The Maharashtra Abolition of Subsisting Proprietary Rights to Mines and Minerals in certain Lands Act, 1985

1985 : Mah. XVI]   1 

THE MAHARASHTRA ABOLITION OF SUBSISTING PROPRIETARY 

 RIGHTS TO MINES AND MINERALS IN CERTAIN LANDS ACT, 1985 

                                                                                                                  [Text as on 26
th
 April 2024] 

————— 

CONTENTS 

Preamble.  

Sections.  

 

 1.  Short title and extent. 

 2.  Declaration.  

 3.  Definitions. 

 4.  Vesting of rights of alienees to mines and minerals in the State and consequences thereof. 

 5.  Payment of amount for acquisition of rights to mines and minerals. 

 6.  Procedure for determining the amount to be paid. 

 7.  Appeal against Competent Authority’s award. 

 8.   Procedure before Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal.  

 9.   Limitation.   

 10.   Court-fees. 

 11.   Finality of award and decision of Revenue Tribunal. 

 12.   Inquiries and proceedings to be judicial proceedings. 

 13.   Power to make rules. 

 14.   Amendment of section 48 of Mah. XLI of 1966. 

 15.   Repeal of certain enactments. 

 16.   Power to remove difficulty. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



2 The Maharashtra Abolition of Subsisting Proprietary  [1985 : Mah. XVI 

 Rights to Mines and Minerals in certain Lands Act, 1985 

 

 

 

  



1985 : Mah. XVI] The Maharashtra Abolition of Subsisting Proprietary  3 

 Rights to Mines and Minerals in certain Lands Act, 1985 

MAHARASHTRA ACT No. XVI OF 1985
1
  

[THE MAHARASHTRA ABOLITION OF SUBSISTING PROPRIETARY 

 RIGHTS TO MINES AND MINERALS IN CERTAIN LANDS ACT, 1985.] 

[This Act received the assent of the President on the 1
st
 August 1985; assent was first Published, 

 in the Maharashtra Government Gazette, Part IV, Extraordinary, on the 6
th
 August 1985.] 

An Act to abolish subsisting proprietary rights to mines and minerals in any  

lands under the Land Tenure Abolition Laws or such other laws for the time being 

 in force by acquisition thereof and to provide for matters connected therewith. 

WHEREAS, pursuant to the national policy of bringing the actual cultivator into direct relation 

with the Government, series of land tenure abolition laws for abolition of the intermediary rights, Jagirs 

and inam tenures have had been enacted, the rights of Inamdars and Jagirdars to mines and minerals 

have had been specifically saved, thereby allowing such existing rights to survive particularly where 

the inams are grants of soil ;  

AND WHEREAS, the mines and minerals available in these inam lands are being exploited in the 

State by such Inamdars for individual gains without being liable to pay any royalty to the State 

Government and in a manner highly detrimental and prejudicial to public interest ;  

AND WHEREAS, with a view to prevent such exploitation of mines and minerals for individual 

gains by a few Inamdars and also to prevent the huge loss of royalty by the State Government and to 

give effect to be the policy of the State Government towards securing that the ownership and control of 

the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good and 

that the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of 

production to the common detriment ;  

AND WHEREAS, for the aforesaid purposes it is considered necessary to abolish subsisting 

proprietary rights to mines and minerals in any lands under the Land Tenure Abolition Laws or such 

other laws for the time being in force by acquisition thereof and to provide for matters connected 

therewith ; It is hereby enacted in the Thirty-sixth Year of the Republic of India as follows :— 

1.  Short title and extent.— (1) This Act may be called the Maharashtra Abolition of Subsisting 

Proprietary Rights to Mines and Minerals in certain Lands Act, 1985. 

(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Maharashtra.  

2.  Declaration.— It is hereby declared that this Act is for giving effect to the policy of the State 

towards securing the principles specified in clauses (b) and (c) of Article 39 of the Constitution of India 

and the acquisition therefor of the subsisting proprietary rights to mines and minerals referred to in 

section 4.  

