(1) From and after the commencement of this Act,-
(a) in any area for which record-of-rights has not been prepared and finally published under this Act or under any law in force before the commencement of this Act, or for which an order has not been issued under this Act or under any law in force before the commencement of this Act for the preparation of such a record, the money-rent of an occupancy-Raiyat whose rent is liable to enhancement may be enhanced only by order of the Deputy Commissioner passed under Section 29, and
(b) in any area for which a record-of-rights has been prepared and finally published as aforesaid, or for which an order has been issued as aforesaid for the preparation of such a record of the money-rent of an occupancy-Raiyat whose rent is liable to enhancement may be enhanced only;
(i) in cases referred to in Section 62, Section 94 or Section 99, by order of the Deputy Commissioner passed under Section 29, and
(ii) in other cases, by order of a Revenue Officer passed under Chapter XII.
(2) No enhancement of such rent made after the commencement of this Act in any manner other than that referred to in clause (a) or clause (b), as the case may be, whether by private contract or otherwise shall for any reason be recognised or given effect to in any suit or proceeding in any Court.
28. Contents of application to Deputy Commissioner for enhancement - (1) Every application to the Deputy Commissioner for the enhancement of the rent of an occupancy holding shall specify,-
(a) such particulars as may be prescribed regarding the area, situation, local names, quality and boundaries of the parcels of land constituting the holding;
(b) the rates of rent (if any) payable by Raiyat for the different classes of land constituting the holding and the yearly rent payable for the holding at the date of the application;
(c) the rates (if any) generally prevailing in the village for corresponding classes of land;
(d) the date (as nearly as it can be ascertained) when the rates of rent generally prevailing were last adjusted in the village;
(e) the rates which the applicant desires to claim; and
(f) the grounds on which the applicant considers that he is entitled to the enhancement claimed.
(2) Sections 146 to 149 shall apply to every application made under this Section.
29. Procedure on receipt of such application - (1) When any such application has been received, the Deputy Commissioner,-
(a) shall forthwith give notice of the contents thereof to the Raiyat, and
(b) may if he thinks fit, order a measurement of the land, and
(c) may, upon consideration of all the circumstances set forth in the application, and after hearing any objection advanced by the Raiyat by order, fix such enhanced rent, or otherwise vary the rent for the said land, as to him may seem fair and reasonable :
Provided that no enhancement shall be ordered except on one or more of the following grounds, namely:-
(i) that the rate of rent paid by the Raiyat is below the prevailing rate paid by occupancy- Raiyats for land of similar quality and with similar advantages [in the same village or in the neighbouring villages, and that there is no sufficient, reason for his holding at so low a rate;]
(ii) that there has been a rise in the average local prices of staple food-crops during the currency of the present rent;
(iii) that the productive powers of the land held by the Raiyat have been increased by an improvement effected during the currency of the present rent, otherwise than by the agency or at the expense of the Raiyat:
Provided also that no enhancement shall be ordered which is, under the circumstances of the case, unfair or inequitable :
Provided further that all enhancement shall be limited in the prescribed manner (if any).
(2) The rent as fixed or varied under sub-section (1) shall be payable by the said Raiyat from the commencement of the agricultural year following the year in which the order is passed, and may be recovered in any suit instituted against him for arrears of rent.
(3) Nothing in this Section shall bar the right of a Raiyat to claim at any time under Section 34 a reduction of the rent previously paid by him.
30. Power to direct gradual enhancement - Where the Deputy Commissioner considers that the immediate enforcement of the full enhancement ordered under Section 29 is likely to be attended with hardship, he may direct that the enhancement shall be gradual; that is to say, that the rent shall increase yearly by degrees, for any number of years not exceeding five, until the limit of the full enhancement has been reached.
Increase of Rent in Respect of Excess Area
31. Application for increase of rent in respect of land held in excess of the area for which rent was previously paid - (1) Where the land is held by an occupancy- Raiyat in excess of the area for which rent has previously been paid by him, no increase shall be made to the rent payable by him except by order of a Revenue Officer passed under Chapter XII or by order of the Deputy Commissioner passed on an application made to him by the landlord.
(2) Every such application shall specify,-
(a) the yearly rent payable by the Raiyat at the date of the application;
(b) the area and description of the land for which the said rent is payable;
(c) the proceedings (if any) by which the said rent was fixed;
(d) the general rate prevailing in the village for corresponding classes of lands;
(e) the date (as nearly as it can be ascertained) when the said general rate was last adjusted in the village;
(f) the area and description of the land held in excess of the area for which rent has previously been paid, and in respect of which an increase of rent is claimed; or, if the landlord is unable to indicate any particular land as being held in excess, then the area alone;
(g) the amount of the said increase;
(h) the manner in which the said increase has been, or should be assessed; and
(i) any other prescribed particulars.
(3) If a survey and record-of-rights have been made under this Act, or under any other law in force before the commencement of this Act, in respect of any land referred to in clause (b) or clause (f) of sub-section (2), the "area and description" required by those clauses, respectively, shall be specified by stating the plot number, area and class of each field included in the land, as shown by such survey and record.
(4) Sections 146 to 149 shall apply to every application made under this Section.
