The Assam Bhoodan Act, 1965
The 20th August 1966

_No_ _,LJL.34JM /13.- The foll ow ing Act of the vssarn_ Legislative Assem-
bly which receive d the assen t of the Presiden t is hereby published for ~ e n era l
information .

ASSAM ACT XXIII OF l:J66

[R eceived the as sen t of t h e Pres ident on the 12th Au gust It)[66]1

THE ASSAM BHO ODAN ACT, 1965

, Publislled in the 4ssam Garette Extraordinary, dated the 22nd August 19GQ)

_An_

_Act_

_;0 facilitate donation and settlement of Lands in connection with the_ _Bh.edon Jajna_
_movement initiated by Acharya Vin_ _o;a Bhaoe,_

Preamble Whe reas it is exp edient t <l facil itate the donation
of la nds received as Bhoodan in response to Bhoodan

jaJI13 movement initialed bv Acharya Vi noba Bhave

and to provide for re gular isa tio n, distri butio n and
settlement of such lands to the landless persons and

t o provide for matters ancillary thereto ;

###### -----------~,,/


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It is hereby enacted in the Sixteen th Year of the

Republic of India as follows :-

Short title, 1. (1) This Act may be called the Assam 13hoodan

extent and Act, 1965.

commence-
n. ent.

(2) It extends to the whole of the Sta te of Assam .

(3) It shall come into force at once .

Defisi tioas ; 2. In this Act unless there is anything repugnant in

###### tle subject or context-

(a) '13hoodan' me i-lns donation of a parcel of

land which is made voluntar ily for the

purpose of this Act;

(b) 'Bhoodan Board' means the Assam Bhoodan

Board established under section 6 ;

(c) 'Declaration' means a Bhoodan de claration

made under section 3 ;

(d) 'Government' means the Government of

Assam;

(e) 'Land' includes all town lands;

(f j 'L andless Person ' means a per, on-

(i) whose main source oflivelihood is agricul-

ture or agricultural labour; and

,ii) who docs not hold any land or holds an

uneconomic holding of less than five bighas

of land;

(g) 'Owner ' means-

(i) in relation to land held by a tenant with

permanent rights, the tenant j

(ii) in relation to land held under a grant,

lease or assignment from Governmen t, the

holders, and

(iii) in relation to any other land, the person to

whom the land belongs ;                    -

' Person interesied i in rela tion to any land

means any person cla irnirg any righ t, title

or interest in the land and includes a pe rson

having a right of easeme n t affecting such
land;


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(i) 'Prescri bed' except where the wel ds " pre s-

cribed by Regulations" are used, means

prescribed by rules made under this Act;

###### (j) 'Revenue officer' means the Deputy Com-

missione r and includes the Add itional
Deputy Commissioner, S II b-divisional Officer
or any Officer not below the rank of a Sub-
Deputy Collector appointed by the State
Governm ent by name or by virtue of his

office to discharge any of the functions of a
R evenue O fficer under this Act;

(k) 'S ub-d ivisional Bhoodan Committee' means

the Committee established under section 9 ;

(I) 'Village' means a revenue village register ed as

such in the revenue records ;

(rn) 'Town la nd ' mean> any land within an

area declared or d eemed to be a Munici-

pa lity c.r notified area under the Assam
M unicipal Act, 1956 (Assam Act XV of

1957 ) and any other land which th e State
Gcvnnment may declare , under [he ASS3.m
L and and Kevenu e Regulation, 1886 or in
accordanc e with the provision of section ;I

of the Lan d Revenue Re-assessmen t Act

(Assam Act V I II of 1936), to be to wn.

lan d ,

f)gnll tiow (jf 3. (1) An y owner of land not ~)eilJg a minor rray

la nd by donate by way of Bhcodan all or ,my of his lands
way o f by decla rat ion in the prescribed form in writing in that

Ill,g(j Ian

behalf before th e Revenue Officer.

/ (2) A declarat ion under sub-section (1) sh i ll not

be valid in respect of the following classes of lands-

_(a) la nds i.eld by a person under a grant_ , lease

or assig nment from the Government with-

out perma nent rights, unless the previous

approval of Go vernmen t is received;

_(b) lands which are encu mbered ;_

_(c) land in which the_ interest of the owner is

limited to his lifetime;

_(d) la nd which'is held by the owner for personal_

service or "bhog" ;

_(e) la_ nds under encroachment;


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###### 4

 (J ) lands under litigation ;

_(g) suc h other lands as the State Government_

m ay, by notification in the official Gazette,
specify.

