LAND LAWS - IQB ANSWERS

A.. THE GUJARAT AGRICULTURAL LANDS CEILING ACT, 1960:

Qt. \Vhat is the meaning· of agriculture?

Ans• . ''agr~cultnre"
0
includes-

(a) horticulture, _
(b\ rhc r:1j:~i;1l.,. of crops, grass or garden produce,
(c) rhc .i~e b~ ,u1 ap:iculhlrist of the land held by'him or part there7f for grazi,;~- . ,
ld) the use 0f ,111y land, whccher or not an ~ppe11da~1;e to nee or packtv J;ind: £')r tnt: purpose ot rabmanure.

I
(e) dairy iarn1i1!i~
(fj 0on!tn· fanning.
(g) breeding of live-stock. ,1nd
(h) the cutting of ,vood:
Q2. State and explain kinds of land.
I
I Ans - 2 ma,:k.r de hisab 11aal short ch e:><plain kittt1 hai:
1. perenniallv irrigated land - regufar supply of water for a period of not less chan ten months during a
,vec1r
2. sea~onallv" irrigated l:u1d; - regular supply of
.
water for 4 months to 10 monrhs.
3. suoerior dry·crop land - means rice land and orchard
1

4. dry crop land - other thm1 the above mentio1~ed land - that is - bnd ,vl1ich ~bounds in grass gro"\-.TI
naturally and which is capable of being used for agricultural purposes;

Q3. What is the n1eaning of perennially irrigated land:'

Ans - L~1.11d ,.vhich is assured of a regular and actual supply of \vater for a period of not less than ten monrhs
during the year from any source of irrigation and which is consequently capable of growing at least t\vo crops
in a year or is utilised for growing sugarcane crop.

Q4. Meaning of rice land.

j Ans - It is situated in a local area where the average rainfall is not less than 89 centi1nerers a ye.u·. \'\b.ich is used
l
l for the cultivation of rice or which, in the opinion of the State Governn1enr is fit for rhe culti\·~rion of rice but
~ does not include perennially or seasonally irrigated land used for the cultivation of rice.
Q5. Meaning of fragment.

Ans - "Fragment" means a plot of lan<l of less extent than rhe appropriare standard area detennined under
TI1e Bombay Prevention of Frag1ncntation and Consolidation of Holdings , \ct, l 947
 Q6. Define land.
• . · d .· t th s Jecified date - land which is used or capable of being used for
Ans - in relat1on to anr peno prior O - e Ir-- ' •
agricultural purpose and includes the sites of farm buildings appurtenant to such land.
. . l . : d _ hn i which is used or capable of being used for agricultural purpose, and
In relat1on to any ot 1er peno ·' c
includes-
• the sites of fum1 buildings appurtenant to such land
• the lands on ,vhich grass grows naturally
• the bid lands, trees and standing crops
• canals, channels, ·wells, pipes or reservoirs and other works constructed or maintained on such land

~Q7. Explain meaning of ceiling area

~ - A ; u bah tad.do si le di!!lag de 11tto11 tapgt!Ja, .. short kita h.. httt ri.rky l.f:
Ceiling area n1eans the maximun1 extent of agricultural lanq that one can hold. By providing for such
ceiling area, the government gets to reapportion surplus land to the landless. There by reducing the
gap benveen large land owner and the landless.
·n1e ceiling area in relation to each class of land is specified in the schedule to the Act.
Q8. What kinds of necessities should be provided by the holder under the circumstances of surplus
land?
Ans-
• survey numbers and areas
• particulars of all lands held as O\vner or tenant
• particulars of all the burdens, if any, over the lands together \"\->ith the names and· addresses of the
creditors
• particulars of lands held as a member of a joint family along "\Vith their survey nun1bers and area
• such other particulars, if any, as may be prescribed

Q9. Meaning of depreciated value.

Ans-
• It means the ·value equal to the cost of the structures, wells or pipe-lines, and the cost of their
construction or placing as reduced by an amount representing their depreciation - calculated as per
the provisions of the act.
Q10. Write down the priorities list in the allotment of Land Vesting in the State Go;emment.

Ans - In the following order of priority:

1. co-operative fanning society
2. Agricultural laborers and landless persons
3. small holders
 B. GUJARAT LAND REVENUE CODE, 1889

; · -:)ll.1. Who is the revenue officer?

I / Ans - Revenue officer means officer of any rank appointed under the Gujarat L1nd Revenue Code, and
employed in or about the business of the land revenue or of the surveys, assessment, accounts, or records
connected there,vith.

- ~ 1 2 . Meaning of Survey number.

