121. Power of Government to resume possession of unreserved forest vested in Village Panchayat and payment of compensation, etc.
(1)If in the opinion of the Government any unreserved forest vested in a Village Panchayat under section 120 is required for any public purpose, they may, by notification, resume the possession and administration of such unreserved forest and upon such resumption by the Government, all rights and interests created in or over such unreserved forest before such resumption shall as against the Government cease and determine.(2)Whenever the possession and administration of such unreserved forest is resumed by the Government under sub-section (1), there shall be paid to the Village Panchayat concerned compensation for any improvement made by such Village Panchayat in such unreserved forest, as determined in the manner hereinafter provided by the Collector within whose jurisdiction such unreserved forest is situate.Explanation. - For the purposes of this sub-section, "improvement" means any work or product of a work which adds to the value of the unreserved forest or is suitable to it and consistent with the purpose for which it was vested in the Village Panchayat and shall include the following works or the products of such works -(a)the erection of buildings or any other structure, the construction of tanks, wells, channels, dams and other works for the storage or supply of water for agricultural or domestic purposes;(b)the preparation of land for irrigation;(c)the reclamation, clearance, enclosure or permanent improvement of land for agricultural purposes;(d)the renewal or reconstruction of any of the foregoing works or alterations therein or addition thereto;(e)the planting or protection and maintenance of fruit trees, timber-trees and other useful trees and plants.(3)The compensation payable in respect of the improvements referred to in clauses (a) to (d) of the explanation to sub-section (2) shall be the actual value of such improvements as on the date of resumption of the unreserved forest by the Government which shall include actual cost of the labour, supervision thereof, and of the materials, together with other expenditure, if any, which would be required to make such improvements, less a reasonable deduction on account of the deterioration, if any, which may have taken place from age or other cause. The compensation payable in respect of improvement referred to in clause (e) of the explanation to sub-section (2) shall be such sum which the trees or plants might reasonably be expected to realise if sold by public auction to be cut and carried away at the time of resumption of the unreserved forest by the Government:Provided that in computing the actual value of such improvements, the value of unreserved forest to which such improvements have been made shall not be taken into account:Provided further that if any grant for the purpose of making such improvements has been paid by the Government to the Village Panchayat concerned, then, the amount of such grant paid shall be deducted from the amount of compensation payable in respect of such improvements:Provided also that in the case of trees and plants in the unreserved forest which are of spontaneous growth, the compensation payable in respect of such trees, and plants shall be the proper cost of protection and maintenance of such trees and plants.(4)The amount of compensation referred to in sub-section (2) shall be given to every Village Panchayat, at its option -(a)in cash in such annual instalments with interest at such rates as may be prescribed, or(b)in saleable or otherwise transferable promissory notes or securities or stock certificates of the Government, or(c)partly in cash or partly in such securities specified in clause (b), as may be required by the Village Panchayats.(5)The option of the Village Panchayat referred to in sub-section (4) shall be exercised by such Village Panchayat before the expiry of a period of three months from the date of resumption of the possession and administration of the unreserved forest by the Government and the option so exercised shall be final and shall not be altered or rescinded after it has been exercised. Any Village Panchayat which omits or fails to exercise the option referred to in sub-section (4) within the time specified above shall be deemed to have opted for payment in securities and stock certificates referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (4). The amount of compensation payable in instalments shall be paid, and the securities and stock certificates referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (4) shall be issued, within sixty days from the date of receipt by the Government of the option referred to above or where no such option has been exercised from the date before which such option ought to have been exercised.(6)Any Village Panchayat aggrieved by an order relating to compensation under this section may appeal to the Commissioner of Land Administration within such period and in such manner as may be prescribed. The order of the Commissioner of Land Administration on such appeal and where no appeal is preferred, the order which has not been appealed against, shall be final and shall not be called in question in any Court of law.
