(1) In every district, the whole or part of which is declared to be a notified area, there shall be a committee to be called the District Land Improvement Committee consisting of the Deputy Commissioner, District Agricultural Officer, Soil Conservation Officer, Divisional Forest Officer, Chairman of the Zila Parishad and Chairman or Chairmen of Panchayat Samiti or Panchayat Samitis of the blocks which Notification of areas Constitution etc., of District Land Improvement Committees.
wholly or partly fall within the whole or part of the notified area:
Provided that where more than one Soil Conservation Officers are posted in a district, the Soil Conservation Officer within whose jurisdiction the bulk of the notified area is situated shall alone be the member of the District Land Improvement Committee.
(2) The Deputy Commissioner shall be the Chairman of the District Land Improvement Committee and the Soil Conservation Officer shall be the Secretary thereof.
(3) Three members shall form the quorum for a meeting of the District Land Improvement Committee.
(4) All questions before the District Land Improvement Committee shall be decided according to the opinion of the majority of the members present and voting. In case of equality of votes, the Chairman shall have a second or casting vote.
5.(1) A District Land Improvement Committee may direct the preparation of a land improvement scheme for the whole or a part of the notified area within the district, which may provide for all or any of the following matters : -
(i) prevention of erosion of soil;
(ii) preservation and improvement of soil;
(iii) reclamation of waste land;
(iv) improvement in the methods of cultivation including dry farming practices and extension of cultivation;
(v) construction of earth and masonry works in fields, gullies and ravines;
Functions of District Land Improvement Committees.
(vi) training of streams;
(vii) planting and preservation of trees, shrubs and grass on uncultivable land or providing shelter-belts against wind or sand movement;
(viii) regulation of prohibition of firing of vegetation;
(ix) improvement of water-supply;
(x) farm drainage and other works incidental to, or connected with, any of the aforesaid purposes;
(xi) any other matter which may be prescribed.
(2) On a direction being issued under sub-section (1), the Soil Conservation Officer shall prepare in the prescribed manner a draft scheme which amongst other things shall contain the following particulars:-
(i) objects of the scheme;
(ii) the boundaries and approximate areas of the land to be included in the scheme;
(iii) the persons, including the Government, who will be affected by the scheme;
(iv) the works to be carried out under the scheme;
(v) the agency through which the works shall be carried out ;and
(vi) such other particulars as may be considered necessary.
6.The Soil Conservation Officer or any other person authorised in writing by the District Land Improvement Committee or the Soil Conservation Officer may enter upon any land in a notified area for the purpose of survey and preparation of a scheme and do all acts necessary for such purpose and in particular, may- Power to enter upon lands to do certain acts.
(a) dig or bore into the sub-soil; or
(b) take levels and mark boundaries ;or
(c) place, erect or fix any peg or mark; or
(d) do all other acts necessary for such purpose.
7.(1) The Soil Conservation Officer shall prepare the draft scheme as required by sub-section (2) of section 5 and shall submit the same to the District Land Improvement Committee, which may either approve the draft scheme with or without modification or reject it and prepare or cause to be prepared another draft scheme.
(2) After the draft scheme is approved by the District Land Improvement Committee, it shall be published in English, Hindi and Punjabi languages in the Official Gazette and also in the prescribed manner in every village and at the headquarters of the tehsil and district in which the lands included in the scheme are situated, and a copy thereof shall be affixed in the offices of the Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad concerned.
(3)As soon as the draft scheme is approved, the District Land Improvement Committee shall, appoint a person to be an Enquiry Officer.
8. The District Land Improvement Committee shall simultaneously with the publication of the draft scheme in the Official Gazette require all persons affected by the scheme to make, within thirty days of such publication, any objections to the scheme or part thereof to the Enquiry Officer either in writing or by appearing personally before him.
Approval and publication of schemes.
Objections to Schemes.
9. The Enquiry Officer shall inquire into the objections received by him and submit them to the District Land Improvement Committee together with his report and recommendations thereon.
10.After considering the objections and the report and recommendations of the Enquiry Officer thereon and any further report which the District Land Improvement Committee may require from him, the District Land Improvement Committee may sanction the scheme, with or without modification or reject it:
Provided that the District Land Improvement Committee shall not sanction the scheme if the majority of the owners of the land included in the scheme, other than the Government, or the owners, other than the Government, owning in the aggregate more than fifty per centum of the land included in the scheme have objected to the making of the scheme.
11. The Scheme as sanctioned under section 10 shall be published in the same manner as is provided in sub-section (2) of section 7 and on such publication shall be deemed to be final and shall come into force from the date of such publication in the Official Gazette.
