CHAPTER VI.
FORFEITURE OF OCCUPANCIES AND DISPOSAL THEREOF.
[Section 54]
35. Except as provided in the next following Rule, the holding on which an arrear is due shall be declared forfeited and proceeded against in the first instance unless the defaulter surrenders his personal property and desires it to be first sold or enters into some other arrangement by which the ready recovery of the arrear is insured.
If the holding in respect of which the arrear is due consists of two or more survey numbers or of two or more portions of land or estates separately assessed, and the Deputy Commissioner shall be of opinion that the whole amount of such arrear could be realised by the sale of some one or more only of such numbers, or portions of estates, he may, in his discretion, restrict the forfeiture to such one or more of the said numbers, or portions of estates. Where the forfeiture is intended not for the purpose of sale but for taking possession and otherwise disposing of the holding, the previous sanction of Govern¬ment shall be obtained in each case.
When a holding which has been forfeited for default in payment of the land revenue due thereupon is not sold, or when the sale proceeds thereof are not sufficient to meet the arrear, the arrear or the balance of arrear payable by the defaulter shall ordinarily be remitted without having recourse to further compulsory process. But it is not intended that in all such cases the right of recovering arrears or balance of arrears from defaulters by other means should be altogether relinquished. In special cases, the Deputy Commissioner may enforce that right.
36. Inam lands held for village service, revenue or police, or for religious or charitable purposes shall not be declared forfeited and sold, but the Deputy Commissioner shall proceed to realize the demand against the holders by the attachment and sale of their personal and other movable property. In the case of unenfranchised inams on which arrears may be due, the Deputy Commissioner may, in the event of his failing to recover the arrears by the sale of the defaulter's personal or other immovable property, obtain the sanction of Government to the inams being declared forfeited and resumed.
37. In the case of an enfranchised alienated holding which has been declared forfeited for the purpose of sale under Section 159, such forfeiture will not operate so as to extinguish the tenure on which the alienation was made by Government and the property shall be sold as alienated property, and conveyed as such to the purchaser. Provi¬ded, however, that if at such auction the property is bought in by Government, the Deputy Commissioner shall cause the land comprised in the holding to be entered in the records as unoccupied unalienated land.
38. It shall be in the discretion of the Deputy Com¬missioner to restore any forfeited occupancy or alienated holding at any time on payment of the arrear in respect of which the forfeiture was incurred, together with all costs and charges lawfully due by the defaulter or, on security being given to his satisfaction for the payment of the said arrear, land revenue and charges within a reasonable period.
*39. Every sale of a forfeited holding as such shall be made subject to the same rules and orders as are applicable to the sale of unoccupied unalienated lands, so far as they are consistent with the provisions of Chapter XI of the Land Revenue Code.
The form of proclamation of sale under this Rule shall be as in Form (3) of Appendix B.
#40. With a view to protect the interests of co-occu¬pants and other persons interested in the continuance of the occupancy or alienated holding as provided for in Section 77, Deputy Commissioners shall give them notice before declaring the occupancy or alienated holding for¬feited, provided they register their names and their interest in a Register to be opened in the Taluk Cutcherry for the purpose and pay on every application for such registry, a fee of one rupee in the shape of Court Fee stamps of that value to be affixed to the application. This proviso shall not apply to co-occupants who may have their names and shares entered in the records under Rule 75.
*Ametided by G. O. No. B. 1054 63—L. E. 869—4, dated 23rd August 1904
#Amended by Notification No. B. H621—L. E,528-05-1, dated 7th March 1908.
The registry thus made shall not give a right to the parties concerned to receive notices under this rule for more than five official years beginning with the year of registry unless a fresh application is made before the expiry of the period and the entry in the Eegister renewed. No fee will, however, be charged on applications for such renewal.
No fee will be charged on applications made by Co-operative Societies for entering their names in the Eegister referred to above:
* Provided that in taluks where a Notification under. Section 4 (2) of the Record of Rights Regulation has issued, the notice contemplated in para 1 shall be issued to all persons whose rights (not being merely rights of ease-ment) have been registered in the Record of Rights, with¬out charging any fee.
* R. 5324—L. S. 68-33-8, dated 11th April-1934.
CHAPTEE VII.
GRANT OF OCCUPANCIES.
