AN OVERVIEW OF LAND REVENUE LAWS IN THE PUNJAB

By
SAMEER IJAZ
Advocate

            The term ‘land revenue’ has been defined in the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1967 as land revenue assessed or assessable under this Act or under any other law for the time being in force relating to land revenue and includes any rates imposed on account of increase in the value of land due to irrigation . It is a kind of rent imposed by the State and payable by the landowner. In other words it is the State’s share of the peasants produce. Other dues such as rates, cesses and taxes are not part of land revenue.

2.         Agriculture plays a vital role in the economy of Pakistan. The monsoon system uplifts the moist ocean air from Arabian Sea to the mountains in the north. This system not only brings heavy rainfall to aid irrigation to the fields in most parts of the country but also the rain water flows from mountains in the rivers which pass through the plains of Punjab and Sindh in particular. This irrigation system has turned semi desert lands into lush green fields during the past centuries. With the evolution of society, the concept grew stronger that the peasant must pay a proportion of produce to the ruler. This principle was universally recognised in Hindu society. Their indigenous system was based on the Hindu Sacred law of Manu, under which it was the duty of the peasants to pay a share of their produce to the king, who determined within certain limits the amount of share and also the methods of assessment and collection including the methods of sharing, appraisement and measurement.

3.         The Muslim jurists interpret Kharaj as Ujra, or renting or leasing a thing for a certain hire price to the conquered land, which is left in the hands of its former dhimmi owners in return to pay its rent to Imam. When the Arabs conquered Sindh and established their rule in the south-west of Indo-Pak sub-continent, they found the agrarian system in operation in Hindu India substantially identical with the Islamic system of Kharaj-i-Muqasama (sharing a certain share of produce) and Kharaj-i-Muazzaf (demand in money and kind per unit area fixed according to species of crops grown) which the Muslim conquerors brought with them from the Sawad lands of Iraq. They did not interfere with the indigenous methods and customs and adopted those with slight modifications giving some Arabic or Persian terminologies to the institutions in land-revenue administration. The system of sharing (Kharaj-i-Muqasama) required a large staff. The earlier Muslim conquerors due to small number of available Muslims, employed Hindu staff for having necessary experience and technical skills.The fusion of two systems, indigenous and Islamic, gradually evolved into a highly developed and successfully working agrarian system under the prominent Muslim rulers like Alauddin Khilji, Ghiyas ud Din Tughlaq, Shershah Suri and Akbar the great.

4.         The British started their rule in sub-continent from occupation of Bengal in 1757. They found the land system already developed by the Muslim rulers to be fully workable and they adapted the same. They only had to make certain improvements like effecting of settlements of districts, determination of rights in soil of various landholdings and codification of agrarian laws. The major improvements made by the British administrators in land system were:

·                      Assessment of Land Revenue by making settlements.

·                      Determination and framing of record of rights in land to decide who should pay the sums assessed.

·                      Collection of Land Revenue

5.         In order to streamline the system, they enacted a number of Regulations in 1793 known as “Cornwallis Code of Regulations”. As the Empire expanded, the provinces of Sindh, Punjab were annexed in 1843 & 1849, respectively. Those were termed as Non-Regulation Provinces and Collectors in these areas were known a Deputy Commissioners.

6.         In Punjab and Trans-Indus Districts Revenue Code was published as “Thomsons’ Directions for Settlement Officers and Collectors”. First Land Revenue Act was enacted in Punjab in 1871, which was repealed by the Land Revenue Act, 1887. Punjab Tenancy Act was also promulgated in 1887. These two Acts regulated the revenue matters and the relationship between the landlords and tenants.

7.         These laws continued in force after emergence of Pakistan and were adapted with necessary modifications vide Adaptation of Laws Act, 1957. The first law which comes to our mind when we see in pretext to the revenue laws is the Land Revenue Act but there are certain other laws enacted by the legislature from time to time for dealing with the administration of agricultural lands, assessment and collection of revenue and allied matters. A brief resume of some important laws is given hereinafter.

