Company : Sol Infotech Pvt. Ltd. Website : www.courtkutchehry.com BOMBAY MERGED TERRITORIES (BARODA WATAN ABOLITION) ACT, 1953 46 of 1953 [] CONTENTS 1. Short title, and commencement 2. Definitions 3. Abolition of watans 4. Holder of watan land to be occupant 5. Compensation for the commutation of cash allowance 6 . Commutation of watan consist in of whole or part of land revenue 7. Application of Bom. LXVII of 1948 to lands lawfully leased 8. Method of compensation for abolition of other rights 9. Conrt-fees 10. Finality of award of Collector and decision of Revenee Tribunal 1 0 A . Revisional powers in respect of awards made before commencement of Bora. XCIII of 1958 11. Inquiries and proceedings to be judicial proceedings 12. Amount of compensation to be payable in transferable bonds 13. Rules 14. Repeal BOMBAY MERGED TERRITORIES (BARODA WATAN ABOLITION) ACT, 1953 46 of 1953 [] 11 . For Statement of Objects and Reasons, see Bombay Government Gazette, 1953, Part V, p. 171. An Act to abolish watans in the merged territories of the former State of Baroda. Whereas it is expedient to abolish all watans settled under the Baroda Watan Rules in the merged territories of the former State of Baroda and to provide for certain consequential and incidental matters hereinafter appearing; It is hereby enacted as follows: 1. Short title, and commencement :- (1) This Act may be called the Bombay Merged Territories (Baroda Watan Abolition) Act, 1953. (2) It extends to the merged territories of the former State of Baroda included in the districts of Surat, Broach, Panch Mahals, Kaira, Ahmedabad, Sabar Kantha, Mehsana, Banas Kantha and Amreli. (3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify in this behalf. 2. Definitions :- (1) In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, (i) "Baroda Watan Rules" means the Watan Rules of 1932 of the former State of Baroda as in force immediately before the 30th July 1949; (ii) ''cash allowance" means a grant in cash received by a watandar as watan under the Baroda Watan Rules and includes a maintenance allowance payable to a sub-harer or a female member of a watandar's family under the said Rules; (iii) "Code" means the Bombay Land Revenue Code, 1879, (Bom. V of 1879); (iv) "Collector" includes an officer appointed by the State Government to perform the functions and exercise the powers of the Collector under this Act; (v) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (vi) "watan" means a watan governed by the Baroda Watan Rules; (vii) "wantandar" means a person in whose name a watan is registered under the Baroda Watan Rules and inculdes a co-sharer of such wantandar recognised under the said Rules; (viii) ''watan land" or "watan village" means a land or village held by a watandar as a watan. (2) Any word or expression which is defined in the Code and not defined in this Act shall be deemed to have the meaning given to it by the Code. (3) References in this Act to the provisions of the Baroda Watan Rules and the incidents of watans shall, notwithstanding the repeal of the said Rules and abolition of the said watans by this Act, be construed as references to the said provisions and incidents as they were in force immediately before this Act comes into force. 3. Abolition of watans :- With effect from and on the date on which this Act comes into force (1) all watans in the merged territories of the former State of Baroda shall be deemed to have been extinguished; (2) save as expressly provided by this Act, all incidents of the said watans shall be deemed to have been been extinguished; (3) subject to the provisions of section 4, all watan land and watan villages are hereby resumed and shall be deemed to be subject to the payment of land revenue under the provisions of the Code and the rules made thereunder as if such land and villages were unalienated : Provided that such resumption shall not affect the validity of any alienation of any watan land if such land has been validly alienated under the provisions of the Baroda Watan Rules or the rights of an alienee thereof or any person claiming under through him, 4. Holder of watan land to be occupant :- (1) A watan land resumed under the provisions of this Act shall be regranted to the holder thereof on payment of the occupancy price equal to six times of the amount of the full assessment of such land within 1[five years] from the date of the coming into force of this Act and the holder shall be deemed to be an occupant within the meaning of the Code in respect of such land and shall primarily be liable to pay land revenue to the State Government in accordance with the provisions of the Code and the rules made thereunder; Provided that if the holder fails to pay the