(3) Every declaration under sub-section (1) sh all

be publi shed in such manner as may be prescribed,

to gether wi th a notice requ iring all persons interested
in the land to submit th eir obj ections, if any, in
writing to the prescr ibed authority withi n thirty days
of the publ ication of the decla ration.

(4) On th e exp iry of the per iod specified in su b-

section (3), the pr escri bed authority m ay, after con-

sideri ng th e obj ection s received if an y, and alter
makin g such fUI ther enquiries as may be necessary, by
order, either confirm or refuse to confirm the declara               -

tion.

(5 ) An y person aggrieved by an ord er of the

prescrib ed authority under sub-section (4-), m ay file an
appeal to the auth ority prescr ibed in this beh alf wi t hin
for ty-five days of ti.e d ate of the or de r and subj ect to

th e d ecision on such appeal, the orde r of the prescr ibed
author ity shall be final.

(6) A declaration wh ich the prescrib ed authority
has, by order, refused to confirm under sub-section (4)
s .all h ave no effect.

(7) The prescribed au thority shall forthwith inform

the Bh ood an Board of eve ry ca fe of confirmation.

(U) No person w ho has filed a declaration under
sub-s ection (1) shall thereafter be compe tent to trans-
fer or create an y en cumbrance 011 a ny land, in respect
of which the d eclarati on has been filed, unless and
until an order under sub-section (4) re fusin g to confirm
the decl aration is made. Any transfer made or encum-
bra nce created in co ntravention of this provision shall
be void and in-operative.

Donation of 4. (l) Where an y land has been donated by way 01

lafndnbY'd"ay Bhoodan prior t j th e commencement of this Act. the
oprior1\00 to the an DC"eputy ornrmssroner SJ ia II prepare a ]'rst 0 f a II 'fUC 1I
comm ence- lands, other than lands to wh ich the provisions of
meet of the sub-secti on (2) ol secti on 3 a pply, sh owing therein-

Act.

(a) the ar ea, (b ) dag number, (c) location,
(d) nam e and address of the donor, (e) date of dona-
tion, (f) the nature of the int erest of the donor in
the land, (g) land revenue, (h ) local rate, (i) class of
land, (j) if the land has been granted to any person


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5

###### by any organisa tion a uthor ised in this b ehalf iri

purs uan ce of th e Bhood an Jaj na, the name and
ad dr ess of th e person to wh om the land has bee n

g ranted, (k) the date of the grant und er sub-clause

(j) , and (1) such other particulars as m ay be pres-

cribed .

(2) T he list so prepared shall be published in
the man ner p rescribed.

(3) U pon the publica tio n of the list under sub-
section (2) and notwit hstan di Lg any thi ng to the

co ntrary in any law for the time being in torce,

_(a) the right,_ title and interest of the c1onor

in such land shall with effe ct fr om the date
of d onation be d eemed to have been extin -
guished a nd the land to have vested in th e

Bhooda n Boa rd as if a Bhoo dan d eclaration
has been duly mad e and confirmed in
respect theret o, und er and in acco rda nce

with se .::tion 3;

_(b) where_ such land has in pursuance of the

Bh oodan J aj na has been granted to any

person it shall wLh effect from the date

of grant deemed furt h er to h ave b een
g ran ted to the gran tee under and in
ac cor dance w ith the provisions of su b-
section (1) of section 7.

Eflecl s of 5. N otwithstanding anything to the contrary con-

de c~arali o n ra ined in an y other law for the t ime b ein : in force
I J d ~ " ,
~ h a~ s a, with effect from the date of confirmation of t he

la n~. an declaration, all rights, t itle and interest of perso ns
wh ose declarations h ave been co nfirmed under sub              -

sect ion (4) of section 3 in Or ove r the lands covered

by such decl aration s, shal l c-ase and shall stand
tra nsferred to a nd vest in th e Bhoodan Board.

Estab lish- 6. (L) As soon as may be after the commencement

menl ! incor- of this Act, there shall be established by the State

andpara constitu- Iont G overnm en t . IJy no n ca tronifica ti In0 teh o iciaffici 1 Ga zette ,
tion of th e a Board to be called th e "Bhoodan Board" for pur-
Slate poses of carrying out the pr.wisions of this Act.

Bbood an
Board.


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6

(2) Th e Bhood an Board shall be a body cor po-

rate with per petual succession and a common seal
a nd sha ll have power to acce pt, reguJarise and distri-
bute lands received as Bhood an .

