416.    Immedilate transfer of ownership on payment of compensation. The landowner or any of the landowners of an estate in which has been included land whose transfer qua propritary right has been suspended by order of the collector, may apply to him cancel his order and award compensation for the loss of their rights to the existing landowners it is within the collector’s discretion to accept or reject such an application.(section 101-c of the punjab land revenue act, 1887)

 

417.    Exclusion of jurisdiction of civil courts. By an addition to section 158 of the land revenue act questions connected with proceedings for the determination of boundaries under punjab act 1 of 1899 are excluded from the jurisdiction of civil courts(section 158(xviii)(a) of the punjab land revenue act, 1887)

 

418.    Procedure. The boundry in each case is laid down by the collector. in practice, the work has been done by settlement officers or special officers invested with the powers of a collector and working under the orders of the financial commissioner. No boundry line is deemed to have been  permantly fixed till it has been approved by the financial commissioner.

419.    Amendment of regulation XI of 1825. Additions made to sections 2 and 3 of regulation xi of 1825 make thaat enactment of no effevt afrer a fixed boundary has been laid down.

 

420.    Cancelled.

 

421.    Jursidiction boundaries. In theory, there is no necessary connection between the boundaries of privare property and those of jurisdiction. In the case of the  latter, three kinds of riverain boundaries may be  distinguished-

 

(a) between districts in the same  administration.

(b) between two administration.

(c) between british administrations and indian States.

 

422.    Official opinion formely favoured deep-streakm fule pure and simple. The recognition of the iniquyity of the deep  stream fule pure and simple as applied to the  ownership of land was quite compatible with the emphatic assertion kthat it ought to be enforced  as between district and district,and between and kthe punjab and indian States. The reason urged was that the boundaty of jurisdiction must be one kljthat could be quickly determine and easily recognized,conditions that were only satisfied by adopting as the line of demarcation the main channel for the time being.

 

423.    Deep-stream declared to kne the jurisdiction boundary along Sutlej in 1869.a notification published in 1869 declared the deep-stream of the sutlej to be the boundary between adjoining districts along its whole course. No similar notification has been issued as regards any of the other rivers in the punjab.the tendency in most places probably was to apply the same rule to the detemination of ownership and jurisdiction.

 

424.    Assimilation of boundaries of ownership and jurisdiction- The view that the deep-stream rule pure and simple was the only suitable one for the determination of district boundaries gained force from the difficulties and delays besetting the dicision of boundaries disputes between the landowners of riverain estates situated in the defferent districts. But it overlookd the inconvenience landowners were bound suffer from having to pay part of ther revenue in one district and part in anothr, and from being at the beck and the call of two sets of judicial, revenue and police official. The punjab government, therefore in 1889 accepted a proposal made by colonel wace to declare by notification that the boundaris of dirticts separated by rivers followed the boundaris of ownership in the boundary villages the deepstream being adopted where that was the peactice followed for frgulating  proprietary rights, and the rule of fixed boundaries being observed where the estates  on opposite banks defined their rights of ownership thereby. To the notification relating to the different rivers, schedules were annexed giving the names of the boundry estates on their right and left banks. When such a notification has been published, action taken under Punjab Act 1 of 1899 to lay down fixed boundares for riverain estates also establishes permanent boundaries between the diatricts in which thay are situated.

 

425.    Boundary between Punjab and united provinces. The boundaty along the course of the jumma between the Punjab and the untied provinces is regulated by the deep-steam rule pure and simple in the panipat and Karnal tahsils of the Karnal district. But the boundary of jthe thanesar tahsil of Karnal, the jagadhri tahsil lkof Ambala and the Gurgaon district are fixed.

 

156 REVENUE LAW AND REASSESSMENT OF LANDS AFFECTED BY

 

426.    Boundary of Punjab and Kashmir.  The boundary on the rivers Ravi and jhalum between the punjab and the Kashmir State is a fixed one.

 

427.    Advantages and defects of deep-stream rule pure and simple. But eisewhere the reasons whch were held to require the adpotion of  the deep-stream rule pure and simple for the demaration of district boundaries applied with double force to the boundaries of the province and indian states. Assuming that the plan of fixed boundaries was impracticable, it was the only rule which made it pessible to settle the boundaries in whch indian States are cincered without endless trouble and interminable delays. But, on the other hand, the hardships to  which landowners were sunjected by a divergence between tne rules governing the limits of jurisdiction and private ownership were much increased whin the land was transferred,not from one British district to another, but from the punjab to an indian State.