[Sections 58, 60 and 233 (h) and (n)]
*41. When unoccupied land is required, a written application shall be made in person or by duly constituted agent or by post to the Amildar direct, provided that, in the last mentioned case, the applicant's full name and address are legibly written and his signature is attested to by the village Shanbhog or a taluk official not inferior in rank to a Revenue Inspector or a Magistrate certifying to the identity of the applicant. Applications may be presented in person to Revenue Inspectors also. In either case, i.e., when the application is received by the Amildar and sent on to the Revenue Inspector or when it is received by the Revenue Inspector himself, he shall submit to the Amildar a report in Form No.1 of Appendix D within a week from the date of its receipt by him.
All applications shall be registered in the order in which they are received in a Register which should be maintained in the Taluk Office in Form No. 2 of Appendix D. All correspondence connected with the darkhast shall be noted regularly in the Register which should be always available for inspection by superior officers.
*42. It shall be the duty of every Village Accountant, if so desired by any occupant in his village or by any person about to become an occupant of land in his village, to prepare applications for land without fee or charge of any kind.
A Village Accountant who prepares such an applica¬tion shall affix his signature beneath the words "written by" on the lower left hand corner of such application.
The Village Officers shall not accept any engagements for lands or make any alteration in the village accounts without the written orders of the Amildar.
*Amended by Notification No. E. 12540-L.E. 384-19-5, dated 30th April 1920, and G.O. No. R 968-77—L.B. 619-12-2, dated 28th July 1913.
*43. (1) All lands shall be sold by public auction after observing the prescribed formalities. But it shall be in the discretion of the Deputy Commissioner in special cases to grant an occupancy at an upset price to any bona fide applicant who is an agriculturist or proposes to culti¬vate the land himself, when he is satisfied that, in the event of a public auction being held, advantage may be taken of the needs of the applicant to force up Lands so granted shall not, however, exceed five acres in extent or Rs 100 in value. If it is proposed to give lands exceeding this extent or value to any applicant for upset price, the previous permission of the Revenue Commis-sioner shall be obtained in cases where the extent does not exceed twenty acres and the market value of the land is within Rs. 500. In cases exceeding these limits, the sanction of Government shall be necessary for the grant of lands at an upset price. These concessions are not to be shown to absentees, and to people speculating in lands.
(2) The "upset price" shall not be arbitrarily fixed but shall represent the actual market value of the land, as nearly as it can be ascertained by local enquiries and by the examination of records of sales of similar lands in the neighbourhood, and if necessary, of the registration statis¬tics relating to them.
#Note. :- The limitations contained in paras (1) and (2) above as to the authority sanctioning the grant for upset nrice and the principle of determining the same do not apply to the restoration under Rule 99 (b) of occupancies resumed to Government for arrears of revenue to the original holders.
(3) The Amildar should invariably obtain the orders of his superior officers in regard to the disposal of lands irrigated or likely to be irrigated by large irrigation projects. The Department of Public Works should, as soon as possible, after any project is taken up for investi¬gation or consideration, notify to the Revenue Depart¬ment either generally or specially, the lands which will be affected by the project.
(4) In all cases of grant of occupancies whether for a price or not, asum equivalent to the cost of the boundaiy marks which have been or may have to be constructed on the land shall be invariably collected from, the grantees in accordance with instructions issued by Government from time to time. The Deputy Commissioner will, however, be allowed to waive this charge in cases of extreme poverty of the applicants.
* Amended by G. 0. No. E. 2433—L. B. 104-30-7, dated 28th November 1931.
# Added by G. O. No.B. 6449—L. B. 380-32-3, dated 2nd June 1933.
(5) Notwithstanding anything herein before stated, the Deputy Commissioner may, at his discretion, grant to applicants belonging to the depressed classes lands at half the upset value, the amount being recovered in not more than five annual instalments. Where half the upset price is below Rs. 50, the price to be recovered from the grantee may be limited to the excess, if any, of the esti¬mated value of the land over Rs.50. In cases where the upset value does not exceed Rs 50 (This value is raised to Rs 75 as per No. 4522 dated 04-01-1945) he may waive the recovery of price altogether. The lands thus given shall not be alienated for a period of twenty years and the grantee shall execute a mutchalika to that effect in the Form w prescribed by Government. This shall not, however, prevent the land being accepted as security for any loan which he may wish to obtain from Government or from a Co-operative Society for the bona fide purposes of improving the land.
