(1) Subject to the provisions of section 15, if after the commencement of this Act, any person, whether as landowner or tenant, acquires by inheritance or by bequest or gift from a person to whom he is an heir of any land, any person has acquired by transfer, exchange, lease, agreement or settlement any land, or if, after such commencement, any person acquires in any other manner any land, which, with or without the lands already owned or held by him, exceeds in the aggregate the permissible area or any person whose land exceeds the permissible area as a result of the operation of any provision of this Act, then he shall, within the period prescribed, furnish to the Collector, a return in the prescribed form and manner giving the particulars of all lands and selecting the land not exceeding in the aggregate the permissible area which he desires to retain, and if the land of such person is situate in more than one patwar circle, he shall also furnish a declaration required by section 9.
(2) If he fails to furnish the return and select his land within the prescribed period, then the Collector may in respect of him obtain the information required to be shown in the return through such agency as he may deem fit and select the land for him in the manner specified in sub-section (1) of section 8.
(3) If such person fails to furnish the declaration, the provisions of 1[section 9] shall apply.
(4) The excess land of such person shall be at the disposal of the State Government for utilisation as surplus area under section 15 or for such other purpose as the State Government may by notification direct.
Explanation.- In the case of family, the return may be furnished by any adult member, of the family and in the case of the sole minor by his guardian :
Provided that the Collector shall, before determining the surplus area, give to all the members of the family an opportunity of being heard.
2[17-A. Treatment of certain transfers and change of use of lands exempted under section 5.- (1) The Collector shall call for, from the revenue
1. Substituted for the words and figures "section 8" vide H. P. Act No. 1 of 1974, effective from 28th July, 1973.
2. Inserted vide H.P. Act No. 7 of 2000.
THE HIMACHAL PRADESH CEILING ON LAND HOLDINGS ACT, 1972 16 officers in his district, the record of transfers of lands made, after the appointed day but before the commencement of the Himachal Pradesh Ceiling on Land Holdings (Amendment) Act, 1999 by way of sale, mortgage, gift or otherwise in respect of any land comprised in any tea estate, whether under a tea plantation or held for other purposes subservient to a tea plantation and exempted under clause (g) of section 5 of the Act and the rules framed thereunder, and examine such record for satisfying himself as to the legality or propriety of such transfer.
(2) Where either on examination of the record under sub-section (1) or in consequence of definite information which may come into his possession, and after making such enquiry, as he may deem fit, the collector is satisfied that the transfer of land has been made or land has been put to some other use, as a result of fraud or concealment of facts or is detrimental to the interests of the tea plantation/industry, he shall, at any time within two years following the commencement of the Himachal Pradesh Ceiling on Land Holdings (Amendment) Act, 1999, declare such transfer or change of use of land as illegal and void:
Provided that no order under this sub-section shall be passed by the Collector without affording an opportunity of being heard, in the case of the transfer of land to the parties to such transfer, and in the case of change of land use to the land owner.
(3) Where the change of land use has been declared as illegal under sub-section (2), the Collector shall direct the land owner to restore within such period, not exceeding one year, as may be fixed by him, the user of the land for tea plantation or for the purpose subservient to tea plantation i.e. the purpose on account of which it has been exempted from the provisions of the Act under clause (g) of section 5 of the Act, failing which such land shall be taken into account for the purpose of determining the permissible area under section 4 of the Act.
(4) Where any transfer of land has been declared void under subsection (2), all rights, title and interests, including the contingent interests, if any, of the land owner and of any other person/transferee in such transferred land, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any other law for the time being in force or in any agreement, instrument, custom or usage shall stand extinguished and all such rights, title and interests shall vest in and shall stand transferred to the State Government together with structures, buildings or other attachments, if any, free from all encumbrances and the person in possession of such land shall be liable to ejectment under the provisions of section 163 of the Himachal Pradesh Land Revenue Act, 1954, and such a person shall be entitled only to such amount in lieu of such land as would have been determined and payable to him under the Act, as if such land was in excess of the permissible area and had vested in the State Government under section 11:
Provided that in exceptional cases of hardship, the Collector, with the prior approval of the State Government and for reasons to be recorded in writing, may, in lieu of the transfer and vestment of any structure, building or THE HIMACHAL PRADESH CEILING ON LAND HOLDINGS ACT, 1972 17 other attachments together with the land thereunder, order the transfer and vestment free from all encumbrances of any other land, equivalent to the land covered under the aforesaid structure, building or attachment thereto, out of the permissible area of such a land owner who has transferred the land.]