428.    Deep-stream rule in extreme form given up. At frist the deep-stream rule in its extreme from prevailed. In accordance with it,eight astates were transferred in 1857 from the ferozepore  district to the Kapurthala State. But lord canning refursed to accpet Sir,john Lawrence’s suggestion that the rule adopted in that particular case should be accepted as a general one. In 1860 the Governor-Genral in council,in dealing with a case which concerned Bahawalpur,rejected a proposal to apply the deep-stream rule pure and simple,and declared that “it was incorrect to assume that as between Sovereigns the only safe rule of pracitice is that the main river should be the boundary, irrespective of all other considerations. The rule is such only in cases of alluvion and not in those of avlusion……. When a boundary rivers to sundally quits its and bed and cuts for itself a new channel,it ritory cut off by the change  in the river continues to rule it.”  This decision was approved by her Majesty’s Secretary of stete,and was declared to govern all cases which had occurred after the date,August 1860, at which it was given.

 

429.    Fixed boundaries adopted in cases of Kapurthala and Bahasalpure. The boundaries of indian States cannot be  legally affected by punjab Act1 of 1899. But since ot was passed, a fixed boundary has been laid down by content between British orttitory and Kapurthala along the course of the Beas and the

Sutlej and  a similer line has been demerited  between the punjab and Bahawalpur along the Sutlej and rhe indus. Thus a content  source of trouble has been removed.

 

430.    Special revision of assessment in riverain villages. The action of the seven great rovers of the punjab and of the numerous torrents which issue from the hills renders the assets of the estates on their banks very unstable. It is therefore imperative that some means should exist by which the land revenue demand of such villages can be revised form time to rime. It was ultimately found that in some large tracts the changes caused by the rivers were so frequent and so extreme that nothing would serve but the  abandonment of a fixed assessment altogether in favour of a fluctuating one which involved the reassessment of the whole demand harvest by harvest. But elsewhere it has been prossible to tetain the fixed demand providing for its annual revision as regards those parts only of villages which have been lost system prevailed throughout  the province ofr many years after annexation, and it is still in force in a large part of it.

431.    Cancelled.

432.    Cancelled.

433.    Cancelled.

 

434.    Existing order. The following orders have been issued for general guidance in conformity with section 59 of the land revenue act:-

               

 “(1) where land of an astate paying  land  revenue is injured of improved by the action of water or sand, the land revenue due on the astate under the current assessment shall be reduced of increased in conformity with the instructions issued from time to time in this behalf  by the Financial commissioner.and in every such caes the distribution fo the land revenue over the holding over the holdinb of the astate shall be revised so as to similarly reduce of increase the sum payable in respect of the halding in which the land that has been injured of improved os situated.

                              

435.    Supersession of general by special local rules. The defects in the old assessment rules are pointed out in the 455th paragraph of the settlement Manual. These defects have led to their supersession in many districts by special rules drawn up by settlement officers to suit the circumstances of each locality. The main fearuers of these new  rules are described in the paragraph of the settlement Manual cited above. In the 26th of the standing orders issued in 1910, general rules under section 59(c) of act xvii of 1887 have been issued as instructions if the financial commissioner to be followed where no special rules have been sanctioned.

 

436.    Close supervision of alluvial assissments required. The special local rules not only prescribe rates of assessment, but also explain the procedure to be followed in bringing to record the loss and gain due to river action. But, however perfect the system on paper, its working in practice  must always remain a delicate matter,in which the work of the tahsildar and has subordinates must be clisely supervised by the superior revenue staff of the district.

