West Bengal Maritime Board Act, 2000
No: 30 Dated: Feb, 21 2001
THE WEST BENGAL MARITIME BOARD ACT, 2000
West Bengal Act XXX of 2000
An Act to provide for the constitution of a Maritime Board for minor ports in West Bengal and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
Whereas it is expedient to provide for the constitution of a Maritime Board in West Bengal and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto;
It is hereby enacted as follows: -
CHAPTER I
Preliminary
1. Short title, extent, commencement and application. - (1) This Act may be called the West Bengal Maritime Board Act, 2000.
(2) It extends to the whole of West Bengal.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification, appoint.
(4) It shall apply to all minor ports in West Bengal with effect from such date as the State Government may, by notification, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different minor ports.
2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, -
(1) "appointed day", in relation to a minor port, means the day on which this Act applies to that port;
(2) "Board" means the West Bengal Maritime Board established under section 3;
(3) "Board security" means a bond, debenture or dock certificate issued by the Board in respect of any loan contracted by it in accordance with the provisions of this Act;
(4) "Chairman" means the Chairman of the Board;
(5) "dock" includes a basin, lock, cut, entrance, graving dock or block, inclined plane, slipway, gridiron, mooring, transit shed, warehouse or godown. open plot, or other work or thing appertaining to any dock, and also includes the portion of the sea or river enclosed or protected by the arms or groynes of a harbour;
(6) "foreshore", in relation to a port, means the area between the high watermark and the low watermark relating to that port;
(7) "goods" includes livestock or movable property;
(8) "high watermark", in relation to a port, means a line drawn through the highest points reached by ordinary spring tides at any season of the year at that port;
(9) "immovable property" includes wharfage right, or any other right, exercisable on, over, or in respect of, any land, wharf, dock or pier;
(10) "land" includes bed or sea or river below high watermark, and also includes anything attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth;
(11) "low watermark", in relation to a port, means a line drawn through the lowest points reached by ordinary spring tides at any season of the year at that port;
(12) "master", in relation to a vessel, or craft, making use of any minor port, means any person having, for the time being, the charge or control of such vessel or craft, as the case may be, except a pilot, harbour-master, dock-master, or berthing master of the port;
(13) "member" means a member of the Board, or a member of a Committee of the Board, as the case may be;
(14) "minor port" means a port, other than a major port declared as such by the Central Government under any law for the time being in force, within such limits as may, from time to time, be defined by the State Government under the Indian Ports Act 1908;
(15) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette;
(16) "owner", -
(a) in relation to goods, includes any consignor, consignee, shipper or agent for sale, custody, loading or unloading of such goods, and
(b) in relation to any vessel or craft making use of any port, includes any part owner, charterer, consignee or mortgagee in possession thereof;
(17) "pier" includes a stage, stair, landing place, hard jetty, floating barge, or pontoon, and also includes a bridge or other work connected therewith;
(18) "port" means a minor port;
(19) "port approaches", in relation to a port, means such parts of a navigable river or channel as lead to that port;
(20) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(21) "public security" means-
(a) a promissory note, debenture, stock or other security of the Central Government or of any State Government:
Provided that a public security, both the principal and the interest whereof have been fully and unconditionally guaranteed by the Central Government or any State Government, shall, for the purposes of this clause, be deemed to be a security of such Government, or
(b) a debenture or other security for money issued by, or on behalf of, any municipal corporation, Municipality, Improvement Trust, or Port Trust under the authority of any law for the time being in force, and includes a Board security;
(22) "rate" includes a toll, due, rent, fee or charge leviable under this Act;
(23) "regulations" means the regulations made under this Act;
(24) "vessel" includes a conveyance of any kind for the transport, mainly by water, of goods or human beings;
(25) "wharf" includes a wall, stage, part of land, or foreshore for use for loading or unloading of goods or for embarkation or disembarkation of passengers, and also includes a wall enclosing or adjoining such stage, part of land or foreshore.