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MADRAS IRRIGATION (LEVY OF BETTERMENT CONTRIBUTION) ACT, 1955 (3 OF 1955)
MADRAS IRRIGATION (LEVY OF BETTERMENT CONTRIBUTION) ACT, 1955
(3 OF 1955)
An Act to provide for the levy of betterment contribution on certain lands in the State of Madras WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the levy of betterment contribution on certain lands in the State of Madras; BE it enacted in the Sixth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
SECTION 1: Short title and extent
(1)This Act may be called THE MADRAS IRRIGATION (LEVY OF BETTERMENT CONTRIBUTION) ACT, 1955.
(2)It extends to the whole of the State of Madras.
SECTION 2: Definitions
In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context- (1)"contribution" means the betterment contribution referred to in section 3;
(2)'drainage work' includes-
(a) channels, whether natural or artificial, for the discharge of waste or surplus water and all works connected with or auxiliary to such channels;
(b) escape channels from an irrigation work;
(c)dams, weirs, embankments, sluices and groyes
(d) all works for the protection of lands from floods or from erosion, which are owned or controlled by the Government, or which are maintained by them otherwise than by an assignment of land or land revenue made, confirmed, or recognised by the Government, or which having been constructed by the Government or being maintained by an assignment of land or land revenue as aforesaid, have not been made over to any person, does not include works for the removal of sewage;
(3)'Government' means the State Government;
(4)'irrigation work' includes-
(a) all canals, channels, tanks, wells, reservoirs, ponds, spring ponds and madugus used for the supply or storage of water and all works embankments and structures (other than escape channels) connected therewith or auxiliary thereto, which are owned or controlled by the Government, or which are maintained by them otherwise than by an assignment of land or land revenue made confirmed or recognised by the Government, or which, having been constructed by the Government or being maintained by an assignment of land or land revenue as aforesaid have not been made over to any person; * Published in (he Fort. St. George Gazette. Part IV B, Page 41 dt. 15-3-1955.
(b) all such lakes and other natural collections of water or parts thereof as are situated on lands which are the property of Government;
(c)all rivers and natural streams or parts thereof;
(5)'landholder' in relation to any land means the person liable to pay the public revenue due on the land; Provided that-
(a) in respect of any land comprised in the holding of a kanamdar or a customary verumpattamdar in the territory to which the Malabar Tenancy Act, 1929 (Madras Act XIV of 1930) extends, the Kanamdar or the customary verumpattamdar, as the case may be, and
(b) in respect of any land in the possession of a walawargadar, a Kayemgenidar, a permanent tenant or a mulgeni tenant in the South Kanara District, such walawargadar, Kayemgendiar, permanent tenant or mulgeni tenant as the case may be, shall be deemed to be the landholder in respect of such land;
(6)'notification' means a notification published in the Fort St. George Gazette.
(7)'prescribed' means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(8)'work' means an irrigation or drainage work.
SECTION 3: Levy of betterment contribution
The Government shall be entitles to levy a betterment contribution, in accordance with the provisions of this Act, from the landholder of any land which, in their opinion, is benefited by the construction, expansion or alteration by the Government whether after the commencement of this Act, or at any time before such commencement but not earlier than the 1st January 1947, of any work (including the installation by them of a pumping set), the cost of which exceeds twenty-five thousand rupees. Explanation 1:- A land shall be deemed to be benefited notwithstanding that the benefit is not enjoyed provided such non-enjoyment is due solely to action or inaction on the part of the person or persons interested in such land.
Explanation 2:- A land shall not be deemed to be benefited merely by reason of the maintenance of an existing work wholly or partly at the expense of the Government.
SECTION 4: Amount of betterment contribution
(1) The lands benefited by the construction, expansion or alteration of any work shall be divided into suitable classes by the Government and the annual increase the gross produce of each class of lands shall be estimated:
Provided that all lands which are of the same taram and which, judged by their commandability, are so situated as to derive the same amount of benefit from the work shall be placed in the same class.
