The Government of Karnataka on May 19, 2023, issued the draft of the Karnataka Land Grant (Amendment) Rules, 2023 to further amend the Karnataka Land Grant Rules, 1969.
The following amendments have been stated:
• After rule 19-A, the rule 19-B shall be inserted, namely: -
“19-B. Lease of land for Cultivation of Plantation Crops. –
(1) A Family in unauthorized occupation of Government Land of Cultivating Plantation Crops may be leased to the such family by the Deputy Commissioner without auction subject to the following conditions, namely: -
(i) that family shall be in unauthorized occupation of land for cultivation of Plantation Crops prior to January 01, 2005, and shall continue to be in possession of such land on the date of commencement of the Karnataka Land Grant (Amendment) Rules, 2023;
(ii) the extent of land that may be leased to a family shall be up to twenty-five acres;
(iii) the Government Land held in possession unauthorized over and above the extent of land that may be leased under these rules shall be surrendered to the Government by the said family prior to entering into a lease agreement as under sub-rule (6);
(iv) the amount of annual lease rent payable for the lands leased under these rules shall be,
(v) the period of above such lands shall not be more than thirty years;
(vi) if Lessee expires during the lease period, the lease shall be transferred only to the lessee’s family as specified in section 94-E of the Act till the remaining lease period;
(vii) leased land shall not be subleased or alienated;
(viii) trees already existing on such Government lands shall be the property of the Government and the lessee shall protect such trees;
(ix) leased lands shall only be used for cultivating the plantation crops and shall not be utilized for any other purposes;
(x) mortgage of leased land in favour of the State Government or a Scheduled Bank or Co-operative Bank for crop loan for the purposes of cultivating plantation crops shall not be regarded as alienation for the rules; and
(xi) No such lands shall be leased if the land comes under the purview of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
(2) Any family who complies with the condition specified in clause (i) of sub-rule (1) may make an application to the Tahsildar of the concerned Taluk in Form No. IX within three months from the date of commencement of the Karnataka Land Grant (Plantation Crops) (Amendment) Rules 2023.
(3) On receipt of the said application, the Tahsildar, after due verification and inquiry as may be necessary, shall examine the eligibility of the applicant for the lease of land under this rule and place the records of his findings before the Deputy Commissioner.
(4) The Deputy Commissioner, on scrutiny of the records submitted by the Tahsildar and after satisfying himself that the applicant is eligible for the lease of land under these rules or otherwise, shall pass necessary orders either sanctioning the lease or rejecting the same within three months from the date of receipt of application.
(5) Upon receipt of orders from the Deputy Commissioner as per sub-rule (4), the Tahsildar shall issue orders for sanctioning the lease in favour of that family incorporating the conditions specified under this rule.
(6) Every family which is leased land under this rule shall execute the lease deed for temporary occupation of Government land for Plantation Crops cultivation in Form No. X. The lease shall come into force from the date of execution of the said lease deed.
(7) If the Government requires the leased lands for any Government / Public purpose viz., sites for the poor, hospital, school, etc., leased lands shall be resumed to the Government without any notice and the amount due for the rest of the leased period will be remitted to the lessee.
The draft rules have been published for all the persons likely to be affected thereby and notice is hereby given that the said draft will be taken into consideration after the expiry of 15 days from the date of its publication in the official Gazette.
Any objection or suggestion, which may be received by the State Government from any person with respect to the said draft before the expiry of the period specified above, will be considered by the State Government. Objections or suggestions may be addressed to the Secretary to Government, Revenue Department, Multi-Storied Building, Dr. Ambedkar Veedhi, Bangalore – 560 001.
[Notification No. RD 07 LGP 2023]
