Updated: Thursday December 12, 2013/AlKhamis
Safar 09, 1435/Bruhaspathivara
Agrahayana 21, 1935, at 06:23:14 PM
[1][1]The
(Pb Ord. VI of 1981)
[
An
Ordinance to provide for the establishment of a Land Utilization Authority in
the Province of the
Preamble.— WHEREAS it is expedient to establish a Land
Utilization Authority for the purpose of taking over temporarily the control
and management of certain culturable waste land in the Province, surveying and
assessing its potential and preparing schemes and projects for its proper
utilization, executing or arranging the execution of approved projects and
monitoring their effective implementation to achieve the objective [2][2][and also to motivate
land owners to develop their culturable waste land, inter alia, by providing credit facilities to them].
NOW,
THEREFORE, in pursuance of the Proclamation of the fifth day of July, 1977,
read with the Laws (Continuance in Force) Order, 1977 (C.M.L.A. Order 1 of
1977), the Governor of the
1. Short title, extent and commencement.— (1) This Ordinance may be called the Punjab
Land Utilization Authority Ordinance, 1981.
(2) It extends to the whole of the Province
of the
(3) It shall come into force at once.
2. Definitions.— In this Ordinance, unless there is anything
repugnant in the subject or context,---
(a) ‘Authority’
means the Punjab Land Utilization Authority established under the Ordinance;
(b) ‘Board’
means the Board constituted under the Ordinance;
(c) ‘Chairman’
means the Chairman of the Board and includes any person for the time being
discharging the functions of the Chairman;
(d) ‘Director-General’
means the Director-General of the Authority and includes any person for the
time being discharging the functions of the Director-General;
(e) ‘employee’
means an employee of the Authority;
(f) ‘Government’
means Government of the
(g) ‘member’
means member of the Board and includes its Chairman;
(h) ‘officer’
means an officer of the Authority other than the Chairman or the member;
(i) ‘prescribed’
means prescribed by rules framed under the Ordinance;
(j) ‘regulations’
means regulations made under the Ordinance;
(k) ‘rules’
means rules framed under the Ordinance; and
(l) ‘specified’
means specified by an order of Government.
3. Establishment of the Authority.— (1) Government may, by notification,
establish an authority to be called the Punjab Land Utilization Authority.
(2) The Authority shall be a body corporate
having perpetual succession and a common seal with powers, subject to the
provisions of the Ordinance, to acquire, hold and dispose of property, both
movable and immovable, and may, by the said name, sue and be sued.
(3) The head office of the Authority shall
be at
4. Board.— (1) The administration and management of the
Authority and its affairs shall vest in the Board which may exercise all the
powers and perform all the functions of the Authority under the Ordinance.
(2) The Board shall consist of the following
members:---
[3][3][(i) Minister
for Agriculture Punjab who shall also be the Chairman of the Board];
[4][4][(i-a) Chairman,
Planning and Development Board, Government of the
(ii) Member (Revenue), Board of Revenue,
(iii) Secretary to Government of the
(iv) Secretary to Government of the
(v) Secretary to Government of the
(vi) Secretary to Government of the
(vii) Secretary to Government of the
(viii) Secretary to Government of the
(ix) Secretary to Government of the
(x) Member (Power) or the General Manager (Distribution) Power Wing,
WAPDA, if permitted by the Federal Government;
(xi) Army Member Border Area Committee as constituted under the West
Pakistan Border Area Regulation, 1959 (MLR 9 of 1959);
(xii) Director-General of the Authority who shall also be the Secretary
of the Board; and
(xiii) four non-official members to be nominated by Government from the
farming community and members of the local councils constituted under the
Punjab Local Government Ordinance, 1979 (VI of 1979).
(3) Government may, by notification,
increase, decrease or alter the membership of the Board.
(4) A member, other than an ex-officio member, shall hold office for
a period of two years:
Provided
that Government may remove any non-official member before the expiry of his
term without assigning any reason.
(5) Government may suspend the execution of
any resolution, decision or order of the Board which, in the opinion of
Government, contravenes any provision of the Ordinance or the rules or
regulations framed thereunder, or is not in conformity with any direction given
by Government, and may prohibit the doing of any act which is to be done or is
being done in pursuance of the said resolution, decision or order, or if the
act has been accomplished, order its rectification in such manner as Government
may direct.
