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URBAN LAND (CEILING AND REGULATION) ACT, 1976
33 of 1976
An Act to provide for the imposition of a ceiling on vacant land in urban agglomerations, for the acquisition of such land in excess of the ceiling limit, to regulate the construction of buildings on such land and for matters connected therewith, with a view to preventing the concentration of urban land in the hands of a few persons and speculation and profiteering therein and with a view to bringing about an equitable distribution of land in urban agglomerations to sub-serve the common good. WHEREAS it is expedient lo provide for the imposition of a ceiling on vacant land in urban agglomerations, for the acquisition of such land in excess of the ceiling limit, to regulate the construction of buildings on such land and for matters connected therewith, with a view lo preventing the concentration of urban land in the hands of a few persons and speculation and profiteering therein and with a view to bringing about an equitable distribution of land in urban agglomerations lo sub-serve the common good; AND WHEREAS Parliament has no power to make laws for the States with respect to the mailers aforesaid except as provided in articles 249 and 250 of the Constitution; AND WHEREAS in pursuance of clause (1) of article 252 of the Constitution resolutions have been passed by all the Houses of the Legislatures of the Stales of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal
Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal that the matters aforesaid should be regulated in those Stales by Parliament by law; BE IT ENACTED BY PARLIAMENT IN THE TWENTY-SEVENTH YEAR OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA AS FOLLOWS -
SECTION 01: SHORT TITLE, APPLICATION AND COMMENCEMENT
(1) This Act may be called the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976.
(2) It applies in the first instance to the whole of the States of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and to all the Union territories and it shall also apply to such other State which adopts this Act by resolution passed in that behalf under clause (1) of article 252 of the Constitution.
(3) It shall come into force in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and in the Union territories at once and in any other State which adopts this Act under clause (1) of article 252 of the Constitution, on the date of such adoption; and, save as otherwise provided in this Act, any reference in this Act to the commencement of this Act shall, in relation to any State or Union territory, mean the date on which this Act comes into force in such State or Union territory.
SECTION 02: DEFINITIONS
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) "appointed day" means,-
(i) in relation to any State to which this Act applies in the first instance, the date of introduction of the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Bill, 1976 in Parliament, and
(ii) in relation to any State which adopts this Act under clause (1) of article 252 of the Constitution, the date of such adoption;
(b) "building regulations" means the regulations contained in the master plan, or the law in force governing the construction of buildings;
(c) "ceiling limit" means the ceiling limit specified in section 4-;
(d) "competent authority" means any person or authority authorised by the State Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, to perform the functions of the competent authority under this Act for such area as may be specified in the notification and different persons or authorities may be authorised to perform different functions;
(e) "dwelling unit", in relation to a building or a portion of a building, means a unit of
accommodation, in such building or portion, used solely for the purpose of residence;
(f) "family", in relation to a person, means the individual, the wife or husband, as the case may be, of such individual and their unmarried minor children.
(g) "land appurtenant", in relation to any building, means-
(i) in an area where there are building regulations, the minimum extent of land required under such regulations to be kept as open space for the enjoyment of such building, which in no case shall exceed five hundred square metres; or
(ii) in an area where there are no building regulations, an extent of five hundred square metres contiguous to the land occupied by such building, and includes, in the case of any building constructed before the appointed day with a dwelling unit therein, an additional extent not exceeding five hundred square metres of land, if any, contiguous to the minimum extent referred to in sub-clause (i) or the extent referred to in sub-clause (ii), as the case may be;
(h) "master plan", in relation to an area within an urban agglomeration or any part thereof, means the plan (by whatever name called) prepared under any law for the time being in force or in pursuance of an order made by the State Government for the development of such area or part thereof and providing for the stages by which such development shall be carried out;
(i) "person" includes an individual, a family, a firm, a company, or an association or body of individuals, whether incorporated or not;
(j) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(k) "State" includes a Union territory and "State Government", in relation to any land or building situated in a Union territory of within the local limits of a cantonment declared as such under section 3 of the Cantonments Act, 1924 (2 of 1924)-, means the Central Government;
(l) "to hold" with its grammatical variations, in relation to any vacant land, means-
(i) to own such land; or
(ii) to possess such land as owner or as tenant or as mortgagee or under an irrevocable power of attorney or under a hire-purchase agreement or partly in one of the said capacities and partly in any other of the said capacity or capacities.
