Bihar Agricultural Credit Operations and Miscellaneous Provisions (Banks) Act, 1977
No: 7 Dated: Jan, 30 1983
Bihar Agricultural Credit Operations and Miscellaneous Provisions (Banks) Act, 1977
(Bihar Act 7 of 1982)
An Act to make provisions to facilitate adequate flow of credit for agricultural production and development through Banks and other institutional credit agencies and for matters connected therewith and/or incidental thereto.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Bihar in the Thirty-third year of the Republic of India as follows:-
CHAPTER I
Preliminary
1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Bihar Agricultural Credit Operations and Miscellaneous Provisions (Banks) Act, 1977.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Bihar.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, appoint in this behalf and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of the Act and for different areas of the State.
2. Definition. - In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context:-
(a) "agriculture" and "agricultural purpose" shall include making land fit for cultivation, cultivation of land, improvement of land including development of sources of irrigation, raising and harvesting of crops, horticulture, forestry, planting and farming and cattle breeding, animal husbandry, dairy farming, seed farming, pisciculture, agriculture, sericulture, piggery, poultry farming and such other activities as are generally carried on by agriculturists, dairy farmers, cattle breeders, poultry farmers and other categories of persons engaged in similar activities including marketing of agricultural products, their storage and transport and acquisition of implements and machinery in connection with any such activity;
(b) "agriculturist" means a person who is engaged in agriculture;
(c) "Agro-Industries Corporation" means a company or other body corporate, one of the principal objectives of which is to undertake activities connected with or intended for the development of agriculture and not less than fifty-one per cent of the paid-up share capital of which is held by the Central Government or by any State Government or Government or partly by the Central Government and partly by one or more State Government;
(d) "bank" means-
(i) a banking company as defined in the Banking Regulation Ad, 1949 (Act X of 1949);
(ii) the State Bank of India constituted under the State Bank of India Act, 1955 (Act XXIII of 1955);
(iii) a subsidiary Bank as defined in the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959 (Act XXXVII of 1959);
(iv) a corresponding new Bank constituted under the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertaking) Act, 1970 (Act V of 1970);
(v) any banking institution notified by the Central Government under section 51 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (Act X of 1949);
(vi) the Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation constituted under the Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation Act, 1963 (Act X of 1963);
(vii) the Agro-Industries Corporation as defined in clause (c);
(viii) Agricultural Finance Corporation Limited, a company incorporated under the Indian Companies Act, 1956 (Act I of 1956);
(ix) a Regional Rural Bank established under the Regional Rural Bank Act, 1976 (Act 21 of 1976);
(x) any other financial institution notified by the State Government in the official Gazette as a bank for the purpose of this Act.
(e) "Collector" means the Collector of a district duly appointed by the State Government, which term includes Deputy Commissioner of a scheduled district;
(f) "Commissioner" mean the Commissioner of a Division duly appointed by the State Government;
(g) "Co-operative Society" means a co-operative society registered or deemed to be registered under the Bihar and Orissa Co-operative Societies Act, 1935 (B. & O. Act VI of 1935), the object of which is to provide financial assistance as defined in clause (i) to its members and includes a Co-operative Land Development Bank;
(h) "District Judge" means the District Judge of a district or districts which term includes the Judicial Commissioner of Ranchi;
(i) "Financial Assistance" for the purpose of this Act means assistance granted by way of loans, advances, guarantees or otherwise for agricultural purposes; and
(j) "Registrar" means a person appointed to perform the duties of the Registrar of Co-operative Societies under the Bihar and Orissa Cooperative Societies Act, 1935 (B. & O. Act VI of 1935).
CHAPTER II
Rights of Agriculturists to alienate land or interest in land in favour of Banks
3. Removal of restrictions on alienation. - Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force any custom or usage or tradition, it shall be lawful for an agriculturists whose rights of alienation of land or his interest therein, or to create a charge or mortgage on such land or of any interest therein are restricted, to alienate the land or his interest therein, or to create a charge or mortgage on such land or interest in favour of a bank for the purpose of obtaining financial assistance from that bank.
4. State Government may by notification vest agriculturists not having alienable rights with such rights. - Notwithstanding anything contained in the Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land) Act, 1961 (Act XII of 1962) or the Bihar Tenancy Act, 1885 (Act VIII of 1885) or in any law for the time being in force, the State Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, vest (i) under-raiyats of surplus land under the Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land) Act, 1961, (ii) non-occupancy under-raiyats as defined under the Bihar Tenancy Act, 1885 and (iii) tenants other than occupancy tenants not having right of alienation in land or any interest therein, with right of alienation including right to create charge or mortgage of such land or interest in favour of a bank for the purpose of obtaining financial assistance from that bank without any restriction or subject to such restriction as may be specified in the notification.
5. Charge on crops and other movable property in favour of a bank. - (1) It shall be lawful for an agriculturist to create a charge on the movable property owned by him or on the crop raised by him, standing or otherwise, or other produce from land cultivated by him to the extent of his interest therein, in favour of a bank, to secure financial assistance from that bank, notwithstanding that he may not be owner of the land on and from which the crop is raised.
(2) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Bihar and Orissa Cooperative Societies Act, 1935 (B. & O. Act VI of 1935) or other law for the time being in force, no charge in respect of financial assistance extended by a cooperative society to an agriculturist shall have priority over a charge on the crops raised by him, standing or otherwise, or any other movable property in respect of any financial assistance made by the bank is prior in point of time to that of the financial assistance extended by the co-operative society.
(3) The crop or other produce or movables in respect of which a charge has been created in favour of the bank may be attached and sold to the extent of the interest of the agriculturists therein, in the manner laid down in the Bihar and Orissa Public Demands Recovery Act, 1914 (B. & O. Act IV of 1914) and the proceeds of such sale may be appropriated towards all moneys due to the bank from that agriculturist.
6. Creation of charge on land in favour of bank by declaration. - (1) Where an agriculturist creates a charge on land or any other immovable property which he owns, or in which he has an interest, in respect of any financial assistance given to him by a bank, he may make a declaration on the lines of the Form set out in the Schedule hereto annexed or as near hereto as circumstances permit declaring that thereby he creates in favour of the bank, a charge on such land or his interest therein, or other immovable property, as the case may be, to secure the financial assistance given to him by the bank.
(2) A declaration made under sub-section (1) may be varied from time to time by the agriculturist with the consent of the bank in whose favour the declaration has been made. Such variation shall unless otherwise stipulated, take effect from the date the original declaration became effective.