(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force but subject to the provisions of this Chapter—
(a) Where any land, held by an individual in personal cultivation whether as owner or as tenant or otherwise, was in excess of the ceiling area on the first day of September, 1971, the rights, title and interest of such individual in the excess land shall be deemed to have vested in the [Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir], free from all encumbrances, on the first day of May, 1973 ;
(b) Where aggregate land held in personal cultivation by the members of a family, whether jointly or severally, as owners or as tenants or otherwise, was in excess of the ceiling area on the first day of September, 1971, the rights, title and interest of such members in the excess land shall be deemed to have vested in the [Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir], free from all encumbrances, on the first day of May, 1973.
(2) Such individual or the head of such family, as the case may be, shall have the option of selecting, in such manner and subject to such conditions, as may be prescribed, the land such individual or family desires to retain with himself or itself, as the case may be, within the limits provided for by this Act, but no land in a demarcated forest shall be so selected :
Provided that the selection made from the holdings of different members of a family shall be proportionate to the area of land held by each member of the family, unless the wife and the husband agree otherwise.