The government passed three vital laws - Double Registration Prevention Act, Assigned Lands Regularisation Act and Land Acquisition Amendment Act 2017 - to safeguard people and avert civil disputes on land holdings as part of revenue reforms, Deputy Chief Minister K.E. Krishnamurthy said on Tuesday.
The Double Registration Prevention Act, in force in Madhya Pradesh, was enacted by amending the Registration Act of 1908, to check indiscriminate registration of lands and properties, which led to duping of innocent persons, and provide legal safeguards to the purchasers, he told the media here.
Under the Act, the seller of land would have to submit a declaration to the registration officer that it was not already sold to others. Those resorting to dubious registration would be liable for imprisonment, he said. The Act also empowers the officials to reject requests for registration if proper and valid documents were not furnished, he added.
Assigned lands
Assigned lands which did not have the name of the owner or pattadar, were enrolled in the British regime with a dot sign in the Re-Settlement Registers (RSR) in nine districts – Anantapur, Kurnool, Kadapa, Chittoor, Prakasam, Nellore, Guntur, Krishna and East Godavari districts – the Deputy Chief Minister said. They could not be construed as government lands, but 5,558 acres was alienated to various institutions and individuals earlier.
Similarly, 16.73 lakh acres was assigned to others and 3.41 lakh acres was held by farmers and 1.84 lakh acres by individuals. Moreover, persons having possession of 99,819 acres of encroached land had no documentary evidence. Only 2.16 lakh acres was left without encroachments, but did not fall under the purview of government land.
The government enacted the Assigned Lands Regularisation Act to give ownership rights of lands recorded with a dot. Land assigned, alienated or title transfer would be recorded and only those producing proof of occupation for 12 years would be recorded in the RSR, he said.
Such matters should be disposed of within six months by district committees chaired by the District Collector, Joint Collector, Sub-Collector or RDOs as members and tahsildar concerned as member-convener, Mr. Krishnamurthy said. Appeals could be filed with the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration, whose decision would be final. The said land must be recorded in the RSR and revenue records digitalised within one month.
Land acquisition
The Land Acquisition Amendment Act-2017 would expedite acquisition of land for projects of strategic importance, averting delay, he said. The Amendment Act stipulated an exemption from rehabilitation assistance and provided for payment of 150% of the price fixed by the government in cases of acquisition of land below 100 acres, he added.