(6) Grant of lands to applicants of the depressed classes may be made on the following shraya rates, as a further concession:
(7) No single applicant or family shall be ordinarily Each family given land exceeding five acres in extent or Rs. 100 in value, but where it is proposed to grant a larger extent or lands of a higher value, the sanction of the Revenue Com-missioner or Government shall be obtained as in the case of lands given for upset price under other circumstances.
N.B.~- The concessions contemplated in the Rule should be granted only to the members of the depressed classes who are regarded as Hindus.
* Note.;- Depressed classes in the above paras include Pishari community. Ordinarily
*Inserted by G.O.No. R 172- L.R. 8-31-62 dated 6th August 1932
(8) Before any land containing a large number of sandal trees is granted for cultivation, the Forest Depart¬ment shall be consulted and if there is a large number of grown up sandal trees distributed all over the survey number, such survey number shall be reserved for Govern¬ment. If there is a growth only in a portion of the survey number and the remaining portion does not contain many trees, such remaining portion may be granted for cultiva¬tion after being formed into a separate survey number, provided the extent does not fall below the minimum for the tract. In special cases, where it is possible to mark off the portion containing sandal trees and reserve it, such portion, even if below the prescribed minimum, may, with the sanction of the Deputy Commissioner, be sub¬divided and reserved to Government, the remaining portion of the survey number being alone granted for cultivation with a proportionate reduction of assessment.
(9) For the purposes of this Eule, any land which contains ten or more sandal trees of over 12 inches girth per acre shall be considered as having a large number of sandal trees and such land shall be reserved. Lands containing a smaller number of trees and those containing a sprinkling of green plants may be given out for culti¬vation.
(10) Lands containing sandal trees when granted for occupation shall always be sold by auction and the upset price to be levied shall be calculated so as to include the present value of the bonus that would be payable to the occupant in respect of such trees under the orders of Government for the time being in force in this behalf.
44. If the survey number has not already been assessed, it shall be assessed in the manner provided for in Eule 30 (a) and the assessment so fixed shall hold good, pending the period for which the current survey settle¬ment for the village in which the land is situated has been guaranteed, and shall be liable thereafter to revision at every general Survey Settlement of the said village.
45. If the permission to occupy a land happens to be granted at a time of the revenue year when it is impos¬sible to deriye any crop from the land within that year, it shall be in the discretion of the Deputy Commissioner to direct that the liability to pay assessment shall commence from the ensuing year.
46. If it shall appear that the bringing of any survey number under cultivation will be attended with large expense, or if, for other special reasons, it shall seem desirable, it shall be competent to the Deputy Commis¬sioner, with the previous sanction of Government, to give the number revenue-free or at a reduced assessment for a certain term, or revenue-free for a certain term and at a reduced assessment for a further term, and to annex such special conditions to the occupancy as the outlay or other reasons aforesaid may seem to him to warrant: provided always that, on the expiry of the term or terms so agreed upon, the land shall be liable to full assessment under the rules then in force for lands to which a Survey Settlement has been extended.
47. The occupancy of building sites shall ordinarily be sold by auction to the highest bidder whenever the Deputy Commissioner shall be of opinion that there is a demand for such sites ; but the Deputy Commissioner may, in his discretion, dispose of the occupa-ncy of such sites by private arrangement, either upon the payment of a price fixed by him, or without charge as he shall deem fit.
The value of sites shall be so fixed as to realize at least the full cost of the acquisition of the land appro¬priated for building purposes; provided, however, that the value of individual sites may be above or below the average value, regard being had to the extent, situation and other natural advantages or disadvantages of such sites. (Amended by Notification No. B. 6695—L. E. 482-11-1, dated 15th May 1912.)
48. Auctions held under the last preceding Eule shall ordinarily be conducted in the town or village in which the land of which the occupancy is to be disposed
of is situated. (Amended by Notification No. E. 10179—L. E. 395-16-6. dated 5th April 1917.)
49. Occupancies of building sites shall ordinarily be disposed of without reserving an annual ground-rent, (Amended by G. 0. No. E. 2228-37—L. B. 521-03-4, dated 8th September 1904.) provided that—
(A) When, as in the case of building sites at hill-stations, or in the malnad (for Rules, see Appendix C), Government have sanctioned special rules, such rules shall be followed.