' Ans - Survey nurnber 1neans a portion of land of which the area and assessment are separately entered, under
an indicative nun1ber in the land records.

~~Mean ing of boundary mark

Ans - Boundary mark means a mark employed or specified by a survey officer, or other revenue officer having
for designating designate the boundary of any di,·ision of land. For this purpose, boundary marks includes die
following:

1. Any erection - whether of earth, stone, or <:>ther material,

2. any hedge
3. unploughed ridge, or
4. strip of ground, or
5. other object whether natural or artificial

Q14. Meaning of superior holder

Ans - Superior holder means a land holder entitled to receive rent or land revenue from other inferior
landholders.
It does not matter whether such superior holder is accountable or not to the State Government - for
such rent or land revenue, or any part thereof.

+ Q15. Who is the tenant?

Ans - "tenant" means a lessee - holding such lease either under an instrun1ent, or under an oral agreement.

A lessee and includes a mortgagee of a tenant's rights with possession,

BUT does not include a lessee holding directly under the Government.

Q16. Meaning of Alienated land

Ans - Land which has _been acquired from ~ustomary lan~owners by the government, either for irs O\vn ust:' or
for private development requiring a n1ortgage or other forms of guarantees.
Q17. Meaning of Unalienated land
Ans - It rneans unoccupied land which has not bt:en alienated i.e., not conveyed oi- transforred to another • e.g._
sarkari, khalsa or ryatawari/ bindun1ala. Before taking up such unoccupied land writtei1 pennission of
Mamlatdar or Mahalkari is required.

I
 \

\
'
. Meaning Of Land Records.
· · f c h of the Act Such records sho\v
-.Ans - 11eans records 1nai11tained under the prov1s1ons o or 1or t e purposes , •
the entitlen1ent on the property or holders rights in the property.

·ng of Potkarab
- It 1ueans uncultivable portion of the land. It is of two kinds-
a) that which is classed as a unfit for the cultivation i.e rocky area, land under nala and farm building
etc.
b) that which is reserved for public purpose i.e. road, recognized foot path and public place of drinking
water etc.
Q20. Meaning of certified copy
Ans - Certified copy means a copy or extract, as the case 1nay be, certified in the manner prescribed by section
76 of the Ind_-ian Evidence Act, 1872. It means certification in the following manner:

1. true copy written at the foot of such copy

2. such certificate shall be dated and subscribed by authorised officer with his name and his official title
3. shall be sealt>d.

C. GUJARAT TENANCY AND AGRICULTURAL LANDS ACT, 1948

Q21. Meaning of improvement.

Ans - Improvement means ,u1y work which adds to the value of the land. It i~cludes:
E.g: the construction of tanks, wells, ,vater channels, dams and other works for storage, supply· or
distribution of ,vater, drainage for agricultural purposes, etc. ,l
l'
Q22. Meaning of rent.
Ans - Rent means any consideration, in money or kind or both, paid or payable by a tenant on account of the
use or occupation of the land held by him.

- BUT it does not include the rendering of any personal service or labour.

Q23. Meaning of tenant.

Ans - l\.1eans a person who holds land on lease and includes-

(a) a person who is deemed to be a tenant under section 4

(b) a person who is a protected tenant .
(c) a person who is a permanent tenant .
(d) a person who, after the surrender of his tenancy continued, to ren1ain in arttrnl possession.

Q24. Meaning of protected ttlnant.

· d h • ,· • f the Act The tollo\.vino-
0 are
Ans - Protect tenant means a person recog1used as tenant un er t e pro,-isions O ••

considered as protected tenant:

' 1. A tenant \.Vho has held a land continuous ly/ cultivat
f l < e
d .
tt personally £
years rom t 1e dates specified in the Schedule I of the Act. '
.
•
or a period of not less than 6

2. Every tenant froin the 8d day of Nove1nber 1974is d

1

eemec1 to a protected tenant.

Q25. Profits of agricultur e means what?

Ans - P1·0.fits of agriculture 1neans the sur1Jlus remainitig \Vt·th th e h older after the
• cl di l . of cultivatjon
in u ng t :ie ,vages of the cultivator \Vorking on th l d , d ed ucted from the gtoss expenses
produce.
e an are
Q26. Write any two rights and liabilities of lessor
Ans- Rights:

1. ~igh~ to recover rent ,vhen purchase beco111es ineffective.

2
• Special right of certified landlord to termi1~ate tenancy for persor1al cu1tiVatior1

Duties:
"i. Landlord has t?
restore posse~sion if he fails to cultivate within one year.
2. Dutv~ not to evict a ten·mt fro m ·a dwe11·1ng h ouse buil t at • expenses of the tenant.
• the
'

- ~ W h a t is the the ceiling a~ea of lands?

