12 THB KANNAN DEVA~ HILLS (RESUMPTION OF LANDS) ACT, 1971 (Act 5 of 1971) CONTENTS Preamble. Sections ..j-, 1. Short title. commencement and appl1cat10n 2 DefinitiOns 3 Vestmg of possessiOn of certam lands 4. RestoratiOn of possessiOn of lands m certam ca!>es. 5. Temporary arrangements pendmg restoratiOn 6. DemarcatiOn of boundanes 7. DecisiOn of disputes regardmg vestmg 8 No compensatiOn to be payable for vestmg 9 Assignment of lands 10. EvictiOn of persons m occupatiOn on the appomted day 11. Trespass afie:- appomted day. 12 Powers of Land Board and Collector. 13. Right to use pnvate way 14 Bar of JUnsdiCtiOn of CIVIl courts '-A1' 15. Indemmty ~ 16. Cogmsance of offences 17, Savmg of certam nghts 18 Power to remove difficulties. 19 Power to make rules 20. Repeal and savmg. THE KANNAN DEVAN HILLS (RESUMPTION OF LANDS} ACT, 1971 * (Act 5 of 1971) An Act to provide for the resumption of lands other than plantations in the Kannan Devan H1lls village in the Devico]am tah1k of the Kottayam district and for the distribution of such lands for cultivation and purpo':les anc11lary thereto Preamble.-WI-IEREAS the lands compnsmg the enttrc revenue village of Kannan Devan Hills m the Devicolam *Published m the C:nette Extraordmary, No. 2!9, dated 2•nd April, 1971. 13 1 tnluk of the Kottayam district had been given on lease by the then Poonjar Chtef to late Mr John Daniel Munroe of London and Peermade on the 11th day of July, 1877, fot coffee culttvatwn; AND WHEREAS the nght, tttle and interest of the lt>ssor had been assumed by the former Government of Travuncore ; AND WHEREAS by such assumption the lands have be­ come the property of the former Government of Travancore : AND WHEREAS the Government of Kerala have be­ come the successor to the former Government of Travancore ; AND WHEREAS large extent of agncultural lands m that vtllage has nol been converted mto plantations or ut1llsed lor purposes of plantatiOn and such lands are not reqmred 101 the purposes of the ex1stmg plantatiOn ; AND WHEREAS the Government constder that such u:(ncultural lands should bE resumed for the distnbutJOn there­ c.! for cultivatiOn and pui poses ancillary thereto; ( BE It enacted in the Twenty-second Year of the Re­ pubhc of India as follows - 1 Short title, commencement application-(1) This Act may be called the Kannan Devan Hills (ResumptiOn of Lands) Act, 1971. (2) It shall be dcc~med to have come mto force on the '!lst day of January, 1971. (3) It applies to the lands compnsmg the revenut· vtllage of Kannan Devan Hills m the Dev1colam taluk of the Kottayam distnct 2 Definitions·-In this Act, unless the context other­ wt~e reqmres,- (a) "appomted day'' means the 21st d8y of January, 1971 : (b) "bmldmg" shall not mclude a temporary shed ; (c) "Collector'' means the DistncL Collector Kottayarn, or any other officer not below the rank of a Distnct Collector o.~ppomted by the Government, by notificatiOn m the Gazette, to e9Cercise the powers and perform the functiOns of the ('ullector under 'this Act; l 14 (d) "Land Board'' means the Land Board constituted under section 100 of the Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963 (1 of 1964); (e) "lessee" means a person in possesston of any land situate in the Kannan Devan Hllls vtllage m the Devtcolam taluk of the Kottayam dtstnct, who has denved the nght tf' such possession by means of a document executed by late Mr. John Dame! Munroe of London and Peermade or any person claimmg through him or any person clatmmg unde: or through any of the successors-m-mterest of the said Mr. John Damel Munroe; (f) "plantatJOn" means any land used by a person principally for the culttvatwn of tea. coffee, cocoa, rubber, cardamom or cinnamon (heremafter referred to as "planta­ twn crops'') ; (g) "prescnbed" means prescrt bed by rules made under this Act. 3 Vesting of possession of certain lands.-(1) Notwtth­ stan:lmg anythmg contatr.ed m ·any other law for the hme bemg m force, or m any contract or other document, but subJect to the prov1s1ons of sub-sections (2) and (3), w1th effect on and from the appointed day, the possesston of all lands situate m the Kannan Devan H11ls vtllage m the Dev1colam taluk of the Ko:ttayam d1stnct shall stand tranr I erred to and ve5t m the Government free from all en­ cumbrances, and the nght, title and mterest of the lessees and all other persons, mcludmg nghts oi mortgagees and holders of encumbrances, 111 respect of such lands, shall stand extingu1shed (2) Nothmg containE.'d in sub-sectwn (1) shall apply in respect of- (a) plantations other than plantations belonging to trespt.ssers , (b) bmldmgs, other than bmldmgs beloflgmg to trespassers, and lands appurtenant to, and necessary for the convement enjoyment or use ol, such bmldmgs, (c) play-g,·ounds and bunal and burnmg grounds , and (d) lands m the possesswn of the Central GD;~ern­ ment or any State Government or the Kerala State Elec­ tnclty Board 15 (3) Nothing contained in sub-section (1) shall apply in respect of :-;o much extent of land held by a lessee under hie; pers~nal culhvatwn as IS With1:1 the ce1lmg limit apphcable to h1m under any law for the time bemg in force or any buildmg or structure standmg thereon 01 appurtenant thereto. 