- In this Act, unless there is something repugnant to the subject or context,(1)"agriculture" includes horticulture, the raising of annual or periodical crops, or garden produce, planting and upkeep of orchards or plantation, dairy farming, poultry farming, live-stock breeding, grazing and pisciculture and the expression, "non-agriculture", shall be construed accordingly;(2)"agricultural land" means land which is used or is capable of being used for agricultural purposes and includes land under homesteads occupied for residential purposes in connection with agricultural holdings and the expression, "non-agricultural land", shall be construed accordingly;(3)"allotment" means allocation or apportionment of land or part of it to a specific person or body of persons having legal entity known as the allottee by the State Government or the competent authority in this behalf;(4)"apartment" means and includes a part of property intended for any type of independent use including one or more floors (on part or parts thereof) in a building or buildings intended to be used for residence including group housing on co-operative basis, office, practice of any profession or carrying on of any occupation, trade or business or for other type of independent use and with a direct exit to a public street, road, or highway or to a common area leading to such street, road or highway ;(5)"apartment number" means the number, letter or combination thereof designating the apartment in the Land Settlement (Apartment) Certificate;(6)"apartment owner" means the person or persons owning an apartment and an undivided interest in the common areas and facilities in the percentage specified in the Land Settlement (Apartment) Certificate and includes an outright purchaser or a hire purchase allotee of such apartment and undivided interest;(7)"arrears of land-revenue" means land-revenue which remains unpaid after the date on which it becomes payable;(8)"benami transaction" : or "transaction in benami" means any transaction defined as such in the Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Act, 1988 (Central Act no. 45 of 1988);(9)"boundary" means the limits, dividing lines or partitioning of two adjoining or contiguous pieces of land;(10)"building" means a house, out house or other roofed structure whether masonry, brick, wood, mud, metal or any other material whatsoever but does not include a tent or other portable and temporary shelter;(11)"Certificate of Land Settlement" or "Land Settlement Certificate" means a certificate granted under section 11 of the Mizo District (Land and Revenue) Act, 1956 or section 4(2) of the Mizo District (Agricultural Land) Act, 1963, as adapted and includes a similar certificate issued under this Act;(12)"Collector" means the Deputy Commissioner of a district and includes an Additional Deputy Commissioner or any other officer appointed by the State Government to exercise and perform all or any of the functions of a Collector under this Act;(13)"Common Areas and Facilities" unless and otherwise provided in the Certificate of Land Settlement (Apartment) means -(a)land on which a building is located;(b)the foundations, columns, girders, beams, supports, main walls, roofs, halls, corridors, lobbies, stairs, stairways, terrace, compound walls, fire escapes, wells, dumps and entrances and exits of the building ;(c)the basement, cellars, yards, gardens, parking areas and storage spaces;(d)the premises for looking after of caretaker or persons employed for maintenance of the property;(e)water supply, sewerage and drainage connections and the installations of other services like power, light gas, hot and cold water heating, refrigerator, air conditioning and incinerating;(f)the elevators, tanks, pumps, motors, fans, compressors, ducts and in general all apparatus and installations existing for the common use;(g)such other community and commercial facilities as may be prescribed and(h)all other parts of the property necessary or convenient to its existence, maintenance and safety, or normally in common use;(14)"competent authority", in relation to any provision, means any officer appointed by the State Government to be the competent authority for the purpose of that provision under this Act;(15)"Deputy Commissioner" means a Deputy Commissioner of a district;(16)"Domicile of the State" or "domiciled in the State", with reference to the State of Mizoram, means any resident of the State, whose family has been residing in Mizoram prior to 26th January, 1950;(17)"Family" means persons such as parents, children and descendants including servants who live in one house and use common kitchen;(18)"farm" means a tract of land forming a single property and devoted to cultivation of land and growing agricultural and horticultural crops including trees and bamboos, raising livestock or aquatic animal and production of dairies and allied activities;(19)"holding" means a parcel of land separately assessed to land revenue;(20)"improvement," in relation to any land, means any work or product of work which materially adds to the value of the land and which is suitable to the land and consistent with the character thereof.