Cantonment Land Administration Rules, 2021 छावनी भूमि प्रशासन नियम 2021

Cantonment Land Administration Rules, 2021 छावनी भूमि प्रशासन नियम 2021

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE PUBLIC NOTICE

New Delhi, the 23rd June, 2021

S.R.O. 12(E).—The following draft rules, which the Central Government proposes to make, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 346 of the Cantonments Act, 2006 (41 of 2006) and in supersession of the Cantonments Land Administration Rules, 1937, is hereby published, as required by section 346 of the said Act for the information of all persons likely to be affected thereby and notice is hereby given that the said draft rules will be taken into consideration by the Central Government after the expiry of thirty days from the date on which the copies of the Gazette of India in which the notification is published, are made available to the public;

Any objection or suggestion which may be received from any person with respect to the said draft rules, before the expiry of the aforesaid period will be considered by the Central Government;

Objections or suggestions, if any, to these draft Rules may be addressed to the Director (Lands), Ministry of Defence, South Block, New Delhi-110011.

Draft Rules

THE DRAFT CANTONMENT LAND ADMINISTRATION RULES, 2021 

CHAPTER I

GENERAL

1. Short title and extent:

(a) These rules may be called the Cantonment Land Administration Rules, 2021.

(b) They shall extend to all Cantonments in India.

2. Definitions:

(1) In these rules, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context-

(a) “The Act” means the Cantonments Act, 2006;

(b) “Building Site” means a portion of land held or intended to be held for building purposes, whether any building be erected thereon or not, and includes the open ground or courtyard enclosed by, or adjacent to, any building erected thereupon;

(c) “Civil Area” means an area declared to be a Civil Area by the Central Government under sub-section (1) of Section 46 of the Act and includes any other area which the Central Government may, by way of notification in the Official Gazette, declare to be a Civil Area for the purposes of these Rules;

(d) “Chief Executive Officer” means the person appointed under the Act to be the Chief Executive Officer of the Cantonment;

(e) “Defence Establishment” means any department, organization or agency, other  than Army, Air Force and Navy, under the administrative control of Ministry of Defence;

(f) “Defence Estates Circle” means one of the circles into which India is for the time being divided, for the purpose of defence land management;

(g) “Defence Estates Officer” means the officer as defined under clause (o) of section (2) of the Act;

(h) “Military” includes Army, Air Force, Navy and other Defence Establishments as defined under clause (zf) of section (2) of the Act.

(i) “Survey Number” means a portion of land of which the area is separately entered in the land records of the Cantonment, including its digitized version under an indicative number.

 (2) Words and expressions used in these Rules which have not been defined hereinabove but defined in the Act, shall have the same meaning as assigned to them in the Act.

CHAPTER II 

CLASSIFICATION AND TRANSFER OF LAND; STANDARD TABLE OF RENT; MANAGEMENT

3. General Land Register:

(1) The Defence Estates Officer shall maintain, in the form prescribed in Schedule I, a General Land Register and a General Land Register plan in such manner as may be prescribed by the Central Government from time to time, of all lands in the Cantonment-

(a) Inside Civil Areas; and

(b) Outside Civil Areas

Provided that for lands located inside Civil Areas under the management of the Board, the details of individual survey numbers shall be maintained by the Board and Defence Estates Officer shall not be required to maintain details of such individual survey numbers.

(2) No addition or alteration shall be made in the General Land Register and the General Land Register Plan except with the previous sanction of the Central Government or such other authority as the Central Government may appoint for this purpose or in accordance with the provisions of rules 10 and 42 of these Rules;

(3) The General Land Register and the General Land Register Plan shall also be maintained in such manner and updated at such intervals, in digitized form, as prescribed by the Central Government.

4. Classification of land for the purposes of General Land Register prescribed by Rule 3:

(a) Land in the Cantonment which is vested in the Government shall be classified by the Central Government, or such other authority as the Central Government may empower in this behalf, into two classes, namely-

(i) Class “A” land which is required or reserved for specific military purposes; and

(ii) Class “B” land which is not so required, or reserved, but which is retained in the Cantonment for the effective discharge of duties of the Central Government in respect of military administration; and

(b) Land which is vested in the Board under section 122 of the Act shall be called Class “C” land.

