Section 3 in Kerala Grants and Leases (Modification of Rights) Act, 1980
3. Grants and leases to which Act applies.
- This Act shall apply to all grants and leases of lands made or granted by or on behalf of the former State of Travancore or Cochin for cultivation, which contain all or any of the following terms and conditions, namely:-(a)the grantees or lessees may appropriate for their own use all trees standing on the land except teak, blackwood, ebony, karumthali and sandalwood or any two or more of those categories, subject to payment of seigniorage at the rates specified in the grant or lease deed in respect of the timber taken out of the land;(b)a fine shall be paid when timber is extracted in violation of the grant or lease deed:(c)no timber rights are reserved for the Government and the grantees or lessees can appropriate the timber standing on the land without any restriction or limitation;(d)certain categories of trees like ebony, teak and blackwood may be felled and removed by the Government within a specified period failing which they shall become the property of the grantee or lessee on payment of royalty, kuzhikanam or fee at a nominal rate specified in the grant or lease deed;(e)rights of the Government to the trees standing on the land are fully reserved, the lessees are prohibited from cutting those trees without prior permission of the Government and they are liable for payment of the value of the timber when the trees are cut and removed;(f)tree value at a nominal rate has to be paid when the land is cleared; and(g)the grantee or lessee is not liable to pay any assessment or rent or he is liable to pay only nominal assessment or rent for the grant or the lease, as the case may be.
