THE UNITED PROVINCES ROADSIDE LAND CONTROL ACT, 1945 — English

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THE UNITED PROVINCES ROADSIDE LAND CONTROL

ACT, 19451

————

UNITED PROVINCES ACT No. X OF 1945

Amended by

U. P. Act No. 06 of 1965

U. P. Act No. 22 of 1975

U. P. Act No. 15 of 2000

(Prepared by his Excellency the Governor of the United

Provinces in exercise of the powers assumed by him by the

Proclamation, dated November 3, 1939, issued under section 93

of the Government of India Act, 1935.)

—————

(Received the assent of the Governor of the United

Provinces, on December 13, 1945, and was published in the

United Provinces Gazette, on December 13, 1945.)

Preamble WHEREAS It is expedient to regulate in the United

Provinces the use of roadside land ;

AND WHEREAS by the Proclamation, dated the third day of

November, 1939, promulgated under section 93 of the

Government of India Act, 1935, the Governor of the United

Provinces has assumed to himself all powers vested by or under

the aforesaid Act in the Provincial Legislature ;

AND WHEREAS the said Proclamation is still in force :—

NOW, THEREFORE, the Governor in exercise of the powers

aforesaid is pleased to make the following Act ;

Short title,

extent and
commencement

1. (1) This Act may be called the United Provinces Roadside

Land Control Act, 1945.

(2) It extends to the whole of the United Provinces except

cantonment areas.

(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Provincial

Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, appoint.

Interpretation 2. In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject

or context,—

(1) ―agriculture‖ includes horticulture and the planting and

upkeep of orchards ;

(2) ―building‖ means a house, hut, shed or other roofed

structure, for whatsoever purpose and of whatsoever material

constructed, and every part thereof, and includes a wall or masonry

——————————————————————————————————————————
1. For SOR see Gazette Extraordinary dated September 1] 1945 Part 7 Page 27-39.

[The United Provinces Roadside Land Control Act, 1945]

platform or masonry ditch or drain, but does not include a tent or other

such portable and merely temporary shelter ;

(3) ―Collector‖ includes any authority appointed by the

Provincial Government, by notification in the official Gazette, to perform

all or any of the functions of the Collector under this Act ;

(4) ―place of worship‖ includes a temple, church, mosque,

imambara, dargah, karbala, takya, idgah, Samadhi, math, sati ka than

or gurdwara ;

(5) ―prescribed‖ means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

and

1 [(6) ―road‖ means a metalled road maintained by the State

Government, the Government of India or a local authority, or a route

demarcated by the State Government, the Government of India or a

local authority with a view to constructing along it a metalled road, and

includes a national highway. ]

Declaration

of controlled

area

3. (1) The Provincial Government may, by notification in the

official Gazette, declare any land within a distance of four hundred and

forty yards from the centre line of any road to be a controlled area for

the purposes of this Act :–

2[ Provided that in the case of a national highway, the highway

itself shall not be deemed to be a controlled area. ]

(2) Not less than three months before making a declaration

under sub-section (1) the Provincial Government shall cause to be

published in the official Gazette and in at least two newspapers printed

in a language other than English a notification stating that they

propose to make such a declaration and specifying therein the

boundaries of the land in respect of which the declaration is proposed

to be made, and copies of every such notification or of the substance

thereof shall be published by the Collector in such manner as he thinks

fit at his office and at such other places as he considers necessary

within the said boundaries.

(3) Any person interested in any land included within the said

boundaries may, at any time before the expiration of thirty days from

the last date on which a copy of such notification is published by the

Collector, object to the making of the declaration or to the inclusion of

his land or any part of it within the said boundaries.

(4) Every objection under sub-section (3) shall be made to the

Collector in writing, and the Collector shall give to every person so

objecting an opportunity of being heard either in person or through a

legal practitioner, and shall, after all such objections have been heard

——————————————————————————————————————————
1. Subs. by sec. 2 of U. P. Act no.VI of 1965.