(21)"land" means broadly any ground, soil or earth, whether covered or not, and which is or may be utilized for agricultural or non-agricultural purposes or purposes subservient thereto and includes benefits to arise out of such land, and things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth;(22)"land-holder" means holder of a parcel of land or a proprietor of land, who is responsible for the payment of land revenue;(23)"land revenue" means any revenue assessed by the State Government on the land and includes any tax assessed in lieu of land revenue or all moneys described as premium, rent, lease, money, charge, fee, cess or in any other manner, in any enactment, contract or similar instruments;(24)"local authority" means a Municipal Board/Council, any Urban Development Authority, Town Committee, Land Advisory Committee, Local Council or Village Council;(25)"mutation" means the process of change or alteration or substitution of the name of the previous land owner to the name of the new land owner;(26)"Official Gazette" means the Mizoram Gazette;(27)"person" includes an individual, a firm, a Company or an association or a body of individuals whether incorporated or not;(28)"premium" means a lump sum amount of money paid as a consideration for the allotment of land;(29)"prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;(30)"private market" shall be deemed to be synonymous with the expression "bazaar" and shall mean;-(i)a place where persons assemble for the sale of or the purpose of exposing for sale of meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, livestock or any other articles or food or a perishable nature, whether or not there is any collection of shops or warehouses or stalls for the sale of other articles in such place, or(ii)any place of trade or business other than a place referred to in sub-clause (i) where there is a collection of shops or warehouses or stalls;(31)"Public Investment Board" means Mizoram Public Investment Board constituted for screening and clearing proposals for using land for industrial purposes or for setting up of public institutions namely:- schools, colleges, hospitals, or for contract farming;(32)"public place" means any place which is open to the common use and enjoyment of the public, whether it is actually used or enjoyed by the public or not, and includes a common space meant for public use;(33)"public purpose" shall have the same meaning as defined in clause (f) of section 3 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 as amended from time to time;(34)"rent" means whatever is lawfully payable in cash or in kind, partly in cash and partly in kind, whether as a fixed quantity of produce or as a share of the produce, on account of the use or occupation of land or on account of any right in land but shall not include land revenue;(35)"Reserved Forest" means any area which is surveyed and notified as such under the Assam Forest Regulation, 1891 or under the Mizo District (Forest) Act, 1955 or under any other law for the time being in force in the area in question;(36)"Revenue Officer" means an officer of any rank whosoever appointed under or employed for the purposes of this Act;(37)"Settlement Officer" means a Settlement Officer appointed under the Mizoram (Land Survey and Settlement Operation) Act, 2003 (No. 4 of 2003) as amended from time to time;(38)"shop" means any premises where any trade or business is carried on and where services are rendered to customers;(39)"stall" means a small shop with an open front where people sell things in it at a market or any other place;(40)"State" means the State of Mizoram;(41)"State Government" or "Government" means the Government of Mizoram;(42)The expressions 'Survey', 'Survey mark' and 'Survey Officer' shall have the same meaning as respectively assigned to these under the Mizoram (Land Survey and Settlement Operation) Act, 2003 (No. 4 of 2003) as amended from time to time;(43)"tax" means a sum of money collected by the collecting authorities at the rate fixed by the Government from time to time from the domicile of the State of Mizoram excluding the areas of the Autonomous District Council on account of living in Mizoram and the owner of building or apartment let out for residential and other purposes;(44)"Town" means a village or group of villages where allotment of sites for residential and non residential purposes reserved for the Government which may be notified in Official Gazette from time to time;(45)"Tribal" means a person who belongs to one of the Scheduled Tribes for the State of Mizoram and specified as such by an order or orders made by the President of India under Article 342(1) of the Constitution of India in so far as the specification pertains to Mizoram;(46)"Tribunal" means a Revenue Tribunal constituted under this Act and for the purposes of this Act;(47)"Vacant Land" means any land which has not been allotted to anyone, whether occupied or un-occupied and over which nobody has acquired any right under the Act, but shall not include any land within any surveyed and notified forest or wildlife sanctuary and any land comprising any Government or public road;(48)The expressions, 'Village', 'Village Council' and 'Village Council President', shall have the same meaning respectively as assigned to each of these under the Lushai Hills District (Village Councils) Act, 1953 as amended from time to time, and declared as a revenue village under the provisions of the Mizoram (Land Survey and Settlement Operation) Act, 2003 and the rules made thereunder.(49)"Year" means a year commencing on the first day of April.CHAPTER - II Revenue Divisions, Revenue Officers, their Appointment and Powers.