Ans - the ceiling area shall b<:-
(a) 48 acres of jirayat land, or

(b) 24 acres of seasonally irrigated land of paddy or rice land, or

(c) 12 acres of perennially irrigated land.

28. On what bases go~emme nt determine ceiling area and economic holding under the act?

r •
(a) the situation of the land,

(b) its productive capacity,

(c) the fact that the land is located in a back\vard area, and

(d) any other factors which may be prescribed:

Q 29. What is the Relief against termination of tenancy available under the act?
.i\ns - Terminatio n of tenancy on the ground of destruct.ion or permanent injury done to land - RELIEF - no
proceeding for ejectment against such tenant can begin unt.il the expiry of 1 year of service of notice in writi Jg
1

specifying the act of destruction or injury complained of.

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_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _~ • \

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D. LAND ACQUISITION, REHABILITATION AND RESE TTLE
MENT ACT,2013
·'1JQ30. Meani ng of land acquis ition
{ Ans - Land acquisition is the power of the union or a state government
the purpose of industrialization, deYelop111ent of infrastructural facilitie
in India to acquire private land for
s or urbanisation of the private land,
\
\
and to cornpensate the affected land owners for their rehabilitation and

Q31. Write do'\\-'11 any t\vo Specia l provision for Schedu led Tribes
resettlement.
I
?
Ans-
i) As far as possible, the land acquisition of the tribes should be avoided
.
ii) TI1e affected fiunilies of the Scheduled Tribes shall be resettled prefera
bly in the same Scheduled
Area - so that they can retain their ~thnic, linguistic and cultural identity
;-
J 2 . What is land acquisition award? .
• Ans - land acquisition award means an award made by the Collector as
a compensation to the person interested
against acquisition of such land for public purposes.

Q33. How is land acquisition compensation calculated?

Ans - \X'hile calculating acquisition compensation, following are conside
red:
1. m2rket value of the land
2. damage sustained by the person interested
3. reasonable expenses incurred by such person for change in residen
ce or place of bus111ess
4. the darriage (if any) bona fide resulting from diminution of the profits
of the land due co
acqws1uon process
5. any other ground which may be in rhe interest of equity, justice
and beneficial to the affected
families .

. What is the first stage of land acquisition?

Ans - \X'hen a government intends to occupy a land in any locality, first and foremost it has to
issue a preliminan·
1fotification under in the official gazette, newspaper and give a public
notice - annotu1cing that such land i.s
necessary or likely to be required for any public purpose. It enables
the interested pe.rsons to object ro such
acquisition of land.
Q35. Why land is required to be acquired?
Ans - A land may be required to be acquired for public purposes onlr.
TI1e Act defines public purpose to include, ~u11c.mg other things, defence
and national security;
govern ment- and government-built roads, railways, highways, an.cl
ports~ lan~i for pi-oject~affected_ people:
planne d development and improve1nent of the village or urban Sltes;
res1denttal purposes tor the poor and
landless; etc.
 QJ6. Wha t is compulsory acqu isiti on of land
?
Coinpulsocv• acqu isitio n is the po\\re.r of gove rnrn ent to actJLiire priv ate
. righ t •
of its 0 ,vi1er or occu pant 1n -
orde r to bene ht .
society. E.g. social and econ o sin 1and with
.
out th ·1r1
die natural en'\-iro1unent (tha t is for publ ic . d e wi ngconsent
purp oses ). rruc eve1opm ent the .
' protection of
Q37. What is the mai n pur pose of land acq
uisi tion act?
Ans - l11e tnain purp ose of the land acqu
. . isition act is to prov ide fair com pe t·
taken a,·va-r/ acquired and to prov ide for the reha
.. .
b1lit nsa .100 to those whose land •
:. _ . ., . at1o n and rese ttlem ent of the affe t d 15
TI1e proY1sions bnn gs b:an spru:ency to the proc ess of acqu1s1t1. .. c e persons and families.
on of land for publ ic purposes.
-~3 8. What is ~a l ln1p act Ass essm
ent ,vhy this incl ude d in the Lan d Acquisit
ion Act 2013?
An~ - Befo_re acqu isiti ~n ~f a land , the gove
rnm ent is requ ired to cond uct a Social Imp
/ ,Yhich pred icts the soci al unpa cts that act Assessment (SL\)
are likely to be follo\ved from such acqu
follo,,~ng cons ider atio ns like: isitio n of land. It includes