2. Ins. by sec. 3 of U. P. Act no.VI of 1965.

[The United Provinces Roadside Land Control Act, 1945]

and after such further enquiry, if any, as he thinks necessary, forward

to the Provincial Government the record of the proceedings held by him

together with a report setting forth his recommendations on the

objections.

(5) If before the expiration of the time allowed by sub-section (3)

for the filing of objections, no objection has been made, the Provincial

Government may proceed at once to the making of a declaration under

sub-section (1). If any such objections have been made, the Provincial

Government shall consider the record and the report referred to in

sub-section (4) and may either —

(a) abandon the proposal to make a declaration under sub-

section (1), or

(b) make such a declaration in respect of either the whole or a

part of the land included within the boundaries specified in the

notification under sub-section (2).

I of 1894

(6) For the purposes of sub-section (3) a person shall be

deemed to be interested in land if he is a ―person interested‖ as defined

in clause (b) of section 3 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, for the

purposes of that Act or, where the land is land occupied by or for the

purposes of a place of worship, tomb, cenotaph, graveyard, grave or

marghat, if he is a member of the faith to which such building

pertains.

1[ (7) A notification published in the Official Gazette purporting

to be made under sub-section (1) shall be conclusive proof that the

declaration contained in such notification has been duly made in

accordance with provisions of this Act, and unless and until such

declaration is withdrawn, that the area to which it relates is a

controlled area. ]

2[ (8) Any notification issued or declaration made under this

section with reference to a road which subsequently becomes a

national highway under the National Highways Act, 1956, shall

notwithstanding the road so becoming a national highway, continue to

be valid and to be in force. ]

Plans of

controlled
areas to be
deposited at
certain

offices

4. (1) The Collector shall deposit at his office and at such other

places as he considers necessary, plans showing all lands declared to

be controlled areas for the purposes of this Act, and setting forth the

nature of the restrictions applicable to the land in any such controlled

area.

(2) The plans so deposited shall be available to the public for

inspection free of charge at all reasonable times.

——————————————————————————————————————————
1. Subs. by sec. 2 of U. P. Act no. XXII of 1975.

2. Ins. by sec. 3 of U. P. Act no. VI of 1965.

[The United Provinces Roadside Land Control Act, 1945]

Restriction on

building etc. in
a controlled
area

1[5. Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for

the time being inforce,—

(a) no person shall erect or re-erect any building, or make or

extend any excavation in a controlled area ; and

(b) no person shall except with the previous permission of the

Collector in writing, lay out any means of access to a road in a

controlled area. ]

Application for
permission to
build, etc. and

the grant or
refusal of such
permission

6. (1) Every person desiring to obtain the permission referred

to in section 5 shall make an application in writing to the Collector in

such form and containing such information in respect of the 2[***]

means of access to which the application relates as may be

prescribed.

(2) On receipt of such application the Collector after making

such enquiry, as he considers necessary, shall, by order in writing,

either—

(a) grant the permission, subject to such conditions, if any, as

may be specified in the order ; or

(b) refuse to grant such permission.

(3) When the Collector grants permission subject to conditions

under clause (a) of sub-section (2) or refuses to grant permission

under clause (b) of sub-section (2), the conditions imposed or the

grounds of refusal shall be such as are reasonable having regard to

the circumstances of each case.

(4) 3[ * * * * ]

(5) 3[ * * * * ]

(6) If at the expiration of a period of three months after an

application under sub-section (1) has been made to the Collector no

order in writing has been passed by the Collector 4[the applicant may

give a notice in writing to the Collector and if no order is passed

within thirty days from the date of receipt of such notice.] permission

shall be deemed to have been given without the imposition of any

conditions.

(7) The Collector shall maintain a register with sufficient

particulars of all permissions given by him under this section and the

interested and such persons shall be entitled to take extracts

therefrom.

——————————————————————————————————————————
1. Subs. by sec. 2 of U. P. Act no. 15 of 2000.