5. Meetings of the Board.— (1) The meetings of the Board shall be held
at such time and place as may be determined by the Chairman of the Board.
(2) At least
one meeting shall be held during each quarter of the year.
(3) The quorum for transaction of business
at a meeting of the Board shall be seven:
Provided that the meeting of the Board to approve the
budget of the Authority shall not take place in the absence of the Finance
Secretary.
(4) All decisions at a meeting of the Board
shall be taken by majority of votes of the members present and in the event of
equality of votes, the Chairman shall have a casting vote.
(5) The meetings of the Board shall be
presided over by the Chairman and in his absence by a member as may be
nominated by him from amongst the members.
(6) No act or proceeding of the Board shall
be invalid merely by reason of a vacancy in, or defect in the constitution of
the Board.
(7) The minutes of every meeting of the
Board shall be drawn up and recorded in a book to be kept for the purpose and
shall be signed by the person presiding over the meeting and shall be open to
inspection by any member.
(8) The Director-General shall circulate to
all members a copy of the minutes of every meeting.
6. Delegation of powers.— The Board may, by general or special order,
and subject to such conditions as may be specified in such order, delegate any
of its powers, duties or functions under the Ordinance or the rules and the
regulations made thereunder, to a member, officer or employee of the Authority.
7. Powers and functions of the Authority.— (1) Subject to the provisions of the
Ordinance, the Authority may take such measures and exercise such powers as it
considers necessary or expedient, undertake works, incur expenditure, procure
equipment or material required for its use, enter into contracts and do all
other acts and things necessary for carrying out the purposes of the Ordinance.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to
the generality of the foregoing provision, the Authority shall subject to such
terms and conditions and in such manner and to such extent as may be
prescribed, have the power—
(a) to take over, for a limited period not
exceeding ten years, the control and management of uncultivated State land not
covered by any scheme, or the land of any person, including that of a
charitable trust, a corporate body, a local authority, who, despite notice, [5][5][fails
to cultivate and/or develop it to the satisfaction of the Authority within such
period as may be laid down by the Authority] and also to take over in the same
manner any piece of cultivated land which happens to fall within a compact
block of uncultivated land taken over by the Authority for the purpose of its
development, cultivation or proper utilization;
(b) to take over in the same manner and for the
same purpose the uncultivated land of any person who volunteers to hand over
the control and management of his land to the Authority;
[6][6][(bb) to motivate
land-owners to develop their culturable waste land, inter alia, by providing credit facilities to them];
(c) to undertake survey, planning and preparation
of development projects or schemes for the land taken over by the Authority;
(d) to undertake or arrange the implementation of
the projects or schemes for the improvement, development, cultivation or proper
utilization of such land, including soil and water conservation measures,
installation of tube-wells, levelling and cultivation of such land;
(e) to enter into contracts with any person with a
view to subletting the execution of any development project, programme or
scheme for undertaking survey and feasibility studies;
(f) to hand over the management of the State land
developed by the Authority to any person for crop production, orchard raising,
afforestation, range development and improvement, dairy and livestock farms on
such terms and conditions as may be specified by Government;
(g) to monitor the progress of implementation of
the approved schemes; and
(h) to incur necessary expenditure under an
approved project and to recover the cost of development from the beneficiaries.
8. Preparation of schemes and approval
thereof by Government.— (1)
Whenever it comes to the notice of the Authority that any land in the province
is lying waste for more than two consecutive years but is capable of being
developed or brought under cultivation, it may frame a scheme providing for all
or any of the matters which the Authority is competent to undertake.
(2) A scheme prepared by the Authority under
sub-section (1) shall be submitted to Government for its approval and
Government may approve the scheme with such modifications and subject to such
conditions as it deems necessary.
(3) If the land in question is State land,
the Authority may, proceed with the implementation of the scheme as soon as the
approval of Government is communicated to it.
(4) If the land in question is proprietary,
the Authority shall, on receipt of the approval of Government, follow the
procedure laid down in sections 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 of the Ordinance.