(i)         Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1967:

            This is the basic law governing the matters pertaining to administration of lands by dividing the province into divisions, districts, sub-divisions, tehsils, sub-tehsils, revenue estates and mahals. It provides systems for making assessments through settlements so as to work out the demand of land revenue, for appointment of revenue officers and village officers and deriving procedure for collection of government dues, for setting up and maintaining revenue records so as to determine the rights and obligations of landowners and peasants and for partition of holdings etc. In aid of the Act, several sets of instructions and manuals have been promulgated such as Land Records Manual, Land Administration Manual and Land Settlement Manual. In addition to this Punjab Land Revenue Rules, 1968 and Land Revenue Assessment Rules, 1968 were also made for smooth implementation of the Act. Jurisdiction of the Civil Courts has been expressly barred in the matters where Government, Board of Revenue or Revenue Officer can take cognizance of.

            The West Pakistan Land Revenue Act, 1967 repealed 24 previous Acts including the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887 and Sind Land Revenue Code of 1879. It introduced one integrated system in whole province of West Pakistan. After disintegration of One Unit, it was adapted in all the provinces and in Punjab it was renamed as The Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1967.

            The most important changes introduced by the Act 1967 were regarding preparation and maintenance of record-of-rights. Under the old Act 1887, the transfer of names or changes could be had clandestinely, fraudulently and without real notice to the transferor or the real owner and no guarantee was assured that the real owner was really the person represented at the time of mutation proceedings before the revenue officer, and most of the procedure was verbal, leaving a great scope for blackmail, bribery and corruption. The new Act provided ample safeguards against those clandestine practices.

(ii)        Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887.

            Tenancy has always been a dominant feature of the land system of Indo-Pak sub-continent. Tenants are usually of two types (a) occupancy tenants and (ii) non-occupancy tenants or tenants-at-will. The former are hereditary (maurusi) tenants who have the right to hold the land so long as they pay the rent fixed by the authority, and to pass it on to their descendants on same terms.  Some of the tenants in this class do not pay any rent for the land beyond the land revenue and the rates and the cesses for the time being chargeable thereon. Their status is synonymous to owners. A non-occupancy tenant or tenant-at-will is a tenant from year to year. His rent is determined by an agreement whether expressed or implied. He is liable to ejectment at the will of the landlord. Besides these two classes of tenants, there may be tenants for fixed terms, exceeding one year under a contract or a decree or orders of a court or competent authority. There are also Government tenants who hold lands subject to conditions made applicable under section 10 of the Colonization of Government Lands (Punjab) Act, 1912.

            To regulate the relationship between the landlord and tenant the Punjab Tenancy Act was enacted in 1868. This Act, however, left many matters of detail unnoticed. Moreover, it contained some legal difficulties about its working. This Act was superseded by the Punjab Tenancy Act of 1887 which aimed at removing the defects and difficulties. It provided classes of occupancy tenants in its sections 5, 6 & 8. All other classes were termed as tenants-at-will and they did not get status of occupancy tenants by mere length of possession.

            These Acts did not provide adequate security to the tenure of the tenants particularly the tenants-at-will. After creation of Pakistan, various amendments were brought in tenancy laws by the provinces at different times and on different lines. In order to provide equal security of tenure to the tenants-at-will in different regions and for unification of laws, certain enactments were made by the land reforms in 1959, 1972 and 1977.

(iii)       Board of Revenue, Act 1957.

Financial Commissioner was the highest revenue officer in the Punjab as per section 6 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887. The post of Financial Commissioner was abolished by constitution of the Board of Revenue with the enactment of the W.P. Act XI of 1957, which on dissolution of One Unit in 1970, became the Board of Revenue, Punjab.

It is the controlling authority in all matters connected with the administration of land, land taxation, land revenue, preparation, updating and maintenance of record of rights and periodical reports containing the rights of land owners, tenant. It is the highest Revenue Court and custodian of the rights in land of all the right-holders. It exercises general superintendence and control over the Revenue Officers and Revenue Courts in the province and can exercise suo-moto jurisdiction.

