136. Rajasthan Land Revenue Act 1956 — Key Sections — Full Notes

CORE Key Points at a Glance

1. 1

   The Rajasthan Land Revenue Act 1956 (Act No. 15 of 1956) was enacted to consolidate and amend laws relating to land revenue administration and land records in Rajasthan; it replaced multiple pre-integration revenue codes of the erstwhile princely states.

2. 2

   **Nazul land ** is land within urban/municipal limits that vests in the State Government; it is distinct from agricultural land and is governed by municipal regulations; Section 22 deals with Nazul property and Nazul Officer powers — appeared in RPSC 2021 PYQ (2 marks).

3. 3

   **Record of Rights ** under Sections 101–115 is the primary document establishing land ownership and tenancy in Rajasthan; it is prepared and updated by the Patwari in the form of Jamabandi, Khasra, Khatuni, and mutation register — appeared in RPSC 2021 PYQ (5 marks).

4. 4

   The **Board of Revenue ** established under Section 7 is the apex revenue authority in Rajasthan, headquartered at Ajmer; it is both an appellate court and an administrative body overseeing revenue administration; its orders are equivalent to High Court orders in revenue matters.

5. 5

   **Revenue officers ** are defined in Section 6: The hierarchy runs Patwari → Girdawar/Kanungo → Tehsildar → Naib-Tehsildar → SDO (Revenue) → Collector → Divisional Commissioner → Board of Revenue. Each level has specified revenue and judicial powers under the Act.

6. 6

   **Land Revenue ** under Sections 48–85 is the State's share from agricultural land assessed on the basis of productivity, soil type, and irrigation; currently most Rajasthan farmers pay very low or zero land revenue due to repeated exemptions for small landholders.

7. 7

   **Survey and settlement ** under Sections 86–100: Land survey operations establish survey numbers (khasra numbers), determine boundaries, measure area, classify land, and assess revenue; settlement operations fix the revenue for a settlement period (typically 30 years).

8. 8

   **Mutation ** under Sections 116–136 is the formal process of updating land records when ownership or tenancy changes due to sale, inheritance, gift, or court decree; the Tehsildar is the mutation authority at Tehsil level; failure to mutate does not affect substantive rights but creates legal complications.

9. 9

   **Land acquisition notices ** and **demarcation ** are Revenue Officer functions: boundary disputes between adjacent landholders are adjudicated by Tehsildar/Collector through field surveys; demarcation establishes khasra boundaries on the ground using field maps.

10. 10

    **Encroachment ** on government land (Nazul, Khalsa, Shamilat) is a revenue offence; Tehsildar has power to summarily remove encroachments under Section 91; encroachers can be penalised and evicted without a civil court decree.

11. 11

    **Compulsory acquisition of land ** for public purposes is governed by the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 (national); the 1956 Act provides the framework for identifying and assessing the land, while the 2013 Act governs compensation.

12. 12

    Rajasthan Land Records Digitisation: Under DILRMP (Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme), Rajasthan has computerised all Jamabandi, Khasra, and mutation records available on Apna Khata (apnakhata.raj.nic.in); this has reduced fraud, improved transparency, and enabled real-time mutation tracking.