(5) If the
land comprising a scheme is partly State land and partly proprietary, the
Authority may, if feasible, proceed with the implementation of that part of the
scheme which pertains to State land pending completion of proceedings under
sections 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 of the Ordinance in respect of that part of
the land which is proprietary.
(6) On the completion of the proceedings in
respect of proprietary land under sections 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 of the
Ordinance, the Authority may proceed to implement the scheme.
(7) Any
scheme prepared under the Ordinance may, at any time, be amended or modified by
the Authority and if the scheme has already been approved the amended or
modified scheme shall be submitted to Government for its approval and
Government may approve the same with such modification and subject to such
conditions as it deems necessary.
9. Preliminary notice by the Authority.— (1) When a scheme for the development or
cultivation of a culturable waste land has been approved by Government under
section 8, and the whole or part of the land comprising the scheme is
proprietary, the Authority may, by order in writing, direct that the
proprietary land shall be brought under cultivation [7][7][within such period as may be fixed by the
Authority] from the date of the order.
(2) An order passed by the Authority under
sub-section (1) shall specify the village in which the land is situated, its
approximate area and field number, its boundaries and such other particulars as
the Authority deems necessary.
(3) An order passed under sub-section (1)
shall be served on all persons shown in the revenue record as owners,
occupiers, tenants, mortgagees and such other persons as are known or believed
to have any interest in such land.
(4) The service of order on the persons
mentioned in sub-section (3) shall be made in any one or more of the following
modes:-
(a) by delivery of a copy of the order;
(b) by registered-post at the last known address;
and
(c) such other manner as the Authority deems fit.
10. Publication of preliminary notification
regarding proprietary land.—
If the land in respect of which an order has been passed under section 9 is not
brought under cultivation within [8][8][the period fixed by the Authority], the
Authority may, by notification in the official Gazette, declare that the land
is likely to be taken over by the Authority for a specified period, for
cultivation or development, according to the provisions of the Ordinance. The
notification shall give such particulars of the land as are mentioned in the
order passed under section 9 and shall state that any person having any
interest in the land may, within [9][9][fifteen days] of the issue of the
notification, make an objection in writing to the Authority.
11. Objector to
be heard.— The Authority shall give the objector an opportunity of being heard
either in person or through an authorized agent.
12. Declaration
that land is required for cultivation or development.— (1) After considering
the objection, if any, and examining the record, if the Authority is of the
opinion that any particular land should be taken over for cultivation or
development for such period not exceeding ten years from the date of taking
possession of the land, as may be specified, it shall make a declaration to
that effect.
(2) The declaration shall be published in
the official Gazette and it shall give the particulars mentioned in sub-section
(2) of section 9, and where a plan of the land has been made, shall state the
place where such plan may be inspected.
13. Authority to take possession of the land.— Whenever a declaration under section 12 has
been made in respect of any land, the Authority shall direct the Collector to
take possession of the land for purposes of the Ordinance, and deliver the same
to the Authority and the Collector shall comply with such order.
14. Land to be
marked out, measured and planned.— After taking possession of the land under section
13, the Authority shall cause the land to be marked out, if it has not already
been done, and measured, and if no plan of land has been made, to prepare a
plan of the same.
[10][10][14-A. Credit facilities to land-owners.— (1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary
contained in this Ordinance and subject to such rules as may be framed for the
purpose, the Authority may grant loans to such land owners as may be prepared
to undertake the development of their culturable waste land for bringing the
same under cultivation or for the improvement of such land.
(2) For the
purpose of this provision, “improvement” means any work which adds to the
letting value of land and includes the following:-
(a) the
installation of tube-wells or the construction of wells, tanks and other works
for the storage, supply or distribution of water for the purposes of
agriculture, or for the use of men and cattle employed in agriculture;
(b) the
preparation of land for irrigation;
(c) the
drainage, reclamation from rivers or other waters, or protection from floods or
from erossion or other damage by water, or land used for agricultural purposes
or waste land which is culturable;
(d) the
reclamation, clearance, enclosure or permanent improvement of land for
agricultural purposes;
(e) the
renewal or reconstruction of any of the foregoing works, or alterations therein
or additions thereto; and
(f) such
other works as the Government may, from time to time, by Notification in the
official Gazette, declare to be improvements for the purposes of this
Ordinance.