(m) "Tribunal" means the Urban Land Tribunal constituted under section 12-;
(n) "urban agglomeration", -
(A) in relation to any State or Union territory specified in column (1) of Schedule I, means,-
(i) the urban agglomeration specified in the corresponding entry in column (2) thereof and includes the peripheral area specified in the corresponding entry in column (3) thereof; and
(ii) any other area which the State Government may, with the previous approval of the Central Government, having regard to its location, population (population being more than one lakh) and such other relevant factors as the circumstances of the case may require, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare to be an urban agglomeration and any agglomeration so declared shall be deemed to belong to category D in that Schedule and the peripheral area therefor shall be one kilometre;
(B) in relation to any other State or Union territory, means any area which the State Government may, with the previous approval of the Central Government, having regard to its location, population (population being more than one lakh) and such other relevant factors as the circumstances of the case may require, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare to be an urban agglomeration and any agglomeration so declared shall be deemed to belong to category D in Schedule I and the peripheral area therefor shall be one kilometre;
(o) "urban land" means,-
(i) any land situated within the limits of an urban agglomeration and referred to as such in the master plan; or
(ii) in a case where there is no master plan, or where the master plan does not refer to any land as urban land, any land within the limits of an urban agglomeration and situated in any area included within the local limits of a municipality (by whatever name called), a notified area committee, a town area committee, a city and town committee, a small town committee, a cantonment board or a panchayat, but does not include any such land which is mainly used for the purpose of agriculture.
(A) "agriculture" includes horticulture, but does not include-
(i) raising of grass,
(ii) dairy farming,
(iii) poultry farming,
(iv) breeding of live -stock, and
(v) such cultivation, or the growing of such plant, as may be prescribed;
(B) land shall not be deemed to be used mainly for the purpose of agriculture, if such land is not entered in the revenue or land records before the appointed day as for the purpose of agriculture : Provided that where on any land which is entered in the revenue or land records before the appointed day as for the purpose of agriculture, there is a building which is not in the nature of a farm-house, then, so much of the extent of such land as is occupied by the building shall not be deemed to be used mainly for the purpose of agriculture: Provided further that if any question arises whether any building is in the nature of a farm-house, such question shall be referred to the State Government and the decision of the State Government thereon shall be final;
(c) notwithstanding anything contained in clause (B) of this Explanation, land shall not be deemed to be mainly used for the purpose of agriculture if the land has been specified in the master plan for a purpose other than agriculture;
(p) "urbanisable land" means land situated within an urban agglomeration, but not being urban land;
(q) "vacant land" means land, not being land mainly used for the purpose of agriculture, in an urban agglomeration, but does not include -
(i) land on which construction of a building is not permissible under the building regulations in force in the area in which such land is situated;
(ii) in an area where there are building regulations, the land occupied by any building which has been constructed before, or is being constructed on, the appointed day with the approval of the appropriate authority and the land appurtenant to such building; and
(iii) in an area where there are no building regulations, the land occupied by any building which has been constructed before, or is being constructed on, the appointed day and the land appurtenant to such building:
Provided that where any person ordinarily keeps his cattle, other than for the purpose of dairy farming or for the purpose of breeding of live-stock, on any land situated in a village within an urban agglomeration (described as village in the revenue records), then, so much extent of the land as has been ordinarily used for the keeping of such cattle immediately before the appointed day shall not be deemed to be vacant land for the purposes of this clause.
SECTION 03: PERSONS NOT ENTITLED TO HOLD VACANT LAND IN EXCESS OF THE CEILING LIMIT
Except as otherwise provided in this Act, on and from the commencement of this Act, no person shall be entitled to hold any vacant land in excess of the ceiling limit in the territories to which this Act applies under sub-section (2) of section 1-
SECTION 04: CEILING LIMIT
(1) Subject to the other provisions of this section, in the case of every person, the ceiling limit shall be,-
(a) where the vacant land is situated in an urban agglomeration falling within category A specified in Schedule I, five hundred square metres;
(b) where such land is situated in an urban agglomeration falling within category B specified in Schedule I, one thousand square metres;
(c) where such land is situated in an urban agglomeration falling within category C specified in Schedule I, one thousand five hundred square metres;
(d) where such land is situated in an urban agglomeration falling within category D specified in Schedule I, two thousand square metres.