 

437.    General instructions. The measurements in which these yearly revision of assessment must  be based occupy a good deal of time, and must be started in rivetain circles as soon as the patwari has finkshed the kharif crop inspection, written up the mutations which have come to light in the  course of it and perpared the annual bachh papers. Every village in which any change of assessment is required must be inspected by the Deputy commissioner or by one of has assistant or Extra assistant commissioners. Of course the bulk of this work falls to the revenue assistant,but,where it is heavy,part of it sould be made over tosome other mimber of the crop inspection, written up the mitations which have come to light in the course of it and prepared the annual bachh papers. Every village in which any change of assessment is required must ne inspected by the deputy commissioners of by one of his assistant or Extra assistant commissioners. Or course the bulk of this work falls to the revenue assistant, but where it is heavy part of it should be made over to some  other member of the headquarters staff the final order as to each astate must be passed by an assistant collector of the 1st grede and officers of higher class.

 

438.    Annual returns. An abstract statement of the changes due to alluvion and diluvion is sent to the commissioner in the middle of April. A divisional abstract compiled from these district returns is submitted to the financial commissioner. The orders passed on it are the authority for making the necessary changes in the land-revenue roll.

 

CHAPTER XIII

PARTITIONS

 

439.    Cmmon land of village communities. It is an essential frature of the village community, at leasr in its original form, that the proprietary body should possess part of their loands in common. The village sites, the grazing lands over which the cattle wamdered and sometimes the wells from which the people drew their drinking water were held in joint ownership. Often each sub-division (taraf, patti, or paa) of the astate had also its own common land in addition to its share in the common land or shamilat of the whole community. This veature of communal village proprety was reproduced by our revenue offivers in those parts of the province in which the village systen was forcibly engrafted on a tenure of a very different chacter.

 

440.    Other joint holdings. But, besides the large joint holdings in which all the landowners in an estate or a sub-division of an estate have an interest. It constantly happens that maby of the other holdings are jointly owned by several sharehokders. According to indian ideas,land in north-western india, at least wherever real village communities exist, belongs rather to the family than to the individual. What may be called family bhalding were very common when our first records of rights were framed, the tendency of our legal and revenue system has been to substitute individual for communal holding. But holdings of the latter type are still numerous. And holding owned by individuals are constantly reverting to the cindition of joint holdings under the law of inheritance,which gives to each son,or,falling sins, to each male collateral in the name degree of relationship,an equal share in the land of a deceased proprietor. A joint holding is also created whenever a landowner sells or mortgages with possession a share of his holding,itstead of partocular fields included in it.

 

441.    Tendency to divide joint holdings. The increase of population and of the profits derived from agriculture leads in time to large portions of the common waste of the vo;;age pf patti being broken up by individual shareholders, with the result that in the end a demand arises for its partition. Family quarrels and the restraints and inconveniences  which spring frim common ownership conctantly make those who are interested in other joint holding enxious ot divide the land.

 

442.    Vesh. The custom of vesh,or the periodical redistrinution of village or tribal lands, which is an intersting feature of promiktive land owning renures both in the East and wist, is now nearly extinct in the punjab. But the land Revenue act provides for its enforciment shere the custom still prevails.

 

443.    Private partitions. Private partitions are frequently made, but there is always a risk that sime shareholders will become dissatisfied and allege that the division was only one for convenience of cultivation,and was not intended to be of a prrmanent character. Landowners therefore,especially when the area keld in common is largeand the share holders numetous, usually apply to the revenue  authorities tomake the  pertition for them. A private partition may also by affirmed after due enquiry by as Assistant Collector of the 1st grede on the application of any of the persons interested init. Although no formal application has been lodged, the patwari is bound to record voluntary partitioins for orders in the mutation register as soon as they have been acted on. In passing orders on such cases,care must be taken  not bo treat as partitions of proprietary right  arrangements which the parties did not intend to ne permanent. Shareholders may be comtent for years to have in their cultivating possession less than their forr shere of a common holding  without intening  to give up any part  of their right of ownership. Of any of  them objects to the record of kthe alleged partition and the attestiong officer considers the objection valid, he should  refuse mutation of names and refer the party seeking it to proceedings under section123 of the land Revenue act. But if  he finds that the objection is vexatious or frivolous, and that fair private partition has actually been carried out he should record the objection and his proposed lorder disallowing it, and other assistant collector of the 1st grade authorized by the deputy commissioner  to deal with these cases.

 

Commentry

            No report made to patwari and no proceedings taken under the act for finalisatio of partirtion cannot be recognised.

