Bihar Emergency Cultivation & Irrigation Act, 1955
No: 22 Dated: Sep, 22 1955
Bihar Emergency Cultivation & Irrigation Act, 1955
Bihar Act, 22 of 1955
An Act to provide for Emergency Cultivation and Irrigation of certain lands in the State of Bihar.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Bihar in the Sixth year of the Republic of India as follows
CHAPTER I
Preliminary
1. Short title and extent. - (1) This Act, may be called the Bihar Emergency Cultivation and Irrigation Act, 1955.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Bihar.
2. Definition. - In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context-
(a) "Collector" means the Collector of the district or any officer appointed by the State Government to discharge any of the function of the Collector under this Act;
(b) "emergency tenant" means a person with whom the Collector has settled any land under sub-section (1) of Section 3;
(c) "irrigation work" means any means or work constructed, altered or maintained artificially for the purpose of securing the supply, removal or storage of water for irrigation purpose and includes-
(i) any part of any such means or work;
(ii) any water-course, channel or reservoir for the supply, removal or storage of water for irrigation purposes;
(iii) any work, embankment, structure, or supply or escape channel connected with any such water-course channel or reservoir;
(iv) a head-work, dam, weir, cutlet and sluice; and
(v) a well or tank which is or may be used for irrigation purposes;
but does not include any such means or work which has been brought under the control of the State Government under the provisions of any other law for the time being in force; and
(d) "occupier" means a person in actual possession of any land immediately before the commencement of this Act.
CHAPTER II
Arrangement by Collector for Cultivation of Fallow Land
3. Power of Collector to settle cultivable land lying fallow for the purpose of cultivating food crops. - (1) If the Collector is satisfied, on such inquiry as he thinks fit, that any cultivable land was lying fallow continuously for a period of two years ending with the 15th June, of any year, on account of the inability or negligence of the occupier to cultivate the same, the Collector may settle the land, for the purpose of cultivation with a person, who has, in his opinion, the means to cultivate it and is willing to do so :
Provided that where any cultivable land has once been settled by the Collector under this sub-section, he shall before making afresh settlement, cause a notice to be served on the occupier to communicate to the Collector, within a period of thirty days from the date of the service of the notice, whether such occupier wants to cultivate such land after the expiry of the period of settlement; and if the occupier fails to send any communication to the Collector within the said period of thirty days or informs the Collector that he does not want to cultivate the land, the Collector may settle the land again with any person under this sub-section.
(2) The settlement shall be made under a written lease in such form as may be prescribed by the State Government. The lease shall be kept in the office of the Collector and copies thereof shall be made over to the occupier and to the emergency tenant.
(3) Such settlement shall remain operative up to the 15th June, of the year following the year in which the settlement is made.
(4) The emergency tenant shall not sell, mortgage, lease or otherwise transfer any interest in such land or any portion thereof.
(5) The interest of the emergency tenant in such land (including the crops grown thereon) shall not be liable to be attached or sold in execution of a decree or order of a Court:
Provided that this restriction shall not apply to the execution of a decree or a certificate under the Bihar and Orissa Public Demands Recovery Act, 1914 (B. & O. Act, IV of 1914), for arrears of rent obtained in respect of the same land which is sought to be attached or sold.
4. Payment of rent by emergency tenant. - (1) The Collector shall fix the rate of rent payable by an emergency tenant to the occupier of the land :
Provided that-
(a) where no rent is payable for the land by the occupier such rate of rent shall be the rate of rent prevailing in the vicinity for similar class of lands with similar advantages; and
(b) where rent is payable for the land by the occupier, such rate of rent shall be the rate of rent payable by the occupier.
(2) The rent payable under sub-section (1) shall fall due on the 15th June, of the year, following the year in which the settlement is made.
5. Ejectment of emergency tenant. - An emergency tenant shall be liable to ejectment from the land to which he was admitted to occupation under Section 3 on one or more of the following grounds, and not otherwise namely :-
(a) on the ground that he has failed to pay to the occupier an arrear of rent due in respect of the land;
(b) on the ground that he has made no reasonable efforts to cultivate the land within a period of one month from the date of settlement made by the Collector under Section 3; and
(c) on the ground that the period for which settlement was made by the Collector has expired.
6. Restoration of land to the occupier. - When the emergency tenant has made himself liable for ejectment on any of the grounds specified in Section 5, the emergency tenant or, if he be dead, his legal representative, shall quit possession of the land and, if he fails to do so, the Collector shall eject him and restore the land to the possession of the occupier or, if the occupier be dead, to the possession of his legal representative, and the Collector may use such force as may reasonably be necessary for effecting the ejectment.
7. Right of landlord to realise rent. - Nothing in this chapter shall affect the right of the landlord, if any, of the occupier to realise from him rent of the land for the period during which it remains in possession of the emergency tenant.