Doe s the prop osed acqu isiti on realiy serve

a publ ic purpose?
Ho\v man y families wou ld be affected?
Ho\v 1.ruu1y of families ·will be displaced?, etc.
TI1e purp ose of such SIA is to prop ose
suitable steps necessary to preYent/ conrain
pote ntia l of the prop osed acqu isitio n. If harmful
the SIA suggest that acquisi.tion ,vill not serve
the go\'"t may canc el its plan to acqu ire :~ pt1b:ic purpose tl:en.
such land. Cases where land acquisition
cons ider atio ns take n in the SI.A help in is co c:ke place. c.,.½e
adop ting a suitable scheme for compensation
rese ttlem ent. , rci-1abilir:1tion and

Incl uded in 2013 act as that there is an impr

ove1nent in their post-acquisition soc1al 1fiU
statu s of the pers on:; affec ted by such bnd ecae orr~ c
.. r acqu isitio n and thus , they too beco me partn ers in deYelopmeot.
["-'Q 39. How doe s soci al imp act. asse ssm ent help in a land
acqu isiti on process?
j Ans - .,\dd
. extr acts fron1 abov e Ans .

E. TH E MAMLATDARS' COURTS ACT

, 1906
Q40. Wh o is the Mamlatdar?
Ans - The "\-vord "l\1.amlatdar" is deri ved
from original Arab ic \Vor ld 1·[UA1·[L,\ (1Ian
ua) n1e-,u1 $ con1 plicared
matt er or case and the offic er \-vho solves
such matt ers or issues is ~Iam btda r.
As per the act, a "1-iamlatdar" shall includes:
.
any Reve nue- offic er exercising rhe pow ers f 11 l t· . . ~Iahllka.ri or Tahs ildar or N:ub
o a i.' a1n arc. ,u:, or ' ' '
Tahs ildar unde r the Act.
and any othe r pers on specially authorize<l
by the Stare G1 0Yen unen to exercise the powers o t- a
r
i\1amla tdar.

Q41. Who has pow er to appoint Joint Mam

latdar?
. .._ .
Ans - The Stat e Gov ernm ent has po\ver to appo . al k b. a nonbcat1on 111 the
int Join t 1,1anuatdar u1 ,u1y t. u a y • .
Official Gaz ette.
 Such Joint Mamlatdar has co-extensive powers an<l a concurrent jurisdiction with the l\famiatdar e.'(cept that
... di. . f such suits only as he receives thern fron1 the M~mJatdar. •
he can spose o -
Q42. Power ofn1amlatdar.

Ans - Po,vers:
1. Power to transfer suits to the Joint Mamlatdar
~o,ver s To Issue Injunction

Q43. What are the Time limit to file a suit under the act?
Ans - Ti1ne lirnit to file a suit is ,vithin six months fron1 the date on \vhich the cause of action arose.
Q44. When "rill be the cause of action arise to file a suit?
Ans - The shall be deemed to have arisen on cl ,e date on which the dispossession, depriYation/ denial, of
taJ,st ol (k'fion
tc.aancy or other· r~ght occur~ed/arisen, or on which the disturbance or obstn1crion, or the attempted disturbance
or
obsrruction, first commenced. ; :.

JJO/ cbak)·a hj
~5Wha t are the Contents of plaint?
Ans - Follo,vin2· .,_J

a. the name, age, religion, caste, profession and place of abode of the plaintift;
b. rhe name, age, religion, caste, P{Ofession and plat:e of abode of rhe defenuanr;
c. the date on ,:vhich the cause of action arose;
d. the circumstances out of ,vhich the cause of action arose, etc.

~What is meant by "Informal petitions to be treated as plaints"?

Ans - \X!here ~. petition presented to the l\:1amlatd::tr .is not in the .forcn of a plaint bur~~ 1J the subject rnacrer or·
r.he petition falls ,vi chin the scope of section 5, then the I\:famlatdar shall explain ~\; rhe p..:·rson pre~c:ntin~ che
petition the aature of the relief afford@ by the 1\cr- and shall inquire \vheth1-·r th~ pet.;,~-_)::er J~~!--i.:c~ ro c...iLn.u1
1 elief thereby. Cf'i v(/v\
If the petitioner e...xpresses a desire so to obtain relief, the 1\Iamlatdar shttll endorse the desire L'll rhc

pet.10011.

Q47. When Mamlatdar shall reject the plaint?

Ans-
~vhere the plaintiff declines to make a statement on oath - • _,.,,,,,.
~
I
\vhere the plaintiff declines to subscribe or verify the plaint
3. whe.r;e the property or use claimed in the plaint is not coyered in S. S
4. where the cause of action arose more than six n1onths before the pLtint was presented (tin1e
barred)