2. Omit. by sec. 3(a) of U. P. Act no. 15 of 2000.

3. Omit. by sec. 3(b) of U. P. Act no. 15 of 2000.

4. Ins. by sec. 3 (c) of U. P. Act no. 15 of 2000.

[The United Provinces Roadside Land Control Act, 1945]

Right of

appeal
7. (1) Any person aggrieved by an order of the Collector under

sub-section (2) of section 6 granting permission subject to conditions

or refusing permission may within thirty days from the date of such

order prefer an appeal to the Provincial Government.

(2) The order of the Provincial Government on appeal shall be

final.

Compensation 8. 1[ (1) Except as provided in sub-section (2), no person shall

be entitled to claim compensation under this or any other Act, for any

injury, damage or loss caused or alleged to have been caused,—

(a) as a result of the restriction imposed by clause (a) of

section 5, or

(b) by an order refusing permission to lay out a means of access

to a road or granting such permission but imposing conditions on the

grant. ]

1[(2) Any person may make to the State Government a claim for

compensation on the ground that his interest in any land is injuriously

affected,—

(a) in a case referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (1), within

one year from the date of declaration of the controlled area ;

(b) in a case referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (1) within

three months from the date of the order of the State Government under

section 7 where an order refusing permission to lay out any means of

access to a road has been made and the right of appeal under

section 7 has been exercised. ]

(3) On receipt of a claim under sub-section (2) the Provincial

Government shall either proceed to acquire the land concerned under

the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, or transfer the claim for disposal to an

officer exercising the powers of a Collector under the said Act :

UP Act 1 of
1894

Provided that in case the Provincial Government decide to

acquire the land, (i) it shall not be necessary for land occupied by a

place of worship, tomb, cenotaph, graveyard, grave or marghat to be

included, and (ii) the claimant shall be entitled to be repaid by the

acquiring authority the amount of expense which he may have

properly incurred in connection with the preparation and submission

of his claim for compensation under this section, and in default of

agreement such a mount shall be determined by the authority deciding

the value of the land in the proceedings under the Land Acquisition

Act, 1894.

(4) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to preclude the

settlement of a claim by mutual agreement.

——————————————————————————————————————————
1. Subs. by sec. 4 (1) of U. P. Act no. 15 of 2000.

[The United Provinces Roadside Land Control Act, 1945]

Compulsory

aquisition
9. If the Provincial Government decide to acquire the land

under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, then, notwithstanding anything

contained in that Act,—

(i) proceedings under section 5-A of that Act shall not be

required ;

(ii) the notification under section 6 of that Act shall be

published within six months from the date of institution of the claim,

failing which the claim shall be transferred for disposal to an officer

exercising the powers of a Collector under that Act ;

(iii) the market value of the land shall be assessed in

accordance with the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894,

which shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be modified as

indicated in the Schedule annexed to this Act.

Amount of
Compensation

how
determined

10. (1) When a claim is transferred for disposal under section 8

or section 9 to an officer exercising the powers of a Collector under the

Land Acquisition Act, 1894, such officer shall make an award

determining the amount of compensation, if any, payable to the

claimant.

(2) The amount of compensation awarded under sub-section (1)

shall in no case exceed —

(a) the amount that would have been payable if the land had

been acquired under section 9, or

(b) the difference between the market value of the land in the

existing condition having regard to the restrictions actually imposed

upon its use and development by the order refusing permission to
1[layout any means of access to a road in respect of the land, or the

restriction imposed under clause (a) of section 5] and its market value

immediately before the publication under sub-section (2) of section 3

of the notification in pursuance of which the area 1[concerned] was

declared to be a controlled area,

and no compensation shall be awarded under sub-section (1)—

(i) unless the claimant satisfied the officer making the award

that 2[his interest in the land concerned is] injuriously affected by the

restriction imposed under this Act, or

(ii) if and in so far as the land is subject to substantially similar

restrictions in force under some other enactment which were so in

force at the date when the restrictions were imposed under this Act, or

(iii) if compensation in respect of the same restrictions in force

under this Act or of substantially similar restrictions in force under

——————————————————————————————————————————
1. Subs. by sec. 5(a) of U. P. Act no. 15 of 2000.

