What is ceiling on land holdings?

• It means fixing the maximum size of land holding that an individual/family can own.
• Land over and above the ceiling limit, is called surplus land.
• If the individual/family owns more land than the ceiling limit, the surplus land is taken away (with or without paying compensation to original owner)
• This surplus land is distributed among small farmers, tenants, landless labourers or handed over to village panchayat or given to cooperative farming societies.

Why ceiling on land holdings?

In countries like India, this step is taken up as a measure of reducing economic inequalities among the citizens by fixing a statutory limit with the right to hold land to the extent of such limit and then to hand over the land declared to be in excess, to the Government for distribution among the landless poor or to use the same for any give public purpose. The Government is empowered to takeover and distribute such excess lands among the landless and needy people for any value or free of cost, as the case may be. The sole objective of this law is to ensure equal distribution of the economic resources of the country among the citizens, and to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor, as a Directive Principle of State Policy

Ceiling on land (Section 63)

• Sec. 63 expressly prohibits any person who is not a member of a family or who has no family and any family from holding land in excess of the ceiling area either in the capacity of land owner, landlord or tenant or mortgagee with possession.
• The ceiling area for a person who is not a member of a family or who has no family or for a family will be ten units.
• In the case of a family consisting of more than five members the ceiling area will be ten units plus an additional extension of two units for every member in excess of five, so however, the ceiling area should not exceed twenty units in the aggregate.
• The ceiling area for a person who is tenant is forty units.
• In respect of lands owned or held under a private trust: -– where the trust is revocable by the author of the trust, such lands should be deemed to be held by such author or his successor in interest; and -– in other cases, such lands should be deemed to be held by the beneficiaries of the trust in proportion to their respective interests in such trust or the income derived therefrom.
• In calculating the extent of land held by a person who is not a member of a family or who has no family or by a member of a family, the share of such person or member in the lands held by a co-operative farm should be taken into account.
• This Section also prohibits educational, religious or charitable institutions or society or trust, of a public nature formed for an educational, religious or charitable purpose from holding land. However an exception to this rule is if the income from the land is appropriated solely for the institution or the society or the trust concerned, in such a case such a body can hold upto twenty units.

Case law

It may be that Sec. 63 read with the definition of the expression ‘family’ contravenes Articles 14, 19 and 31 (now removed) of the Constitution. But since the Act in particular Sec. 63 which is mainly intended to bring about agrarian reforms has the protection of Article 31A of the Constitution and attack based on Articles 14, 19 and 31 should fall – Bhasker Vs. State

Future acquisition of land (Section 64)

Consequent upon transfer, gift, purchase, exchange, mortgage with possession, lease, surrender or any other kind of transfer inter vivos or by bequest or inheritance, partition or otherwise if any person or family acquires any land and for this reason if such person or family holds land in excess of the ceiling, such surplus land will vest with the State Govt.

Filing of declaration of holding

Every person who holds-

• ten acres or more of lands having facilities for irrigation from a source of water belonging to the State Government; or
• twenty acres or more of lands on which paddy crop can be grown with the help of rain water; or
• forty acres or more of lands classified as dry but not having any irrigation facilities from a source of water belonging to the State Government,
• and every person whose land is deemed to be in excess of the ceiling area, should furnish a declaration to the jurisdictional Tahsildar containing the following particulars namely: -– particulars of all the lands; -– particulars of the members of the family; and -– such other particulars as may be prescribed.

The Tahsildar has the power to issue notice requiring any person who holds land, or resides within his jurisdiction, to furnish a declaration of all lands held by him within a specified period which will not be less than thirty days from the date of service of the notice and it will be the duty of such person to furnish the declaration and comply with the notice.

Penalty for failure to furnish declaration (Section 66A)

Where a person required to furnish a declaration fails without reasonable cause to do so within the time specified or furnishes a false declaration, the Tahsildar is empowered to issue a notice to such person asking him to show cause within fifteen days why a penalty may not be imposed on him. If the person gives no reply or where an unsatisfactory reply is filed the Tahsildar has the power to impose the said penalty and require such person to furnish a true and correct statement complete in all particulars, within a period of one month from the date of service of the order. If such person fails to comply with this order within the time granted, the right, title and interest of such person in the land held to the extent in excess of the ceiling area is forfeited to the State Government, by way of penalty, and will vest in the State Government.

Surrender of surplus land (Section 67)

On receipt of the declaration of holding limits of the land, the Tahsildar must verify the particulars with regard to survey number and extent of the land and determine to which class the land belongs. Tahsildar shall place the declaration and connected records before the Tribunal. After inquiry, the Tribunal determines the extent of holding and if the total extent is more than the ceiling area, then such person is liable to surrender such extent of land to the State Government.

Excess land not to be surrendered in certain cases (Section 75)

Any person or a family holds land not exceeding the ceiling limit but subsequently the land held exceeds the ceiling limit, due to any change in the classification of the land consequent upon any improvements effected in the land by such person or family or due to a decrease in the number of members of the family, then such person will not be required to surrender any part of the land on the ground that it is excess land.

Payment for use and occupation of land (Section 67 A)

Every person possessing land in excess of the ceiling area should pay the State Government compensation as determined by the Tribunal and such sum payable may be recovered as arrears of land revenue.

Prohibition of alienation of holding (Section 74)

No person owning land in excess of the ceiling limit shall alienate his holding by way of sale, gift, exchange or otherwise until he has furnished a declaration and the extent of land to be surrendered in respect of that holding. Any alienation made in contravention is null and void.

Disposal of surplus land (Section 77)

Subject to reservation of seventy-five per cent thereof for grant to persons belonging to SC & ST, all the surplus land vesting in the Govt. under this Act should be granted to the following persons:

• Dispossessed tenants who are not registered as occupants;
• Displaced tenants having no land;
• Landless agricultural labourers;
• Landless persons or other persons residing in villages in the same Panchayat area whose gross annual income does not exceed rupees twenty thousand and ex- military personnel whose gross annual income does not exceed rupees twenty-two thousand;
• Released bonded labourers

Management of surplus land (Section 79)

The Tashildar manages the surplus land until they are disposed of by making arrangements for the cultivation and protection by lease etc.