occupancy price within the period of 2 [five years] as provided in this section, he shall be deemed to be unauthorisedly occupying the land and shall be liable to be summarily ejected in accordance with the provisions of the Code. (2) The occupancy of the land regranted under sub-section (1) shall not be transferable or partible by metes and bounds without the previous sanction of the Collector and except on Payment of such amount as the State Government may, by general or special order, determine. Explanation For the purpose of this section the expression "holder" shall include (i) a watandar holding a watan land as watan for the time being; and (ii) where a watan land has been validly alienated under the Baroda Watan Rules, the alienee of such land or a person claiming under or through such alienee. (3) Nothing in sub-section (2) shall apply to a watan land which has been validly alienated under the Baroda Watan Rules. (4) Nothing in this section shall apply to a watan land or village in respect of which the watan property consists of the whole or a part of the land revenue of such land or village. 1. These words were substituted for the words "two years" by Bom. 31 of 1955, s. 2, 2. These words were substituted for the words "two years" by Bom. 31 of 1955 s. 2. 5. Compensation for the commutation of cash allowance :- (1) Where the watan consists of a cash allowance the holder thereof shall be paid a sum equal to (a) five times of the amount of such cash allowance, if the watan was recognised as hereditary before the date of the coming into force of this Act; and (b) three times of the amount of such cash allowance, if the watan was recognised as granted only for the life-time of the holder before the date of the coming into force of this Act. (2) For the purposes of this section, the amount of cash allowance shall be the amount paid or payable to the holder for the year immediately preceding the date on which this Act comes into force. 6. Commutation of watan consist in of whole or part of land revenue :- In the case of any land or village, in respect of which the watan property consists of the whole or a part of the land revenue of such land or village, a sum equal to ten times the amount of such iand revenue shall be paid to the watandar as compensation. 7. Application of Bom. LXVII of 1948 to lands lawfully leased :- If any watan land has teen lawfully leased and such lease is subsisting on the date on which this Act comes into force, the provisions of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948, (Bom. LXVII of 1948), shall aply to the said lease and the rights and liabilities of the holder of such land and his tenant or tenants shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be goverened by the provisions of the said Act. Explanation For the purposes of this section the expression "land" shall have the same meaning as is assigned to it in the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948, (Bom. LXVII of 1948). 8. Method of compensation for abolition of other rights :- (1) Any person aggrieved by the provisions of this Act as abolishing, extinguishing or modifhing any of his rights to or interest in property may, if compensation for such abolition, extinguishment or modification has not been provided for in the provisions of this Act apply to the Collector for compensation. (2) An application under sub-section (1) shall be made to the Collector in the prescribed form within six months from the date on which this Act comes into force. The Collector shall, after holding a formal inquiry in the manner provided by the Code, make an award determining such amount of compensation as he deems reasonable and adequate. 1[(2A) (i) Where the officer making an award under section (2) is a Collector under this Act but not a Collector appointed under section 8 of the Code and the amount of such awards exceeds five thousand rupees, then the award shall not be made without the previous approval of (a) the Collector appointed under section 8 of the Code, if the amount of the award does not ecxeed twenty-five thousand rupees, or (b) the Commissioner, if the amount of the award exceeds twenty- five thousand rupees but does not exceed one lakh of rupees, or (c) the State Government, if the amount of the award exceeds one lakh of rupees. (ii) Where the officer making an award under sub-section (2) is a Collector under this Act and also a Collector appointed under section 8 of the Code, and the amount of such award exceeds twenty-five thousand rupees, then such award shall not be made without the previous approval of (a) the Commissioner, if the amount of the award does not exceed one lakh of rupees, or (b) the State Government if the amount of the