- In this Act, unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context -(1)"Agriculture" with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions shall include horticulture;[(l-A) "Collector" means a Revenue Divisional Officer and includes any person appointed by the [State Government] [This clause was inserted by section 4(i) of the Madras Estates Land (Amendment) Act, 1934 (Madras Act VIII of 1934).] whether by name or in virtue of his office, to exercise any of the functions of a Collector under this Act;](2)"Estate" means -(a)any permanently settled estate or temporarily settled zamindari;(b)any portion of such permanently-settled estate or temporarily-settled zamindari which is separately registered in the office of the Collector;(c)any unsettled palaiyam or jagir.(d)[ any inam village of which the grant has been made, confirmed or recognized by the [***] [Substituted by section 2(i) of the Madras Estates Land (Third Amendment) Act, 1936 (Madras Act XVIU of 1936).] Government, notwithstanding that subsequent to the grant, the village has been partitioned among the grantees or the successors in title of the grantee or grantees.]Explanation (1). - Where a grant as an inam is expressed to be of a named village, the area which forms the subject-matter of the grant shall be deemed to be an estate notwithstanding that it did not include certain lands in the village of that name which have already been granted on service or other tenure or been reserved for communal purposes.Explanation [(2)] [Old Explanations 1 and 2 were renumbered as Explanations 2 and 3 respectively and Explanation 1 was inserted by section 2(1) of the Madras Estates Land (Amendment) Act, 1945 (Madras Act II of 1945), re-enacted permanently by section 2 of, and the First Schedule to, the Madras Re-enacting (No. II) Act, 1948 (Madras Act VIII of 1948). This amendment shall be deemed to have had effect as from the date on which the Madras Estates Land (Third Amendment) Act, 1936 (Madras Act XVIII of 1936), came into force.]. - Where an inam village is resumed by the Government, it shall cease to be an estate; but, if any village so resumed is subsequently regranted by the Government as an inam, it shall from the date of such re-grant, be regarded as an estate.Explanation [(3)] [Old Explanations 1 and 2 were renumbered as Explanations 2 and 3 respectively and Explanation 1 was inserted by section 2(1) of the Madras Estates Land (Amendment) Act, 1945 (Madras Act II of 1945), re-enacted permanently by section 2 of, and the First Schedule to, the Madras Re-enacting (No. II) Act, 1948 (Madras Act VIII of 1948). This amendment shall be deemed to have had effect as from the date on which the Madras Estates Land (Third Amendment) Act, 1936 (Madras Act XVIII of 1936), came into force.]. - Where a portion of an inam village is resumed by the Government, such portion shall cease to be part of the estate, but the rest of the village shall be deemed to be an inam village for the purposes of this sub-clause. If the portion so resumed or any part thereof is subsequently regranted by the Government as an inam, such portion or part shall, from the date of such re-grant, be regarded as forming part of the inam village for the purposes of this sub-clause;(e)any portion consisting of one or more villages of any of the estates specified above in clauses (a), (b) and (c) which is held on a permanent under-tenure.(3)"Holding" means a parcel or parcels of land held under a single patta or engagement in a single village:Provided that if the landholder and ryot so agree in writing any portion of a holding as above defined shall be treated as a separate holding.(4)"Improvement" means with reference to a ryot's holding any work which materially adds to the value of the holding, which is suitable to the holding and consistent with the character thereof, and which if not executed on the holding, is either executed directly for its benefit or after execution is made directly beneficial to it, and, subject to the foregoing provisions, includes -(a)the construction of tanks, wells, water channels, and other works for the storage, supply, or distribution of water for agricultural purposes;(b)the construction of works for the drainage of land, or for the protection of land from floods, or from erosion or from other damage by water;(c)the reclaiming, clearing, enclosing, levelling, or terracing of land and the preparation of land for irrigation;(d)the erection of building on the holding or in its immediate vicinity, elsewhere than on the village-site, required for the convenient or profitable use or occupation of the holding and the erection of dwelling houses for the ryot and his family and servants;(e)the renewal or reconstruction of any of the fore-going works, or alterations therein or additions thereto; and(f)the planting of fruit trees and fruit gardens;but does not include, unless made with the written consent of the landholder, any work which prejudicially affects any other land of the landholder.(5)"Landholder" means a person owning an estate or part thereof and includes every person entitled to collect the rents of the whole or any portion of the estate by virtue of any transfer from the owner or his predecessor-in-title or of any order of a competent Court or of any provision of law.Where there is a dispute between two or more persons as to which of them is the landholder for all or any of the purposes of this Act or between two or more joint landholders as to which of them is entitled to proceed and be dealt with as such landholder, the person who shall be deemed to be the landholder for such purposes shall be the person whom the Collector, subject to any decree or order of a competent Civil Court, may recognize or nominate as such landholder in accordance with rules to be framed by the [State Government] [Words 'Provincial Government' were substituted for the words 'Local Government' by the Adaptation Order of 1937 and the word 'State was substituted for 'Provincial' by the Adaptation Order of 1950.] in this behalf:(6)[***] [Clauses (6) and (7) were omitted by section 4(3) of the Madras Estates Land (Amendment) Act, 1934 (Madras Act VIII of 1934).](7)[***] [Clauses (6) and (7) were omitted by section 4(3) of the Madras Estates Land (Amendment) Act, 1934 (Madras Act VIII of 1934).](8)"Pay", "payable" and "payment" used with reference to rent include "deliver", "deliverable" and "delivery".