3.  Definitions.— In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—  

(a) “alienee” means an Inamdar, Jagirdar or Estate Holder as defined in the Land Tenure 

Abolition Laws or such other laws for the time being in force, or a person who holds any 

subsisting right in any sub-soil in any land under any settlement, kaul, grant, sanad or order, any 

judgement, order or decree of a Court or Tribunal or any law or instrument for the time being in 

force, but shall not include any lawful lessee holding lease-hold rights in respect of any mines or 

minerals on the date of commencement of this Act ; 

(b) “Code” means the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966 (Mah. XLI of 1966) ; 

(c) “Competent Authority” means the Collector of the District, and includes any officer, not 

below the rank of Deputy Collector, to whom the powers and functions of the Competent 

Authority may be entrusted by the Collector;  

                                                           
1 For Statement of Objects and Reasons of the L. A. Bill No. XIII of 1985, see Maharashtra Government Gazette, 1985, 

Extraordinary, Part V, page 119. 



4 The Maharashtra Abolition of Subsisting Proprietary  [1985 : Mah. XVI 

 Rights to Mines and Minerals in certain Lands Act, 1985 

(d) “Land Tenure Abolition Laws” means the Salsette Estate (Land Revenue Exemption 

Abolition) Act, 1951 (Bom. XLVII of 1951), the Bombay Personal Inams Abolition Act, 1952 

(Bom. XLII of 1953), the Bombay Merged Territories and Areas (Jagirs Abolition) Act, 1953 

(Bom. XXXIX of 1954), the Bombay Merged Territories Miscellaneous Alienation Abolition 

Act, 1955 (Bom. XXII of 1955), and the Bombay City (Inami and Special Tenures) Abolition and 

Maharashtra Land Revenue Code (Amendment) Act, 1969 (Mah. XLIV of 1969) ;  

(e) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act ; 

(f) “sub-soil rights” means any rights to mines and minerals found or likely to be found, 

whether on surface or underground of any land ;  

(g) words and expressions used but not defined in this Act, shall have the meanings assigned 

to them in the Code. 

4. Vesting of rights of alienees to mines and minerals in the State and consequences 

thereof.— Save as otherwise provided in this Act, notwithstanding anything contained in any 

settlement, kaul, grant, sanad or order, any judgement, order or decree of a Court or Tribunal or in any 

law or instrument for the time being in force, on the date of commencement of this Act, all subsisting 

rights to mines and minerals vesting in any alienee in any land shall pass from such person to and vest 

in the State Government, free of any encumbrances :  

Provided that, the rights of any lessee holding on lease the sub-soil rights on the date of 

commencement of this Act, either from alienee or from Government, shall not be affected by this 

section except that on and from the said date if he is a lesses holding from alienee he shall be deemed 

to be a lessee holding from Government, and all the obligations to the alienee shall be deemed to have 

passed on to Government. 

5.  Payment of amount for acquisition of rights to mines and minerals.— (1) Any alienee 

having any subsisting sub-soil right in respect of any land immediately before the date of 

commencement of this Act shall, subject to the following provisions of this section, be entitled—  

(a) to receive an amount equivalent to three times the assessment fixed for the land, in 

which there is a mine or there are minerals, but the mine is not worked during a period of three 

years immediately preceding the date of commencement of this Act ;  

(b) where any mine was worked at any time during a period of three years immediately 

preceding the date of commencement of this Act, to receive an amount equivalent to twenty times 

the assessment fixed for the land.  

(2) Every alienee entitled to the amount under sub-section (1) shall apply in writing to the 

Competent Authority, on or before the 31
st
 December 1985 or such extended date (if any) as the 

Competent Authority may fix, for determining the amount payable to him under this section. 

6.  Procedure for determining the amount to be paid.— (1) On receipt of an application for 

determination of the amount payable under section 5, the Competent Authority shall make such inquiry 

as he deems fit. After giving a reasonable opportunity of being heard to the claimant and to prove his 

claim, the Competent Authority shall make an award determining the amount payable to the claimant, 

after recording his findings on the following points :—  

(a) whether the claimant-alienee proved that any rights to mines and minerals in any land 

had accrued to him and were subsisting at the date of commencement of this Act, notwithstanding 

the provisions of any law for the time being in force ; 

(b) the area of the land under which there is a mine and what mineral are found therein ;  

(c) the area of the land under which, there is a working mine and what minerals are found 

therein ;  

(d) the amount, if any, payable to the claimant in accordance with the provisions of this Act ;  

(e) where there is a co-sharer, how the amount may be apportioned between the claimant 

and the co-sharer. 