32. Procedure on receipt of such application - (1) When any such application has been received, the Deputy Commissioner,-
(a) shall forthwith give notice of the contents thereof to the Raiyat, and
(b) shall refer to the entry (if any) relating to the tenancy in the record-of-rights prepared under this Act or any other law for the time being in force; and
(c) may, if he thinks fit, order a measurement of the land held by the Raiyat, and
(d) may, upon consideration of all the circumstances set forth in the application, and after hearing any objection advanced by the Raiyat and making such further inquiry as the Deputy Commissioner may think necessary, order such an increase, whether progressive or otherwise, as he may consider to be fair and reasonable:
Provided that if the landlord proves that at the time when the measurement on which the claim is based was made, there existed in the estate or tenure or part hereof in which the holding is situate a practice or measuring land before setting rents, the Deputy Commissioner may presume that the area of the holding as entered in any lease or counterpart engagement or (where there is any entry of area in a counterfoil receipt corresponding to the entry of the rent-roll) in the rent-roll relating to the holding was so entered after measurement:
Provided also that an increase of rent shall not be ordered where it would contravene any local custom or usage prohibiting an increase of rent in respect of the increase in area of a holding.
(2) When any increase has been so ordered, it shall be payable from the commencement of the agricultural year following that in which the order is passed, and may be recovered from the Raiyat in any suit instituted against him for arrears of rent.
33. Savings - Nothing in Sections 31 and 32 shall prohibit a landlord from realising,-
(a) increased rents from a Raiyat for separate parcels of land settled with him in any manner authorised by law, order;
[(b) rents assessed under Section 67-A on land converted into Korkar,] Reduction of Rent [33A. Reduction of rent. - The Deputy Commissioner may reduce the rent of an occupancy holding on any of the following grounds :
(a) that the rent of the holding has been enhanced under Section 29 on one or both of the grounds specified in clause (i) and clause (ii) of the proviso to sub-section (1) of that Section at any time between the first day of January, 1911 and the thirty-first day of December, 1936;
(b) that the rent of the holding was commuted under Section 61, at any time between the first day of January, 1911 and the thirty-first day of December, 1936;
(c) that the soil of a portion or the whole of such holding has, without the fault of the Raiyat, become temporarily or permanently deteriorated by a deposit of sand, by submersion under water or by any other specific cause, sudden or gradual;
(d) that the landlord of such holding has failed to carry out the arrangements in respect of irrigation which he is bound to maintain;
(e) that there has been a fall, not due to a temporary cause, in the average local prices of staple food-crops during the currency of the present rent;
(f) that the land held by the Raiyat is of less area than the area for which rent has previously been [payable by him,]
34. Application to Deputy Commissioner for reduction of rent - (1) Any occupancy- Raiyat wishing to claim a reduction of the rent previously paid by him may present an application to the Deputy Commissioner to assess the rent on the land in respect of which such reduction is sought and (if necessary) to measure the land:
[Provided that no application for a reduction of rent under clause (a) or clause (b) of Section 33-A shall be entertained unless it is filed within a period of two years from the date on which Section 5 of the Chota Nagpur Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 1938 (Bihar Act 2 of 1938) comes into force],
(2) Every such application shall specify,-
(a) the yearly rent payable by the Raiyat at the date of the application;
(b) the area and description of the land for which the said rent is payable;
(c) the proceedings (if any) by which the said rent was fixed;
(d) the general rate prevailing in the village for corresponding classes of lands;
(e) the date (as nearly as it can be ascertained) when the said general rate was last adjusted in the village;
(f) the amount of reduction claimed;
(g) the grounds on which such reduction is claimed; and
(h) any other prescribed particulars.
(3) Sections 146 to 149 shall apply to every application made under this Section.
35. Procedure on receipt of such application - (1) When any such application has been received, the Deputy Commissioner,-
(a) shall forthwith give notice of the contents thereof to the landlord; and
(b) may, if he thinks fit, order a measurement of land; and
(c) may, upon consideration of all the circumstances set forth in the application, and after hearing any objection advanced by landlord by order [fix a reduced rent for the holding] as to him may seem fair and reasonable:
[Provided that-
(i) if a reduction is claimed under clause (a) of Section 33-A, the entire enhancement shall be cancelled;
(ii) if a reduction is claimed under clause (b) of Section 33-A, the reduced rent shall bear to the previous rent the same proportion as the current prices bear to the average prices during the decennial period immediately preceding the time when the rent was commuted;
(iii) if a reduction is claimed under clause (c) of Section 33-A, the Deputy Commissioner may order partial or entire remission of the rent and shall fix a period during which the reduced rent shall be paid or during which the entire rent shall be remitted, and may at any time, before the expiration of the said period revise his order if he is satisfied that the soil of the holding has become fit for cultivation;
(iv) if a reduction is claimed under clause (d) of Section 33-A, the Deputy Commissioner may at any time revise his order fixising a reduced rent if he is satisfied that the landlord has restored the arrangements in respect of irrigation which he is bound to maintain;
(v) if a reduction is claimed under clause (e) of Section 33-A, the reduced rent shall bear to the previous rent the same proportion as the current prices bear to the prices prevailing,-
(1) at the time when the previous rent first became payable, or
(2) if the previous rent first became payable before the preparation of a record-of-rights under Chapter XII and landlord is unable to prove to the satisfaction of the Deputy Commissioner when the previous rent became payable at the time when a record-ofrights was first prepared in respect of the holding.]
[(2) An order of the Deputy Commissioner under sub-section (1) shall take effect from such date as may be specified in the order.]
(3) Nothing in this Section shall bear the right of the landlord to claim at any time an enhancement under Section 29 of the rent of such Raiyat.
Bar to further Enhancement or Reduction of Rent