(9)"Prescribed" means prescribed from time to time by the [State Government] [Words 'Provincial Government' were substituted for the words 'Local Government' by the Adaptation Order of 1937 and the word 'State was substituted for 'Provincial' by the Adaptation Order of 1950.] by notification in the Official Gazette.(10)[ "Private land" - [Substituted by section 2(h) of the Madras Estates Land (Third Amendment) Act, 1936 (Madras Act XVIII of 1936).](a)in the case of an estate within the meaning of [sub-clause (a), (b), (c) or (e) of clause (2)], means the domain or home-farm land of the landholder by whatever designation known, such as, kambattam, khas, sir or pannai, and includes all land which is proved to have been cultivated as private land by the landholder himself, by his own servants or by hired labour, with his own or hired stock, for a continuous period of twelve years immediately before the commencement of this Act; and(b)in the case of an estate within the meaning of sub-clause (d) of clause (2), means -(i)the domain or home-farm land of the landholder, by whatever designation known, such as, kambattam, khas, sir or pannai; or(ii)land which is proved to have been cultivated as private land by the landholder himself, by his own servants or by hired labour, with his own or hired stock, for a continuous period of twelve years, immediately before the first day of July 1908, provided that the landholder has retained the kudiwaram ever since and has not converted the land into ryoti land; or(iii)land which is proved to have been cultivated by the landholder himself, by his own servants or by hired labour, with his own or hired stock, for a continuous period of twelve years immediately before the first day of November 1933, provided that the landholder has retained the kudiwaram ever since and has not converted the land into ryoti land; or(iv)land the entire kudiwaram in which was acquired by the landholder before the first day of November 1933 for valuable consideration from a person owning the kudiwaram but not the melvaram, provided that the landholder has retained the kudiwaram ever since and has not converted the land into ryoti land, and provided further that, where the kudiwaram was acquired at a sale for arrears of rent, the land shall not be deemed to be private land unless it is proved to have been cultivated by the landholder himself, by his own servants or by hired labour, with his own or hired stock, for a continuous period of twelve years since the acquisition of the land and before the commencement of the Madras Estates Land (Third Amendment) Act, 1936 (Madras Act XVIII of 1936).](11)[ "Rent" means whatever is lawfully payable in money or kind or in both to a landholder by a ryot for the use or occupation of land for the purpose of agriculture and includes whatever is lawfully payable on account of water supplied by the landholder or taken without his permission for cultivation of land where the charge for water has not been consolidated with the charge for the use or occupation of the land.] [Substituted by the Madras Estates Land (Amendment) Act, 1934 (Madras Act VIII of 1934).]For the purposes of sections 5, 27, 28, 59 to 72, 77 to 131, 135, 136,145 to 148,165, 210 and 211 and the Schedule, rent includes also -(a)any local tax, cess, fee or sum lawfully payable to a landholder by a ryot as such in addition to the rent due according to law or usage having the force of law and also money recoverable under any enactment for the time being in force as if it was rent; and(b)sums lawfully payable to a landholder by a ryot as such on account of pasturage fees and fishery rents.(12)"Revenue field" means a survey field, or any field or parcel of land on which a definite rent is payable, or which in case of dispute may be declared by a Collector to be a revenue field.(13)[***] [Clause (13) was omitted by section 3 of the Madras Estates Land (Amendment) Act, 1934 (Madras Act VIII of 1934).](14)"Revenue year" means the year ending on the 30th June.(15)"Ryot" means a person who holds for the purpose of agriculture ryoti land in an estate on condition of paying to the landholder the rent which is legally due upon it.[Explanation. - A person who has occupied ryoti land for a continuous period of twelve years shall be deemed to be a ryot for all the purposes of this Act.] [Explanation to clause (15) was added by section 4(6) of the Madras Estates Land (Amendment) Act, 1934 (Madras Act VIII of 1934).](16)"Ryoti land" means cultivatable land in an estate other than private land but does not include -(a)[ beds and bunds of tanks and of supply, drainage, surplus or irrigation channels;] [Substituted by the Madras Estates Laud (Amendment) Act. 1934 (Madras Act VIII of 1934).](b)threshing floor, cattle-stands, village-sites, and other lands situated in any estate which are set apart for the common use of the villagers;(c)lands granted on service tenure either free of rent or on favourable rates of rent if granted before the passing of this Act or free of rent if granted after that date, so long as the service tenure subsists;(17)"Signed" includes stamped with the name of the person purporting to sign.(18)"Tahsildar" includes a Deputy Tahsildar.(19)"Village" means any local area situated in or constituting an estate which is designated as a village in the revenue accounts and for which the revenue accounts are separately maintained by one or more karnams or which is now recognized by the [State Government] [The words 'Provincial Government' were substituted for the words 'Local Government' by the Adaptation Order of 1937 and the word 'State' was substituted for 'Provincial' by the Adaptation Order of 1950.] or may hereafter be declared by the [State Government] [Words 'Provincial Government 'were substituted for the words 'Local Government' by the Adaptation Order ofl937and the word 'State' was substituted for 'Provincial' by the Adaptation Order of 1950.] for the purposes of this Act to be a village, and includes any hamlet or hamlets which may be attached thereto.