The Board of Revenue originally consisted of one Member only but the number of Members increased with the span of time. Presently, it consists of the following Members:-

a)             Member (Revenue), who also holds the portfolio of the Senior Member, Board of Revenue. He is the Secretary to Government of the Punjab, Revenue Department as well as the Chief Land Commissioner, Punjab. The Senior Member is in-charge of administrative matters only and does not have any supervisory/ appellate jurisdiction over other Members in judicial matters.

b)             Member (Colonies), who is also the Secretary to Government of the Punjab, Colonies Department. He is responsible for administration and management of the state land in the province and he derives his powers under the Colonization of Government Lands (Punjab) Act, 1912.

c)             Member (Consolidation), who is also the Secretary to Government of the Punjab, Consolidation Department. He is responsible for formulation of the policy and procedure regarding consolidation of holdings and also exercises suo-moto jurisdiction under section 13 of the Consolidation of Holdings Ordinance, 1960 etc.

d)            There are eight other Members who have been designated as Members (Judicial) I to VIII. They are assigned specific cases pertaining to appeals, revisions and reviews in all the judicial cases under various Acts such as Land Revenue Act, 1967, Colonization of Government Lands (Punjab) Act, 1912, Consolidation of Holdings Ordinance, 1960.

e)             All the Members, Board of Revenue act as Revenue Officers of the highest grade in the province as provided under section 7 of the Land Revenue Act, 1967. However, they act as Revenue Courts while hearing the cases under the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1967.

(iv)       Colonization of Government Lands (Punjab) Act, 1912.

            To bring the vast tracks of government lands under cultivation in the Punjab, a network for irrigation of lands was set up by constructing various canals in the Province. In order to regulate the Colonization of lands, certain schemes were promulgated from time to time, as below: -

(1)      The Sidhnai Colonization Scheme, 1886-1888.

(2)      The Sohag-Para Colonization Scheme, 1886-1888.

(3)      The Lower Chenab Colonization Scheme, 1892-1896; later extension, 1926

(4)      The Chunian Colonization Schemes, 1897-98 & 1904-1905;

(5)      The Lower Jhelum Colonization Scheme, 1902-1906;

(6)      The Jhang Colonization Scheme, 1904-1906;

(7)      The Lower Bari Doab Colonization Scheme, 1912-1922;

(8)      The Upper Chenab Colonization Scheme, 1915-1919;

(9)      The Upper Jhelum Colonization Scheme, 1916-1921;

(10)    The Nili Bar Colonization Scheme, 1924.

            After the expansion of the British rule in large territories, the Government Tenants (Punjab) Act, 1893 was enacted to regulate the grants. It extended to the territories administered by the British. This Act was subsequently replaced by the Colonization of Government Lands (Punjab) Act, 1912, which has remained in force even after independence with necessary amendments/ adaptations and is still intact.

            The Colonies Department is mainly concerned with the management and disposal of state land in the Province. This function is carried out within the legal frame-work provided in the Colonization of Government Lands (Punjab) Act, 1912. The Board of Revenue has been empowered to grant state land with the approval of the government to any person on such conditions as it thinks fit. It is also responsible for issuing schemes for management and disposal with the approval of the Government, covering all aspects of utilization of state land under section 10(2) of the said Act. The schemes are implemented through the local revenue agencies. The management and disposal of land includes the following functions: -

(a)        Leasing of agricultural state land on Temporary Cultivation Scheme;

(b)        Leasing of state land for specific purposes i.e. agricultural, industrial, commercial/ non-commercial and charitable purposes;

(c)        Sale of state agricultural/ urban land on market rates;

(d)        Transfer of state land to other Government Department;

(e)        Allotment of state land for the re-settlement of persons displaced in Nation Building Schemes i.e. Terbela Dam, Mangla Dam, Chashma Barrage etc.

(f)         Conferring of proprietary rights upon colonizers under specific terms and conditions;

(g)        Allotment of state land under the Rural Housing Schemes;

(h)        Audit of Colony accounts in the Punjab;

(i)         Completion of residue work of the defunct Thal Development Authority.

(v)        Consolidation of Holdings Ordinance 1960.

            Agriculture plays a vital role in the economy of Pakistan. Productivity of land is directly proportionate to the infrastructure and facilities. With the passage of time, size of holdings became smaller and smaller due to the fragmentation caused by division of holdings through process of inheritance as also due to piecemeal alienation s. It was realized that in order to increase food production effective consolidation of holdings was necessary as it would not only save time and labour but also making improvements would be facilitated. To cope with the problems of fragmentation of holdings, in order to regroup the scattered holdings and to make compact blocks, the British initiated process of consolidation of holdings. Two Acts namely Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1936 and Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1946 were enacted for the purpose in Punjab and NWFP, respectively.

