2[(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any law or any custom, practice or usage having the force of law ,Government shall not be deemed to be debarred from exercising all or any of the following powers in respect of Government lands, namely :
(a) to reserve such portion of the lands as they deem proper for the purpose of being used as house-sites or for any communal or industrial purpose or for any other purpose whatsoever;
(b) to charge premium for settlement of any such land;
(c) to charge rent for the lands so settled;
(d) to charge fees on applications for settlement of lands and such other fees as may be necessary for or incidental to the disposal of such fees shall be payable in the prescribed manner; and 3[(e) to authorise any officer of Government not below the rank of a Tahasildar to dispose of applications for settlement of lands and to settle the same in such manner as may be prescribed and subject to the provisions of Subsections (2) & (3) :]
4[Provided that no Government land recorded as Gochar shall be reserved for any purpose mentioned in Clause (a) or settled under Clause (e) without being dereserved in accordance with the provisions contained in Section 3-A.]
4[(2) In the settlement of lands under Clause (e) of Sub-section (1), seventy per centum thereof shall be settled with the persons belonging to the Scheduled Tribes and the Scheduled Castes in proportion to their respective populations in the village in which the lands are situated and the remaining lands shall be settled with the other persons not belonging to the aforesaid categories:
Provided that if sufficient number of persons belonging to the aforesaid categories are not available in the village in which the lands are situated, or being available, are A-1. Added vide Odisha Act No. 26 of 2013,O.G.E. No. 2206, dated 13.11.2013.
1. Inserted vide Orissa Act No. 5 of 1974.
2. Re-numbered vide Orissa Act No. 5 of 1974.
3. Substituted vide Orissa Act No. 5 of 1974.
4. Inserted vide Orissa Act No. 48 of 1975.
4 not willing to accept the settlement of land so much of the land reserved for the said persons as cannot be settled with them may be settled with other persons.]
1[(2-a) 2[ * * * *]] 3[(3) The settlement of land under this section shall be made in the following order of priority, namely-
(a) co-operative farming societies formed by landless agricultural labourers;
(b) any landless agricultural labourers of the village in which the land is situate or of any neighbouring village;
(c) ex-servicemen or members of the Armed Forces of the Union, if they belong to the village in which the land is situated;
(d) raiyats who personally cultivate not more than one standard acre of 4[* * * *] land;
Explanation– ln this clause the expression “Standard Acre” has the meaning assigned to it in the Orissa Land Reforms Act 16 of 1960; and
(e) in the absence of person belonging to any of the foregoing categories, any other person.]
5[(4) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the preceding subsections or in any law or any custom, practice or usage having the force of law-
(a) any land of the category of Khasamahal, Nazul, Gramkantha Parambok or Abadi, wherever situated and used for any purpose, may, on application, be permanently settled with heritable and transferable right with the person who is in occupation of such land either on the basis of lease or otherwise for a period of at least three years prior to the appointed date, in such manner and subject to payment of such amount to the Government as may be prescribed;
Explanation :– The word ‘lease’ includes sub-lease or subsequent lease by the lessee or the sub-lessee, as the case may be.
(b) if any person in occupation of the land as mentioned in clause (a) fails to apply under the provisions of the said clause within a period as may be prescribed from the date of publication of the Orissa Government Land Settlement (Amendment) Act, 2009 in the Official Gazette for settlement of such land, he shall be summarily evicted in the manner prescribed and such land shall be resumed by the Government; and
(c) the amount and rent payable to Government for such settlement through the Tahasildar concerned shall be recovered as arrear of land revenue, if the occupant fails to pay the same at the time of settlement.
1. Inserted vide Orissa Act No. 18 of 1981.
2. Omitted vide Orissa Act No. 15 of 2009 (w.e.f. 26.2.2009).
3. Inserted vide Orissa Act No. 5 of 1974.
4. Deleted vide Orissa Act No. 18 of 1981.
5. Substituted by Act No. 15 of 2009, (w.e.f. 26.2.2009) previously it was inserted by Orissa Act No. 1 of 1991.
5
Explanation :– For the purpose of this sub-section the expression “appointed date” shall mean the date of commencement of the Orissa Government Land Settlement (Amendment) Act, 2009.]
1[(5) Government shall, from time to time determine the maximum extent of land to be settled with any person under the provisions of this Act, for different purpose.]
2[3-A. Power to de-reserve land :– (1) The Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, authorise any officer, not below the rank of a Collector, to dereserve any land which has been reserved under Clause (a) of Section 3 3[of any Government land recorded as Gochar] or any portion thereof.
(2) Any officer authorised under Sub-section (1) shall subject to such conditions and limitations as may be prescribed, have power to de-reserve any land referred to in that sub-section or any portion thereof, as the case may be,-
(a) is no longer required for the purpose for which it was reserved; or
(b) can no longer serve the purpose for which it was reserved;
(c) is in excess of the reasonable requirement for the purpose for which it was reserved :
3[Provided that the officer so authorised shall, in assessing the reasonable requirement for the purpose of Gochar follow the prescribed principles laying down the extent of Gochar land to be set apart for use by the community.]
3-B. Resumption of land and imposition of penalty :– 4[Any officer authorized under clause (e) of section 3 may resume any land settled by him, if he has reasons to believe that¯
(a) the person with whom the land was settled, has used it for any purpose other than that for which it was settled; or
(b) the person, other than homesteadless person or landless agricultural labourer, has not used the land for a period exceeding three years from the date of such settlement, and may impose a penalty of an amount not exceeding one thousand rupees on such person :
Provided that no order under this section shall be passed without giving such person a reasonable opportunity of being heard in the matter :
Provided further that any land settled prior to the commencement of the Odisha Government Land Settlement (Amendment) Act, 2013, if not used within a period of three years from the date of such commencement, the authorized officer shall resume such land.”.