(1)All lands, public roads, streets, lanes and paths, bridges, ditches, dikes and fences, the bed of rivers, streams, nallas, lakes and tanks and all canals and water courses and all standing and flowing water and all land including notified and surveyed forest area, wherever situated, which are not the property of any individual or of such group of persons or any juristic person legally capable of holding property except in so far as any rights of such person as may be established in or over the land as provided in any law for the time being in force, are hereby declared to be, with all absolute right, title, interest and possession in or over the same or appurtenant thereto, shall be the property of the State Government.(2)Where any property or any right in or over any such property is claimed by or on behalf of the Government or by any person against the State Government and the claim is disputed, it shall be lawful for the Settlement Officer of the district concerned, after all reasonable inquiry, to pass an order deciding the claim provided that any party disputing the title to such land as per sub-section (1) must refer the dispute to the Settlement Officer concerned within one month on the date of commencement of this Act, failing which the party's claim, if any, shall be barred by the principle of waiver.(3)Any person aggrieved by an order made under sub-section (2) may prefer an appeal to the appellate authority within a period, as may be specified from the date of such order and the decision of the Tribunal shall be binding on the parties.(4)Unless or otherwise it is expressly provided in terms of a grant made by the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, and subject to the provisions of any law or laws made by the Parliament in this regard, the right to mines, quarries, minerals and mineral products including mineral oil, natural gas and petroleum shall vest in the State Government, and it shall have all the powers necessary for the proper enjoyment of such rights.Explanation. - For the purposes of these provisions mineral includes any sand or clay which the State Government may declare to have a commercial value or to be required for any public purpose.
