Orissa Estates Abolition Act, 1951
[Act No. 1 of 1952]
[9th February 1952]
Preamble
An Act To Provide For The Abolition Of All The Rights, Title And Interest In Land Of Intermediaries By Whatever Name Known, Including The Mortgagees And Lessees Of Such Interest, Between The Raiyat And The State Of Orissa, For Vesting In The Said State Of The Said Right, Title And Interest And To Make Provision For Other Matter Connected Therewith.
WHEREAS in pursuance of the Directive Principles of State Policy laid down by the Constitution of India it is incumbent on the State to secure economic justice for all and to that end to secure the ownership and control of all material resources of the community so that they may best subserve the common good, and to prevent the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment;
And whereas in order to enable the State to discharge the above obligation, it is expedient to provide for the abolition of all rights, title and interest in land of Intermediaries by whatever name known, including the mortgagees and lessees of such interest, between the raiyat and the State of Orissa, for vesting in the said State of the said rights, title and interest and to make provision for other matters connected therewith;
It is hereby enacted as follows --
Chapter: I - PRELIMINARY
Section 1 - Short title, extent and commencement
(1) This Act may be called the Orissa Estates Abolition Act, 1951.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Orissa.
(3) It shall come into force at once.
Section 2 - Definitions
In this Act unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context --
(a) "Agricultural year" means, where the Oriya year prevails, the year commencing on the first day of Baisakh of the Oriya year, where the Fasli year prevails, the year commencing on the first day of July and where any other year prevails for agricultural purposes, that year;
Explanation -- In the event of any question as to the particular agricultural year in any area or estate the notification by the Board of Revenue on this behalf shall be conclusive;
(b) "Board" means the Board constituted under Section 22;
(c) "Claims Officer" means the Claims Officer appointed under sub-section (1) of Section 18;
(d) "Collector" includes any Officer, 1 (***) appointed by the State Government to discharge all or any of the functions of a Collector under this Act;
(e) "Compensation Officer" means the Compensation Officer appointed under Section 23;
2[(f) "Date of vesting" means, in relation to an estate vested in the State, the date of publication in the Gazette of the notification under sub-section (1) of Section 3 3[or sub-section (1) of Section 3-A] in respect of such estate and in the case of surrender by an Intermediary under Section 4 the date of the execution of the agreement];
4[(ff)"District Judge" and ''Subordinate Judge'' shall respectively include an Additional District Judge and an Additional Subordinate Judge];
5[(g) "Estate" includes a part of an estate and means any land held by or vested in an Intermediary and included under one entry in any revenue roll or any of the general registers of revenue paying lands and revenue free lands, prepared and maintained under the law relating to the land revenue for the time being in force or under any rule, order, custom or usage having the force of law and includes revenue free lands not entered in any register or revenue roll and all classes of tenures or under-tenures and any jagir, inam or maufi or other similar grant;
Explanation I -- Land revenue means all sums and payments in money or in kind, by whatever name designated or locally known, received or claimable by or on behalf of the State from an Intermediary on account of or in relation to any land held by or vested in such Intermediary;
Explanation II -- Revenue-free land includes land which is, or but for any special covenant, agreement, engagement or contract would have been, liable to settlement and assessment of land revenue or with respect to which the State has power to make laws for settlement and assessment of land revenue;
Explanation III -- In relation to merged territories ''estate'' as defined in this clause shall also include any mahal or village or collection of more than one such mahal or village held by or vested in an intermediary which has been or is liable to be assessed as one unit to land revenue where such land revenue be payable or has been released or compounds for or redeemed in whole in part.