5. Class “A” land: Class “A” land shall be divided by the Central Government, or such other authority as the Central Government may empower in this behalf, into the following sub-classes, namely-

(i) Class “A-1” land which is actually used or occupied by the Military Authorities, for the purposes of fortifications, barracks stores, arsenals, aerodromes, bungalows for military officers which are the property of Government, parade grounds, military recreation grounds, rifle ranges, brick fields, soldiers and hospital gardens, administrative accommodation, training, field firing ranges, grenade ranges, storage depots and MES installations as provided for in paragraphs 419, 421 and 425 of regulations for the Army in India and other official requirements of the Military Authorities.

(ii) Class “A-2” land which is not actually used or occupied by the Military authorities, but to the use or occupation of which for any other purpose, except temporarily, there exists specific military objections.

Explanation- For the purposes of this rule-

(a) Specific military objections shall be deemed to exist to the use or occupation of land the reservation of which is declared to be desirable by the Central Government in the interests of the discipline, health or welfare of the military forces, or the safety or defence of the Cantonment and its inhabitants; and

(b) Military recreation grounds means recreation grounds the management and control of which vest exclusively in members of the Military Authorities.

6. Class “B” land: Class “B” land shall be divided by the Central Government, or such other authority as the Central Government may empower in this behalf, into the following sub-classes, namely-

(i) Class “B-1” land which is actually occupied or used by the Defence Department in the administration of Ecclesiastical affairs, including European cemetreies, or by any other Ministry or Department of the Central Government.

(ii) Class B-2” land which is actually occupied or used by or is under the control of any Department of a State Government.

(iii) Class “B-3” land which is held by any private person under the provisions of these rules, or which is held or may be presumed to be held under the provisions of Cantonment Land Administration Rules, 1925 or 1937; Cantonment Code of 1899 or 1912, or under any General Orders issued by the Governor General in Council for the Presidencies of Bengal, Bombay or Madras or under any other executive order previously in force, subject to the conditions under which the Central Government reserve, or have reserved to themselves the proprietary rights in the land,

Provided that defence land which is converted to freehold under a policy of Ministry of Defence will henceforth be classified as B-3(a).

(v)        Class “B-4” land which is not included in any other class under this rule.

7. Management of Land:

(1) The management of Class “A-1” land, except for such areas or classes of areas as may from time to time be declared by the Central Government to be under the immediate management of the Military Authorities or the Defence Establishments themselves, shall continue to be entrusted to the Defence Estates Officer.

(2) The management of Class “A-2” land shall vest in the Defence Estates Officer.

(3) The management of Class “B-1” land shall vest in the Ministry or Department in occupation of or

having control over the land.

(4) The management of Class “B-2” land shall vest in the State Government in occupation or having

control over the land.

(5) The management of all Class “B-3” land, B-3(a) land and Class “B-4” land shall be entrusted to the Defence Estates Officer;

Provided that the management of all Class “B-3” land and Class “B-4” land in the notified Civil Area shall be entrusted to the Board.

(6) The management of Class “C” land shall vest in the Board under section 122 of the Act.

(7) The authorities to whom management of Defence Land has been entrusted as mentioned at Sub Para (1),(2),(5) and (6) of Rule 7shall carry out inspection of all such Defence Land as entrusted to their management and shall, as soon as may be after the Ist April of each year and not later than Ist July, shall submit a certificate of inspection alongwith a report providing the details pertaining to encroachment on Defence Land under their management alongwith the action taken to remove such encroachment, in such formats as may be prescribed by the Central Government.

8. Reclassification of land from one class to another: No alteration in the classification of land which is vested in the Government or in the Board shall be made except by the Central Government, or such other authority as the Central Government may empower in this behalf, and the conditions on which land may be reclassification from one class to another shall be governed by the orders of the Central Government or by the provisions of any law or rule for the time being in force which may be applicable:

Provided that prior to reclassification of land from one class to another or within the same class, the Central Government or the Competent authority to whom such power has been delegated, shall obtain the views from the Military Authorities or the Defence Establishment to whom management of such land has been entrusted;

Provided further that land in Class “B-4” may be reclassification to Class “B-3” by the Central Government or the Competent authority to whom such power has been delegated, and subject to the conditions prescribed by Rules 16 to 46.

