State Act

The Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966

50. Removal of encroachments on land vesting in Government; provisions for penalty and other incidental matters.— (1) In the event of any encroachment being made on any land or foreshore vested in the State Government (whether or not in charge of any local authority) or any such land being used for the purpose of hawking or selling articles without the sanction of the competent authority, it shall be lawful for the Collector to summarily abate or remove any such encroachment or cause any article whatsoever hawked or exposed for sale to be removed; and the expenses incurred therefor shall be leviable from the person in occupation of the land encroachment upon or used as aforesaid. (2) The person who made such encroachment or who is in unauthorised occupation of the land so encroached upon shall pay, if the land encroached upon forms part of an assessed survey number, assessment for the entire number for the whole period of the encroachment, and if the land has not been assessed, such amount of assessment as would be leviable for the said period in the same village on the same extent of similar land used for the same purpose. Such person shall pay in addition 2[a fine which shall be one thousand rupees or such amount as may be prescribed, whichever is higher,] if the land is used for an agricultural purpose, and if used for a purpose other than agriculture such fine 3[not exceeding two thousand rupees or such amount as may be prescribed, whichever is higher]. The person caught hawking or selling any articles shall be liable to pay fine of a sum not exceeding 4[fifty rupees or such amount as may be prescribed, whichever is higher,] as the Collector may determine. (3) The Collector may, by notice duly served under the provisions of this Code, prohibit or require the abatement or removal of encroachments on any such lands, and shall fix in such notice a date, which shall be a reasonable time after such notice, on which the same shall take effect. (4) Every person who makes, causes, permits or continues any encroachment on any land referred to in a notice issued under sub-section (3), shall in addition to the penalties specified in sub-section (2), be liable at the discretion of the Collector to a fine not exceeding 5[twenty-five rupees or such amount as may be prescribed, whichever is higher] in the case of encroachment for agricultural purposes and 6[fifty rupees or such amount as may be prescribed, whichever is higher] in other cases for every day during any portion of which the encroachment continues after the date fixed for the notice to take effect. (5) An order passed by the Collector under this section shall be subject to appeal and revision in accordance with the provisions of this Code. (6) Nothing continued in sub-section (1) to (4) shall prevent any person from establishing his rights in a civil court within a period of six months from the date of the final order under this Code.