Tamil Nadu Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Third Amendment Act, 1972

What the amendment changes

The Tamil Nadu Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Third Amendment Act, 1972 changes the Tamil Nadu Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Act, 1961, as subsequently modified. The changes are deemed effective from 1 March 1972.

The amendment introduces or revises definitions for private trusts, public trusts, religious institutions and trusts generally. A religious institution includes a temple, math, mosque or church dedicated to, used by, or benefiting the public as a place of worship.

Who may be affected

The Tamil Nadu Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Third Amendment Act, 1972 is relevant to:

• Religious institutions and religious public trusts existing on 1 March 1972.
• Private trusts and their beneficiaries.
• Public charitable, religious or educational trusts.
• Colleges, schools, hostels, polytechnic institutions, agricultural schools and orphanages holding land.
• Founders, heirs or families benefiting substantially from trust income.
• Persons and families whose total land may exceed the ceiling because of the amendment.

Key provisions

• Land held by an existing religious institution or religious trust of a public nature is generally excluded, subject to the stated restrictions. Such an institution or trust cannot acquire land after 1 March 1972.
• A public trust serving both religious and other public purposes, or applying income to both, is treated as a religious trust of a public nature.
• A trust with identifiable or ascertainable beneficiaries is included within the definition of a private trust. A public trust whose income is substantially used for its founder, the founder's heirs or their families is also treated as a private trust.
• Land owned by a private trust is treated as owned by its beneficiaries according to their beneficial shares. Those shares are counted when calculating each beneficiary's landholding.
• The general ceiling stated for every person, and for a family of not more than five members, is 15 standard acres, subject to the listed exceptions.
• An existing affiliated or recognised college may have a ceiling of 40 standard acres. An existing recognised high school or equivalent school may have a ceiling of 20 standard acres, provided the land was held on 1 March 1972.
• An existing public charitable trust may have a ceiling of 5 standard acres, subject to the stated conditions. A trust holding less cannot later acquire beyond its existing extent, and a trust then holding no land cannot acquire land.
• A public trust created after 1 March 1972 cannot hold land.