(1) Any owner may, by declcla ration made in f;TGon .th.e prescribed manner, donate his land for Bhoodan 'Yagna or for Gramdan:
Provided tbat- (4 where a lanu is owned jointly by i,wo or more persons, the donation of such land shal1 not .be valid unless the declaration is signed by all such joint owaers;
and
(b) a declaration nzde by or on behalf of a person wlzo has not completed the age of 21 years shall not be valid.
42) :Every declaration made under sub-secfipn ( I ) shdll -be fikd brfore the Tahsildar within qhose jurisdiction the land is situate:
Provided that if the land is situate within the jurisdiction of mare than one Tahsildar the declaration may -be filed before the Tahsildar within whose jurisdiction any -portion ,of the land is situate.
(3) Without prejudice to the generaIity of the ,foregoing .provisions no donation .of land made in pursuance of this Act by a .member of a Scheduled Tribe or Scheduled Caste for the purpose of Bhoodan Yagna or Gramdan, shall he declared invalid or inope-rative or ,otherwise open to cl~allsnge, merely on the,ground that any other law restricts or prohiblrs d ~ n s f e r s by members of such Tribes or .Castes wlthout previous consent of any*authority specsed in -any such law.
23. (:13 Every declaration filed under sub-section Dcclaratiwr filed undm (2) of section 12 shall, -as soon as possibIe, be publi- =tiw shed in such manner as may be prescribed, together ~ 4 t h a:notice:requiring all persons interested to sub- & .$heir o bjecths if any, in writing ,to the Tahsildar within two months fiom the date of such publication.
(2) A copy of thc dcclaration together with the notice referred to in sub--section ( I ) , shall also be served in the prescribed manner by the Tahsildar on each of the persons known or believed to be interested in the land specified in the declaration, SO far as such service may be practicable.
(3) 9 the expiry of the period of two months specified in sub-section ( I ) and after giving notice to the Samiti, the Local Committee concerned, the donor and the person, if any, who has fled objections, the Tahsildar shall proceed to investigate as to the right, title and interest of the donor in respect of the land donated by him and consider all the objections filed under sub-section (I), and thereafter he may by an order either accept the declaration or reject it for any of the reasons mentioned in subsection (6).
(4) Where the Tahsildar accepts the declaration and if it is confxmed or deemed to have been confirmed by the Samiti under sub-section (6), the donor shall deliver possession of the land to the Samiti; and thereupon, the donation of the land shall, subject to any order in an appeal under section 27 or revision under section 28 or any decision in a suit under section 29 or in a further proceeding in relation to such suit, be irrevocable and all the ri stand transferred to, and vested in, the Samiti.
f? title and inrerest of the donor in such land s ali
(5)Every order accepting a declaration under sub-section (3) which is confirmed or deemed to have been confirmed by the Samiti under sub-section (6) shall be published in the Gazette.
(6) The Samiti may, at any time within two months from the date of the order passed by the Tahsildar under sub-section (3), by order,confirrn any declaration accepted by the Tahsildar, or , reject it for any of the following reasons, namely:-
(i) that there are encumbrances on the land;
(ii) that there are arrears of land revenue or rent due on the Iand ;
(iii) that the donor is not the owner ,of the land or. is otherwise ' not cqmpetent to make the donation: or
(iv) that there is any other good or sufficient reason :
Provided that if no ord&r is passed by the Sanliti either confir mi ng or rejecting any declaration accepted by the Tahsildar within the said period of two months, it shall be deemed that the declaration has been confirmed by the Samiti.
(7) Where a declaration is rejected under this section or in an appeal. under section 27 or revision under section 28 or in a suit under section 29 or in a further proceeding in relation to such suit, the donation shall stand cancelled and the donor shall be deemed to continue to have the same right, title and interest as well as the same liabilities in respect of such land as he ha3 immediately prior to the filing of the declaration.
.1 Grant ot 14. ' [ ( I ) The Sarniti may, aftei ' taking into by ihc consideration the wishes of the donor as far as samitl.
possible, and subject to the limitations hereinafter provided, grant any land which has vested in it to a landless person who is abIe and willing to cultivate the land, or to the Governnlent or a local. authority.
(I-a ) The maximum extent of land to be rrranted to a landlcss person shall be- -
(a) if he doed not own any land, two acres; or
(b) ifhe owns land measuring less than two acres, an area by which the land owned by him falls short of two acres. .
(1-6) No land shall be granted to ' the Governr~lent or to a local authority in excess of five acres or for a pursose othcr than community purpose.
(1-c) The person, Government or local authority to whom any land is so granted shall acquire therein such rigts and remain subject to such liabilities, condj tions, restrictions and limitations as may be prescribed.
1. ~ubstitutcd by thc OF~?-= Bhoodan and Gramdan ( Amendment) Act, I978 (Or. Act 15 of 1978), S. 2.
~57-73 (a) Law] 610 THE ORISSA BHQODAN AND GRAMDAN ACT, 1970 [Or Acf.