            Initially, the consolidation of holdings was undertaken only if a specific number of landowners consented. It was however, felt in the following years that in order to achieve better results, compulsory consolidation was necessary. Accordingly, law was amended to make provision of consolidation without necessarily getting consent of the landowners and the West Pakistan Consolidation of Holdings Ordinance, 1960 was promulgated in 1960. To elaborate the provisions of the Act and procedural instructions, Consolidation of Holdings Rules were  prepared in 1960 and an elaborate Urdu booklet has also been issued by the Board of Revenue, Punjab. It was provided that consolidation can be undertaken on the initiative of the Board of Revenue or any officer authorized by it. Consolidation can also be undertaken on an application made by two or more landowners holding upto a prescribed percentage of land.

The procedure adopted for the consolidation is that first of all, revenue record of the village is brought upto date and fields are re-measured. Different fields are grouped as per kind and classification of land. Thereafter principles are settled for re-allocation of lands. New holdings are formed, possession is delivered to the landowners and the final records are prepared.  Procedure for filing appeals and revisions under the Consolidation of Holdings Ordinance is very simple. The aggrieved person only has to file a stamped application to the Collector Consolidation, Additional Commissioner or Board of Revenue without even enclosing a certified copy of the impugned order amd the concerned officer disposes it off after calling the relevant reord.

            Consolidation has been worldwide recognized as the only measure to deal with the growing fragmentation and to bring about favourable conditions for the landowners and tenants. Certain drawbacks of consolidation have also been observed over the time. Consolidation programme is usually initiated on the move of bigger landowners, who are more influential and they try to get better quality of land by depriving small landowners of their ancestral lands and the dishonest field staff puts in its every assistance to fulfil the ill desires of such resourceful right holders. This involves the landowners in protracted litigation and the benefits of consolidation are minimized. Due to constant poor results, the Board of Revenue, Punjab has imposed a complete ban on new consolidation for the last so many years.

(vi)       Settlement and rehabilitation of refugees.

            After Partition, the two main objects of the Government were protection and management of evacuee property and rehabilitation of displaced persons on such property so as to compensate them in lieu of losses suffered by them due to Partition, in such a manner as to integrate them in economic life and nation. Those problems created such grave situation that emergency was declared on 13th of August 1948 and a number of ordinances were issued to cope with the problems.

            In order to maintain uniformity of action and coordination of activities, the Pakistan (Protection of Evacuee Property) Ordinance XVIII of 1948 was promulgated on 18.10.1948. To make provision for the restoration and maintenance of the economic life of Pakistan and the orderly settlement of persons who have taken refuge in Pakistan, the Pakistan (Economic Rehabilitation) Ordinance, XIX of 1948 was promulgated on the same day. It was substituted by the Pakistan (Administration of Evacuee Property) Ordinance, XV of 1949 in which certain amendments were made through Act No.VI of 1951 called the Pakistan Administration of Evacuee Property (Amendment) Act, 1951. On coming into force of the 1956 Constitution, this Ordinance was superseded by two ordinances  XVIII of 1956 and XX of 1956 and finally its provisions were converted into the Pakistan (Administration of Evacuee Property) Act, XII of 1957.

            Through an agreement, it was agreed between Governments of India and Pakistan that the revenue records of East Punjab and its States (India) be exchanged with the revenue records of West Punjab (Pakistan) and for this purpose “special jamabandis” of 1946-47 were prepared by both sides and this record was accordingly exchanged. There were two categories of displaced persons. The displaced persons hailing from East Punjab and its States (India) were called “Agreed area claimants” whereas the other displaced persons migrating to Pakistan from other States and part 5 of India, were called “Non-agreed areas claimants”.

            The displaced persons hailing from East Punjab, and Delhi, the East Punjab States and the States of Alwar, Bharatpur and Bikaner. (Agreed areas) were required to file their claims on the prescribed form under the said Ordinance/ Act. The Central Record Office on receipt of the said claims,after due scrutiny, issued fard-i-haqiat, in triplicate, in favour of the claimant. One copy of fard-i-haqiat called as “Office Copy” was retained in the Central Record Office/ Central Record Room and other two copies called as “Claimant Copy” and “District Copy” were attached with the original claim form which after verification was sent back to the place from where it was received. On receipt of the claim by the concerned Patwari Halqa, the “claimant copy” was to be delivered to the claimant and other copy remained attached with the claim form, for allotment.

