Definitions

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— (a) "Ache" means water; (b) "Appointed day" means the day appointed under sub-section (3) of section 1; (c) "Area of operation" in relation to a Farmers' Organisation means an area of the land area under an irrigation system as notified by the Government; (d) "Authorized Officer" means an officer of the Water Resources Department authorised by the Government or by the Head of Department or by the District Collector, as the case may be, to exercise any of the powers under this Act; (e) "Board of Management" means the body of persons elected by the members of the Farmers' Organisation; (f) "Canal System" includes main canals, branch canals, distributaries, minors, water courses and any other works connected thereto for the supply or channelising of water and all field channels and other related appurtenances; (g) "Competent Authority" means an officer of the Water Resources Department authorised by the State Government or by the Head of Department or by the District Collector, as the case may be, to perform the functions of the competent authority under this Act; (h) "Distributary" means a canal supplied, directly or indirectly, from a main canal or branch canal; (i) "Drainage system" includes channels, either natural or artificial, for the discharge of waste or surplus water and all works connected therewith; (j) "Farmers' Organisation" means an organization comprising the land holders in the area of operation, namely (i) Water Users Association; (ii) Distributary Committee; (iii) Project Committee; (k) "Field Channel" means a channel existing or to be constructed by the beneficiaries or by the Government beyond the outlet; (l) "Field Drain" means a channel excavated and maintained by the beneficiaries or by the Government for the discharge of waste or surplus water from the land; (m) "Government" means the State Government of Chhattisgarh; (n) "Irrigation System" includes all channels, works, reservoirs and structures constructed, maintained or controlled by the Government for the purpose of irrigation; (o) "Land holder" means a person who holds the land as Bhumiswami under the provisions of the Chhattisgarh Land Revenue Code, 1959 (No. 20 of 1959); (p) "Main Canal" means a canal as defined in the Chhattisgarh Irrigation Act; (q) "Member" means a person who has a right to vote in the Farmers' Organisation; (r) "Notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette; (s) "Ole" means water; (t) "Outlet" means an opening constructed by the Government in a canal through which water is delivered into a field channel; (u) "Person" means any individual, firm, company, association or body of individuals; (v) "President" means the President of the Committee or Association; (w) "Water Usage Charges" means the charges payable by the Land holders for the water supplied or made available for irrigation or other purposes by the Water Resources Department or Farmers' Organisation; (x) "Water Users" includes any person or group of persons using water for irrigation, domestic, agricultural, industrial or other purposes; (y) "Water Users Association" means a Water Users Association constituted under this Act. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:— (a) "agreement" means an agreement between the Water Users' Association and the Project Committee or Canal Officer as the case may be, for all aspects of irrigation management including rehabilitation of the distributory system, supply of water on volumetric basis for irrigation and handing over of physical system for operation, maintenance, management and related purposes; (b) "area of operation" in relation to farmers' organisation means a contiguous block of land in the command area of an irrigation system as may be notified by the State Government for the purposes of this Act; (c) "ayacut road" means a road within the area of operation of the farmers organization, and shall include a road vested in a Gram Panchayat, Janpad Panchayat, Zila Panchayat, Nagar Panchayat; Municipal Council, Municipal Corporation or Public Works Department of the State Government. (d) "canal officer" means the following Officers of the Water Resources Department namely:— (i) Chief Engineer; (ii) Superintending Engineer; (iii) Executive Engineer; (iv) Sub-Divisional Officer; (v) Canal Deputy Collector and, (vi) Sub-Engineer (e) "command area" means an area irrigated or capable of being irrigated either by gravitational flow or by lift irrigation or by any other method from a Government or the Government aided source and includes every such area whether it is called 'ayacut' or by any other name under any law for the time being in force; (f) "competent authority" means the competent authority appointed under Section 29; (g) "distributory system" means and includes, (i) all main canals, branch canals, distributories and minor canals constructed for the supply and distribution of water for irrigation. (ii) all works, structures and appliances connected with the distribution of water for irrigation; and (iii) all field channels and other related channels and structures under a pipe outlet; (h) "drainage system" means and includes, - (i) channels either natural or artificial, for the discharge of waste or surplus water and all works connected therewith or ancillary thereto; (ii) escape channels from an irrigation or distribution and other works connected therewith, but does not include works for removal of sewage; (iii) all collecting drains and main drains to drain off surplus water from field drains; and (iv) all