4. Restoration of possession of lands in certain cases.-(1) Where the person in possessiOn of a plantatwn considers that any land, the possessiOn of wh1ch has vested m the Govern­ ment under sub-sectwn (1) of sectiOn 3,- (a) IS necec;sary for any purpose ancillary to the cultivatwn of plantation crops m such plantatiOn or for the preparation of the same for the market , or (b) bemg agricultural land interspersed w1thm the boundanes of the area culttvated w1th plantatwn crops, is necessary for the protection and efficient management of such cultivation; or (c) 1s neces!;aiy for the preservation of an ex1stmg plantation, he may, wtthin stxty days from the date of pul.Jhcalion of this Act m the Gazette, apply to the Land Board for the restoration of possesston of such land. / (2) An apphcatwn under sub-sectwn (1) shall be m such form as may be prE.scnbed (3) On receipt of an apphcahon under sub-sectwn (1}. 1he Land Board shall, after gtvmg the applicant an oppor­ t umty of bemg heard and after such mqUiry as 1t deems neces~ary, by order detet mine the extent of land necessary for the purpose or purposes specified m the application, and ·.\.ch order shall he fin31. (4) As soon as may be after determmmg the extent of land necessary for the purpose or purposes specified in the appltcatwn under sub-sr:ctJon (1}. the Land Board shall cause -.uch land to be demarcated and put the applicant m posses­ <>ton of such land (5) Any person put m possessiOn of any land under ub-sectwn (4) shall be entitled to possess that land on the · une tetms and subject to the same conditions on or subJecL to which he was holdmg such land ImmedJately before the .1ppomted day • 5 T<'mpm·ary aJ rangements pending restoration.-If, durmH the penod after the appomted day and before the 16 restoration of possession of any land under section 4, the Collector 1s sat1sfied on representatiOn or otherwtse that the person 111 possession of a plantation 111 any area to whtch thts Act applies 1s likely to be put to hardshtp in the management of the plantatiOn on account of the vestmg of possessiOn of any land under sub-section (1) of sectwn 3, the Collector shal' take such measures and make such arrangements as he de~ms --{ fit for removing the hardship dunng such penod · Prov1ded that If the person m possessiOn of the planta­ tion does not apply to the Land Board undet· section 4, or the Land Board determmes under that sectiOn that such person is not entttled to restoratwn of possessiOn of any land, any arrangement· 1f already made by the Collector shall be discontinued w1th eftect from the date on whtch the penod for makmg the apphcatwn exp1res or the date of determ.na­ twn by the Land Board, as the case may be. 6 Demarcation nf boundaries.-(!) As soon as may 'be after the appomted day, the Collector shall cause the boundanes of each parcel of land, the possessiOn of whtch has vested m the Government under sub-sechon (1) of sectwn 3, to be demarcated (2) As soon as may be after the clemarcahon of the boundanes of a parcel of land under sub-sectiOn (1), the Collector shall publ1:;h a notification m such manner as rr.ay be prescnb.:d specJfy1'1g the extent, tdenltty and such other parttculars as may be prescnbed of such land (3) Where the possessiOn of a portwn of a parcel of land JS restored under sectiOn 4, or the alteratwn of the boundanes of a parcel of land ts necessary consequent on the order of the Land Board under sectwn 7, the Collector shall cause the bounddnes of the remammg portion of <>uch parcel of land or such parcel of land, as the case may be, to be re­ demarcated and shall also publish a nollficatwn of such re-demarcatwn under sub-sectwn (2) 7. Decision of disputes regarding vesting.-(1) If any question anses as to whether the possessiOn of a parcel of _.f- land or a portwn of a parcel of land has vested m the Govern- ment under sub-sectiOn (1) of sectiOn 3, such questiOn shall be referred by the Collector to the Land Board for dectswn (2) As soon as may be after the rece1pt of a refer~nce under sub-sectwn (1), the Land Board shall, after gtvmg th~ 17 persons interested an opportunity of being heard and after such mqwry as It deems necessary, decide the questwn, and such decisiOn shall be final (3) Notwithstandmg the reference of a questwn to the Land Board under sub-sectwn (1), the Collector may, 1f he 1s sat1sfied that the possessiOn