2. Subs. by sec. 5(b) of U. P. Act no. 15 of 2000.

[The United Provinces Roadside Land Control Act, 1945]

some other enactment has already been paid in respect of the land to

the claimant or to any predecessor in interest of the claimant.

(3) The provisions of Part III, as modified by section 9, clause

(iii) and the schedule annexed to this Act, and Parts IV, V and VIII of

the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, shall so far as may be apply to an

award made under sub-section (1) as though it were an award made

under that Act.

Having for
other
enactments

11. Nothing in this Act shall affect the power of any authority

to acquire land or to impose restriction upon the use and development

of land under any other enactment for the time being in force.

Prohibition of
use of any
land as a

brick-field
etc., without
licence

12. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for

the time being in force, no land within a controlled area shall be used

for the purposes of a charcoal-kiln, pottery-kiln, or lime-kiln and no

land within a controlled area shall be used for the purposes of a brick-

field or brick-kiln except under, and in accordance with the conditions

of a licence from the Collector which shall be renewable annually.

(2) The Provincial Government may charge such fees for the

grant and renewal of such licences and may impose such conditions in

respect thereof as may be prescribed.

(3) No person shall be entitled to claim compensation under

this or any other Act for any injury, damage or loss caused or alleged

to have been caused by the refusal of a licence under sub-section (1).

Offences and
Penalties

13. (1) Any person who —

(a) erects or re-erects any building or makes or extends any

excavation or lays out any means of access to a road in contravention

of the provisions of section 5 or in contravention of any conditions

imposed by an order under section 6 or section 7, or

(b) uses any land in contravention of the provisions of sub-

section (1) of section 12, shall be punishable with fine 1[which, on first

conviction, may extend] to five hundred rupees and, in the case of a

continuing contravention, with a further fine which may extend to

2 [five hundred rupees for every day subject to a maximum of fifty

thousand rupees] after the date of the first conviction during which he

is proved to have persisted in the contravention.

(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (1), the

Collector may order any person who has committed a breach of the

provisions of the said sub-section to restore to its original state or to

bring into conformity with the conditions which have been violated, as

the case may be, any building or land in respect of which a

contravention such as is described in the said sub-section has been

committed, and if such person fails to do so within three months of the

——————————————————————————————————————————
1. Subs. by sec. 6(a) of U. P. Act no. 15 of 2000.

2. Subs. by sec. 6(b) of U.P. Act no. 15 of 2010.

[The United Provinces Roadside Land Control Act, 1945]

order, may himself take such measures as may appear to him to be

necessary to give effect to the order, and the cost of such measures

shall be recoverable from such person as arrear of land revenue.

Trial of

offences
14. No court inferior to that of a Magistrate of the first class

shall try any offence punishable under this Act.

Protection of
persons

acting under
this Act

15. No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie

against any person for anything which is in good faith done or intended

to be done under this Act.

Savings 16. Nothing in this Act shall apply to—

(a) the erection or re-erection of buildings upon land included in

the inhabited site of any village as entered and demarcated in the

revenue records or upon sites in a municipal, notified, or town area

that are already built up on the date of the issue of the notification

under sub-section (2) of section 3 of this Act ;

(b) the erection or re-erection of a place of worship or a tomb,

cenotaph, grave, graveyard, or marghat or of a wall enclosing a place of

worship, tomb, cenotaph, grave, graveyard, or marghat on land which

is, at the time a notification under sub-section (2) of section 3 is

published by the Provincial Government, occupied by or for the

purposes of such place of worship, tomb, cenotaph, grave, graveyard,

or marghat ;

agricultural operations ;

(d) the construction of an unmetalled road intended to give

access to land solely for agricultural purposes.