 

444.    Complete and incomplete partitions. Partirions are of two kinds:complete and incomplete. Where a complete partition is made, there is a total severance if rights liabilities. They have always been looked on with much disfavour in the punjab, where they cannot be carriled out without the express consent of the financial commissioner( section 110(1)-cf. Paragraph 1 of  finan cial commissioner’s book circular no xlviii ov 1860 and paragraphs 1 and 2 of chapter  xiii of rules under act xxxiii of 1871). In complete partitionas do not affect the foint liability of the shareholders for the revenue of the divided holdings and still less do they operate to create new estates. The  former fact is not of much practical importance. The officer who makes the partitions is requied to distribute the revenue of the divided land over the new holding which have been created. If in the case of a complete partition a fraudulent or erroneour distrinution takes place, the local Government may, at any time within twelve years after the discovery of the mistake,order a fresh distribution. For this purpose the best estimate passible must be made of the assets of each astate at the time of its formation.

 

445.    Property which must, and property which may be excluded from partition. The village site unless in the very rate  case of its being assessed to land revenue cannot be partitioned by proceedings under the land revenue act. Even if it is assessed the assistant  collector  may refuse padrtition and this  discrtetionary  power  may properly be held to extend to the uncultivated land round a village  which  os lused as standing  ground for cattle or occupied by enclosures for fodder and manure. Place  of worship and burial ground cannot be partitioned unless the parties record and file an agreement assenting to their division. Any embankment  water-course,well or tand and the land by the drainage of which a tank is filled  and any grazing land may be exclided from partition. In arid tracts where the people depend on tanks for their own drinking water and for the watering  of their cattle it may be a matter of importance to keep the waste atea  which feeds a tank free from dultivation though the land hunger is now so great tha that maby of the owners  may clamour to have it divided. If any of thejoint owners afterwards encroadches on the reserved land he may be ejected from  it on the application of any other co-shares. It deciding whther to use the discretion given by section 112 (2) of the act, one must think not only of the wishes and interests of the land owners, but also of the likelihood of the partition causing inconvenience to other residentants of the village, as of example, the menials who have been accustomed to use the common property. When any of it is excluded from partition, the assistant collecter may determine the extent and manner to and in which the co-shares and  other persons interested therein may make use thereof, and the proporation in which expenditure incurred thereon, and profits derived therefrom, respectively, are to be borne by, and divided among those or any of them.(section 119)

 

446.    Holdings of occupancy tenants. A discretion is also left to revenue officers as regards holdings of occupancy tenants. if tenants who have a joint right of occupancy in a holding wish to partiton, it any objection that the landlord may urge must be carefully considered, and, it is a reasonable one, partition may be absoulately,disallowed(section 112(4) ) even when such a tenancy is divied, the former co-shares do not except with the express consent of the landlord, cease to be jointly liable for the rent of the original holding(section 110(2) ) again an occupancy tenant may well be unwilling to see his holding spilt up among three or four ;andlords, to each of whom he must pay a sepreate rent. The law therefore provides that such a severance of tenancy may be sufficien treason for disallowing a cliam on the part of landowners for partition, so far as ot wpould affect the holding of the tenant, unless the latter gives his assent to the proposlas.

447.    Who may apply for aprition - Any joint owner andy any joint tenant who has a right of occupancy in his holding nay apply for partition if-

(a)    his share entered in the last jamabandi, or

(b)   his right to a share has been established by decree or court, or

(c)    his title has been admitted  in writing by all persons interested in the admission or denial therof.(section iii see also financila commissioner’s standinmg order no. 27)

the mere fact that a man is a landowner as defilned in section 3(2) of the land revenue act does not entitle him to apply unless he fulfills one or other of the above three conditions(the circumstances under which a mortage in possession can claim partition of a jointholding are dilscused in revenue judgement no. 4 of 1903.)

 

the mere fact thea a man is a landowner as defined in section 3(2) of the land revenue act does not entitle him to apply unless he fulfills on eor other of the above three conditions.