(3 ) T he Bho odan Board sha ll consist of the fa" -

k.wing members, name ly ;-

the Chairman to be nom ina ted by the

Stat e Government In consultation with

Ac harva Vino ba Bhave or any persol'

i'lithorised by him ill this behalf,

_(b) a_ representative of the Sta te Government
in the Reven ue Department,

_(c) on e reprcsentritive from_ t h e Assam Sarbo-
day M andai ,

_(d) on e represen_ tative from the Akhil Bharat

Sarba Seva Sa ngha to be nominated bv

th a t bo dy,

_( e) one_ repre,rn tative from t he Assam Cram

Swa rajya Sam ittee,

###### (1 ) [one represent][ati][ve from]
Smara k Nidhi,

_(g) one represent ative_ from th e Assam Khadt

and Village Industries Board, and

_(It) one_ rep resentative from th e Kast urb a

Gandh i Rastriya Smara k Trus t, Assam .

(4) T he Chairm an and Me mber s of t he Bh codan

Bo ard sha ll hold o ffi ce for a term of three yeatS from

the date of publica tion ot their nan.e in the o ffi cial
Gazette and shall be el!1:' ib le lor re-nom in ation .


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(5) T h e Bhoodan Board shall hold its office at
Gauhati bu t may hold its m eetings a t a ny place it
considers expedient for convenien tly ca rrying out its
duties and fu nctions.

(6) T he Bhooda n Boa rd shall appoin t one of its
Memb ers as Secreta ry.

(7) T he Bh oodan Board ma y delega te any of
its powers and functions under this A ct exce pt the
power to make regulations under section 19 to the
Secretary or any Member or to a Sub-committe e of
three or more of its Members.

(8) The State Government may, by order in the
official Gazette, remove from office, the Chairman

or any Member of the Bhoodan Board who , in the
opinion of the State Government has fail ed to
perform or is un abl e to carry out his duties, or has
abused his position as a Member of the Bho od an

Beard.

(9) Any vacancy of a Chairman or a M ember

caused by death, resignation, removal or ot herwise

shall be filled up for the remain ing period of the tel m
in the manner laid down in sub-section (3) of section 6.

Duties and 7. (1) I t sha ll be t he du ty of the Bh oodan Board to

functions of distribute lands vested in it to the poor land less

the Board, cultiva tors for the benefit and furt herance of the
Bhoodan Jajna, in the manner prescribed

P rovided that any tow n land vested in it m ay also
be set a p ar t for t he use of the Bhoodan Bo ard or the
Sub-divisional Bhocdan Cornrr irt ee.

(2) 1 he Bhooda n Board shall for the purpose

and furtherance of the Bhocdan ]ajna perfor m such

##### ,I other functions as may be necessary in re spe ct of

such land s.

(3) In forma tion of every case of distribution
shall fort hwith be sent by th e Bhoodan Board to the
local R evenue Officer.

Supersession 8. (1) If at any tim e, in the opinion of the Sta te .

or Disaolu- Go vernmen t, the Bhoodan Board-e-
lion of the
Jlurd.

(a) is not compe tent to per form or persi stent ly
de faults in dischal gi ng the d uties or per-

formi ng the func tions assigne d to it b) th is
.A,.c t withou t ) eason....ble <ause or excuse ; or


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(b) exceeds or abuses the powers assigned to it

under this Act ; or

(c) is not functioning in a manner consistent
wi th the provisions of this Act or the rules

fr amed th er eunder; or

(d) circumstances have so arisen that the

Bhoodan Board is rendered u nable to

discharge duties or to perform functions

assigned to it under this Act ; or

(e) it is uth erwise expedient or necessary to

dissolve the Bhood an Board ;

the State Gov ernment may, by notification in
the official Gazette stating the reasons for its order-

(i) dissolve or supersede the Bhooda n Board

for such period not exceeding one year
at a tim e, provided that before any

such notification is issued, the Bhoodan
Board shall be given a reasonable

op portu nity of showing ca use why the

p roposed notification should not be

issued,

(ii) direct the reconstitution o f the Bhoodan

Board in accordance with the provi-
sions of sect ion 6 of this Act, and

(iii) declare tha[t all the p]ower[s and] dut[ies] of

the Bhoodan Board shall during the
pe riod of dissolu tion or supersession

and until th e Bhoodan Board is recon-
stituted be exercised and performed

by such pers on or persons or authority
as the State Gover nment mav, from

time to time, appoint in t his behalf.

(2) The Sta te Government may make such inci-
dental an d con sequential provisions as may appear to

he necessary for this purpose.