12. For the purpose of carrying out a scheme which has come into force under section 11, the District Land Improvement Committee may, with the prior approval of the State Government, make regulations requiring any person or persons or the public generally to take certain action or to refrain from doing certain acts in respect of any matter included in the scheme or which may be supplementary or incidental to the scheme.
Enquiry into objections and report.
Publication of final scheme.
Sanctioning of final scheme.
Power of District land Improvement Committees to make regulations.
CHAPTER III EXECUTION OF SCHEMES
13. When a scheme comes into force under section 11, the Soil Conservation Officer shall proceed to execute the scheme.
14.(1) Every landowner affected by a scheme shall, unless he himself carries out the works apportioned to him, be liable to pay the cost with interest thereon of such works in proportion to the area of land owned by him which has been included in the scheme.
(2) If any landowner desires to carry out the works himself under the technical guidance of the Soil Conservation Officer, the landowner shall give notice in writing to that effect to the Soil Conservation Officer within thirty days of the publication of the scheme in the Official Gazette under section 11.
(3) On receipt of such notice, the Soil Conservation Officer shall inform the landowner about the works which are to be carried out on his land and shall fix the date before which the landowner shall carry out the works.
(4) If the landowner fails to carry out any of such works to the satisfaction of the Soil Conservation Officer, or express his inability to do so in writing, before the date fixed for completion of the works, the Soil Conservation Officer may himself cause the works to be carried out and recover the expenses incurred for the purpose with interest thereon from the landowner in such manner as may be prescribed.
Soil Conservation Officer to execute the scheme.
Power to carry out works under the scheme.
1[14-A (1) Where –
(a) the Department intends to lay underground pipeline or repair or renovation, as the case may be, of existing underground pipeline through holding of any other land holders for the purpose of irrigation; or
(b) a farmer or a group of farmers intend to lay an underground pipeline or repair or renovation, as the case may be, of existing pipeline through the holding of any other land owner for the purpose of irrigation on his holding or as the case may be, their holdings; and the matter is not settled by mutual agreement, then the District Level Committee may, by order, allow the Department or the farmer or the group of farmers, as the case may be, to lay pipeline or repair or renovation, as the case may be, of existing pipeline, at least three feet beneath the surface of the land along the demarcated line on payment of such compensation arising out of crop damage or damage to any structure to the land owner. The District Level Committee shall determine the amount of compensation to be paid as per prevalent market prices to the land holder through whose land the pipeline is to be laid or repaired or renovated and its decision shall be binding upon all the parties.
(2) The Department or the farmer or the group of farmers, as the case may be, shall submit a written application to the District Level Committee detailing the land owner/s details through which the pipeline shall be laid or repaired or renovated and 1 Added by Punjab Act no.25 of 2017 ,section 2 Laying of underground pipeline or repair of renovation of existing underground pipeline.
line demarcated for laying of pipeline alongwith the damage as shall be caused to crop or any structure that is in way of demarcated line.
(3) The Department or the farmer or the group of farmers, as the case may be, permitted to avail any of the facilities referred to in sub-section (1) shall not, by virtue of the said facility, acquire any other right in the holding through which such facility is granted.
(4) The Department or the farmer or the group of farmers, as the case may be, to whom such facility is granted, shall also ensure that the land be restored up to the satisfaction of the land holder after laying of underground pipeline.
14-B. (1) In every district, there shall be constituted a committee to be called the District Level Committee for granting compensation , to the Department or the farmer or the group of farmers , as the case may be , consisting of the following , namely:-
(i) Deputy Commissioner Chairman
(ii) Divisional Soil Conservation Officer Convener
(iii) District Revenue Officer Member
(iv) Executive Engineer, Public Member Works Department (B&R)
(v) Divisional Forest Officer Member
(2) The Convener shall convene the meeting of the District Level Committee on receipt of request to lay underground pipeline or repair or renovation, as the case may be, of existing pipeline.
(3) Four member including the Chairman and the Convener shall form the quorum for a meeting of the District Level Committee.
(4) All questions before the District Level Committee shall be decided according to the opinion of the majority of members present and voting. In the case of Constitution of District Level Committees.
equality of votes, the Chairman shall have a second or casting vote.]
15. Notwithstanding anything contained in section 14, the State Government may, in the case of any scheme which has come into force under section 11, direct that any work under the scheme may, in public interest, be carried out by the State Government and that the cost of such work with interest thereon shall be recovered in whole or in part from the land owners in proportion to the area owned by each landowner which has been included in the scheme.
CHAPTER IV MAINTENANCE, REPAIR AND USE OF WORKS CARRIED OUT UNDER SCHEMES.