Maharashtra Debt Relief Act, 1975
No: 3 Dated: Jan, 03 1976
THE MAHARASHTRA DEBT RELIEF ACT, 1975
ACT NO. III OF 1976
An Act to provide for relief from indebtedness to certain farmers, rural artisans, rural labourers and workers.
Whereas both Houses of the State Legislature were not in session;
And Whereas the Governor of Maharashtra was satisfied that circumstance existed which rendered it necessary for him to take immediate action to provide for relief from indebtedness to certain farmers, rural artisans, rural labourers and workers in the State of Maharashtra; and for that purpose promulgated the Maharashtra Debt Relief Ordinance, 1975, on 22nd day of August 1975;
And Whereas it is now considered that relief from indebtedness should be restricted to liabilities arising out of loans only and debts of workers who hold immovable property the market value of which does not exceed twenty thousand rupees should stand liquidated, and the debts of workers who hold such property the market value of which exceeds twenty thousand rupees but does not exceed forty thousand rupees should receive moratorium for a temporary period;
And Whereas it is expedient to replace the said Ordinance by an Act of the State Legislature after carrying out therein the amendments as hereinafter provided for securing the above purposes and other purposes hereinafter appearing;
And Whereas it is also expedient to provide for adjustment of debts of certain farmers, rural artisans, rural labourers and workers and to provide for matters connected therewith;
It is hereby enacted in the Twenty-sixth Year of the Republic of India, as follows:-
CHAPTER I
Preliminary
1. Short title extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Maharashtra Debt Relief Act, 1975.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Maharashtra.
(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 22nd day of August 1975.
2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context required otherwise,-
(a) "Agriculturist" means a person who cultivates land personally;
(b) "appointed day" means the 22nd day of August 1975;
(c) "civil court" includes a Court of Small Causes;
(d) "corporation area" means an area within the jurisdiction of any Municipal Corporation constituted or established under any law for the time being in force;
(e) "debt" means any liability, in cash or kind, outstanding on the appointed day, being a liability arising out of a loan (with interest if the loan is taken by a worker, and with or without interest, in any other case), whether secured or unsecured, due from a debtor whether payable under a decree or order of any court or otherwise;
(f) "debtor" means a marginal farmer, rural artisan, or rural labourer whose total income from all sources did not exceed two thousand and four hundred rupees during the year immediately before the 1st day of August 1975 and a worker whose total income from all sources did not exceed, if living in an urban area six thousand rupees during the year immediately before the said date, and if living-elsewhere four thousand and eight hundred rupees during that year;
(g) "to hold land" with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means to be lawfully in actual possession of land as owner or as tenant (including a government lessee), and the expression "holding" shall be construed accordingly;
(h) "marginal farmer" means an agriculturist who holds land measuring not more than one hectare of unirrigated land and includes an agriculturist who cultivates as a tenant or share-cropper land measuring not more than one hectare of unirrigated land;
(i) "member of a family" means a father, mother, spouse, brother, unmarried dependent sister, divorced and dependent sister, son, son's wife, or unmarried daughter, divorced and dependent daughter, son's son, son's unmarried daughter, son's divorced and dependent daughter, and includes any relation residing with and actually dependent for his maintenance on the debtor;
(j) "rural area" means an area for the time being within the jurisdiction of a Zilla Parishad established under the Maharashtra Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samitis Act, 1961, and includes any 'B' Class, or 'C' Class municipal area as classified under the Maharashtra Municipalities Act, 1965, but does not include the area within the limits of the cantonments of Poona, Kirkee and Kamptee as defines under the Cantonments Act, 1924;
(k) "rural artisan" means a person who principally earns his livelihood in a rural area by practicing any craft either by his own labour or with help of labour of the members of his family but does not include an artisan who resides in an urban areas;
(l) "rural labourer" means a person who -
(i) does not hold any land in a rural area,
(ii) may or may not have any homestead therein, and
(iii) earn his livelihood principally by manual labour,
but does not include any such labourer residing in an urban area and a rural artisan;
(m) "small farmer" means an agriculturist who holds land measuring more than one hectare of unirrigated land but less than two hectares of such land and who cultivates personally such land and includes an agriculturist who cultivates as a tenant or a share-cropper land measuring more than one hectare of unirrigated land but not more than two hectares of such land;
Explanation I. - A person belonging to a Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Nomadic Tribe or Vimukta Jatis shall be deemed to be small farmer irrespective of the extent of unirrigated land held and cultivated by him as aforesaid;
Explanation II. - "Nomadic Tribes" and "Vimukta Jatis" means Nomadic Tribes and Vimukta Jatis determined as such by the State Government from time to time;
(n) "urban area" means a corporation area or an area within the limits any municipal council constituted under any law for the time being in force in the State, and includes the area within the limits of the Cantonments of Poona, Kirkee and Kamptee as defined under the Cantonments Act, 1924, but does not include any "B" Class or "C" Class municipal area as classified under the Maharashtra Municipalities Act, 1965;
(o) "worker" means a person who earns his livelihood through any profession, calling or trade and also a person who is working in any factory (including a badli worker therein);
Explanation. - In this clause-
(1) the expression "factory" has the meaning assigned to it in the Factories Act, 1948, with this modification that the limitation on the number of workers working therein shall be dispensed with;
(2) the expression "badli worker" means a worker who is provided with a badli card and who is employed in a factory in place of another worker who is temporarily absent and whose name is borne on the muster-roll of the factory;
(3) for the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that the expression 'profession, calling or trade' shall include and shall be deemed always to have included 'employment' and that expression shall be construed accordingly.
(p) words and expression used in this Act but not defined therein shall have the meanings, respectively assigned to them in the Maharashtra Agricultural Lands (Ceiling on Holdings) Act, 1961.