Chapter I PRELIMI ARY

(1) This Act may be called the Gujarat Water Users’ Participatory Irrigation Management Act, 2007.

(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Gujarat.

(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of the Act.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

(1) "Association" means a Water Users’ Association of a minor canal service area established under section 5;

(2) "Committee" means a Managing Committee;

(3) "Competent Authority in relation to a minor canal service area" means such officer of the State Government as it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint for such service area as may be specified therein;

(4) "field channel" means any channel or pipe (not being a water course) beyond an outlet or, as the case may be, a turn out constructed by the State Government to supply water from a water course or an outlet and maintained by the holder of land either by himself or jointly with other holders of lands or constructed and maintained by the holder of land by himself or jointly with other holders of lands to obtain water from a water course or an outlet, and includes all subsidiary works connected with any such channel or pipe;

(5) "holder of land" or "land holder" means a person who is lawfully in possession of such land, whether such possession is actual or not;

(6) "irrigable command area of a minor canal" means such area of land as is irrigated or is capable of being irrigated from the minor canal, being under its command and includes— (a) such area of cultivated land which, in the opinion of a Competent Authority, receives by percolation or otherwise from a minor canal an advantage beneficial to crop in such land and (b) hydraulically managed irrigated area or an area capable of being irrigated either by gravitational flow or by lift irrigation;

(7) "minor canal service area" means the area determined as a minor canal service area by the Competent Authority under sub-section (1) of section 3;

(8) "Managing Committee" means a Managing Committee of an Association constituted under section 29;

(9) "outlet" means an opening which is constructed by the State Government in a minor canal through which water is delivered into a water course or a field channel;

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

(11) "rotational water supply system" means the system of allocation and distribution of water to land in a service area equitably, in such proportion as the area of culturable command of such land bears to the total area of culturable command of a service area, according to the schedule for supply of water specifying among other things the day, turn, time and duration of such supply of water;

(12) "service area" means the minor canal service area;

(13) "turn out" means an opening which is constructed in a water course through which water is delivered into a field channel;

(14) "water course" means a channel— (a) constructed and maintained by any Government to supply water from an outlet or (b) constructed by any Government for such supply and maintained by the holder of land either by himself or jointly with other holders of land or (c) constructed and maintained for such supply by the holder of land by either himself or jointly with other holders of land and includes all subsidiary works connected with such channel;

(15) "year" means the financial year commencing on and from the 1st April of one year and ending on the 31st March of the next year;

(16) other words and expressions used but not defined in this Act shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Bombay Irrigation Act, 1879.

(1) For the purposes of this Act, the Competent Authority shall determine the irrigable command area of all outlets of a minor canal and declare the same, by notification in the Official Gazette, as a minor canal service area.

(2) Where the Competent Authority is of the opinion that it is necessary so to do in the interest of efficient and equitable management of irrigation in the service area, it may, subject to such rules as may be made in this behalf, by notification in the Official Gazette, - (a) increase the limits of the service area, (b) decrease the limits of the service area, or (c) alter the boundaries of the service area.