 

448.    Conduct of perrtition cases. Pertition casers are decided by revenue officers of a class not below that of assistant collector of the Ist grade and usually by the Revenue Assistant. No officer who is not homswlf empowered to settle the case should  receive an application for partition. A qualified officer to whom an application has been presented can either cinduct the whole enquiry himself, or refer it for report  to as Assistant Collector of the 2nd grade that ia as a rule to a tahsildar or naib-tahsidar. The latter course os generally the best to follos. But the officer before  whom the case has been instituted isw responsibkle for itsd proper conduct throughout, and should exercise close supervision over the proceedings of the official to whom je jhas referred it for onvestigation. An assistant  collector,who in a disputed pertition case is content to pass prders on reports received  from the tahsildar wothout ever having the parties before himself,and without, if need be inspecting the land to be divided, certainly fails in his duty

 

449.    Common defects in partition cases. No branch of revenue work used in former days to be worsen dine than pertition cases. Scandalous delays  were allowed to occur. No proper care was taken to lay down clearly the mode of partiton or to define accurately the limits of the land assigned to each share holder, or to point these out on the spot to the parties interested. Years after an elabolrate partition has been made on paper it was notin frequently found that the existing facts of possession in no way agreed with the allotmendts shown in the file. Matters have improved of late years but much watch fulness on the part of assistant and the deputy commissioner is required to prevent undue delays, and to secure that partitions are fairly carried out and given effect to fully and promptly. The points o which it is most essential to insist are that the cases are dealt with by the investigation officer as far as possible in or near the village where the land is sirtuted, (see paragraph 247 of this manual) that the proposed mode of partition is clearly explained by him and that the orders passed by the revenue assistant ar district and enter into sufficient detail to enable the actual division to be carried out without any opportunity arising for further duspute. In cases in which many shareholders are concrened, the first hearing should invariably be in or near the village where the land is situated. A visit to the village is equally necessary after the partition papers have been prepared and objections to the partition are to be heard. All the shares in the common land of a large village cannot be expeccted to attent at the tahsil on the same day, nor can objections against the partition be decided without seeing the plots alloted to each shareholders.

 

450.    How delay may be prevented. The failure to ascertain fro the first what is the actual contention of those who appose the partition is a fruitful cause of delays and wrong decisions. An officer who begins by carefully amining the parties on the spot is not likely to fall into this mistake. That complicated cases should remain pending for a considerable time is of course inevitable. The best way to check any tenency to procrastination is for the deputy commissioner, from time to time, to examine a few of the pending files in each tahsil.

 

451.    Care required to make equitable division. Officers are too ready to pass orders of a general character, for example, “that division shall be made having regard to the character of the land” if land descrived by the same name in the jamabandi really differs much  in value, a durther classification is a necessary preliminary to a  first division, and it should be made before the mode of partition is determined. On the other hand, it is not always equitable to give each man his exact share of each brought part of it under irrigation by sinking a well or digging an irrigation channel, or may have raised its value by embanking it. He ought,as far as possible, to be allowed to retain the land, whose present value is due to his enterprise. A suitable arangement often is to allot to him the land he has improved giving to his co-shares a larger area of unimproved land. In this connection efforts should be made to persuade co-shares to abstain from insisting on an exact application of the rule of equal proportions where this would result in the formation of an excessive number of small scattred plots or fields. It should be pointed out that such a division of a holding has many disadvantages from the point of view of agricultural efficiency. It entails waste of the cultivator’s time and labour and adds to the work of  his bullocks by multiplying journeys to and from his land. It causes waste of water, and even waterlogging, by involving the use of unnecessarily long, tortuous or wells, drainage, leveling and other agricultural improvements more difficult, while small fields nay often be an obstacle to the emploment of improved agricultural implements and machinery. Should the parties neverthless desire the application of the rule of equal propertions of each class of land, the revenue officer has discretion, under section 118 of the land revenue act, to refuse compliance if he thinks that the circumstances of the case render that rule inappropriate and he may instead authorize duly specified deviations from it.

 

452.    General discretion to refuse partition. Certain special cases in which a revenue officer has a discretionary power to refuse partition have been referred to above. But, in addition, a general discetion to reject applications is given by section 115 of the act, which provides that “after exemining such of the co-shares and other persons as may be present……….. the revenue officer may, if he is of opinion that there is good and sufficient cause why partition should be absolutely disallowed, refuse the  application recording the grounds of his refual.” This discreation should not be exercised in an arbitrary way. Ordinaralily the ground for refual should be on eof those alreay mentioned on the 453rd and 454th paragraphs. But the assistant colleccter is not debarred from rejecting an application on other grounds if a sufficient case is made out by the opponents of partition. If, for example, he finds that many of the new holdings which would be created by the partition of the common land of a village would be so minuute as to be useless to the right-holders to whom they would be allotted, he may reasonably refuse to sanction a holding by  holding partition, and wither reject the application entirely or order a pattiwar partition, each patti being given seprate possession of its share in the common land of the estate.

