Restriction on holding or transfer of Agricultural lands in Karnataka
In Karnataka there are many restrictions on the holding or transfer of agricultural land by persons or families. No person who, or a family which, has an annual income of not less than two lakhs rupees from sources other than agricultural lands shall be entitled to acquire any agricultural land, whether as landowner, landlord, tenant or as a mortgagee with possession or otherwise. For the purpose of calculating the annual income, the average annual income of five consecutive preceding years is taken into account. Any acquisition in violation of this rule is deemed to be null and void. Persons or families holding land in violation of this rule are supposed to file a declaration to the jurisdictional tahsildar, who shall forward the same to the Deputy Commissioner, who shall notify such lands as transferred to the state government.
Further, no person, other than a person cultivating land personally shall be entitled to hold agricultural land. However, educational, religious or charitable institution or society or trust of a public nature, capable of holding property, formed for an educational, religious or charitable purpose, can hold property when the income from the land is appropriated solely for the institution or the society or the trust concerned.
Similarly agricultural land cannot be sold, gifted, exchanged, leased or mortgaged (with possession) to a person who is not either an agriculturist or an agricultural laborer. However the jurisdictional Assistant Commissioner may grant permission to acquire land, to persons who bonafide intend to take up agriculture, provided the transferee takes up agriculture within one year from the date of acquisition.