Sub.division- 9. (1) T he Bhoodan Board may for any Sub-division

~l Bhoodtan constitute Sub. divisional Bhoodan Committee consist-
Cornrnlt reo . f
mg 0 not more than seven mem bers who shall be
appointed by the Bho odan Boa rd from amo ng the
Bhoodan workers who are resident in the area concer              -

ned . The appointment of these m embers shall be

. subject to th e approval of the Government and sha ll

be for a period of three years.


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auditors appointed by the State ' Board with the '

previous approval of the Government.

### ...
## l
# --

(2) T he Bhood an Board shall appoint one of the
members of the Sub-divisional Committee to be its
Chairman who shall also act as its Se cretary.

(3) (a) The Bhoodan Board may authorise any

Sub-divisional Committee constituted under sub-
section (1) to exercise in the area within the jurisdic-

tion of such Sub-div isional Committee all or any of

the powers, duties or fun ctions vested in the Board by

this Act as m ay be specified by general or special
order and in like manner withdraw such autho rity ;

(b) The exercise of any powers, duties or fun ctions

delegated under sub-clause (a) shall be subject to
control and revision of the Bhoodan Board:

Provided that the dissolution or supersession of the

Sub-divisional Bhoodan Committees shall be subject

to the approval of the State Government.

(4-) The provisions of section 8 shall apply
_mutatis mutandis in_ matters of supersevsion or dis so-

lution of the Sub-divisional Bhoodan Committees abo.

Funds or tb e: 10. (1) The State Bho odan Board shall haw: its own
Hh 0 0 U a II r: d d d 0 Of r:
Board. run an may accept grants, onatrons or gl ts rrorn
the Ce nt ral and the State Government or any local
authority or any individual or body of persons whether
incorporated or not, for all or any 01 the purposes of
this Act.
(2) The moneys remitted in the Fund shall be
received by the Chairman of the Bhoodan Board or by
the Secretary of the Bhoodan Board if he is au thorised
by the Chairman in this behalf and all such money

shall be :lep,.)oited by th e recipient in :-

(i) till' Assam Co-operative Apex Bank
Limited, or

~ (ii) a Post Office Savings Bank.

**- ; ' ..**

(3) All such deposits shall be made in the name
of the Bhoodan Board. The Chairman of the Bhoodan
Board or the Secretary appointed by the Chairman in
this behalf, shall have the power to withdraw such
deposits or any part thereof and operate on the Bank
accounts.
(1) N o mon ey shall be withdrawn from the Bank
unless it is required lor immediate payment for the
purposes of the Bhoodan Board.

Audit of the . ] 1. The Bhoodan Board shall cause accounts to
Board's be kepi of all moneys received and expended by ' it
aecounts , and such accounts sh all be audited every year by
auditors appointed by the State ' Board with the '

previous approval of the Government.

### ...
## l
# ---


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E xempuou 12. (1) Land whi ch is donated by a person

fro mtattach un less it is
men or sa el- [making][ a Bhood au d]. [eclar][ation][ shall][ not,]
and from the refused , be liable to att achme nt or sale in execution

operation of . of any de cree or order passed by a Civil Court against
the CeiJ.ing the donor of th e Bhoodan L and .
Ac-,

(2) The provisions of the Assam Fixation of \ . Act
Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1956 shall not apply ' I'S;f~95~'.

in respect of lands don ated by way of Bh oodan ,

Status ()f 13. (I ) The person to whom any land is granted

the person tv under sub-section (1) of section 7 shall have,-
whom tbe
land is grant.
ed and the (a) Where the interest of the donor was that
condition OIl of a proprietor, land-holder or sett lement ;
which the

holder the sta tus of a land-h older,

land is held.

(b) Wh ere the interest of the don or was t hat of
a t enant ha ving permanent, heritable and
transferable right, the status of an occu-
p ancy rayat.

(2) The grantee shall hold th e land subject to the
following conditions, n amely:-

(a) the grantee shall not be entitled to transfer

or sublet th e land or any part th er eof ;

(b) th e gran tee shall not allow tne land to lie

fallow fl)rtwo consecutive years without

reasonable cau se;

(c) a grantee und er clause (a) shall pay to the

State Gov ernment land revenue and other
dues, if a ny, on the laud .on due dales

ther eof;

(d) any other condition which may be prescri-

##### r' bed by the State Government in consulta-

tion with the Bho odan Board.

(3) The name of the grantee shall in the prescri-
bed manner be mutated immediately after the informa-
tion of distribution being received from the Bhoodan
Board under sub-section (3) of section 7 and recorded
in the record-of-rights maintained by the Deputy Com-
mi ssioner in th e ]amabandi or the rent-roll, as the
case may be, m entioning the fact that the land is
Bhoodan land.