453.    Claims by widows. The claims of widows for partition are often strongly opposed by the other co-shares. Among agricultural tribes in the punjab a widow who has no son inherits,as a rule, a life interest in her deceased husband’s land. Her right is indisputable, but it is one that ils viewed with great jealousy by ultimate heirs. Where her property consists of a share in a joint holding, they are very laoth to allow her seprate possession from a fear, often well founded, that she will manage it badly, and probably in the end attenate t. at the same time, so long as the holding is undivided, the widow often finds it diffcult to obtain her fair share of the produce. If the records of tribal custom prepared at settlement are examined, it will generally, through not invariably, be found that the widow’s right to claim partition is admitted, and it is clear that under the provision of the land revenue act she is entitiled to apply for it. But, if satifactory arrangements can be made to secure for her, due enjoyment of her life interest without partition, it should be disallowed.

 

454.    Questions of title. The officer to whom an application has been sent for report sometimes finds himself confronted at the outset by an objection witch disputes the title of the applicant to ask for partition. Fox example, the responant may deny the correctness of the report of rights, or he may admit its correctness, but assert that the applicant is not in possession of his share, and is therefore not entitled to claim partition at all, oor is not entitled to do so till he has had a settlement of account woth the responent. In such cases all that the tahsildar can do is to record clearly what the points in issue are, and return the case to the officer who is empowered to dispose of it. After hearing the parties,has asked for partition procedding will give him an advantage over the opposite party, has asked for partition in order to envade direct resort to the civil court regarding a question of title which he knows to be disputed. In that case he should file the proceedings, with leave to either party to apply to have htem reopned on showing that the point at issue has been a decided by a competent civil court. But if it appears that the applicant is acting in a straight-for-ward manner, the revenue officer should invariable, unless there is some special reassom to the contrary, deal with the dispute himself. Generally speaking where landowners are concered, be question at issue will be one over which a civil court jurisdiction. If it is so the procedure of the revenue officer must exactly folow that applicable to the trail of an origianl suit in a civil court, and the decree will for proposes of appeal, be treasted as if it had passed by the subordiante judge if however, the questions is one over which revenue court has jurdisction, the revenue offiver must proceed as a revenue court. The neglect of this provision by revenue officer often causes much trouble.

 

455.    Appeals. The law regarding appeal in partition cases is a little complicatede, an dforms a partial exception to the general rule that appeal from an assistant collector of any grade lie to the collector, an order under section 115 of the land revenue act absolutly disallowing a partition is appeable to the collector. but if he does not reject the application abinitilo the assistant collector must proceed ascertain the questions in dispute distinguishing between

 

(a)    question as to title in the property and

(b)   question as to the property to be divided or the mode of the making the partition.

The procedure in cases in which a question of a title has to bne settle has been  explained in the proceeding paragraph. If the assistant collector has acted as a civil court, and appeal will lie to the district judge,if as a revenue court to be collector. but appeal from any order he may pass “as the proprty to be divided or mode of a making a partition” are heard by the collector.

 

CHAPTER XIV

ACQUESTION OF LAND FOR PUBLIC PUSPOSES

 

456.    Advanatages and disadvanteges of acquestion by the private agreement - Land which is required for the public purposes must be taken up through the collector if the provision for compulsory acquestion contained in the act I 1894 are put inforce. But engineers or the other officers of government who have obtained permission from the head of there own department, can endeaviur to arrange for the purchase of land private agreement, and in such cases deputy commissioner’s out to supply them with perliminary estimates of value just as they would do in case in which it was proposed to make use as of the act. But they must not carry on private negotitiations for any other department unless of the department acquiring the land has itself failed to acquire land by such negotations. The advatage of the voluntry agreement is that the addition of fifteen per cent to the market price, which the act allows as a solatium for the compulsory  nature of the transaction, is saved. On the other hand under the statutory procedure therei perhaps less risk of an extravagant valuation and comliance with the necessary for malities ensure the vesting of the land “absolutely in the government free of all encumbrance.” Where there is a faintest doubt regarding the title of the person in person in possession, or where there is any reason of the fear that the land may be encumbered to an unknown extent, private negotation is out of the jab there is often no danger, at least in localities where the land tenure is of latent defects of title. Where this is the case restore may be had to purchase by private agreement if ir is likely to result in any appreciable saving to time or money.