(3) Nothing herein contained shall prevent
the Authority from advancing loans through Co-operative Societies registered
under the Co-operative Societies Act, 1925.
14-B. Recovery of
loans.—
(1) Subject to such rules as may be made under section 14-A, all loans granted
under the Ordinance, all interest, if any, chargeable thereon, and costs, if
any, incurred in making the same, shall, when they become due, be recoverable
by the Authority or any person designated by it, in all or any of the following
modes, namely:-
(a) from
the borrower—as if they were arrears of land revenue due from him;
(b) from
his surety (if any)—as if they were arrears of land revenue due from him;
(c) out
of the land for the benefit of which the loan has been granted—as if they were
arrears of land revenue due in respect of that land;
(d) out
of the property comprised in the collateral security (if any)—according to the
procedure for the realization of land revenue by the sale of immovable property
other than the land on which that revenue is due:
Provided
that no proceeding in respect of any land under clause (c) shall affect any
interest in that land which existed before the date of the order granting the
loan, other than the interest of the borrowers, and of mortgagees of, or
persons having charges on, that interest, and where the loan is granted under
section 14-A with the consent of another person, the interest of that person,
and of mortgagees of, or persons having charges on, that interest.
(2) When any sum due on account of any such
loan, interest or costs is paid to the Authority by a surety or an owner of
property comprised in any collateral security, or is recovered under subsection
(1) by the Authority from a surety or out of any such property, the Authority
shall, on the application of the surety or the owner of that property (as the
case may be), recover that sum on his behalf from the borrower, or out of the
land for the benefit of which the loan has been granted, in manner provided by
subsection (1).
(3) It shall be in the discretion of the
Authority acting under this section to determine the order in which he will
resort to the various modes of recovery permitted by it].
15. Director-General.— (1) There shall be appointed by Government a
Director-General of the Authority who shall exercise such executive powers and perform
such functions and duties as may be assigned to him by the Board.
(2) The Director-General shall—
(a) be
a whole-time officer of the Authority;
(b) hold
office for such term as may be provided in the contract of employment;
(c) be
entitled to receive such salary and allowance as may be specified:
Provided that the Director-General shall notwithstanding
the expiration of his term, continue to hold office for a further period of
three months or till his successor enters upon his office, whichever is
earlier.
(3) Nothing contained in sub-section (2)
shall preclude Government from re-appointing the Director-General, with his
consent, to hold that office for such further period as may be specified.
(4) The Director-General may, at any time
before the expiry of his term, resign his office by writing under his hand
addressed to Government with three months’ notice or on payment of three
months’ salary in lieu thereof.
(5) Notwithstanding
anything contained in sub-sections (2) and (3) or in the contract of
employment, Government may remove the Director-General from office without
assigning any reason by giving him three months’ notice or on payment of three
months’ salary in lieu thereof.
(6) The Director-General shall, at the time
of assumption of charge of his office, make a declaration to Government in the
manner specified, of all immovable and movable properties exceeding in value of
rupees twenty-five thousand, including shares, certificates, securities,
insurance policies and jewellary, belonging to him or held by him and shall
obtain prior permission of Government before acquiring or disposing of any
property exceeding the said value.
16. Employees of the Authority.— (1) The Authority may employ such officers
and other employees as it considers necessary for the efficient performance of
its functions on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed:
Provided
that the Authority shall not be precluded from making any appointment on
contract basis on such terms and conditions as it may deem fit.
(2) The Authority may employ such officers
and other employees as may be placed at its disposal by Government on such
terms and conditions as may be specified by Government.
17. Fund.— (1) There shall be a fund of the Authority to be known as the Punjab
Land Utilization Authority Fund.
(2) The fund shall consist of—
(a) grants
made by Government;
(b) loans
obtained from Government;
(c) loans obtained from the State Bank and
Scheduled banks by the Authority with the special or general approval of
Government;
(d) foreign
aid and loans obtained through Government;
(e) recoveries
and income of the Authority; and
(f) all
other sums received by the Authority.
(3) The fund shall be maintained and
invested in such manner as may be prescribed.