field drains and related structures under pipe outlets; (i) "farmers' organisation" wherever it occurs, shall mean and include, - (i) water users' association at the primary level consisting of all the water users as constituted under section 4; (ii) distributory committee at the secondary level as constituted under section 7; and (iii) project committee at the project level, as constituted under section 10; (j) "farmers participation in management of irrigation system" means involvement of water users in all aspects of irrigation in the irrigation system including planning, designing, operation, maintenance, rehabilitation, modernization, administering rights, resolving of conflicts, determination and collection of Irrigation Water Rate, monitoring, evaluation, budgeting, and financial management, and extends to providing and coordinating irrigation and agriculture related services; (k) "field channel" includes a channel existing or to be constructed by the State Government or by the land holders or by an agency to receive and distribute water from a pipe outlet or an opening in a water course for irrigation of field belonging to Government or private owners; (l) "field drain" includes a channel excavated and maintained by the land holder or by any other agency, to discharge waste or surplus water from the land holding under a pipe outlet and includes drains, escape channels and other similar works existing or to be constructed; (m) "financing agency" means any commercial bank or any co-operative society or any other bank or organisation established or incorporated under any law for the time being in force, which lends money for the development of the area of operation of the farmers' organisation; (n) "general body" in relation to Water Users' Association means the body of all members of such Association; (o) "hydraulic basis" means the basis for identifying a viable irrigated area served by one or more hydraulic structures such as headworks, distributories, minors, pipe outlets and the like; (p) "irrigation system" means such major, medium and minor irrigation system excluding those which are under the control of Panchayat for harnessing water for irrigation and other allied uses from Government sources and also sources created by means of community participation, which is duly permitted by the District Collector and includes reservoirs, open head channels, diversion systems, anicuts, stop dams, lift irrigation schemes, bore/tube wells, tanks, wells and the like and such irrigation system irrigating an area greater than 40 hectares; Explanation: -(i) 'major irrigation system' means irrigation system under major irrigation project having irrigable command area of more than 10,000 hectares; (ii) 'medium irrigation system' means irrigation system under medium irrigation project having irrigable command area of more than 2,000 hectares and up to 10,000 hectares; (iii) 'minor irrigation system' means irrigation system under minor irrigation project having irrigable command area of more than 40 hectares and up to 2,000 hectares; (q) "land holder" means an owner and or a tenant recorded as such in the record of rights under the Chhattisgarh Land Revenue Code, 1959 (No. 20 of 1959) in respect of land in the notified ayacut area of an irrigation system; (r) "lift irrigation" or "lift irrigation scheme" in relation to lift irrigation Water Users' Association means all lift irrigation Schemes, wherein Government permission is required for lifting water, but excluding the lift irrigation schemes on private open wells and bore wells; (s) "lift and tube well irrigation water users' association" in relation to management of irrigation system by farmers, means an association constituted for the purpose of lift and tube well irrigation, constituted in the prescribed manner as provided under Sections 21 and 22 of the Act; (t) "maintenance" means execution of such works on the irrigation system as are necessary to ensure that the physical system designed to the standards operates for proper distribution of water to the landholders in the area of operation; (u) "managing committee" means the managing committee of any farmers' organisation; (v) "member" means the member of any farmers' organisation. (w) "operational plan" means a schedule of irrigation deliveries with details of the mode and duration of supplies drawn up for regulation of irrigation in the command area of an irrigation system; (x) "prescribed" mean prescribed by Rules made under the Act; (y) "territorial constituency" for the purposes of this Act means an area delineated on hydraulic basis and to the extent possible represents an area irrigated by one common canal; (z) "warabandi" means a system of distribution of water allocation to Water Users by turn, according to an approved schedule indicating the days, duration and the time of supply; (za) "water allocation" in relation to an irrigation system means distribution of water determined from time to time by a farmer's organisation in its area of operation; Provided that the allocation at the Project area level would be determined jointly by the farmers organisations and the Canal Officer, as the case may be; (zb) "water user" means and includes any individual or body corporate or a society using water for agriculture, domestic, power, non-domestic, commercial, industrial or any other purpose from a Government source of irrigation; (2) The words and expressions used in this Act, but not defined, shall have the same meaning as assigned to them in the Chhattisgarh Irrigation Act, 1931 (No. 3 of 1931).