(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, a bank shall have power to itself acquire agricultural land or interest therein on which a charge or mortgage has been created in its favour by an agriculturist in respect of any financial assistance availed of by him, provided the said land or interest therein has been sought to be sold by public auction and no person has offered to purchase it for a price which is sufficient to pay to the bank the moneys due to it :
Provided that no such land or interest herein shall be sought to be sold by public auction, by the bank, without the previous permission in writing of the collector of the district in which such land is situated.
(2) A bank which acquires any land or interest therein in pursuance of the power vested in it under sub-section (1) shall dispose it of by sale, within a period to be specified by the State Government in this behalf.
(3) If the bank leases out any land or any interest therein acquired by it under sub-section (1), pending sale thereof as indicated in sub-section (2), the period of lease shall not exceed one year at a time and the lessee shall not acquire any right to purchase such land or interest leased to him, notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary in any other law for the time being in force.
(4) A sale by a bank of land or interest therein under this section shall be subject to the provisions of any law for the time being in force imposing restrictions on purchase of land by non-agriculturists or by a person not belonging to a Scheduled Tribe or Scheduled Casate or on fragmentation of land or imposing ceiling on acquisition of land or interest therein.
13. Nothing in any law for the time being in force imposing a ceiling or limit on the holding of land or regulating the price at which such land may be sold or acquired shall Recovery of dues of bank through authorised officer.
Rights of bank to acquire and dispose of land or interest therein.
Exemption to banks from registrictions on acquisition of land in excess of ceiling.
The Gujarat Agricultural Credit (Provision of Facilities) Act, 1979.
9 of 13 apply to a bank acquire land under this Act at a price which is adequate to cover its dues and holding such land till such time as the bank sells the land in the manner provided in section 12.
14. Where by an order made by a Tribunal under section 21 of the Gujarat Agricultural Lands Ceiling Act, 1960, any portion of land on which mortgage or charge is created in favour of a bank is declared as surplus land and the amount of compensation apportioned to the bank under section 24 of that Act in respect of the mortgage or charge on the land declared as surplus is less than the amount due from the agriculturist on account of the financial assistance given to the agriculturist by the bank, then notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, the balance of the amount due shall be a charge on the portion of the land which the agriculturist is entitled to hold under the order made under section 21 of that Act.
15. Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions of this Chapter, the State Government may, by an order published in the Official Gazette, direct that any amount due from the agriculturist towards financial assistance given to him by a bank for the purpose of carrying out any State-sponsored scheme may be recovered on behalf of such bank as an arrear of land revenue. Any amount so recovered on behalf of the bank shall be paid over to the bank after deducting such portion thereof as cost of collection as the Collector may determine to be reasonable.
CHAPTER V.
FINANCING OF CO-OPERATIVE SOCIEIES BY BANKS
16. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Co-operative Societies Act or any law for the time being in force, it shall be lawful for a bank to become a member of a cooperative society.