9. Standard Table of Rents:

(1) The Defence Estates Officer, in consultation with the District Collector or the Competent State Revenue Authority, shall from time to time compile, in the form prescribed in Schedule II, Standard Table of Rents, suitable for applications to sites in the Cantonment, having regard to the situation of site, the nature of soil, use of the site and the rates charged for adjacent agricultural land or for building sites in the neighborhood. The principles for compilation for Standard Table of Rent shall be same as those applicable for areas under the adjoining Municipalities/State Government.

Provided that such Standard Table of Rents shall be revised at such periodicity as determined by the Central Government or such other authority as the Central Government may empower in this behalf, from time to time;

Provided further that for determination of Standard Table of Rents for lands in a Cantonment, the Defence Estates Officer shall constitute a Committee which shall consist of himself as Chairman, a Sub- Divisional Officer of his office, a representative of the District Revenue Authority, a representative of the Local Military Authority and a representative of the Cantonment Board;

Provided further that the Committee shall follow the same principles for compilation of Standard Table of Rent as those applicable for areas under the adjoining Municipalities/State Government, and calculate the Standard Table of Rents for different zones of the Cantonment area and authenticate the standard table of rent after due deliberations.

MANAGEMENT BY DEFENCE ESTATES OFFICER

10. Maintenance of General Land Register:

(1) The Defence Estates Officer shall maintain the General Land Register and the General Land Register Plan, which includes its digitized version, prepared under rule 3 in respect of all land, other than land in Civil Areas, the management of which has been entrusted to, or vests in, the Board, and shall register all mutations in column 1 thereof, and shall enter therein-

(i) Every transfer of right of interest in land in the Cantonment registered under Paragraphs 2 and 3 of section 54, and sections 59, 107 and 123 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (4 of 1882), of which information has been sent to him under sub-section (2) of section 354 of the Act, or by the Board, when such transfer necessitates an alteration of entries, in any of the columns of the register;

Provided that he will take prior approval of the competent authority in the Government for accepting any such transfer of right in land before recording such transfers or alteration of entries.

(ii) Every grant of such right or interest made by the Central Government.

(iii) Every report of the transfer of such right or interest made under section 81 of the Act, sent to him by the Board under rule 42.

(iv) Every acquisition of interest in land by a Board made under rule 4 of the Cantonment Property Rules, 2017.

(v) Every transfer of land to or resumption from a Board made under rule 6 or transfer by a Board made under rule 8 of the Cantonment Property Rules, 2017.

(vi) Every interdepartmental transfer of class “A” land and every transfer of class “A” land, from one service of the Military to another under the control of the same Head of Service or Defence Establishment sanctioned by the Central Government.

(vi) Every alteration in classification of land sanctioned under rule 8.

(vii) Every transfer of occupation between departments of the Central Government and the State Government.

(viii) Every conversion of existing right in land of an occupier to freehold as sanctioned by the Competent Authority, bringing such land converted into freehold, under the classification B-3(a).

(ix) GIS-encoded digitization of all GLR plans shall be carried out which will be synchronised with the textual entries pertaining to each Survey Number through the Raksha Bhoomi ID of that Survey Number.

(2) No amendments shall be made in the General Land Register by the Defence Estates Officer in respect of any entry relating to transfer of any right if it is in violation of Central Governments’ instructions unless the condonation or regularization of such breach has been sanctioned by the Competent authority.

(3) The Defence Estates Officer shall carry out such amendments to the General Land Register Plan as may become necessary pursuant to alterations of any entries in any columns of the General Land Register

11. Credit of Receipts: All receipts from land entrusted to the management of the Defence Estates Officer shall be credited to the Consolidated Fund of India as decided by the Government of India from time to time. ……………….  Click here read more.