Provided further that the estimate shall be made with reference to the average of the prices prevailing, in the case of a work whose construction expansion or alteration was completed before the commencement of this Act, during the three years immediately preceding such commencement and, in the case of a work whose construction, expansion or alteration was completed after the commencement of this Act, during the three years immediately preceding such completion:
Provided also that the average aforesaid shall not exceed three times the price which prevailed in August, 1939.
(2)Ten times the annual increase in the gross produce estimated under sub-section (1) shall be deemed to be the increase in the capital value of each class of lands; and the contribution payable in respect of such class of lands shall be one-half of the difference between the said increase in the capital value and the cost (estimated in the prescribed manner) of making the lands fit for advantageous irrigation under the work:
Provided that in the case of lands which were originally under dry cultivation and which, with a view to derive benefit from the work, were brought under wet cultivation, a sum representing the difference between the cost of wet cultivation, and the cost of dry cultivation and the determined in the prescribed manner shall be deducted from the increase in gross produce for the purpose of calculating the increase in capital value of those lands.
(3)The contribution payable in respect of each class of lands expressed in terms of rate per acre shall be notified in the District Gazette and in such other manner, if any, as may be prescribed: Provided that the officer authorised in the behalf shall, before determining the contribution under the foregoing provisions of this section, publish his proposals in the prescribed manner shall consider suggestions and objections received within the time allowed:
Provided further that, against a decision with respect to contribution notified under this sub-section, an appeal shall lie to the prescribed authority and any modification made on such appeal shall be notified in the prescribed mariner.
(4)Decisions with respect to contribution notified under sub-section (3) shall, subject to the right of appeal provided in the sub-section, be final, shall be binding on all persons having interest in the lands and shall not be liable to be questioned in a Court of Law.
(5)At the end of every four years from the year in which the contributions is finally determined under sub-section (3) any further instalment of such contribution shall be liable to be revised on the basis of the proportion that the average of the prices prevailing during those four years bears to the actual or assumed average of prices on the basis of which the contribution was determined.
SECTION 5: Contribution recoverable as arrear of land revenue
Contribution payable under this Act in respect of any land shall be deemed to be public revenue due upon the said land; and the land, its products and the buildings (owned and occupied by the landholder) standing upon the land shall be regarded as the security of the contribution. When the whole or portion of an instalment of the contribution payable in any year is not paid on the due date, the amount of instalment or its unpaid portion shall be deemed to be an arrear of land revenue and the provisions of the Madras Revenue Recovery Act, 1864 (Madras Act 11 of 1864), and of the Madras City Land Revenue Act, 1851 (Central Act XII of 1851) as amended by the Madras City Land Revenue (Amendment) Act, 1867 (Madras Act VI of 1867), shall apply to the recovery of the said arrear as they apply to the recovery of the revenue due on the land.
SECTION 6: When contributions become payable
(1)Contribution shall become payable under this Act on a written notice of demand therefor issued by an officer authorised by the Government in this behalf being served on the land-holder:
Provided that no such notice shall be served until the expiry of two years after the date of completion of the construction, expansion or alteration of the work:
Provided further that where, before the commencement of this Act, two years or more have elapsed from the date of completion of the construction, expansion or alteration of the work, such notice may be served at any time after such commencement.
(2)For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that it shall not be necessary to serve notice on any persons other than the landholder, who has an interest in the land or on a successor-in-interest of the landholder or in respect of any instalment of the contribution;
(3)For the purpose of this section 4, the construction expansion or alteration of a 'work' shall be deemed to be completed on the date of cessation of all work connected with its construction, expansion or alteration or on the date when the work is ready to be put in actual operation, whichever is later.
SECTION 7: Mode of payment of contribution
(1)The contribution payable by a landholder shall be paid by him in twenty annual instalments:
Provided that he shall be entitled to pay the entire contribution with a rebate of twenty per cent within a period of two years from the date on which he become liable to pay the contribution.