award exceeds one lakh of rupees. (iii) Every award under sub-section (2) shall be in the form prescribed in section 26 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, (I of 1894). (3) In determining the amount of compensation the Collector shall be guided by the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 23 and section 24 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (I of 1894), (4) Nothing in this section shall entitle any person to compensation on the ground that any watan land which was wholly or partially exempt from the payment of land revenue has been under the provisions of this Act subjected to the payment of full assessment in accordance with the provision of the Code. (5) Any person aggrieved by the award of the Collector made under sub-section (2) may appeal to the 2[Gujarat Revenue Tribunal constituted under the Bombay Revenue Tribunal Act, 1957], (Bom. XII of 1957), within 60 days from the date of the award. (6) In deciding appeals under sub-section (5) t h e 2 [Gujarat Revenue Tribunal] shall exercise all the powers which a court has and follow the same procedure which the court follows in deciding appeals from a decree or order of an original court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, (V of 1908). (7) In computing the period for filing appeals the provisions of section 4, 5, 12 and 14 of the Indian Limitation Act, 1908, (IX of 1908), shall apply to the appeals made under this section. 1. Sub-section (2A) was inserted by Bom. 93 of 1958, 2, Sch. 2. Subs, vide Gujarat A.O. 1960. 9. Conrt-fees :- Notwithstanding anything contained in the Court- fees Act, 1870, (VII of 1870), every appeal made under this Act to the 1 [Gujarat Revenue Tribunal] shall bear a court-fee stamp of such value as may be prescribed. 1. Subs, vide Gujarat A.O. 1960. 10. Finality of award of Collector and decision of Revenee Tribunal :- The award made by the Collector subject to an appeal to the 1 [Gujarat Revenue Tribunal] and the decision of the [Gujarat Revenue Tribunal] on the appeal shall be final and conclusive and shall not be questioned in any suit or proceeding in any court. 1. Subs, vide Gujarat A.O. 1960. 10A. Revisional powers in respect of awards made before commencement of Bora. XCIII of 1958 :- Where any award was made under sub-section (2) of section 8 before the commencement of the Bombay Land Tenures Abolition (Amendment) Act, 1958, (Bom XCIII of 1958), and no appeal was filed against such award under sub-section (5) of section 8 then notwithstanding any thing contained in section 10, the State Government may call for the record of the inquiry or proceedings relating to such, award for the purpose of satisfying itself as to the legality, propriety or regularity of such inquiry, or proceedings and if, after giving the interested parties an apportunity to be heard it i s not satisfied as to the legality, propriety or regularity of such inquiry or proceedings, it may cancel the award and direct the Collector to make a fresh award and direct the Collector to make a fresh award and thereupon all the provisions of this Act relating to the making of an award, the finality of such award and the appeal against such award shall mutatis mutandis apply to such fresh award ] 11. Inquiries and proceedings to be judicial proceedings :- All inquiries and proceedings before the Collector and the 1 [Gujarat Revenue Tribunal] under this Act shall be deemed to be judical proceedings within the meaning of sections 193, 219 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code, (XLV of 1860). 1. Subs, vide Gujarat A.O. 1960. 12. Amount of compensation to be payable in transferable bonds :- The amount of compensation payable under the provisions of this Act shall be payable in transferable bonds carrying interest at the rate of three per cent per annum from the date of the issue of such bonds and shall be repayable during a period of twenty years from the date of the issue of such bonds by equated annual instalments of principal and interest. The bonds shall be of such denominations and shall be in such forms as may be prescribed. 13. Rules :- The State Government may, subject to the condition of previous publication, make rules for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act. Such rules shall, when finally made, be published in the Official Gazette. 14. Repeal :- The Baroda Watan Rules are hereby repealed: Provided that the repeal of the said Rules shall not be deemed to affect (a) any obligation or liability already incurred or accrued before the date of the commencement of this Act; (b) any proceeding in respect of such obligation or liability; and any such proceeding may be continued, as if this Act had not been passed.