. Allotment of land.—(1) The deputy commissioner may allot land belonging to the Government
for agricultural purposes or for construction of dwelling houses, in accordance with such rules as may be
made in this behalf under this Act; and such rules may provide for allotment of land to persons evicted
under section 15.
(2) The Administrator shall have power—
(a) to allot any such land for the purpose of an industry or for any purpose of public utility on
such conditions as may be prescribed, or
(b) to entrust the management of any such land or any rights therein to the Gram Panchayat of the
village established under any law for the time being in force.
15. Unauthorised occupation of land.—(1) Any person who occupies or continues to occupy any
land belonging to Government without lawful authority shall be regarded as a trespasser and may be
summarily evicted therefrom by the competent authority and any building or other construction erected or
anything deposited on such land, if not removed within such reasonable time as such authority may from
time to time fix for the purpose, shall be liable to be forfeited to the Government and to be disposed of in
such manner as the competent authority may direct:
Provided that the competent authority may, in lieu of ordering the forfeiture of any such building or
other construction, order the demolition of the whole or any part thereof.
(2) Such trespasser shall also be liable by way of penalty to pay a sum which may extend to six times
the annual assessment on such land as may be specified by the competent authority and such sum shall be
recoverable in the same manner as an arrear of land revenue.
(3) Upon payment of the penalty referred to in sub-section (2), the trespasser shall have the right of
tending, gathering and removing any ungathered crops.
16. Liability of land to land revenue.—(1) All lands, to whatever purpose applied, are liable to
payment of land revenue to the Government.
(2) The Administrator may exempt any land from the liability to such payment by means of a special
grant or contract or in accordance with any law for the time being in force or the rules made under this
Act.
17. Alluvial lands.—All alluvial lands, newly formed islands, or abandoned river beds, which vest
under any law for the time being in force in any holder of land shall be subject in respect of liability to
land revenue to the same privileges, conditions and restrictions as are applicable to the original holding by
virtue of which such lands, islands or river beds vest in the said holder, but no revenue shall be leviable in
respect of any such lands, islands or river beds unless the area of the same exceeds one acre.
18. Land revenue in case of diluvion.—Every holder of land paying land revenue in respect thereof
shall entitled, subject to such rules as may be made in this behalf, to a decrease of assessment if any
portion thereof, not being less than one acre in extent, is lost by diluvion.
19. Assessment of land to land revenue.—(1) The assessment of land revenue on any land shall be
made or deemed to have been made with respect to the use of the land—
(a) for purposes of agriculture,
(b) for industrial or commercial purposes,
(c) as sites for dwelling houses, and
(d) for any other purpose.
(2) Where land assessed for use for any one purpose is diverted to any other purpose, the land revenue
payable upon such land shall, notwithstanding that the term for which the assessment may have been
fixed has not expired, be liable to be altered and assessed at a different rate in accordance with rules made
under this Act.
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20. Diversion of land.—(1) If any person holding land for any purpose wishes to divert such land or
any part thereof to any other purpose except agriculture, he shall apply for permission to the competent
authority which may, subject to the provisions of this section and to the rules made under this Act, refuse
permission or grant it on such conditions as it may think fit.
(2) Permission to divert may be refused by the competent authority only on the ground that the
diversion is likely to cause a public nuisance or that it is not in the interest of the general public or that the
holder is unable or unwilling to comply with the conditions that may be imposed under sub-section (3).
(3) Conditions may be imposed on diversion for the following objects and no others, namely, in order
to secure the public health, safety and convenience, and in the case of land which is to be used as building
sites, in order to secure, in addition, that the dimensions, arrangement and accessibility of the sites are
adequate for the health and convenience of occupiers or are suitable to the locality.
(4) If any land has been diverted without permission by the holder or by any other person with or
without the consent of the holder, the competent authority, on receiving information thereof, may impose
on the person responsible for the diversion a penalty not exceeding one hundred rupees, and may proceed
in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (1) as if an application for permission to divert had been
made.
(5) If any land has been diverted in contravention of an order passed or of a condition imposed under
any of the foregoing sub-sections, the competent authority may serve a notice on the person responsible
for such contravention, directing him, within a reasonable period to be stated in the notice, to use the land
for its original purpose or to observe the condition; and such notice may require such person to remove
any structure, to fill up any excavation, or to take such other steps as may be required in order that the
land may be used for its original purpose, or that the condition may be satisfied. The competent authority
may also impose on such person a penalty not exceeding one hundred rupees for such contravention, and
a further penalty not exceeding four rupees for each day during which such contravention continues.
Explanation.—“Diversion” in this section means using land assessed to one purpose for any other
purpose, but using land for the purpose of agriculture where it is assessed with reference to any other
purpose shall not be deemed to be diversion.
21. Remission or suspension of revenue on failure of crops.—The Administrator may, in
accordance with the rules made in this behalf under this Act, grant a remission or suspension of land
revenue in years in which crops have failed in any area.
22. Responsibility for payment of land revenue.—(1) The following persons shall be primarily
liable for the payment of land revenue assessed on land, namely:—
(a) the person to whom the land belongs; and
(b) the tenant or any other person in possession of the land, provided that such tenant or other
person shall be entitled to credit from the owner of the land, for the amount paid by him.
(2) Where there are two or more persons liable to pay land revenue under sub-section (1), all of them
shall be jointly and severally liable for its payment.
23. Receipt for land revenue.—Every revenue officer receiving payment of land revenue shall, at
the time when such payment is received by him, give a written receipt for the same.