Variation of the provisions on the status of agriculturists in the Accounting Act, 1948

- Saurashtra Gharkhed Ordinance 1949 and

- Lokabhimukha Guidance - - H.S. Patel IAS (Retd.)

- Credit for land reforms of Saurashtra goes to the then Chief Minister U.N.Dhebar

As a part of land reforms after independence, to give ownership/occupancy rights to the occupiers of agricultural land, firstly by abolishing the rights of zamindari/girasdari etc. to farmers (Agriculturists) who were cultivating on the land of kings/land owners and paying revenue. As they are considered as Tenant, Saurashtra-Kutch was included in Mumbai State till 1956 and was merged in Mumbai State in 1956 as per the reorganization of the states. The Saurashtra Government has announced that the land revenue of Saurashtra will be given to the farmers without taking anything, instead of the landlords and grasdars/barkhalidars who are considered to be the owners of the land and can remove the farmers who are cultivating on their land from the land at any time and collect the portion of the agriculture/revenue on the land at will. Due to the situation of conflict between the Garasdars and the Ganotias on the land, the Ordinance of 1948 was promulgated to protect the Ganotias. (Saurashtra Protection of Tenants Ordinance No. XX_II of 1948) Then the Saurashtra Gharkhed, Gonotahak Settlement and Agricultural Land Ordinance of 1948 giving rights over land was issued and issued with the consent of the then President which is still in force today. In Saurashtra there were 222 princely states out of 565 princely states in the whole country and the complete zamindari system (except Gondal state) was in force and different types of satapras were in force but if the land reform law was framed and implemented in the interest of the peasants in the whole country, the then Chief Minister of Saurashtra state U.N. .Credit goes to Dhebar. During his tenure, through the Saurashtra Land Reforms-1951, Barakhli Abolition Act / Estate Acquisition Act, farmers' rights over agricultural land were given very quickly without following a lengthy process. Even today Saurashtra's land reform laws have minimal questions of interpretation. All the laws can be discussed in detail but the most important is Article-54 as a guardian of farmer in Saurashtra Gharkhed.

Whereas in today's Gujarat region (except Saurashtra) Mumbai State Agricultural Land Registration Act-1948 is in force and it has the entire working procedure for granting registration rights over land and matters like purchase price, purchase installment, purchase certificate, land new condition or old condition and its Questions still arise today about implementation and interpretation. The classification of the land reform laws of Saurashtra was clearer than the provisions of this Act and the implementation was also speedy. As in the Saurashtra Gharkhed Act there is Article-54 as to the status of cultivator, there is Article-63 in the Act and according to it no non-agricultural person can buy agricultural land without the permission of the Collector. Can't bear it. If a non-agricultural person wants to buy agricultural land, he has to get permission from the collector and obtain a certificate.

But in both the laws the income limit of a person from all sources is Rs. 5000/- is. While the traditional peasants who were holding agricultural land before the land reform laws came into force after independence, all the peasant holders can be considered to have the status of legal peasants and thereafter all the peasants who are holding agricultural lands by right of inheritance/brother/part/inheritance of these peasants. Get farmer status. In Gujarat or Saurashtra no non-agricultural person can own agricultural land. In addition, Saurashtra Gharkhed Ordinance-1948 Amendment Act 30/73 prohibits the intention to sell agricultural land by contract, i.e., agricultural land cannot be sold to a non-cultivator even by contract. Apart from this, the most important amendment was made in the Saurashtra Gharkhed Act in 1976 with the assent of the President of India that the prohibition of transfer of agricultural lands in favor of non-cultivators in the municipal area of ​​Saurashtra was not applicable under Section-79(1)-C. After this amendment, even in the municipality area of ​​Saurashtra in 1976, according to Section-54 of the Saurashtra Gharkhed Act, a non-agricultural person cannot buy agricultural land without the permission of the collector. The provisions of the Act are applied on the same basis as made. Thus, from the above, according to Section-54 of Saurashtra Gharkhed Act and Section-63 of Accounts Act, no non-agricultural person can own agricultural land without the permission of the Collector (except traditional - hereditary cultivators).

According to the provisions of the present law, any person under Section-55 of Saurashtra Gharkhed Ordinance and Section 63/63A of the Act can use the agricultural land for non-agricultural use by obtaining the permission of the Collector. Now for bona fide purposes the Collector can issue a permission certificate for bona fide use by informing the Collector (except for the new condition) by purchasing agricultural land as a Bonafide Purchaser as per the usage determined by the State Government. In short, there are restrictions on the transfer of agricultural land to non-agricultural persons in favor of non-agricultural persons for the purpose of maintaining the means of livelihood of farmers dependent on agricultural land, but the provision of Khedut Kharai certificate has been introduced in cases of transfer of land of genuine hereditary farmers / distribution of brothers' share and sale. It should be removed immediately in the interest of genuine farmers.