1985 : Mah. XVI] The Maharashtra Abolition of Subsisting Proprietary  5 

 Rights to Mines and Minerals in certain Lands Act, 1985 

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, the onus of 

proving before the Competent Authority—  

(a) that the sub-soil rights in any land had accrued to the claimant under any sanad, etc., and 

the rights continued to subsist at the commencement of this Act, notwithstanding the provisions 

of any law for the time being in force; and 

(b) that any mines or minerals are found or are being worked in any land or part thereof; 

shall be on the claimant. 

7.  Appeal against Competent Authority’s award.— An appeal shall lie against the award of 

the Competent Authority to the Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal established under Chapter XV of the 

Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966 (Mah. XLI of 1966), notwithstanding anything contained in 

that Code. 

8.  Procedure before Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal.— (1) The Maharashtra Revenue 

Tribunal shall, after giving notice to the appellant and the State Government, decide the appeal and 

record its decision.  

(2) In deciding an appeal under this Act, the Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal shall exercise all the 

powers which a Court has and shall follow the same procedure which a Court follows, in deciding an 

appeal from a decree or order of an original Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (V of 

1908). 

9.  Limitation.— Every appeal made under this Act to the Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal shall 

be filed within a period of sixty days from the date of the award of the Competent Authority. The 

provisions of sections 4, 5, 12 and 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963 (XXXVI of 1963), shall apply to the 

filing of such appeal. 

10.  Court-fees.— Notwithstanding anything contained in the 
1
Bombay Court-fees Act, 1959 

(Bom. XXXVI of 1959), every appeal made under this Act to the Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal shall 

bear a court-fee stamp of such value as may be prescribed. 

11.  Finality of award and decision of Revenue Tribunal.— An award made by the Competent 

Authority, subject to an appeal to the Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal, and the decision of the 

Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal on the appeal, shall be final and conclusive and shall not be questioned 

in any suit or proceedings in any Court. 

12.  Inquiries and proceedings to be judicial proceedings.— All inquiries and proceedings 

before the Competent Authority and the Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal under this Act shall be deemed 

to be judicial proceedings within the meaning of sections 193, 219 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code 

(XLV of 1860). 

13.  Power to make rules.— (1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official 

Gazette, make rules for the purposes of giving effect to the provisions of this Act, including provisions 

for imposition of fees for the purposes of this Act.  

(2) All rules made under this section shall be subject to the condition of previous publication. 

(3) Every rule made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before 

each House of the State Legislature while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days, which may be 

comprised in one session or in two successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session in which 

it is so laid or the session immediately following, both Houses agree in making any modification in the 

rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, and notify such decision in the Official 

Gazette, the rule shall, from the date of publication of such notification, have effect only in such 

modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or 

                                                           
1 The short title of this Act was amended as “the Maharashtra Court-fees Act” by Mah. 24 of 2012, w.e.f. 1-5-1960. 



6 The Maharashtra Abolition of Subsisting Proprietary  [1985 : Mah. XVI 

 Rights to Mines and Minerals in certain Lands Act, 1985 

annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done or omitted to be done 

under that rule. 

14.  Amendment of section 48 of Mah. XLI of 1966.— In the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 

1966 (Mah. XLI of 1966), in section 48, in subsection (1),—  

(a) for the words “Unless it is otherwise expressly provided by the terms of the grant made 

by the State Government, the right to all minerals” the words “The right to all minerals” shall be 

substituted ;  

(b) the proviso shall be deleted. 

15.  Repeal of certain enactments.— On and from the date of commencement of this Act, 

section 9 of the Bombay Personal Inams Abolition Act, 1952 (Bom. XLII of 1953), section 10 of the 

Bombay Merged Territories and Areas (Jagirs Abolition) Act, 1953 (Bom. XXXIX of 1954), section 

13 of the Bombay Merged Territories Miscellaneous Alienations Abolition Act, 1955 (Bom. XXII of 

1955) and section 9 of the Bombay City (Inami and Special Tenures) Abolition and Maharashtra Land 

Revenue Code (Amendment) Act, 1969 (Mah. XLIV of 1969), and corresponding provision in any 

such law for the time being in force, shall stand repealed. 

16.  Power to remove difficulty.— If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of 

this Act, the State Government may, as occasion arises, by order do anything, not inconsistent with 

such provisions which appears to it to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of removing the 

difficulty : 

Provided that no such order shall be made after the expiry of a period of two years from the date 

of commencement of this Act.