 

457.    Plan and perliminiary estimate of cost. Whatever be the procedure proposed, the first step to be taken is the preparaation of a proper paln of the land by so officer  of the department which wishes to acquire it. Ordinararly the landowners will raise of objection to this entring on their land and doing whatever is necessary for that propsose. The act however, did not allow for an opportunty to be given to a person whose land was to be acquired to protest that the porpose for which acquestion was bein gordered was not fact a public purpose. To provide for this an amending act no. XXXVIII of 1928, was passed. The effect of this act is that a perliminiary notifiaction under section 4 is now essential in every case and provision for the lodgenment of objections against any proposed acquestion with in a period of thirty days. But if they do a notifiaction stating that the land is likely to be required for public purposes must be issued in the gazette. When this has appeared, and the deputy commissioner has publiced it locally, any officer authorised by government may enter on the land any survery it. If any demage is done to be land or the crops in the process, he must offer compentation to the landowners. If it is not accepted he must refer them to be deputy commissioner, who decision is final having made his plan, he must obtain form the deputy commissioner data for a perliminiary estaimate of the cost of acquiring the land. All that the district officer expected to give at this stage is the ordinary rate per acre which land of the description fetches in the neighberhood and a rough valuation of the trees building extra.

 

458.    Procedure in cases if purchase by private agreement - The procedure to be followed after the perliminiary estaimate has been sanctioned by competent authority in cases in which purchase by private agreement is preferred to compulsory acquestion is laid down in paragrah 21-27 of financial commissioner standing order no. 28.

 

459.    Perliminary action in case of cumpulsory acquisition - If the better course appears to be to proceed under the act, a notification is published in the gazette stating that the land is required for a public purpose and directing the deputy commissionor to take order for its acquistion. If the area is very large, a special officer is usually invested with the necessary powers and employed instead of the deputy commissioner.

 

460.    Nature of enquiry made by collector - The enquiry which th ecollector has to make in these cases relates to three points, each of which must be dealt with in his award. He must determine-

   

(a)    the true area of the land of each class,

(b)   the amount of compensation due, and

(c)    the appointment of the compensation among the persons interested.

 

461.    Demarcation of land. The first step is to have the land marked out and measured through the tahsildar. The existance of small discrepancies between the areas and the descriptions of land as found by the tahsildar and as stated in the notification is no reason for staying proceedings.

 

462.    Notice to parties interested. A general notice is next given to all persons interested in the land to appear before the collector on a certain date and to state the nature of their respective interests and the amount of compensation which they claim.

 

463.    Tahsildar’s report. Before the time fixed for the hearing, the collocror should receive from the tahsildar a khasra or filed register and a statement of holdings. In these statement particulars are given as to the areas, the rent, and the revenue of the land, and the trees, crops, wells, and buildings on it, and the estimated value of the last four items. The tahsildar also furnishes a report giving the chief date from which the market value of the land can be deduced, and his own opinion as to its proper price. The data of course include figures relating to any recent purchases of land by government course include figures relating to any recent purchases of land government or private persons on the same village or neighbourhood. Information regarding the latter can be obtained from the mutation registers and from  the books in the office of the sub-register, who is usually either the tahsildar himself ir a non-official working at the headquartes of the tahsil. In using the prices stated in deeds of sale it must not call for reports from patwaris or kanungos as to the value of the land. In forming his own opinion he must take into account the matters which the act required the collector to consider in fixing amount of compensation, and must disregard those which it directs the collector to disregared.

 

464.    Reperesntation by departmental officer. It is important that the local officer who represents the department for which the land is being acquired should have ample opportunity to make any represented he thinks fit as to its market value.the instructions in paragraphs 38-39 of financial commissioner standing order no. 28 provide for this. Any representation he may make personally or by agent or in writing should receive careful consideration. But the collector must avoid all correspondence with him on the subject of the award, he must not inform him of the compensation he proposes to assess until the award has been pronounced.