(2) No permanent grant of land siiall be made under sub-section ( I ) until three months havc expired from the date of the order codrming the declaratinn by the Samiti or from the date when the Samiti shaTI be deemed to have confirmed the declaration or where an appeal is preferred under section 27 or a revision is filed under section 28 or a suit is instituted under section 29, until such appeal, revision or the suit or any further proceeding in relstion thereto is finaIly disposed of upholding such declaration.
(3) The Samiti may take such steps for the temporary management of the lands vested in it as it thinks fit in accordance with the rules made in this behalf, until they are disposed of under this Act.
Fund and property of
15. ( I ) The Samiti shall have its own Fund called ,hCSadti. the Orissa Bhoodan Yagna Sa~niti Fund; and all moneys which may, from time to time, be paid to it by any agency or any Government or any local authoritjT or any person shall be credited to the fund and all payments by the Samiti shsll be made ther* from.
(2) All moneys belonging to the fund shall be deposited in such Banks or invested in such manner as may, subject to the approval of the State Government, be decided by the Samiti,
(3) All property, Fund and other assets vesting in the Samiti shall be held and applied by it subject to the provisions and for the purposes of this Act.
(4) The Samiti may accept any land in exchange for the land donated in pursuance of Bhoodan Yagna or Gramdan. --
CHAPTER 111 Declaration of a village 16. ( I ) Where, in a village or in a part of a as Gramdan viuagev illage and constitution o c Gmma (a) the extent of lands donated for Bhoodan Parishad. Yagna or Gramdan, in respect of which declarations fiIed under section 12 have been confirmed or deemed to have been confirmed, is not less than fifty-one per cent of the total extent of land held under ~ f i v ~ t e ownership by the residents of that v~Ilagc or part thereof;
ib) number of persons whose declarations have been so confirmed is not Iess than seventy-five per cent of the total number of Persons owning Iands and residing in the village or part thereof; and
(c) not less than seventy-five per cenl of the persons who have completed the age of twenty-one Years and who are residing in the village or part thereof have declared in the* prescribed form and manner their desrre to participate in the Grarndan movement, the State Government or any officer not below the rank of a Collector specially authorised by them in that behalf may, on ihe recommendation of the Samjl~, declare, by notification, the village or such part thereof, as the cdse may be, to be a Gramdan village with effect from the date specified in such notification :
Provied that no such part of a village shall be so declared unless the lands donated from a compact block and unless the requisite extent of communal and reserved land is contiguous to that part.
@,As soon as may be after the publication of the notification under sub-section ( I ) , there shall be constituted for the Gramdan Village specified in the notification, a Grama Parishad and every person who has completed the age of twenty.one years who, either has donated any Iand far Bhoodan Yagna or Gramdan or who owns any land or house or whose name is included in the electoral roll of that village under the Orissa Grama Panchayat Act, 1964, shall :Fsp"ts be a member of such Parishad:
provided that a person shall be disqualified for being a member of such Parishd if he is not a citizen of India or is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court.
(3) The ~Grama Parishad shall be a body car.
porate having perpetual szlccession and a cornmoll seal with power, subjwt to the provisions of this Act 612 TE~E ORISSA BHOOBAN AND GRAMDAN ACT, 1970 [Or. Act.
and the rules made thereu rider, to accgire, hold and &spose of property and to contract and may, by the said name, sue or be sued.
(4) The Sallliti shall cause to be prepared and publislxd in the prescijbcd manner a list of the names of members of each Grama Parishad and the Grama Parishad may, from time to time, amend the list for the purpose of bringing it up-to-datc and n copy of every such amcndrnet~t shaI1 be forwarded to the Samiti which shall cause it to tz published in the prescribed manner.
(5) Every such list and the amendments therctfi published under sub-section (4) shall be final and shall not be questioned in any court of law.
(6) With effect from the date on which the list of members of the Grama Parishad is first published all the lands in the Gramdan village which have vested in -the Samiti under this Act, shall stand transferred- t o and vest in, the Grarua Parished.
(7) Any land iu - the Gratndan village which vests in the Samiti by way of donation aftcr the aforesaid date shall also stand tra~lsferred to and vest in, the Grama Pirishad with effect from the date on which it vested in the Samiti.
(8) There shall be a President and a Vice- President for each. Grama Parishad -who shall be elected in the priscribed manner by tfie members of' the Grama Parishad from among themselves.
(9) The President and the Vice-President shall hold office for a period of four years from the respective date of their eIection.
(10) The President may resign' his office by giving notice ,-in writing to the Grama Parishad and on the resignation being accepted by the Parishad he shall be deemed to have vacated his office.
(11) The Vice-President may resign his ofice by giving notice in writing to the President and Ite shall be deemed to have vacated his ofice with effect from the date on which the notice was received by the President.
(I2) The President shall exercise such powers and perform such functions as may be prescribed.
i - . :
(13) The Vice-President shall exercise such powers and pel-form such ions o f the President as thc President m:iy, fro111 time to time, dclcgate to him in writing.
(14) Any casual vacancy, in office of the President or Vice-President shall, as soon as may be after tfze occrztrcnce of such vacnncy, be filled u? by election held in accordance i; ith the provisions of su b-sectior~
(8) and the PresidenL or the Vice-Prcsideut so elected shall enter upon ofice forthwith but shall fiold oj'fice only for thc residue of the tcrm of his predecessor.