17. (1) The Provincial Government may make rules to carry out

the purposes of this Act.

(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the

foregoing power such rules may provide for all or any of the following

matters, namely :

(a) the form in which applications under sub-section (1) of

section 6 shall be made and the information to be furnished in such

applications ;

(b) principles according to which applications under sub-section

(1) of section 6 shall normally be allowed or disallowed by the Collector;

(d) the fees to be charged for the grant and renewal of licences

under section 12 and the conditions governing such licences.

(3) All rules made under this section shall be subject to the

condition of previous publication in the official Gazette and the date to

be specified under clause (3) of section 23 of the United Provinces

[The United Provinces Roadside Land Control Act, 1945]

General Clauses Act, 1904, shall not be less than two months from the

date on which the draft of the proposed rules was published.

—————

THE SCHEDULE

[Referred to in section 9 (iii)]

I of 1894 Modifications in the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (hereinafter

called "The Said Act")

Amendment
of section 15

1. IN section 15 of the said Act, for the word and figures ―and

24‖ the figures, word, and the letter ―24 and 24-A‖ preceded by a

comma, shall be deemed to be substituted.

Amendment
of section 17

2. In sub-section (3) of section 17 of the said Act, after the

word and figures ―24‖ the words, figures and letter ―or section 24-A‖

shall be deemed to be inserted.

Amendment
of section 23

3. (1) In clause first and clause sixthly of sub-section (1) of

section 23 of the said Act, for the words ―publication of the notification

under section 4, sub-section (1)‖ and the words ―publication of the

declaration under section 6‖ the following words shall be deemed to be

substituted, namely,

U. P. Act of
1945

―publication of the notification under sub-section (2) of section

3 of the United Provinces Roadside Land Control Act, 1945.‖

(2) At the end of section 23 of the said Act, the following shall

be deemed to be added, namely :

―(3) For the purposes of clause first of sub-section (1) of this

section —

(a) the market value of the land shall be the market value

according to the use to which the land was put at the date with

reference to which the market value is to be determined under that

clause ;

(b) if it be shown that before such date the owner of the land

had in good faith taken active steps and incurred expenditure to

secure a more profitable use of the same, further compensation based

on his actual loss may be paid to him ;

1 [(c) any increase in the market value resulting from any

erection, re-erection, addition or alteration in contravention of the

provisions of section 5 of the United Provinces Roadside Land Control

Act, 1945 shall be disregarded ; ]

(d) if the market value has been increased by means of any

improvement made by the owner or his predecessor in interest within

two years before the aforesaid date, such increase shall be disregarded

——————————————————————————————————————————
1. Subs. by sec. 7 of U. P. Act no. 15 of 2000.

[The United Provinces Roadside Land Control Act, 1945]

unless it be proved that the improvement so made was made in good

faith and not in contemplation of proceedings for the acquisition of the

land being taken under this Act ;

(e) if the market value is specially high in consequence of the

land being put to a use which is unlawful or contrary to public policy,

that use shall be disregarded and the market value shall be deemed to

be the market value of the land if put to ordinary uses ; and

U. P. Act of
1945

U. P. Act II of

1916

(f) when the owner of the land or building has after passing of

the United Provinces Roadside Land Control Act, 1945, and within two

years preceding the date with reference to which the market value is to

be determined, made a return under section 158 of the United

Provinces Municipalities Act, 1916, of the rent of the land or building,

the rent of the land or building shall not in any case be deemed to be

greater than the rent shown in the latest return so made, save as the

Court may otherwise direct and the market value may be determined

on the basis of such rent :

