Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act, 1996 (1939 A.D.)
No: 12 Dated: Aug, 29 1996
THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR LAND REVENUE ACT, 1996 (1939 A.D.)
Act No. XII of Samvat 1996
An Act to amend, consolidate and re-enact the Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Regulation No.1 of 1980.
CHAPTER 1
Preliminary
1. Title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act, 1996.
(2) It extends to the whole of Jammu and Kashmir state.
(3) It shall come into force on the publication in the Government Gazette in the prescribed manner.
2. Repeal. - From the date when this Act comes into force, (a) the Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Regulation, 1980 shall be repealed, and (b) all rules and orders previously issued regarding matters dealt within this Act so far as they may be repugnant to it, shall be considered to be repealed :
Provided that all rules, appointments, assessments and transfers made, notifications and proclamations issued, authorities and powers conferred, forms and leases granted, records - of rights and other records framed, revised or confirmed, rights acquired, liabilities incurred, times and places appointed and other things done under any of such rules and orders, shall so far as may be, deemed to have been respectively made, issued, conferred, granted, framed, revised, confirmed, acquired, incurred, appointed and done under this Act.
3. Definitions. - In this Act, unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context,-
(1) "estate" means any area -
(a) for which a separate record-of-rights have been made;
(b) which has been separately assessed to land revenue or would have been so assessed if the land revenue had not been assessed, released or compounded for or redeemed; or
(c) which the Government may, by general rule or by special order, declare to be an estate;
(2) "land" means land which is occupied or has been let for agricultural purposes or for the purposes subservient to agriculture or for pasture and includes the sites of buildings and other structures situated in such land and trees standing on such land, as well as areas covered by or fields floating over water, and sites of jandars and gharats but does not include the sites of any building in a town or village or any land appurtenant to such building or sites;
(3) "land holders" does not include a tenant or assignee of land revenue, but does not include land-owner, chakdar and a person to whom a holding has been transferred or an estate or holding has been let in farm under this Act for the recovery of an arrear of land revenue, or of a sum recoverable as such arrear, and every other person not herein before in this clause mentioned who is in possession of an estate or any share or portion there of, or in the enjoyment of any part of the profits of an estate;
(4) "holding" means a share or portion of an estate hold by one land holder or jointly by two or more land holders;
(5) "rent", "tenant", "landlord" and 'tenancy" have the meanings respectively assigned to those words in the Jammu and Kashmir Tenancy Act, 1980;
(6) "land revenue" includes assigned land revenue and any sum payable respect of land by way of quit rent or of commutation for service to the Government or to a person to whom the Government has assigned the right to receive the payment;
(7) "appear of land revenue" means land revenue which remains unpaid after the date on which it becomes payable;
(8) "defaulter" means a person liable for an arrear of land revenue, and includes a person who is responsible as surety for the payment of the arrear;
(9) "rates and Cesses" means rates and cesses which are primarily payable at land holders and includes -
(a) any annual rate chargeable on holders of lands under section 56 of the Jammu and Kashmir State Canal and Drainage Act,1963;
(b) the Village Officer's Cesses;
(c) the education and road cesses;
(d) sums payable on account of village expenses ; and
(e) sanitation cess;
(10) "Village Cess" includes any cess, contribution or due which is customarily livable within an estate and is neither a payment for the use of private property or personal service, nor imposed by or under any enactment for the time being in force;
(11) "Village Officer" means and includes a lambardar;
(12) "Revenue Officer" in any provision of this Act means a revenue officer having authority under this Act, to discharge the functions of a revenue officer under that provision;
(13) "Muafidar" includes any person, other than a village servant, to whom the land revenue of any land has been assigned in whole or in part by the Government;
(14) "Agricultural Year" means as regards the state except the area of Ladakh and Gilgit, the year commencing on the 15th of August, and as regards the Districts of Ladakh and Gilgit the year commencing on 15th of April;
(15) "Notification" means a notification published in the official Gazette by authority of a Government;
(16) "incumbrance" means a charge upon or claim against land arising out of a private grant or contract;
(17) "survey-marks" includes boundary marks;
(18) "date of a Regular Settlement" means as regard any state, the date on which the records of the right of the estate, prepared at such settlement was finally attested.
4. Exclusion of Certain land from operation of the Act. - (1) Except so far as may be necessary for the records, recovery and administration of village Cesses, nothing in this Act applies to land which is occupied as the site of the town or village and is not assessed to land revenue.
(2) An assistant Collector of the first class may define for the purposes of this Act, the limits of any such land.
5. Power to vary limits and alter number of Tehsils, Districts and Provinces. - The Government may, by notification, vary the limits of the Tehsil, Districts and Province into which the territories administrated by it are divided, and may, by notification, alter the number of those Tehsils, Districts and Provinces.