            The displaced persons who had abandoned rural and urban agricultural land in ‘Non-Agreed Areas’, were required to file claims under Schedules IV and V of the Claims Registration (Displaced Persons) Act of 1956 for verification of their claims. As no record of land abandoned by such displaced persons in ‘Non-Agreed Areas’, had been received from India, these claims were verified by the Claims Commissioners appointed under the said Act, on the basis of evidence produced by the displaced persons and the entitlement in the shape of QPR-V form, was issued, in triplicate, in favour of the claimant concerned. One copy of QPR-V entitlement was retained by the Central Record Office whereas the other two copies called “Claimant Copy” and “District Copy” were sent to the District according to the choice of the claimant given in the QPR-I form, for allotment.

            Later on, it was found that the claimants from ‘Non-Agreed Areas’ had got verified their claims much in excess of the area abandoned by them in India, therefore, Martial Law Regulation No.84 called the Scrutiny of Claims (Evacuee Property) Regulation, was enforced on 28th December, 1960 requiring such claimants to submit the said declaration/ form MR-I on or before the 20th February, 1961.

            The Martial Law Regulation No.89 Scrutiny of Claims (Evacuee Property Regulation) was promulgated on 23.08.1961 under para 5 of which, a scale of entitlement was prescribed and the entitlement of every claimant was to be determined afresh and every claimant holding land in excess of his entitlement as shown in the Entitlement Certificate was required to surrender such excess land and according to Para 9 of the said Regulation, the land so surrendered was not to revert to the compensation pool and was disposed of the Government of West Pakistan.

            The claims of displaced persons from Jammu & Kashmir who had abandoned land in the J&K State, filed under the provisions of Displaced Persons (Claims Registration) Act of 1956 were also verified by the Claims Officers like that of other refugees from ‘Non-Agreed Areas’ and these claimants were also required to file QPR-I Form in the Central Record office for issuance of entitlement certificate and the Central Record Office issued QPR-V entitlement certificates in their favour and sent it to the  district of their choice for allotment.

In 1957, Act No.XII of 1957 called Pakistan (Administration of Evacuee Property) Act, 1957 was promulgated on 15.03.1957. under it’s Section 7(1), all evacuee property was vested in the Custodian with effect from the first day of March, 1947. Under section 18(1) the Rehabilitation Authority was empowered to allot to any person any evacuee property or property which the Custodian had taken possession of. The Central Government by an order contained in Endst. No.F.20(9)/56-RRI, dated 24th March, 1956 authorised the Rehabilitation Commissioner, West Pakistan, to pool all evacuee land and to allot the same to persons resident in Pakistan whether refugees or not.

            In order to provide for the permanent settlement of displaced persons on land and for matters incidental thereto or connected therewith, Displaced Persons (Land Settlement) Act, 1958 (Act XLVII of 1958) was promulgated on 23rd September, 1958. It’s sections 10 and 11 are of great importance and it relate to cancellation of bogus and excess allotment held by the allottees.

            The allotment of land against rural claims was banned by the Federal Government on 25.06.1973 and all the Registers R.L.II which were lying with the Patwaris concerned, were sealed at Tehsil Headquarters and placed in safe custody. The claimants having unsatisfied claims/ units were required to apply on the prescribed form C.C.L.I. for getting cash compensation against their pending claims/ units. The last date fixed for submission of such forms expired on 28.02.1974. The Settlement Laws were repealed w.e.f. 01.07.1974 by virtue of the Evacuee Property & Displaced Persons Laws (Repeal) Act, 1975.  However, the cases which fall under the category of ‘pending proceedings’ as defined in Section 2(2) of the said Repealing Act, are to be decided according the law so repealed.

(vii)      Land Reforms.

           In the classical definition, land reforms remains the re-distribution of land amongst small land owners by expropriating land from large land owners. In short, land reforms has usually meant breaking up large land holdings and thereby changing the pattern of ownership of land in the country to prevent concentration of land and ultimately wealth in a selected few hands.

