Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Act, 1977

No: 20 Dated: Oct, 03 1978

THE MAHARASHTRA EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT, 1977

ACT No. XX OF 1978

    An Act to make effective provision for securing the right to work by guaranteeing employment to all adult persons who volunteer to do unskilled manual work in rural areas in the State of Maharashtra.

    Whereas it is expedient to make effective provision for securing the right to work laid down in article 41 of the Constitution of India by guaranteeing employment to all adult persons who volunteer to do unskilled manual work in rural area in the State of Maharashtra;

    And Whereas it is necessary to engage such adult persons on works which would bring into being durable assets for the benefit of the community and the economy;

    And Whereas it is further necessary to provide for continuing employment of surplus rural manpower in cottage, village and small industries and in agro-industries;

    And Whereas it is also necessary to make certain supplemental, incidental and consequential provisions;

It is hereby enacted in the Twenty-eighth year of the Republic of India as follows :-

1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Act, 1977.

(2) It extends to the whole of the rural areas of the State of Maharashtra.

(3) It shall come into force in all the areas to which it extends on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.

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

(a) "adult person" means a person who has attained the age of eighteen years;

(a-1) "Central Act" means the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005;

(a-2) "Central Council" means the Cental Employment Guarantee Council constituted under sub-section (1) of section 10 of the Central Act;;

(b) "the Committee" means the District Level Committee, or, as the case be, the Panchayat Samiti Level Committee, constituted under section 5;

(d) "implementing agency" includes any Department of the State Government the Zilla Parished, and other local authority or State Government Undertaking which is entrusted by the State Government the task of implementing any work taken up under the scheme;

(e) "Implementing officer" means the highest officer of the implementing agency in the District or any officer subordinate to him to whom any of the powers or duties of the agency have been entrusted;

(e-1) "minimum wage" means the minimum wage fixed for agricultural labourers for the relevant Zone by the State Government under section 3 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948;;

(f) "Panchayat Samiti area" includes any 'C' class municipal area;

(g) "Panchayat Samiti Level Officer" or "Samiti Officer" means the person not below the rank of Tahsildar or Block Development Officer, appointed under section 10 by the State Government for the implementation of the Scheme in the area of Panchayat Samiti concerned;

(h) "productive works" means any works which, in the opinion of the State Government, will directly or indirectly contribute to the increase of production, or the absence of which will inhibit the increase of production;

(i) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(j) "rural areas" means all the areas of the State of Maharashtra except those for which a Municipal Corporation or Cantonment Board was established or constituted under any law for the time being in force or those which were classified as 'A' or 'B' Class municipal areas under the Maharashtra Municipalities Act, 1965, on the date of passing of this Act, and any area which after the passing of this Act comes to be included within the limits of a Municipal Corporation or Cantonment Board or 'A' or 'B' Class Municipal Council shall cease to be a rural area from the date of such inclusion;

(k) "Scheme" means the Employment Guarantee Scheme prepared and published under section 7 and for the time being in force.

(l) "State Council" means the Maharashtra State Employment Guarantee Council constituted under section 4;

(m) "unskilled manual work" means any physical work which any adult person is capable of doing without any skill or special training;

(n) "wage rate" means the wage rate referred to in section 7.