(2) Where any person holds vacant land situated in two or more categories of urban agglomerations specified in Schedule I, then, for the purpose of calculating the extent of vacant land held by him,-
(a) one square metre of vacant land situated in an urban agglomeration falling within category A shall be deemed to be equal to two square metres of vacant land situated in an urban agglomeration falling within category B, three square metres of vacant land situated in an urban agglomeration falling within category C and four square metres of vacant land situated in an urban agglomeration falling within category D;
(b) one square metre of vacant land situated in an urban agglomeration falling within category B shall be deemed to be equal to one and one- half square metres of vacant land situated in an urban agglomeration falling within category C and two square metres of vacant land situated in an urban agglomeration falling within category D; and
(c) one square metre of vacant land situated in an urban agglomeration falling within category C shall be deemed to be equal to one and one- third square metres of vacant land situated in an urban agglomeration falling within category D.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where in respect of any vacant land any scheme for group housing has been sanctioned by an authority competent in this behalf immediately before the commencement of this Act, then, the person holding such vacant land at such commencement shall be entitled to continue to hold such land for the purpose of group housing: Provided that not more than one dwelling unit in the group housing shall be owned by one single person : Provided further that the extent of vacant land which such person shall be entitled to hold shall, in no case, exceed-
(a) the extent required under any building regulations governing such group housing; or
(b) the extent calculated by multiplying the number of dwelling units in the group housing and the appropriate ceiling limit referred to in sub -section (1),whichever is less.
(4)
(a) In any State to which this Act applies in the first instance, if, on or after the 17th day of February, 1975, but before the appointed day, any person has made any transfer by way of sale, mortgage, gift, lease or otherwise (other than a bona fide sale under a registered deed for valuable consideration) of any vacant land held by him and situated in such State to any other person, whether or not for consideration, then, for the purposes of calculating the extent of vacant land held by such person the land so transferred shall be taken into account, without prejudice to the rights or interests of the transferee in the land so transferred : Provided that the excess vacant land to be surrendered by such person under this Chapter shall be selected only out of the vacant land held by him after such transfer.
(b) For the purpose of clause (a), the burden of proving any sale to be a bona fide one shall be on the transferor.
(5) Where any firm or unincorporated association or body of individuals holds vacant land or holds any other land on which there is a building with a dwelling unit therein or holds both vacant land and such other land, then, the right or interest of any person in the vacant land or such other land or both, as the case may be, on the basis of his share in such firm or association or body shall also be taken into account in calculating the extent of vacant land held by such person.
(6) Where a person is a beneficiary of a private trust and his share in the income from such trust is known or determinable, the share of such person in the vacant land and in any other land on which there is a building with a dwelling unit therein, held by the trust, shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as his share in the total income of such trust bears to such total income and the extent of such land apportionable to his share shall also be taken into account in calculating the extent of vacant land held by such person.
(7) Where a person is a member of a Hindu undivided family, so much of the vacant land and of any other land on which there is a building with a dwelling unit therein, as would have fallen to his share had the entire vacant land and such other land held by the Hindu undivided family been partitioned amongst its members at the commencement of this Act shall also be taken into account in calculating the extent of vacant land held by such person.
(8) Where a person, being a member of a housing co-operative society registered or deemed to be registered under any law for the time being in force, holds vacant land allotted to him by such society, then, the extent of land so held shall also be taken into account in calculating the extent of vacant land held by such person.
(9) Where a person holds vacant land and also holds any other land on which there is a building with a dwelling unit therein, the extent of such other land occupied by the building and the land appurtenant thereto shall also be taken into account in calculating the extent of vacant land held by such person.
(10) Where a person owns a part of a building, being a group housing, the proportionate share of such person in the land occupied by the building and the land appurtenant thereto shall also be taken into account in calculating the extent of vacant land held by such person.