(B) (Amended by Notification No. B. 6695—L. E. 482-11-1, dated 15th Mav 1912.) The occupancy of land in towns and other places of considerable size or of increasing importance, shall be disposed of subject to the condition that the Deputy Com¬missioner may, with the approval of Government, prescribe subsidiary rules to regulate the following matters, namely:—
(a) the-level, drainge, sanitation and ventilation of the buildings to be erected thereupon, the location of such buildings in relation to any street existing or projected, the design or materials to be employed, the dimensions or the cubical contents of the rooms;
(b) value of the sites and the manner in which it shall be paid ; and
(c) the time within which the construction of the building should be begun and completed and any other matters not specifically mentioned above.
The failure to comply with any of the conditions prescribed as aforesaid will render the building sites liable to resumption at the discretion of the Deputy Commissioner without payment of any compensation to the grantee, and the decision of the Deputy Commissioner shall be final in such matters.
*50. The land such as is described in clause (b) of the last preceding Rule, as well as all vacant land in other places, not already in the occupation of private individuals should, wherever possible, be demarcated on the ground into building sites, kanas, hulhittals, etc., numbered and mapped in such a manner that persons desirous of becom¬ing occupants may clearly know what plots are available and indiscriminate applications may be summarily rejected. The demarcation should be done under the direction of the Amildar, in consultation with the Village Improvment Committee, if any, existing in the village. The Deputy Commissioner may allot a group of sites to persons of a particular caste or community and prescribe any reason able terms or conditions to discourage the taking up of sites or their retention for mere speculation without build¬ing habitable residence thereon, or the purchase of an unnecessarily large number of sites by one and the same person.
* Amended by Notification No. B. 5854—L. R. 173-06-2. dated 10th December 1906, and G. O. No. R. 12540—L. B. 384-19-5, dated 30th April 1920.
Due provision should be made in the plans for roads and approaches and access of air and light and careful regard should be had to sanitary requirements. ; Darkhasts for building sites should be registered in the Register to be maintained in Form No. 3 of Appendix D. All correspondence should be noted regularly in the Register which should always be available for inspection by superior officers. In Rules 47, 49 (B) and 50, the 'powers of a Deputy Commissioner may be exercised by any other authority empowered by Government in that behalf.
51. Whenever a new village site is established in lieu of a former one, which it is determined for any reason to abandon, the new site shall be carefully marked out and mapped in the manner prescribed in the last preceding Rule.
When an entirely new village site is established, or an addition is made to an existing site, the same provi¬sions shall be observed for demarcating such new or additional site, but the disposal of the lots therein will be made under the rules ordinarily applicable to the disposal of building sites.
52. The occupancy of land near a Railway Station and within half a mile thereof or such other distance from it as may from time to time be fixed by Government, may be given out for agricultural purposes at the discretion of Deputy Commissioners, subject to the condition that the land shall be liable to resumption without payment of compensation when it is required for public purposes ; but such land shall only be given out for building purposes with the previous sanction of Government and subject to their orders in each case. (Inserted by Notification No. R, 5854—L; R, 173-06-2 dated 10th December 1906.)
53. The occupancy of land to which one of the fore¬going Rules is applicable, and concerning which no speciarl orders have been passed by Government, shall be disposed of in such manner, for such period, and subject to such special conditions, if any, as the Deputy Commissioner, subject to the control of Government, shall deem fit.
54. Whenever an occupancy is sold by public auc¬tion, an upset price shall, if the Deputy Commissioner thinks fit, be placed thereon in order to guard the revenue against loss and to prevent applications being made for such occupancies when they are not really wanted.
Every endeavour shall be made to see that the sale is widely advertised and conducted with due publicity. When once a sale is duly held and confirmed, it should not be set aside except on the ground of fraud or serious irregularity or want of due publicity in the first sale, merely because a higher value is subsequently offered for the land.( Notification No. B. 106—L. B. 2S25-22, dated the 5th October 1927.)
55. Whenever the occupancy of land is granted on special terms, whether as to the amount of assessment or as to the conditions of the tenure, a written lease shall be executed by the Deputy Commissioner clearly setting forth the terms of the grant.
Every such lease shall be in a form sanctioned by Government, and, if no suitable form has been already so sanctioned, reference shall be made and a sanctioned form obtained before the lease is executed.