           The land reforms in the country were based on the theory that small farms had a higher yield per acre than large farms, so it was considered that a re-distribution of owned land in favour of the smaller farmers would improve average yields in agriculture. Hence land reforms were considered advisable both on grounds that they would reduce the degree of inequality of rural incomes, as well as on grounds of efficiency. The main tasks of these reforms were;

·         Abolition of Jagirs and Muafis;

·         To fix ceiling on individual ownership;

·         Sale of surplus land to tenants on payment of compensation;

·         Conferment of ownership rights upon occupancy tenants;

·         Prohibiting ejectment of tenants except through revenue courts;

·         Restricting of alienation and partition of holdings to avoid reduction of land below subsistence or economic.

For implementation of the main task of the reforms, following Regulations and Acts were promulgated during different regimes:-

·         The West Pakistan Land Reforms Regulation, 1959 (MLR 64 of 1959):

The salient features of this regulation included a ceiling on individual holdings. No individual could own more than 500 acres of irrigated and 1,000 acres of unirrigated land or a maximum of 36,000 Produce Index Units (PIU), whichever was greater. It further allowed that land to be redistributed amongst tenants and others. In addition, the regulation contained provisions which provided for security of tenants as well as for preventing the subdivision of land holdings.

·         The Land Reforms Regulation, 1972 (MLR 115 of 1972):

As per paragraph 8(1) the West Pakistan Land Reforms Regulation 1959 no individual holdings could be in excess of 150 acres of irrigated land or 300 acres of unirrigated land, or irrigated and unirrigated land the aggregate area of which exceeded 150 acres of irrigated land (one acre of irrigated land being reckoned as the equivalent of two acres of unirrigated land), or an area equivalent to 15,000 PIU of land, whichever was greater. Paragraph 18(1) of the regulations also provided for excess land to be surrendered and utilised for the benefit of tenants shown to be in the process of cultivating it.

·         The Land Reforms Act, 1977:

It did not repeal the 1972 regulations, but was designed to operate concurrently with the same. The most important and relevant change it made was that individual holdings, including shares in shamilat were reduced to a maximum 100 acres of irrigated land or 200 acres of unirrigated land, or an area equivalent to 8,000 PIU of land, whichever is greater.

Fate of land reforms:

Qazalbash Waqf a charitable endowment lost much of its land in the land reforms. It started litigation in the Shariat Benches in the High Courts and Supreme Court. In total, 67 Shariat petitions were filed in various courts challenging the land reforms legislations and after nine years, the final decision was delivered vide landmark judgment of the Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the case “Qazalbash Waqf v. Chief Land Commissioner, Punjab and others” (PLD 1990 SC 99) declaring that the land reforms legislations were repugnant to the injunctions of Islam. The net result of the Qazalbash Waqf case is that land reforms in Pakistan are no more in existence, as the 1972 regulations and the 1977 Act have seen their main provisions being struck down and the 1959 regulations have been repealed.

(v)        Agricultural income Tax (AIT).

The land revenue system in sub- continent has been in effect since times immemorial. The term ‘land revenue’ has been defined in section 4 (14) of the Land Revenue Act, 1967 as “land revenue assessed or assessable under this Act or under any other law for the time being in force relating to land revenue, and includes any rates imposed on account of increase in the value of land due to irrigation”.

After Islamisation of laws was started in 1979 in pursuance to Article 227 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Zakat and Ushr Ordinance 1980 was enacted which provided for charging Ushr from every landowner, grantee, lessee, lease-holder or land-holder at the rate of five percent of his share of produce. Land revenue and development cess was not levied on land on the produce of which Ushr was charged on compulsory basis. The communities exempted from Ushr continued to pay land revenue.

The Government of Punjab levied tax on agricultural income by enacting The Punjab Agricultural Income Tax Act, 1997 under which tax is imposed by two methods, (1) as a charge on agricultural land, and (2) as a tax on agricultural income. The taxpayer is liable to pay one of these two taxes, whichever is greater. The procedure of assessment and collection of the AIT has been provided in The Punjab Agricultural Income Tax Rules, 2001.

After enactment of Agricultural Income Tax Act, 1997, the provision of land revenue has been abolished with effect from Rabi 1996-97 through The Punjab Land Revenue (Abolition) Act, 1998.

The writer of this article is author of the books:

“Sameer’s Revenue Manual”, Manual of Land Revenue Laws.

“Sameer’s Colony Manual”, An exhaustive commentary on the Colonization of Government Lands (Punjab) Act, 1912 with important Colony Schemes.

“Lambardar/Village Headman”.

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