(2)Arrears of instalments of the contribution shall bear interest at the rate of six per cent per annum and such interest shall be recoverable as arrears of land revenue.
SECTION 8: Rebate in certain cases
If the Government accept any money from any person for the construction, expansion, or alteration of any work and such person becomes liable to pay contribution in respect of any land benefited by such construction, expansion or alteration the sum accepted from him shall be credited towards the contribution payable by him.
SECTION 9: Payment of contribution by person having interest in land
Any person having interest in a land may, notwithstanding that he is not the land holder of such land, pay the contribution payable by the landholder in respect of such land, and shall, if such person pays the entire contribution, within a period of two years from that date on which the landholder becomes liable to pay the contribution, be entitled to a rebate of twenty per cent.
SECTION 10: Right of reimbursement in respect of contribution
Where the land-holder (not being in the territory to which the Malabar extends a kanamdar or a customary verumpattamdar, or in the South Kanara District a wala-wargadar, a keyemgenidar, a permanent tenant or mulgenitenant liable to pay contribution under this Act is not the owner of the land or is a co-owner, of the land nothing in this Act shall be deemed to affect his right to reimbursement from the owner or to recover proportionate part from the co-owner, as the case may be.
SECTION 11: Appointment of contribution
Where a landholder whose case is not covered by section 10 and who has paid in instalment of contribution under this Act is not the occupier of the land, he shall, in the absence of a contract to the contrary, be entitled to recover the amount of such instalment from the person who is in actual occupation of the land during the year in which the said instalment is payable: Provided that where such person is a tenant, the landholder shall be entitled to recover from the tenant the instalment of contribution referred to in this section only if the tenant is liable under any law or custom of the locality to deliver to the landholder a share of the produce and such share has not been altered subsequent to the completion of the work by agreement between the parties, and the amount that can be recovered from such a tenant shall bear to the total amount of the instalment the same proportion as the tenant's share of the produce bears to the total produce of the land:
Provided further that, where the landholder has paid the entire contribution with a rebate under the proviso to sub-section (1) of section 7, a twentieth part of the sum actually paid shall be deemed to be the instalment of the contribution payable during every year during which an instalment of the contribution would have been payable had the entire contribution not been so paid.
SECTION 12: Exemption
If, in the opinion of the Government; the enforcement or strict enforcement of all or any of the provisions of this Act will cause hard ship in any case or cases the Government may, by notification, setting out the ground therefor, exempt either permanently or for a specified period such case or cases from all or any of the provisions of this Act, subject to such conditions, if any, as the Government may deem it to impose.
SECTION 12A: Exercise of the powers of Government by the Village Panchayat or the Municipality and its employees
The powers conferred on the Government under this Act except the power under section 13 shall, subject to such conditions and restrictions as may be prescribed, be exercised by the Village Panchayat or Municipality, as the case may be, constituted under the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 (13 of 1994) and the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994 (20 of 1994) respectively or such other authority or officer as it may authorise, in respect of irrigation works other than major projects.]
SECTION 13: Power to make rules
(1)The Government may, by notification, make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act, and in particular-
(a) for the delegation of their powers to the Board of Revenue, Collectors or other authorities;
(b) for the provision of such appeals and revision as may be found necessary in respect of the orders passed by any authority to whom powers may be so delegated;
(c) for the manner of estimating the gross produce and prices under section 4;
(d) for all matters expressly required or allowed by this Act to be prescribed.
(2)All rules made under this section shall be published in the Fort St. George Gazette and upon such publication shall have effect as if enacted in this Act. The rules so made shall be placed on the table of the Legislative Assembly as soon as possible after they are published and shall be subject to such modifications, whether by way of repeal or amendments, as the Assembly may make within fourteen days during the session in which they are so laid.
