Glossary
Mizoram land & survey glossary
Plain-language meanings for the words on your Land Settlement Certificate (LSC) and plot / settlement sketch, what each one is, and which of them you actually need before joining your sheets.
12 terms
- Land Settlement CertificateLSC
- The settlement document for a permanent holding in Mizoram: heritable, transferable, and carrying the plot's number, holder, area and a sketch of its boundaries. It is the state's closest equivalent to a record of rights, and one certificate covers one plot.
- LSC plot number
- The number that identifies a plot on its Land Settlement Certificate. It is what the department's record, a name transfer and any request for the plot's sketch are keyed on, so quote it exactly.
- LSC plot sketch
- The drawing attached to an LSC or a pass, made when the plot was surveyed for settlement. Mizoram has no state-wide cadastral map series, so these sketches are the maps, and a holding of several plots spans several of them.
- Periodic PattaPP
- A temporary allotment of agricultural land for a set period on stated conditions. The holder has rights only for that period and cannot transfer or pass the land on beyond it. Under the 2013 Act and Rules it is valid initially for five years, and it lapses if the land has not been developed in that time.
- Pass
- An allotment document, such as a house site pass or a garden pass, that is recognised under the state's land law but is not the same as an LSC. Where land is still held on a pass, ask the district land revenue office what it needs to be settled on an LSC.
- Land lease
- An allotment of land for a specific tenure and purpose, such as a commercial plantation or a farm, on the terms the lease sets. The lessee holds under the lease, not as an owner.
- Name transfer
- The change of the holder's name on an LSC after a sale, gift or inheritance: Mizoram's equivalent of a mutation. Until it is made, the department's record still names the previous holder, whatever the sale agreement says.
- Mizoram (Land Revenue) Act, 2013
- The state law that governs land settlement and revenue in Mizoram: the LSC, the Periodic Patta, passes and leases. It is the law to read when the question is what kind of right a document gives.
- Land Revenue and Settlement DepartmentLR&S
- The state department that settles land, issues LSCs and passes, surveys plots and keeps the land records, through an office in each district. It is where a copy, a name transfer or a sketch on record is asked for.
- e-Ram
- The Land Revenue and Settlement Department's online service for land applications, started as a pilot in Aizawl district. Coverage by district and service changes, so check whether it handles your case before going to the office.
- Article 371G
- The constitutional provision that says no Act of Parliament on Mizo religious or social practices, Mizo customary law and procedure, or the ownership and transfer of land applies to Mizoram unless the state Legislative Assembly resolves that it should. It keeps land law in the state's hands.
- Autonomous District CouncilADC
- A Sixth Schedule council with powers over land in its area. Mizoram has three, all in the south: the Chakma and Lai councils in Lawngtlai district and the Mara council in Siaha district. Land in those areas is administered by the council, not only the state department.