Conseque- 14. If the grantee commits a breach of any of the
nees of the conditions mentioned in sub-section (2) of section 13,

hreac:h. of the Revenue Officer may, after giving him an opportu-
conditions. nity of being heard and after such enquiry as he deems
necessary, terminate the grant and restore the land to
the Bhoodan Bpard.


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/ '

      - , • P cvcev to 15. T he State Go vernrnenr may, if it is satisfied

     - remit land that any land vestiuu ill the Bho odan Board could not
rev: nue. o
be granted to any person in any year, remit the land
revenue due th ereon for that year.

Power to 16. The State Government, by notification in the

e x e m p t official Gazette ma y r ernit-
from Stamp , .

dur y, etc.

(a) the Stamp duty with wh ich, under any law
for the time being in for ce, any declaration
of don ation under section 3 or any in stru-
m ent executed by or on beh alf of the
Bhoodan Board .is ch argeable ;

_(b) any fee payable by the Bhoodan Board or_

a ny ow ner who donates la nd under sec-
tinn 3 under the law for th e t ime -bein g in
force.

Partition of 17. Jf the land don ated forms a part of a hulding,
holding. the Bhoodan Board or the grantee concerned may

. apply to the Revenue Officer for partition and the
Revenue Officer may, notwithstanding anything to the
contrary in any law for the time-being in force and
aft er such enquiry as he deems nec essary, p artition the
holding and demarcate the land and apportion the
rev enue or the rent, as the case may be.

Power to 18. (1) The St ate Gove rnment may, by notifica-

make rules. ti on in the official Gazette , make rule s to carry ou t

the purposes of this Act.

(2) In particula r an d witho ut prejudice to the

generality of the foregoing p owers, such rules may ,

,

provide 1'01'::-

_(a) the_ matters rela ting to the establishm ent

a nd constitution of the St ate Bhoodan

_r-_ Board and the Sub-divisional Bhoodan

Committees, nomination and appointment
of Chairman or members thereto, as the
ca se may be ;

_(b) incid ental and_ consequential provisions to

be followed on the dissolution or superses-
sian of the Bhoodan Board or Sub-divi-

sional Bhoodan Committee ;
_(c) the form of declaration of Bhoodan ;_
_(d) the manner of publication of the Bh_ oodan

decla ration ;
_(e) the_ manner of realisation of the arrear

revenue;

.Ii I ,


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l~

_(J) the man_ ner of record ing the name of
the gran tee in the record-of-rights or the

re nt-rolls unde r sub-section (3) of the sec-
tion 13 ;
_(g) the manner and mode of service of notices_

un der thi s Act; and

_(It) the matters which are to_ be and may be
prescribed .

(3) Every rule made under this section shall be
laid, as soon as may be after it is m ade, before the
Assam Legislative Assembly w hile it is in session for

a total period of -fourtcen days which may be
comprised in on e session or in two succcssive

sessions, and if, before the expiry of rhe session in
which it is so laid or the sessions immediately

following the Assam Legisla tive Asse mbly agree in
making a ny modifica tion in th e r ule or the Assam

Legislative Assembly ag ree tha t the r ule sho uld not
be mad e, the rule sha ll thcl ca rte r han : eflect onl y in

such modified for m or be of no effect, as th e case

may be; so however, th at any such mo.lifi cation or
ann ulmen t shal l l.e wi thout prejudice (0 the validity
of anything p revious]v done u nder that rule .

Power to 19. ( I ) T he Sta te Bhoodan Board may, with the

~ake rcg ula- p r evj ous sanction of the State Gove rn men t, mske
nons, regulatio r- s not inconsistent with this Act or the

rules mad e th er eun der to provide tor all m atters for

which provis ion is necessary for the purpose of
giving effect to the provisions of this Act.
(2) In parti cular and without p rejudice to the

generality of the foregoing power, such regulations

may provide [or-
_(a) the_ meetings of the Bhoodan Board. the
conduct ol business there-at and ' the
pro cedure for disposal of its business ;

_(b) principles to be_ followed in distribution of
lands vesting in the Board;
_(c) fixation of maximum limit 1'01 grant cf land_
to any landless person;
_(d) scheme of distr_ ibution of Bhoo dan la nds ;

_(e) mai_ ntenance of the accounts of the Bhcodan

Board; and

_(I) any_ other matter for which provision is

necessary for the purpose of enabling the
Bhoodan Board to discharge its duties ann

functio ns und er this Act .

##### s, SAl; :ViA,

Secre tary to the Govern ment of Assam,

L'I.w Dep artmen t.


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