5[(h) ''Intermediary'' with reference to any estate means a proprietor, sub-proprietor, landlord, land holder, malguzar, thikadar, gaontia, tenureholder, under-tenure holder and includes an inamdar, a jagirdar, Zamindar, Illaquedar, Khorposhdar, Parganadar, Sarbarakar and Maufidar including the ruler of an Indian State merged with the State of Orissa and all other holders or owners of interest in land between the raiyat and the State;
Explanation I -- Any two or more Intermediaries holding a joint interest in an estate which is borne either on the revenue roll or on the rent roll of another Intermediary shall be deemed to be one Intermediary for the purposes of this Act;
Explanation II -- The heirs and successors-in -interest of an Intermediary and where an Intermediary is a minor or of unsound mind or an idiot, his guardian, Committee or other legal curator shall be deemed to be an Intermediary for the purposes of this Act. All acts done by an Intermediary under this Act shall be deemed to have been done by his heirs and successors-in -interest and shall be binding on them];
6[(hh) ''Intermediary interest'' means an estate or any rights or interest therein held or owned by or vested in an Intermediary and any reference to ''estate'' in this Act shall be construed as including a reference to ''Intermediary Interest'' also];
(i) "Homestead" means a dwelling house used by the Intermediary for the purposes of his own residence or for the purposes of letting out on rent together with any Courtyard, compound, garden, orchard and out-buildings attached thereto and includes any tank, library and place of worship appertaining to such dwelling house but does not include any building comprised in such estate and used primarily as office or kutchery for the administration of the estate on and from the 1st day of January, 1946.
(j) "Khas possession" used with reference to the possession of an Intermediary of any land used for agricultural or horticultural purposes, means the possession of such intermediary by cultivating such land or carrying on horticultural operations thereon himself with his own stock or by his own servants or by hired labour or with hired stock;
Explanation -- "Land used for horticultural purposes" means land used for the purpose of growing fruits, flowers or vegetable;
(k) "Lease" in relation to mines and minerals, shall include a sub-lease, a prospecting lease and an agreement to lease and sublet and ''lessee'' shall be construed accordingly;
(l) "Mines" means any excavation where any operation for the purpose of searching for or obtaining minerals has been or is being carried on, but does not include any works, machinery, tramways or sidings appertaining to a mine; a mine shall be deemed to be ''in operation'' if a notice of the commencement of its operation has been given under Section 14 of the Indian Mines Act, 1923 (Act 4 of 1923) to the District Magistrate of the district in which such mine is situated and the discontinuance of the operation thereof has not been notified to the competent authority;
(m) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(n) ''raiyat'' means any person holding the land for the purpose of cultivation and who has acquired the right of occupancy according to the tenancy law or rules for the time being in force in that area or in the absence of such law or rules, the custom prevalent in that area;
7(o) ''trust'' means a trust as defined in Section 3 of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 (Act II of 1882) and shall includes an express or constructive trust existing for a public purpose of a charitable of religious nature and a Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist or any other religious or charitable endowment;
(oo) ''trust estate'' means an estate the whole of the net income whereof under any trust or other legal obligation has been dedicated exclusively to charitable or religious purposes of a public nature without any reservation of pecuniary benefit to any individual:
Provided that all estates belonging to the Temple of Lord Jagannath at Puri within the meaning of the Shri Jagannath Temple Act, 1955 and all estates declared to be trust estates by a competent authority under this Act prior to the date of coming into force of the Orissa Estates Abolition (Amendment) Act, 1970 shall be deemed to be trust estates.
Explanation -- The salary, remuneration or any allowance payable to a Mutawali in the case of a Hindu religious trust, not exceeding fifteen per centum of the income dedicated exclusively to charitable or religious purposes shall not be deemed to be reservation of a pecuniary benefit to any individual within the meaning of this clause."
(p) "Board of Revenue" means the Board of Revenue as constituted under Section 2 of the Orissa Board of Revenue Act, 1951 (Orissa Act 23 of 1951); and
(q) all words and expressions used in this Act, but not defined in it, shall have with reference to any part of the State of Orissa, the same meaning as defined in the tenancy laws and rules for the time being in force and in the absence of written laws and rules as recognized in the custom for the time being obtaining in that part of the State of Orissa.
Footnotes:
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Omitted by the Orissa Estate Abolition (Amendment) Act, 1962 (Orissa Act 16 of 1962), s. 2
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Substituted by the Orissa Estates Abolition (Amendment) Act, 1952 (Orissa Act XVIII of 1952) s. 2, (i)
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Inserted by the Orissa Estates Abolition (Amendment) Act, 1956 (Orissa Act 15 of 1956), s. 2 (ii)
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