Provided that where any addition to, or improvement of, the

land or building has been made after the date of such latest return and

previous to the date with reference to which the market value is to be

determined, the Court may take into consideration any increase in the

letting value of the land due to such addition or improvement.‖

Amendment
of section 24

4. For clause seventhly of section 24 of the said Act, the

following shall be deemed to be substituted, namely,—

―seventhly, any outlay on additions or improvements to land

acquired, which was incurred after the date with reference to which the

market value is to be determined, unless such additions or

improvements were necessary for the maintenance of any building in a

proper state of repair.‖

New section

24-A
5. After section 24 of the said Act, the following shall be deemed

to be inserted, namely :

Further
provision for
determining

compensation

―24-A. In determining the amount of compensation to be

awarded for any land acquired under this Act, the court shall also have

regard to the following provisions, namely,—

(1) when any interest in any land acquired under this Act has

been acquired after the date with reference to which the market value

is to be determined, no separate estimate of the value of such interest

shall be made so as to increase the amount of compensation to be paid

for such land ;

(2) if, in the opinion of the court, any building is in a defective

state, from a sanitary point of view, or is not in a reasonably good state

of repair, the amount of compensation for such building shall not

exceed the sum which the court considers the building would be worth

if it were put into a sanitary condition or into a reasonably good state

of repair, as the case may be, minus the estimated cost of putting it

into such conditions or state ;

[The United Provinces Roadside Land Control Act, 1945]

(3) if, in the opinion of the court, any building which is used or

is intended or is likely to be used for human habitation, is not

reasonably capable of being made fit for human habitation, the

amount of compensation for such building shall not exceed the value

of the materials of the building, minus the cost of demolishing the

building.‖

—————

STATEMENT OF OBJECT AND REASONS

THERE is a growing tendency to extend building along roads

around towns with the consequence that congestion on such road is

becoming acute. Roads intended to enable through traffic to bypass

centres of dense population themselves becomes too crowded. Extra-

municipal areas adjoining main roads have obvious attraction as

building sites ; the occupants of buildings in such areas can enjoy

many of the amenities of town life without sharing the burden of

municipal taxation or being subject to the control required to ensure

good sanitation and well-ordered development. At present there is no

legal power for the control of such extensions. In 1938, the United

Provinces Highways Bill was framed, one of the chapters of which dealt

with the regulation of ―ribbon development.‖ The Bill, however, could

not be enacted by the late Government before it vacated office. The

Chief Engineer’s Conference held at Nagpur in December, 1943, to

consider post-war road development in India stressed the necessity for

early enactment of legislation to prevent ―ribbon development.‖ The

problem of ―ribbon development‖ is becoming more serious day by day,

and with the large programme of post–war improvement of road

communication that is now contemplated it is desirable that the evil

should be tackled without further delay.

2. The Bill also includes provisions for the regulation of

excavations and approach roads and for the control, by means of

licences, of the use of land for brickfields and kilns. Unregulated

excavations, e.g. in connection with brickfields, not only result in the

creation of breeding places for malaria-carrying mosquitoes but also

frequently render future development of the land for building purposes

impossible without expensive leveling operations.

3. This Bill enables the necessary control to be exercised over

areas adjacent to main roads in the United Provinces, except in

cantonment areas. It has been modeled on the similar measure

introduced in 1941 in Delhi Province, which has so far worked

smoothly.

Open official source version ↗

About this act

Jurisdiction: Uttar Pradesh
Enactment date: 1945-12-13
Sections available: 17

Read the sections

1Short title, extent and commencement→2Interpretation→3Declaration of Controlled area.→4Plans of controlled areas to be deposited at certain offices.→5Restrictions on building etc., in a controlled area.→6Application for permission to build, etc. and the grant or refusal of such permission.→7Right of appeal.→8Compensation.→9Compulsory acquisition→10Amount of Compensation now determined.→11Saving for other enactment→12Prohibition of use of any land as a brick-field, etc, without license.→13Offences and penalties.→14Trial of Offences.→15Protection of persons acting under this Act.→16Savings→17Power to make rules.→

Source and version

India Code, Government of India. Text fetched 17 Oct 2026. Source metadata reports last modification: 2025-07-08. Check the linked official text and subsequent notifications when applying a provision.