(4) The fund shall be utilized to meet the
expenses of the Authority for carrying out its functions under the Ordinance.
18. Budget and Audit.— (1) The Authority shall, before the
commencement of each financial year, prepare a statement of the estimated
receipts and expenditure of the Authority for the next financial year and
forward the same to Government which may approve it with or without any
modification.
(2) The Authority shall maintain proper
accounts and other relevant records and prepare annual statement of accounts
including the balance sheet in accordance with such general directions as may
be issued, and in such form as may be specified by Government in consultation
with the Comptroller and Auditor-General of Pakistan, hereinafter in this
section referred to as the Auditor-General.
(3) The Auditor-General shall audit or cause
to be audited the accounts of the Authority at least once in every financial
year.
(4) The Authority shall produce all
accounts, books and connected documents and furnish such explanations and
information as the Auditor-General or any officer authorised by him in this
behalf may require at the time of audit.
(5) A statement of audited accounts referred
to in sub-section (2) shall be furnished to Government by the Authority as soon
as possible after the end of each financial year.
19. Reports to be furnished to Government.— The Authority shall furnish to Government as
soon as possible after the close of each financial year, an audited statement,
in the prescribed form, of its assets and liabilities, together with a profit
and loss account for the year and a full report on the working of the Authority
during that year including a report of all undertakings and transactions as
they stand at the close of that year.
20. Submission of returns, statements, etc., to
Government.— Government may
require the Authority to furnish to it—
(a) any
return, statement, estimate, statistics or other information regarding any
matter under the control of the Authority;
(b) a
report on any matter;
(c) a
copy of any document in its charge;
(d) a
copy of any or all the papers laid before the Board;
and the Authority shall comply with such
requirement within such time as may be specified by Government.
21. Director-General or any other officer or
employee to be a Revenue Officer.— The Director-General or any other officer or employee of the Authority
or any other person authorized by the Authority in this behalf, shall be deemed
to be and may exercise the powers of a Revenue Officer under section 30 and 134
of the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1967 (West Pakistan Act XVII of 1967) for the
purposes of discharging functions under the Ordinance.
22. Members, officers and other employees of the
Authority to be public servants.— The members, officers and other employees of the Authority shall be
deemed to be public servants within the meaning of section 21 of the Pakistan
Penal Code 1860 (XLV of 1860).
23. Indemnity.— No suit or legal proceeding shall lie
against Government, the Authority, the member, officer or employee of the
Authority for anything done or intended to be done in good faith, under the
Ordinance or any rules or regulation made thereunder.
24. Power to make
rules.—
(1) Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, make rules for
carrying out the purposes of the Ordinance.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of
the foregoing provision, such rules may provide for—
(a) surveying, preparation and implementation of
projects;
(b) method of ensuring continuous evaluation by
the Authority of its schemes and projects;
[11][11][(bb) the
manner in which credit facilities are to be provided by the Authority to land
owners].
(c) the manner and qualifications for employment
and terms and conditions of service of the officers and other employees of the
Authority;
(d) the manner and the form in which the annual
budget statement of the Authority shall be submitted to Government each year;
(e) the manner in which the fund of the Authority
shall be operated and expended;
(f) the custody of the fund and property of the
Authority;
(g) the manner and form in which the accounts of
the Authority shall be kept; and
(h) oath of fidelity and secrecy.
25. Power
to make regulations.— The Authority may, with the previous approval of
Government, make regulations for matters, not prescribed for in the rules, for
which provision is necessary or expedient for carrying out the purposes of the
Ordinance.
[1][1]This
Ordinance was promulgated by the Governor of the Punjab on 22nd April, 1981;
and, published in the Punjab Gazette, (Extraordinary), dated 25th April, 1981,
pages 301-A to 301-K.
[2][2]Added by
the
[3][3]Substituted
by the
[4][4]Inserted ibid.
[5][5]Substituted
by the
[6][6]Added ibid.
[7][7]Substituted
by the
[8][8]Ibid.
[9][9]Substituted
by the
[10][10]Added ibid.
[11][11]Added by
the
Go to Index
| LL. B. – I | LL. B. – II
| LL. B. – III | LL. B.
Directory | Home