Report No. 10
The Bihar Act (XXXIV of 1956) effects the following changes in the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.
In the definition, section, the following proviso is added to clause (c) defining the expression "Collector".
"Provided that for purposes of sections 4, 5A and 6, the expression "Collector" shall mean the Collector or Additional Collector of a District or a Deputy Commissioner or Additional Deputy Commissioner".
Again, in clause (f) of the definition section, 'public purpose" is defined so as to include provision for sanitary improvements, the laying out of village sites or townships etc. The substituted clause reads thus:
(ii) for clause (f), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:-
"(f) the expression "public purpose" includes provision, for or in connection with?
(i) sanitary improvements of any kind, including reclamation;
(ii) the laying out of village sites or townships, or the extension, planned development or improvement of existing village sites or townships; and"
In sections 4, 38, 39 and 40 the power conferred upon the appropriate government has been conferred upon the Collector also by virtue of this amendment.
The amendment lays down that the preliminary notification in section 4(1) shall be published "in the offices of the Collector, Sub-divisional Officer, the village in which the land is situated and in the office of the Gram Panchayat, if any, constituted under the Bihar Panchayat Raj Act, 1947 (Bihar Act VII of 1948), and the police-station within whose jurisdiction the village lies and also in Official Gazette".
In section (5A) dealing with the hearing of objections, sub-section (2) is substituted by the following sub-sections:
"(2) Every objection under sub-section (1) shall be made in writing to the Collector who shall give the objector an opportunity of being heard either in person or by pleader and shall, after hearing all such objections and making such further inquiry, if any, as he thinks necessary, decide the objections.
Provided that the appropriate Government may, either of its own motion or on the application of any person interested in the land, call for the record of the proceedings held by the Collector and pass such order as it may think fit.
(2A) The decision of the Collector under sub-section (2) shall, subject to any order of the appropriate Government, be final."
Again, in the declaration section (i.e. section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894) sub:ection (1) is substituted by the following sub-section;
"(1) Subject to the provisions of Part VII of this Act, where the appropriate Government is satisfied after considering the Collector's report, if any, under the proviso to sub-section (2) of section 5A, or the Collector is satisfied after hearing the objections, if any, under section 5A, that any particular land is needed for a public purpose, or for a company, a declaration shall be made by the appropriate Government or the Collector as the case may be, to that effect in writing:
Provided that no such declaration, shall be made unless the compensation to be awarded for such property is to be paid by a company, or wholly or partly out of the Consolidated Fund of the State or some fund controlled or managed by a local authority".
After the existing section 12, a new section 12A providing for the correction of the award has been inserted by the amending Act (XXXIV of 1956):
"12A. Correction of award-(1) The Collector may, at any time but not later than six months from the date of the award, or where a reference has been made under section 18, before the making of such reference, correct any clerical or arithmetical mistakes in the award either on his own motion or on the application of any person interested.
(2) The Collector shall give immediate notice of any correction made in the award to all persons interested.
(3) Where any excess amount is proved to have been paid to any person as a result of the correction made under sub-section (1), such person shall be liable to refund the excess, and if he defaults or refuses to pay, the same may be realised as an arrear of land revenue."
The power given in section 17(1) is extended to any land other than waste or arable land, if acquired for sanitary improvements by means of a new sub-section (1A):
"(1A) The power to take possession under sub-section (1) may also be exercised in the case of any land, other than waste or arable land, where the land is acquired for or in connection with sanitary improvements of any kind or planned development."
Section 39, amended as indicated earlier, is renumbered as sub-section (1) thereof and the following new sub-section is added:
"(2) In cases of acquisition of land for societies registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (XXI of 1860), sub-section (1) shall have effect as if for the words, figures and brackets 'sections 6 to 37 (both inclusive)', the words and figures 'sections 6 and 7' were substituted."
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