(11) For the removal of doubts it is hereby declared that nothing in sub-sections (5), (6), (7), (9) and (10) shall be construed as empowering the competent authority to declare any land referred to in sub-clause (ii) or sub-clause (iii) of clause (q) of section 2-as excess vacant land under this Chapter.
(i) owns such land and the building; or
(ii) owns such land but possesses the building or possesses such land and the building, the possession, in either case, being as a tenant under a lease, the unexpired period of which is not less than ten years at the commencement of this Act, or as a mortgagee or under an irrevocable power of attorney or a hire-purchase agreement or partly in one of the said capacities and partly in any other of the said capacity or capacities; or
(iii) possesses such land but owns the building, the possession being as a tenant under a lease or as a mortgagee or under an irrevocable power of attorney or a hire -purchase agreement or partly in one of the said capacities or partly in any other of the said capacity or capacities.
SECTION 05: TRANSFER OF VACANT LAND
(1) In any State to which this Act applies in the first instance, where any person who had held vacant land in excess of the ceiling limit at any time during the period commencing on the appointed day and ending with the commencement of this Act, has transferred such land or part thereof by way of sale, mortgage, gift, lease or otherwise, the extent of the land so transferred shall also be taken into account in calculating the extent of vacant land held by such person and the excess vacant land in relation to such person shall, for the purposes of this Chapter, be selected out of the vacant land held by him after such transfer and in case the entire excess vacant land cannot be so selected, the balance, or, where no vacant land is held by him after the transfer, the entire excess vacant land, shall be selected out of the vacant land held by the transferee : Provided that where such person has transferred his vacant land to more than one person, the balance, or, as the case may be, the entire excess vacant land aforesaid, shall be selected out of the vacant land held by each of the transferees in the same proportion as the area of the vacant land transferred to him bears to the total area of the land transferred to all the transferees.
(2) Where any excess vacant land is selected out of the vacant land transferred under sub-section (1), the transfer of the excess vacant land so selected shall be deemed to be null and void.
(3) In any State to which this Act applies in the first instance and in any State which adopts this Act under clause (1) of article 252 of the Constitution, no person holding vacant land in excess of the ceiling limit immediately before the commencement of this Act shall transfer any such land or part thereof by way of sale, mortgage, gift, lease or otherwise until he has furnished a statement under section 6-and a notification regarding the excess vacant land held by him has been published under sub-section (1) of section 10-; and any such transfer made in contravention of this provision shall be deemed to be null and void.
SECTION 06: PERSONS HOLDING VACANT LAND IN EXCESS OF CEILING LIMIT TO FILE STATEMENT
(1) Every person holding vacant land in excess of the ceiling limit at the commencement of this Act shall, within such period as may be prescribed, file a statement before the competent authority having jurisdiction specifying the location, extent, value and such other particulars as may be prescribed of all vacant lands and of any other land on which there is a building, whether or not with a dwelling unit therein, held by him (including the nature of his right, title or interest therein) and also specifying the vacant lands within the ceiling limit which he desires to retain: Provided that in relation to any State to which this Act applies in the first instance, the provisions of this sub-section shall have effect as if for the words "Every person holding vacant land in excess of the ceiling limit at the commencement of this Act", the words, figures and letters "Every person who held vacant land in excess of the ceiling limit on or after the 17th day of February, 1975 and before the commencement of this Act and every person holding vacant land in excess of the ceiling limit at such commencement" had been substituted.
(2) If the competent authority is of opinion that-
(a) in any State to which this Act applies in the first instance, any person held on or after the 17th day of February, 1975 and before the commencement of this Act or holds at such commencement; or
(b) in any State which adopts this Act under clause (1) of article 252 of the Constitution, any person holds at the commencement of this Act, vacant land in excess of the ceiling limit, then, notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), it may serve a notice upon such person requiring him to file, within such period as may be specified in the notice, the statement referred to in sub-section (1).
(3) The competent authority may, if it is satisfied that it is necessary so to do, extend the date for filing the statement under this section by such further period or periods as it may think fit; so, however, that the period or the aggregate of the periods of such extension shall not exceed three months.
(4) The statement under this section shall be filed,-
(a) in the case of an individual, by the indivi
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