Section 2 in Puducherry Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Act, 1973
2. Definitions.
- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, -(1)"agriculture" includes -(a)horticulture;(b)the raising of crops, grass or garden produce;(c)the use by an agriculturist of land held by him, or part thereof, for grazing;(d)the use of any land for the purpose of raising manure crops;(e)dairy farming;(f)poultry framing;(g)livestock breading;(h)growing of trees;and "agricultural" shall be construed accordingly;(2)"agricultural company" means any company formed for the purpose of carrying on any business that has for its main object the acquisition of gain by the company from agricultural land;(3)"agricultural year" means the year commencing on the 1st April in any year and ending with the 31st March of the year next succeeding, provided that the Collector may, in respect of any crop, area or category of land, by notification, specify the year between such other dates, as he may deem fit, as an agricultural year;(4)"appointed day" means the 24th day of January, 1971;(5)"authorised officer" means any Gazetted Officer authorised by the Government by notification to exercise the powers conferred on, and discharge the duties imposed upon, the authorised officer under this Act for such area as may be specified in the notification:(6)"ceiling area" means the extent of land which a person is entitled to hold under section 4.(7)"company" means a company as defined in section 3 of the Companies Act, 1956;(8)"creditor" means a secured creditor and includes any decree-holder who has obtained an attachment of land in execution of a decree or order;(9)"cultivating tenant" except in Chapter VI means a person who contributes his own physical labour or that of any member of his family in the cultivation of any land belonging to another, under an agreement express or implied on condition of paying rent therefor in cash or in kind or delivering or receiving a share of the produce and includes -(i)any such person who continues in possession of the land after the determination of the agreement;(ii)the heir of such person, if the heir contributes his own physical labour or that of any member of his family in the cultivation of such land;(iii)a sub-tenant if he contributes his own physical labour or that of any member of his family in the cultivation of such land;(iv)any such sub-tenant who continues in possession of the land notwithstanding that the person who sub-let the land to such sub-tenant ceases to have the right to possession of such land; and(v)a person who cultivates the land on payment of warm;but does not include a mere intermediary or his heir;(10)"family" in relation to a person, means the person, the wife or husband, as the case may be, of such person and his or her minor sons and unmarried daughters;(11)"forest land" includes any waste land containing trees or shrubs;(12)"full owner" means a person entitled to the absolute proprietorship of land;(13)"Government" means the Administrator of the Union territory of Puducherry appointed by the President under article 239 of the Constitution;(14)"to hold land" with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions means to own land as owner or to possess or enjoy land as possessory mortgagee or as tenant or as intermediary or in one or more of those capacities;(15)"intermediary" means any person who, not being an owner or a possessory mortgagee, has an interest in land, and is entitled, by reason of such interest, to possession thereof, but has transferred such possession to others:(16)"land" means agricultural land, that is to say, land which is used or capable of being used for agricultural purposes or purposes subservient thereto and includes forest land, pasture land, orchard and tope, but does not include house site or land used exclusively for non-agricultural purposes;(17)"Land Commissioner" means the Secretary to Government, Revenue Department;(18)"land owner" means the owner of the land let for cultivation by a tenant and includes the heirs, assignees, legal representatives of such owner or persons deriving rights through him;(19)"Land Tribunal" means a Land Tribunal constituted under section 44;(20)"limited owner" means any person entitled to a life estate in any land and includes persons deriving rights through him;Explanation. - A person who has a right to enjoy the land during his life time shall be deemed to be a limited owner notwithstanding that he has no power to alienate the land.(21)"member of the Armed forces" means a person in the service of the Air force, Army or Navy of the Union of India:Provided that it a question arises whether any person is a member of the Armed Forces, such question shall be decided by the Government and its decision thereon shall be final;(22)"non-agricultural company" means a company other than an agricultural company;(23)"notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette;(24)"notified date" means the date specified in the notification issued by the Government under sub-section (1) of section 7:(25)"owner" means any person holding land severally or jointly or in common or in any way subject to the payment of revenue direct to the Government and includes full owner or limited owner.(26)"person" includes any company, family, firm, society or association of individuals, whether incorporated or not or any private trust or public trust;(27)"possessory mortgagee" means a mortgagee entitled to the possession of the whole or part of the mortgaged property and to receive the rents and profits accruing from such property or any part of such rents and profits and to appropriate the same in lieu of interest or in payment of the mortgaged money or partly in lieu of interest or partly in payment of the mortgage money and "possessory mortgage" and "possessory mortgagor" shall be construed accordingly;(28)"prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;(29)"private trust" includes a trust under which the beneficiaries are persons, who are ascertained or capable of being ascertained;(30)"public trust" means a trust for a public purpose of a religious, charitable or of an educational nature;Provided that where the income from a public trust is substantially appropriated for the benefit of the founder of the trust or his heirs or of the family of the founder or of his heirs, such a trust shall be deemed to be a private trust notwithstanding the terms of the trust;(31)"religious institution" means any -(i)temple;(ii)math;(iii)mosque; or(iv)church;which is dedicated to, or for the benefit of, or used as of right by, the public as a place of religious worship;(32)"standard hectare" means -(a)in the case of wet land, -(i)1.0 hectare of wet land assessed to land revenue at a rate exceeding L15 per hectare;(ii)1.2 hectares of wet land assessed to land revenue at a rate exceeding L10 but not exceeding L15 per hectare;(iii)1.4 hectares of wet land assessed to land revenue at a rate exceeding L7 but not exceeding 10 per hectare;(iv)1.6 hectares of wet land assessed to land revenue at a rate exceeding L 4 but not exceeding L 7 per hectare;(v)1.8 hectares of wet land assessed to land revenue at a rate exceeding L4 per hectare;(b)in the case of dry land, -(i)2.0 hectares of dry land assessed to land revenue at a rate exceeding 9 per hectare;(ii)2.5 hectares of dry land assessed to land revenue at a rate exceeding L7 but not exceeding L9 per hectare;(iii)3.0 hectares of dry land assessed to land revenue at a rate exceeding L3 but not exceeding L7 per hectare;(iv)3.6 hectares of dry land assessed to land revenue at a rate not exceeding L3 per hectare;Explanation - I. - For the purposes of this Act -(a)"dry land" means the land classed as waste or uncultivated;(b)"wet", "dry" and "waste or uncultivated" respectively mean lands referred to as, "Terres A Nelly (Rizieres)" "Terres A Menus Grains" and "Terres Boisees Ou Incultes (Terres Vagues)" in the Deliberation of the Counsel General, dated the 24th December, 1933 enforced by the Arrete dated the 22nd August, 1934; and(c)"land revenue" means the land tax levied only in accordance with the Deliberation referred to in clause (b).Explanation - II. - Where the land held by a person consists of more than one of the kinds of land specified in this clause, the extent of the land held by him shall, for the purposes of this Act, be reduced to standard hectares calculated according to the proportions specified therein;(33)"surplus land" means the land held by a person in excess of the ceiling area and declared to be surplus land under section 11, section 12 or section 13;(34)"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 -(i)any such person who continues in possession of the land after the determination of the tenancy agreement;(ii)the heirs, assignees, legal representatives of such person, or persons deriving rights through such persons;(iii)a cultivating tenant;(35)"trust" means a private trust or a public trust.
