(1) This Act may be cdled the Tamil Nedu shmt tit~, Rural Artisans (Conferment of Ownership of Kudi- extent and yiruppu) Act, 1976. commence ment. (2) It extends to the whole of the State of Tamil Nadu, exccpt-
(i) the City of Madras,
(ii) the City of Madurai, and
(iii) the area comprised in a municipal town or in a township constituted by or under eny law for the time being in force.
(3) It shall come into force a t once.
2. It is hercby ddclared that this Act is for giving Declaration.
effect to the policy of the State towards securing the principles sptcificd in cl~.ususe (b) and cla.use (c) of article 39 of th; Constitution.
3. Nothing in this Act shall apply to any land Exemptions held by the Central Governmeat or any State Government or any local authority or any corporation established by or under a Central Act or a State Act or ,any Gov~rnment Company as defined in section 617 of the Con~panies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956).
* For Reasons for the enactment, see Tamil Nadu Government Gazette ~xtraordinary, dated the 19th October 1976, Part 1 ~ - Section 2, Pages 329-330.
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4. In this Act, unless the content otherwise requires,- I
(1) C c authorisc d officer " meads any I[Reven 1 e Officer not below the rank of lahsildar] authorised by the Govzrnrnent by notification to ~xcrcise the p3wers conferred on, and discharge the duties imposed upm, the authorised officer under this Act, for such arca as may be specified in the notification;
(2) 6' Court " means the Subordinate JudgtSs Court having jurisdiction and if thcre is no such Subordinate Judge's Court, the District Court having jurisdiction;
(3) c c Government " means the State Government;
(4) '6 kudiyiru.ppu" means the site of any dwelling house or hut (other than in a plantation or land hild for ancillary purposes of plantation), occupisd, either as tenant or as licensee, by any rural artisan and includcs such othcr area adjacent to such dwelling house or hut as mxy bc necessary for the convenient enjoyment thereof.
Explanation I.-For the purposes of this Act, i t shall be presumed that any person occupying the kudiyiruppu is a rural artisan until the contrary is proved.
Explanation 11.-In determining the qucstion whether for the purposes of this clause any arta adjacent to the dwelling house or hut is neccsszry far the convenicnt enjoym~nt of such dwelling house or hut-
(i) the area ~ h i c h the rural artisan had been enjoying on the 1st day of July, 1973; and
(ii) such other factors, as may be prescribed, shall be taken into account;
1 I
(5) c c person interested ", in rclation to any kudiyiruppu or superstructure thcreon, includcs any pcrson claiming, or entitled to claim, an interest in the amount payable on account of the vcsting of that kudiyiruppu or in the rural artisan;
I i ~ h e s e words were substiluted for the words '<Gazetted Officer" by section 7 of the Tamil Nadu Kudiyiruppu Laws (Amendment) Act, 1982 (Tamil Nadu Act 35 of 1982).
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(6) " plantation " means any land used for growing all or any of the following, namely, cardamom, cinchona, coffee, rubber or tea ;
(7) " plantation labourer " means a person whose principal means of livelihood is the income he gets as wages for his manual labour on plantation ;
(8) " rural artisan " means a person, other than a plantation labourer, who does not hold any land other than the kudiyiruppu and whose annual household income does not exceed two thousand and four hundred rupees and-
(a) whose principal means of livelihood is production or repair of traditional tools, implements and other articles of things used for agriculture or purposes ancillary thereto ; or
(b) who normally earns his livelihood by practising any craft either by his own labour or by the labour of the members of his family.
Explanation.-For the purposes of this clause,-
(i) a village carpenter, blacksmith, barber, washerman or potter or any other person engaged in any such calling or employment as the Government may, by notification, specify shall be deemed to be a rural artisan if he does not hold any land other than the kudiyiruppu and his annual household income does not exceed two thousand and four hundred rupees and he normally earns his livelihood by practising the craft either by his own labour or by the labour of the members of his family ;
(ii) " annual household income " means the total of the annual income from all sources of all the members of a family ;
(iii) " family ", in relation to a person, means the individual, the wife or husband, as the case may be, of such individual and their unmarried minor children ;
(iv) "minor" means a person who has not completed his or her age of eighteen years ;
(9) " Schedule " means the Schedule appended this Act ;
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(10) "tenant" means any person who has paid or has agreed to pay rent or other consideration for his being allowed by another to enjoy the land of the latter under a tenancy agreement, express or implied, and includes his heirs and legal representatives ;
(1 1) " to hold land " with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means to hold land whether as owner, tenant or mortgagee with possession or partly in one capacity and partly in another;
(12) " vested kudiyiruppu or superstructure " means the kudiyiruppu or the superstructure which has vested absolutely in a rural artisan under section 5.
Rural artisan 5. (1) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, any occupying rural artisan who was occupying any kudiyiruppu on the kudiyiruppu 1st day of July 1975, either as tenant or as licensee, shall, to owner. become with effect from the commencement of this Act, be the owner of such kudiyiruppu and such kudiyiruppu shall vest in him absolutely free from all encumbrances.
(2) Where, in the case of a rural artisan in whom such kudiyiruppu vests under sub-section (I), the superstructure belongs to any person other than such rural artisan, such superstructure shall also, with effect from the commencement of this Act, vest in such rural artisan absolutely free from all encumbrances.