A duplicate shall be kept of every lease executed under this Rule.
56. The permission in writing to be given by an Amildar or a Deputy Amildar under Section 58 of the Land Eevenue Code to enable an intending occupant to enter upon occupation shall be in the form of Appendix E.
CHAPTER VIII.
LIMIT OF FINES TO BE LEVIED UNDER SECTION 59.
[Sections 59 and 233 (1)]
57. The limit of fine to be levied under Section 59 of the Land Revenue Code when land is unauthorizedly occupied and appropriated to any non-agricultural purpose, occupation of shall be double the amount of the fine that would be leviable under Section 64 of the Land Revenue Code, if the same land being in the lawful occupation of the tres¬passer had been appropriated by him to the same purpose without the permission of the Deputy Commissioner.
CHAPTEE XII.
RELINQUISHMENT OP OCCUPANCIES.
[Section 71 and 233 (n)]
*64. The written notice of absolute relinquishment of an occupancy, required by Section 71 of the Land Revenue Code to be given to the Amildar or Deputy Amildar, shall be in the form of Appendix F, and shall be given before the 31st of March in the current revenue year. Such relinquishment shall have effect from the 1st April in such year, provided that Vaisakhi crops, if any, on lands thus relinquished, may be removed by the owner before the close of such year. In the year of Survey Settlement, however, whether original or revision, such relinquishments may be received up to the end of June of the year of such settlement. (* Amended by G. O No. B. 8156-65—L, R. 349-15-7, dated 5th February 1917.)
65. The written notice of relinquishment of an occupancy by the registered occupant in favour of one or more persons and the agreement to be entered into by such persons, or the principal of such persons, shall be in the form of Appendix Q (G, O. No. R. 2910—L. R- 409-10-4, dated 25th November 1912.)
66. Except as provided in the next following Eule, every notice and every agreement given under the last two Eules shall be endorsed by any two respectable witnesses to the effect prescribed below each of the said Forms, and the Amildar or Deputy Amildar who receives any such notice or agreement, will be held responsible for exercising due care in ascertaining the identity of the person who has signed the same notwithstanding that such notice or agreement has been duly endorsed as hereinbefore required.
67. If the land has been transferred to the person in whose favour the relinquishment is made by a regis¬tered deed of conveyance or any other kind of instrument transferring the occupancy of the land, both the notice and agreement above referred to may be executed before the Registrar or Sub-Eegistrar registering the documents, who shall attest and then forward the same to the Amildar or Deputy Amildar in order that they may be given effect to at once so far as the particulars of holding are found to be correct. In such a case, they need not be endorsed by any other witness.
68. All notices and all agreements received under Rule 64 or Rule 65 shall be kept In separate files in the records of the Amildar or Deputy Amildar.
69. It shall be the duty of every Village Accountant, if so desired by any occupant in his village or by any occupant in his or by any person in whose favour land is about to be relinquished by any occupant in his village, to prepare any notice or any agreement that may be necessary under Rule 64 or Rule 65 without fee or charge of any kind.
A Village Accountant who prepares any such notice or agreements shall affix his signature beneath the words " written by " on the lower left-hand corner thereof.
*70. (1) When a person has been in possession of an occupancy as reputed owner for 12 years or upwards with or without a document and paid revenue therefor during that period, or where a person is in possession of an occupancy as owner under a deed duly executed and registered, he may make an application to the Amildar for the registry of his name in lieu of that of the registered occupant.
(2) When during Jamabandi or at any other time it comes to the notice of the Amildar in any manner that a registered occupant has no actual interest or is believed to have no actual interest in an occupancy or in a survey number or a recognised share of a survey number included in such occupancy, he may, of his own motion, hold an enquiry into the matter.
(3) On receipt of an application under (1) above or when he proceeds suo moto as in (2), the Amildar shall cause a notice to be served on the registered occupant and also published in the village and in such other manner as he may deem proper, and after three months from the date of service and publication of the notice, hold a summary enquiry and either order or refuse to order the transfer of registry. An appeal shall lie against this order to the Assistant Commissioner in charge of the Sub-Division and a second appeal to the Deputy Commis¬sioner whose decision shall be final, but shall be without prejudice to the party aggrieved seeking such redress as may be open to him by law in a Civil Court. (* G. O. No. E. 197-213— D. R. 92-26-8, dated 9th July 1927.)
