West Bengal Government Land (Regulation of Transfer) Act, 1993
No: 27 Dated: Mar, 04 1997
THE WEST BENGAL GOVERNMENT LAND (REGULATION OF TRANSFER) ACT, 1993
West Bengal Act XXVII of 1993
An Act to provide for the regulation of transfer of Government land and for certain incidental matters.
Whereas it is expedient to provide for the regulation of transfer of Government land leased to persons of different categories of income and different cross-section of people with a view to preventing illegal transfer of such Government land and possession thereof for speculative purposes and ensuring the use of such Government land by persons, eligible for allotment of such Government land, for whom, and for the purpose for which, such Government land is intended and for certain incidental matters;
It is hereby enacted as follows:-
CHAPTER I
Preliminary
1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the West Bengal Government Land (Regulation of Transfer) Act, 1993.
(2) It extends to the whole of West Bengal.
(3) It shall come into force at once.
2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, -
(a) "appellate authority" means any authority, not below the rank of District Judge, appointed by the Government in respect of any Government estate or class of Government estates by notification for the purposes of this Act, and includes different such authorities for different Government estates or different classes of Government estates;
(b) "competent authority" means any officer, not below the rank of Deputy Magistrate, appointed by the State Government by notification to perform the functions of the competent authority under this Act in respect of such Government estate or Government estates or class of Government estates or classes of Government estates as may be specified in the notification;
(c) "family" has the same meaning as in clause (2) of the Explanation to clause (1) of sub-section (1) of section 13 of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956;
(d) "Government estate", in relation to any local area, means an area planned or developed by the State Government or any Government undertaking for residential or commercial purpose or for such other purpose as the State Government or the Government undertaking, as the case may be, may determine;
(e) "Government land" means any land comprised in a Government estate;
(f) "Government undertaking" means a body corporate constituted by or under a State Act and owned or controlled or managed by the State Government, and includes any company, as defined in section 3 of the Companies Act, 1956, which in under the management of, or in which not less than fifty-one per cent of the paid up share capital is held by the State Government;
(g) "land" includes buildings and other things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth.
Explanation. - "Building" shall include a building under construction;
(h) "lease" has the same meaning as in the Transfer of Property Act, 1882;
(i) "lessee" includes an individual, a family, a firm, a company, or an association or body of individuals, whether incorporated or not;
(j) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette;
(k) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(l) "relation" means, -
(A) in the case of an individual or family, -
(a) any of the two persons who are said to be related to each other so as one is the father, mother, brother or sister of the other, or
(b) any of the two persons who are said to be related to each other by marriage, such as husband and wife,
but does not include -
(i) any of the two persons who are said to be related to each other by half blood when they are descended from a common ancestor but by different wives, or
(ii) any of the two persons who are said to be related to each other by uterine blood when they are descended from a common ancestress but by different husbands, or
(iii) any of the two persons who are said to be related to each other so as one is the stepfather or stepmother of the other;
(B) in the case of a firm, company or association or body of individuals, whether incorporated or not, any other body corporate under any law for the time being in force or registered or established under any law for the time being in force and compatible with such firm, company or association or body of individuals.
Explanation. - In this clause, "ancestor" includes the father and "ancestress" the mother;
(m) "transfer of Government land" includes the transfer of any right, title, interest or possession in such land, either in whole or in part, and also includes the transfer to a tenant or licensee of the right of enjoyment of such land or the transfer of management of such land by an instrument creating a power-of-attorney within the meaning of the Powers-of-Attorney Act, 1882, or by any other instrument having effect by virtue of any law other than this Act.
Explanation. - "Tenant" shall have the same meaning as in the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956.
CHAPTER II
Bar to application of certain enactments
3. Certain enactments not to apply to transfer of Government land. - Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or in any other law for the time being in force or in any instrument having effect by virtue of any law other than this Act, or in any decree or order of any court, tribunal or other authority, nothing contained in theTransfer of Property Act, 1882, or the Indian Contract Act, 1872, or the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956, shall apply, or shall be deemed ever to have applied, to any transfer of Government land to a lessee, either by lease or by any other instrument, by or on behalf of the State Government, and such transfer of Government land shall take effect, and shall be deemed always to have taken effect, as if theTransfer of Property Act, 1882, or the Indian Contract Act, 1872, or the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956, has not been passed.
4. Bar to registration of document. - Notwithstanding anything contained in the Registration Act, 1908, no registering officer shall register any document relating to the transfer of Government land, held by any lessee on lease, in favour of any person, not being the State Government or a Government undertaking, except with the permission granted by the competent authority in writing in this behalf.
5. Permission by competent authority to be valid notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Act or in any other law. - Any restriction, condition or limitation contained in the permission as aforesaid shall be valid and shall take effect according to its tenor and intent, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act or in any other law for the time being in force or in any instrument having effect by virtue of any law other than this Act, or in any decree or order of any court, tribunal or other authority.
CHAPTER III
Transfer or sale of Government land
6. Bar to transfer of Government land. - (1) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, no transfer of Government land held on lease by any lessee shall be made in favour of any person, not being the State Government or a Government undertaking.
(2) Any transfer of Government land made by any lessee shall be subject to the provisions of this Act.
7. Transfer of Government land to relation. - (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, lessee may, for the purpose of transfer of Government land held by him on lease to his relation, make an application to the competent authority in such manner as may be prescribed.
(2) The competent authority shall, on receipt of the application under sub-section (1), cause such enquiry as it thinks fit and shall, after being satisfied that the transfer of such Government land is intended to be made by the lessee in favour of his relation eligible for allotment of such Government land under any scheme of allotment by the State Government of such Government land for the time being in force, grant permission for such transfer on such condition and in such from as may be prescribed.