(1) 17[Subject to the provisions of sub-sections (1A) to (1D) (both inclusive), the following lands] shall be exempted from the provisions of this Act, that is to say-
(a) lands belonging to, or held on lease, by Government 18[* * * * * * * * *];
19[(aa) khar lands and tidal lands as defined in the Gujarat Khar Lands Act, 1963 and any other lands which, being in the opinion of the State Government such as need special efforts for their reclamation for the pur- pose of bringing them under cultivation, are notified in this behalf by the State Government by a notification in the Official Gazette, held on lease from Government for a period not exceeding twenty years;]
20[( b) lands belonging to, or held on lease by, a local authority and lands belonging to, or held on lease by a University established by law in the State of Gujarat or by an institution in the State of Gujarat which is dec- lared to be a University by the Central Government under section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, where such lands are used by the University or such institution for the puropse of imparting education in agriculture, or are specified by the University or such institution as being reserved for being used for future expansion of the University or such institution].
(c) lands situated in any area which has been specified as being reserved for non-agricultural or industrial development under the relevant tenancy law;
21[(cc ) lands which are the property of a public trust for a hospital exisiting on the specified date, to such extent as may be decided in each case by a Committee consisting of the Collector, such officer of the Medi- cal Department as the Director of Health and Medical Services may nomi- nate and a representative of the hospital concerned;
(d) lands which are the property of a public trust for an educational institution imparting education in agriculture, to such extent as may be prescribed].
22[(dd) lands held by a Panjrapole or a Gaushala for the purpose of grazing of cattle or storage of grass for cattle in the institution to such extent as may be specified from time to time in each case by a Committee consisting of the Collector, such officer of Animal Husbandry Department as the Director of Animal Husbandry may nominate and a representative of the Panjrapol, or as the case may be.
the Gaushala, having regard to the number of cattle normally maintained or cared for in the institution concerned, provided the Panjrapol or the Gaushala, as the case may be uses such lands solely and directly for the puropse for which such lands are held and not for the purpose for which such lands are held and not for the purpose of deriving income for the institution;
(ddd) lands being lands utilised for maintenance of Panjrapole or Gau- shala, which were exempt from the provisions of this Act Exempted lands Guj. 17 of 1964 Act III of 1956.
Bom. XXIX of 1950 immediately before the specified date by reason of their being the property of an ins- titution for public religious workship registered as a public trust under the Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950, provided such institution creates a separate trust in respect of such lands for the purposes of Panjrapole or Gaushala applies within a period of ninety days from the specified date, for the regis- tration of such trust under the said Act, to the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner having jurisdiction and endeavours to get such sepa- rate trust registered under the said Act within a period of one year from the specified date;]
23[(e) * * * * * * *]
(f) lands leased to or held by an industrial undertaking which in the opinion of the State Government bona fide carries on any industrial oper- ration and which is approved by the State Government 24[ to the extent necessary for the purpose of expansion or present need of the industry, as certified by the Commissioner of Industries;]
25[(g) * * * * * * *] 26[(h) lands held or leased by a Land Development Bank, a bank speci- fied] in columm 2 of the first Schedule to the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970, or a Corporation (including a Company) owned or controlled by Government provided such lands are required and used by these institutions in connection with the discharge of their bonafide functions or achievement of their bonafide objects :
(i) lands held or leased by such co-operative societies as are approved in the prescribed manner by the State Government and as have for their objects the improvement of the economic and social conditions of peasants or ensuring the full and efficent use of land 27[for agriculture, provided that the sum total of land held by any one member of such society as such member as well as separately as an individual does not in any case exceed the ceiling areas which such member shall be entitled to hold as one person;]
(j) lands held by a Bhoodan Samiti recognised by the State Government jn this behalf;
28[(k) * * * * * *] 29[(1A) Every person who holds land which is eligible to the exemption provided in sub-section (1) shall,
(i) in a case where such land was eligible to exemption immediately before the specified date or where such land becomes eligible to exemption on the specified date within a period of ninety days from the specified date, and
(ii) in any other case within a period of ninety days from the date on which it becomes eligible to exemption by reason of its satisfying the require- ments of the provisions of sub-section (1), make an application in the prescribed form to the Collector within whose juris- diction such land is situate, for a certificate that the land in question is eligible to exemption from the provisions of this Act.
(1B) On receipt of such application the Collector shall, after giving to the applicant an opportunity to be heard and after making such inquiry as he thinks fit, decide whether the land is eligble to exemption or not, (1C) If the Collector decides that the land or any portion thereof is eligible to exemption, he shall issue a certificate in the prescribed form to the applicant to the effect that the land specified therein is entitiled to exemption from the provisions of this Act, and no land in respect of which such certifiacate of Act 5 of 1970 exemption has not been issued shall be eligible to exemption under subsection (1).
(1D) The decision of the Collector under sub-section (1B) shall, subject to the decision of the State Government in an appeal, if any, which may be filed by the applicant aggrieved by the decision of the Collector within a period of ninety days from the date of communication of the decision to the applicant the decision of the State Government in such appeal or in exercise of its powers under section 52, shall be final and conclusive and shall not be called in question in any suit or proceeding in any court or before any [authority.]
(2) An exempted land shall cease to be exmpted land if it ceases to sati- sfy [the requirements of the provisions of sub-section (1) applicable thereto.
30[If at any time it appears to the Collector that any exempted land or portion thereof has ceased to satisfy any of the requirements of the provisions of sub section (1) and has consequently ceased to be exempted land, the Collector may, after giving to the holder of such land an opportunity to be heard and satisfying himself that the land or any portion thereof has ceased to be exempted land, by order published in the prescribed manner, direct that with effect from such date as may be specified in the order such land or portion thereof shall cease to be exempted from the provisions of this Act and thereupon the certificate granted to the holder under sub-section (1C) shall stand revoked in respect of such land, or as the case may be, portion thereof,] 31[(3) The Devasthan lands which immediately before the date of the commencement of the Gujarat Devasthan Inams Abolition Act, 1969 were exempted under clause (d) of sub-section (1) .shall with effect on and from the said date cease to be exempted lands].
32[(4) No exempted land shall be transferred by way of sale, gift, exchange, mortgage, lease, assignment or otherwise, or partitioned, without the previous permission of the Collector :
Provided that the Collector may grant such permission on such conditions as may be prescribed.
(5) Any transfer or partition of exempted land in contravention of sub- section
(4) shall be void.
(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Bombay public trusts Act, 1950 or in the instrument of trust relating to any institution referred to in clause (ddd) of sub-section (1), for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of the said clause (ddd) it shall be lawful :
(a) for the trustees of such institution to create and get registered a separate trust in respect of the lands utilised by such institution for maintenance of Panjrapole or Gaushala and for that purpose to make an application for the registration of such separate trust in accordance with the provisions of the said Act, to the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner having jurisdiction under section 18 of the said Act, and
(b) for the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner having jurisdiction to deal with such application in accordance with the provisions of the said Act, as if it were an application for registration of a new trust.
CHAPTER II.
CEILNG AREA.
4. There shall be classes of local areas in the State as specified in Schedule I and the local areas falling in each such class shall be as respectively specified in Schedule II.