30A. [ Grant of permission by the Board.-] [Inserted by S.R.O. 2791, dated 20th November, 1956] (1) The Board may inspect or cause to be inspected any land in respect of which an application for permission to plant tea has been made and the records relating thereto for the purpose of satisfying itself as to the accuracy of any survey map and generally for the purpose of enabling it to dispose of the application.
(2)The Board may grant, in respect of each five-year period subsequent to the 31st day of March, 1955, permission to plant tea on any land not planted with tea in the following manner:(a)[ A tea estate whose permissible area at the commencement of each five-year period does not exceed 10 hectares may be granted permission to extend its area upto a maximum of 10 hectares: [Substituted by G.S.R. 1558, dated 15th November, 1962](b)A tea estate whose permissible area at the commencement of each five-year period exceeds 10 hectares but does not exceed 60 hectares may be granted permission to extend its area equal to the permissible area of the estate at the commencement of the five-year period:(c)A tea estate whose permissible area at the commencement of each five-year period exceeds 60 hectares but does not exceed 200 hectares may be granted permission to extend its area upto a maximum of 60 hectares;(d)A tea estate whose permissible area at the commencement of each five year period exceeds 200 hectares may be granted permission to extend its area by 30 per cent of such permissible area;(e)Notwithstanding anything contained in clauses (a), (b), (c) and (d), a tea estate which has fully utilised any permit or permits granted to it in respect of a particular five-year period may be granted a further permit or permits in respect of the same period for an area to which it is entitled for that period under any of the said clauses;(f)Notwithstanding anything contained in clauses (a), (b), (c) (d) and (e), the area for which permission is granted to a tea estate to extend its area shall not exceed the area for which permission has been applied for by that tea estate.]Explanation.-In this rule, "permissible' [area] at the commencement of each five year period" means the area of any land which could have been planted with tea at the commencement of each such period under the law then in force.(3)(a)The Board may also grant permission to a person, not being the owner of a tea estate and not having large interest, directly or otherwise, in the management and ownership of a tea estate to plant on land not planted with tea, provided that the person proves to the satisfaction of the Board that---(i)he owns the land in respect of which permission to plant tea is applied for;(ii)he is able to finance the undertaking, including the erection of a factory where necessary; and(iii)the land is suitable for tea plantation as regards the nature of the soil and climate conditions.(b)The area of land in respect of which permission may be granted shall not exceed in any one case [60 hectares] [Substituted by G.S.R. 453, dated 25th March, 1961] where the applicant is an individual proprietor or a partnership and [120 hectares] [Substituted by G.S.R. 453, dated 25th March, 1961] where the applicant is a limited liability company.(c)No permission shall be granted where in the opinion of the Board the area in respect of which permission has been applied for is, having regard to the circumstances of the case, too small for an economic planation.Explanation 1.-A company or firm the management or ownership of which is controlled by a person or persons already holding substantial interests in tea plantation shall be regarded as a person having large interest in the management or ownership of a tea estate.Explanation 2.-A capital outlay of [Rs.2500 per hectare] [Substituted by G.S.R. 453, dated 25th MArch, 1961] for plantation and [Rs.125 per hectare] [Substituted by G.S.R. 453, dated 25th MArch, 1961] for factory shall ordinarily be considered as the standard requirement of finance in respect of applications from newcomers for areas exceeding [5 hectares] [Substituted by G.S.R. 453, dated 25th MArch, 1961]:Provided that the applicant is able to show that he is in a position to command the necessary finance, permits shall be issued to the extent up to which finance can be commanded.Applications from 'newcomers' who are genuine agriculturists, for an area not exceeding 10 acres shall, however, be exempted from the condition regarding production of evidence of financial ability.[3A) Subject to the limitations set out in Section 13 of the Act, nothing in sub-rule (2) of clause (b) of sub-rule (3) shall apply to the grant of permits for the purpose of establishment and extension of tea seed baris.] [Substituted by G.S.R. 353, dated 20th March, 1959](4)Every permit to plant tea shall specify the area of land in respect of which it has been granted and shall be in force for such period as may be specified by the Board in the permit:Provided that any permit issued under these rules may be renewed from time to time as the Board thinks fit:[Provided further that notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rule (2) the Board may, if it, thinks fit, cancel any permit issued to tea estate, or any part of such permit remaining unutilised after a period of not less than three years from the date of issue.] [Substituted by G.S.R. 453, dated 25th MArch, 1961](5)No permit granted by the Board shall be transferable :Provided that a permit granted to a tea estate may, with the previous permission of the Board, be transferred to another tea estate if both the estates are held under the same ownership.(6)The owner of a tea estate to which permit is issued shall submit to the Tea Board on the 31st March of each year, a return showing the acreage planted up to that date in pursuance of the permit, the reasons for non-utilisation of any acreage that may not have been planted and the programme for planting tea for the next two years.(7)The Indian Tea Licensing Committee (Tea New Planting Rules, 1951 are hereby repealed but such repeal shall not affect the validity of any permit issued or any action taken under those rules.)
