Karnataka Assembly passes Bill to modernise unique Jamma Bane land records of Kodagu district

‘Peculiar nature of Jamma Bane’

Gowda informed the House that the Bill addresses the issue of Jamma Bane land owners in Kodagu, where the Coorg Land Revenue and Regulations Act, 1899, was in place until the introduction of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964, and some provisions of the 1899 Act were continued despite their absence in the Act.

“The system of Jamma Bane tenure is a special form of holding prevalent in the Kodagu district, from other classes of land in the State. Historically, these lands have been held and enjoyed on the basis of customary rights by members of joint families, often without clear entries in the Record of Rights. With the passage of time, complications have arisen in maintaining accurate records of ownership, inheritance, survivorship, and alienations pertaining to Jamma Bane holdings,” the statement of reasons for the Bill said.

“In particular, the absence of explicit provisions in the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964 (Karnataka Act 12 of 1964), to record the rights of joint family members in such holdings has led to difficulties in mutation, registration, inheritance and maintenance of revenue records,” says the bill drafted following a study of the Jamma Bane land holdings in Kodagu.

“Numerous disputes have emerged regarding succession, alienation, and privileges attached to Jamma Bane lands, resulting in avoidable litigation and administrative delay. It has, therefore, become necessary to provide statutory recognition of the peculiar nature of Jamma Bane tenure in the Kodagu district, and to ensure that the rights of all members of a joint family are duly recorded in the mutation and revenue registers,” the Bill states.

The amendments introduced now intend to allow inclusion of particulars of joint family members in the Register of Mutations in respect of Jamma Bane holdings; reporting of acquisition of rights as members of a joint family; empower revenue officers in Kodagu to recognise rights; registration of rights in land records and “ensure that relevant information relating to family tree, survivorship, inheritance and privileges is furnished”.

The amendments seek to bring “clarity, reduce litigation, and safeguard the rights of all stakeholders in Jamma Bane lands while maintaining conformity with other provisions” of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964, the Bill stated.

Careful implementation

A S Ponnana, Congress legislator from the Virajpet constituency, welcomed the Bill on behalf of the people of Kodagu. Ponnana, who is also the legal advisor to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, said the lack of clarity on Jamma Bane land ownership has affected land sales, bank loan approvals, and land inheritance.

He, however, said that the Bill’s effective implementation would be necessary and that care must be taken while framing the rules for its implementation. “Implementing it is important so that the Jamma Bane issue can be solved,” Ponnana said.

Leader of the Opposition of the Karnataka Assembly R Ashok asked how the Congress Government would address the issue of the presence of names of four to five generations of landowners in the land records in Kodagu.

Revenue Minister Gowda said in the House that local tahsildars would hold adalats to address objections before land records are modernised and finalised in the district, thereby giving land rights to the owners. The system would have an appeal provision, he said.

In August, Ponnana asked for “deletions and corrections”, “Where the heads of the family have no rights, there should be amendments, and where there are rights and the names of the entire family are being shown in the RTC documents, it should be amended,” he said.

“What is happening is that the name of the family head (pattedar) continues in the land records even after death and even after 40 to 50 years of change (of owners). This has been continued as a tradition. This has continued despite the lack of provisions in the Karnataka Land Revenue Act,” Ponnana said.

“What is happening in Kodagu is that 50 to 60 family members sign an unregistered document for a land. I would suggest that this document should be considered as a legal document with the opinion of the tahsildar. This affects children and grandchildren,” Madikeri Congress MLA Mantar Gowda said in August.

The ownership rights of the people of Kodagu over the Jamma Bane lands in the region were recognised by a full bench of the Karnataka High Court in 1993 in the Chekkera Poovaiah vs State of Karnataka case.

Last year, the Karnataka HC upheld the Karnataka Land Revenue (Third Amendment) Act, 2011, which gave full ownership rights over the Jamma Bane land in Kodagu to Kodava families.