Jammu and Kashmir Saffron Act, 2007

No: 5 Dated: Jan, 01 2007

THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR SAFFRON ACT, 2007

 (Act No. V of 2007)

    An Act to provide for regulating the quality of saffron and to ensure its genuineness for sale and export and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

    Be it enacted by the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislature in the Fifty-eighth Year of the Republic of India as follows :-

1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Jammu and Kashmir Saffron Act, 2007.

(2) It shall extend to the whole of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification in the Government Gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of the Act and for different areas.

2. Definitions. - In this Act unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) 'Act' means the Jammu and Kashmir Saffron Act, 2007 ;

(b) 'Appellate Authority' means the Commissioner/Secretary Incharge of the Agriculture Department ;

(c) 'Container' means a box, casket, tin, bag, casket, wrapper for packing of saffron as the case my be;

(d) 'Enforcement Inspector' means the Enforcement Inspector or any other officer of the Agriculture Department not below the rank of a Gazetted Officer declared as such for enforcing the quality of the saffron ;

(e) 'Export' means taking out of State saffron to any other place;

(f) 'Government' means the Government of Jammu and Kashmir ;

(g) 'Grade' means any of the grades of dried saffron, as prescribed by the Bureau of India Standards (B.I.S.);

(h) 'Import' means bringing into State saffron from any place out side the State ;

(i) 'Labelling' means depicting the grade, mark, weight and constituents of saffron on the container or packed as the case may be ;

(j) 'Phyto-sanitary Certificate' means the certificate issued by the Director of Agriculture concerned or any other authority as may be notified by the Government in this behalf with respect to the health and grade of dried saffron;

(k) 'Prescribed' means as prescribed by rules made under this Act:

(l) 'Quality Control Laboratory' means quality control laboratory already notified by the Government of India and includes any laboratory as such may be notified by the Government from time to time;

(m) 'Registration Authority' means the Director Agriculture concerned and shall include such other officer not below the rank of Joint Director, as the Government may appoint for any area; and

(n) 'State' means the Jammu and Kashmir State.

3. Notification of Saffron Belts. - (1) The Government may, by notification in the Government Gazette, notify the Saffron Belts in Districts of Pulwama and Doda and potential saffron growing belts in other districts of the State.

(2) On issuance of the notification under sub-section (1), no land within the area so notified shall be used for any purpose other than growing of saffron lullis:

Provided that an area not exceeding two Kanals of land may be used for construction of residential house by owner with the previous permission of the Agriculture Minister.

(3) The Government shall undertake directly or through universities or other agencies studies of the problems of saffron in areas notified under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2)