(3) Nothing in sub-section (1) shall be deemed to confer the right of ownership of kudiyiruppu on any rural artisan if he already owns a dwelling house or hut within a distance of one kilometre from the kudiyiruppu referred to in sub-section (1) :
Provided that the site on which the dwelling house or hut is erected is more than 1.214 acres in extent.
pravision of 6. (1) (a) Where on an application by the owner alternative' of any land, the authorised officer is satisfied that the site in kudiyiruppu referred to in sub-section (1) of section 5 certain casd. (hereafter in this section referred to as the "existing kudiyiruppu ") is located in any portion of such land and that the vesting of such kudiyiruppu in any rural artisan may cause inconvenience for the convenient enjoyment of such land as a whqle by. such owner, the authorjsed officer may, by order in writing, permit such owner to P rovide an alternative site within the same land or in Remove Watermark Wondershare PDFelement http://cbs.wondershare.com/go.php?pid=5261&m=db 1976: President's Act 58]Rural Artisans (Confirment of 641 Ownership of Kudiyiruppu) any other land already owned by such owner, within such distance and within such period as may be prescribed, for the occupation of the rural artisan concerned.
(b) The alternative site shall satisfy the following conditions, namely :-
(i) it shall be fit for erection of a dwelling house or hut, if there is not already a dwelling house or hut on the site,
(ii) its extent shall not be less than the extent of the existing kudiyiruppu, subject, to a minimum of
1.214 acres, and \
(iii) such other conditions as may be prescribed.
(2) The authorised officer, while granting pcrmission under sub-section (I), shall also direct the payment, by the owner to the rural artisan within such period as may be prescribed of reasonable costa: as decided by the authorised officer for the shifting of the residence to the alternative site including the cost for erecting a superstructure on the said site. The authorised officer shaI1, before granting permission under sub-section (I), satisfy himself that the conditions mentioned in that sub-section are satisfied :
Provided that before granting such permission, the authorised officer shall give an opportunity of being heard to the rural artisan concerned :
Provided further that the authorised officer shall not grant such permission if the alternative site is not already owned by such owner.
(3) If such owner fails to provide the alternative site as permitted by the authorised officer within the prescribed period or fails to comply with any direction given under sub-section (2) in regard to payment of costs, the rural artisan shall be entitled to the ownership of the existing kudiyiruppu under sub-section (1) of section 5.
(4) If such owner provides an alternative site in pursuance of the permission granted under sub-section (I), the rural artisan concerned shall be given an opportunity to occupy the alternative site and he shall be deemed to have become the owner of the kudiyiruppu, from the dateon which he so occupies the alternative site and such Remove Watermark Wondershare PDFelement http://cbs.wondershare.com/go.php?pid=5261&m=db 642 Rural Artisans (Conferment of [1976: President's Act 38 Ownership of Kudiyiruppu) alternative kudiyiruppu shall, with effect from such date, be deemed to have vested in him absolutely free from all encumbrances and the site of the existing kudiyiruppu shall revert to the owner. I
(5) Subject to the of sub-section (6), where any rural artisan fails or refuses to shift to the alternative site provided by the owner in pursuance of a I permission granted under sub-section (1) within such period as may be prescribed, the rural artisan shall not be entitled to the ownership of the existing kudiyiruppu I under sub-section (1) of section 5.
(6) No rural artisan who fails or refuses to shift to the alternative site shall be evicted from the existing kudiyiruppu and such rural artisan shall be entitled to continue to occupy the said existing kudiyiruppu on terms and conditions not less favourable than those applicable to him on the date on which he occupied such kudiyiruppu.
Right t.0 7. (1) If any rural artisan who was occupying any reS:oratlonof kudiyiruppu on the 1st day of July 1975 had been evicted possession of from such kudiyiruppu after such date, but before the kudiyiruppu.1 commencement of this Act, he may, within a period of six months after such commencement, apply to the authorised officer within whose jurisdiction the kudlylruppu \ is situated in such form as may be prescribed for restoration to him of the possession of the kudiyiruppu from which he was evicted.
(2) On receipt of an application under sub-section (I), the authorised officer shall, after giving a reasonable opportunity to the parties concerned to make their representations, hold a summary inquiry into the matter and pass an order either allowing the application or dismissing it and shall communicate a copy of such order to the parties concerned.
Authorised 8. (1) If any question arisesoscer to decide (a) whether any person is a rural artisan ; or whether a person is a (b) whether any rural artisan holds any land ru8al artisan, other than the kudiy iruppu ; or etc.
(c) whether any site is a kudiyiruppu ; or
(d) whether any rural artisan was occupying any kudiyiruppu on the 1st day of July 1975 ; or Remove Watermark Wondershare PDFelement http://cbs.wondershare.com/go.php?pid=5261&m=db 39% : president's Act 381 &ural Artisans (Conhrment 643 of 0 wnership of Kudiyiruppu)
(e) whether any area adjacent to a dwelling house or hut is necessary for the convenient enjoyment of such dwelling house or hut ; or
(f) whether any rural artisan already owns a dwelling house or hut, and if so, its distance from the kudiyiruppu and the extent of the site on which such dwelling house or hut is erected, such question shall be decided by the authorised officer.
(2) In deciding any question under sub-section (I), the authorised officer shall follow such procedure as may be prescribed.