 

465.    Examinatin of parties. A little trouble taken before the right holders before him will put the collector in a position to deal promptly with their objections, and by questioning them to clear up any points. Which the tahsildar’s report has left in doubt. A brief enquiry regarding any claims for compensation which they present will usually be enough to show in what respects if any his own perliminary estaimate of compensation requires to be modified.

 

466.    Preparation for hearing of case. Before the hearing of the case the collector ought to have studied the tahsildar’s report and to have estimated the compensation which appears to be suitable. The tahsildar’s data as to the prices paid for other land required by government can be checked by referring to th register of lands taken up for public purposes maintained in every district office. If the last settlement of the distirct is at all recent , valuable information as to the market value of land of different kinds is sure to be found in the tahsil assessment report.

467.    Award. The next step is to record and announce the award. All posible care must be taken in framiing it,for, as far as government is concerned, it cannot be questioned. The record will as a rule enable the collector to determine at once the first matter for decesion, namely, the true area of the land of each class to be acquired.

 

468.    Market value of land. In deciding he next point, the amount of compensation due, he has in the first flace to settle what the market value of the land is land to add to it 15 percent on account of compulsory acquisition.  If he finds the amount to be much in excess of the preliminary estinate referred to in paragraph 465, he should refan from making an award and ask for further instruction.

 

469.    Consequential damages. He must consider the persons interested in the land to be taken up have any claim for consequential

(a)    loss of standing crops or trees(section 23(1), second sub-head)

(b)   damage to other land of theright holder by the taking up if the land required (section 23(1), third and fourth sub-heads)

as the owner will rlieved of th eobligation to pay land revenue and cases, the demand of the harvest under these heads should be deducted from any compensation awarded for crops.

 

470.    Damage to other land of rihgt-holder. Under the second head difficult questions arise. If, for example, a canal is carried through the heart of a village, the fields on one side ir the other are cut off from the homestead. To reach land which in a direct line is only distanbt a few hundred yards may involve the taking of ploughs and cattle three or four miles around. It is not always feasible to build a second adadi acriss the canal. The land may all be cultivated, or none of it may be common property. Again, if an embanked road or a canal distributary is carried through the fields attached to a well, and the area which ir can command is thereby dimished, the capital sunk in its construction may cease to yield any return to thelandowner. It is difficult for th epeople whi suffer to believe that a slight deviation from a strainght line, which would have saved themselves much trouble, could not have been made. No wise man will do anything to foster the idea that the administration wirks with the unsympathetic rigour of a piece f machniry, for this reason, and to avoid the expenses of consequential damages, governemnet has made consulting engineers and the local revenue officers responsible that in qzquiring land for railwys the fullest consideration is given to the convience of the landowners, and has ordered slight alteration in the alignment tobe made, where this is feasible, if annoyance to the people can be thereby obviated(govt.  of india circular no. iv-railway, dated 4th september, 1897) strrict orders exist on the irrigation department forbidding the excavation of canal water course thrighland belonging to a well “until-suitable pipe, culvert, or syphon is competed and the cultivatin of the alignment, which would be cinvenient to the properties, would diminish the usefulness or seriously increase the cost of  the work. It is the more desirable to avoid claims for consequential damages where possible be cause it is a matter of great difficulty to calculate the compensation which si fairly due.(if reasonable claims are made under the head of severance, government amy direct the collector to acquire the whole of  the objector’s land49(2))

 

471.    Matters to be excluded from sonsidertion in estimating market value. In estamating market value, the condition of thalnd as it was at the tine the notifiacation was issued declaring it to be required for a public purpose must alone be taken into account. tHe urgency of the need government nothing to do with the question(section 24, first and second heads) the latter, whether it is great or small must be taken as paid fir by the grant of fifteen percent over and abpve the market value. The fact that the use to which the land is to be put will imcrese the value of other land belonging to the right-holder is quite immaterial(section 24, sixth head) and so is any damage he may sustain which, if causes by a private person, would not be a ground for a civil action(section 24,third head)

 

472.    Cancelled.

 

 

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