Chapter I PRELIMINARY

1. (1) This Act may be called the Maharashtra Management of Irrigation Systems by Farmers Act, 2005.
2. (2) It extends to the whole of the State of Maharashtra.
3. (3) Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, 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 areas and for different provisions: Provided that, the areas in respect of which the notification under section 5 has not been issued, it shall not come into force in such area and the provisions of the Maharashtra Irrigation Act, 1976 (Mah. XXXVIII of 1976) shall continue to apply in that area.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,- (I)(a) "adequate repairs and renovations", in relation to handing over of Canal System to Water Users Association, means those repairs and renovations which are essential for passing designated discharge, control and measuring of water, regulation of water level and convey water to all fields, by flow under gravity, in the area of operation of Water Users Association;

1. (b) "Agreement" means an agreement between the Water Users Association and the upper level Water Users' Association or Canal Officer, as the case may be, for the supply of water on volumetric basis for irrigation and handing over of physical system for operation, maintenance and management;
2. (c) "Applicable Water Entitlement (Water Quota)", in relation to a reservoir supported canal system, means the total volume of water guaranteed to be supplied to a Water Users Association at the agreed point of supply, in any year arrived at according to the rules made under this Act, by the Appropriate Authority and in the case of Minor Irrigation Projects having only one Water Users Association, available water for Irrigation at Canal Head;
3. (d) "Appropriate Authority" means the Appropriate Authority as defined in clause (2) of section 2 of the Maharashtra Irrigation Act, 1976 (Mah. XXXVIII of 1976) and also includes Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority and Irrigation Development Corporations established by the State Government by Acts of the State Legislature;
4. (e) "area of operation", in relation to a Water Users Association means the area notified under section 5 in respect of such Association;
5. (f) "Canal Officer" means the Canal Officer appointed under clause (4) of section 2 of the Maharashtra Irrigation Act, 1976 (Mah. XXXVIII of 1976) who is duly empowered by the State Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, for the purposes of exercising the powers and discharging the duties under this Act;
6. (g) "Canal System" means all canals and includes all lands commanded thereby;
7. (h) "Command Area", in relation to flow and lift irrigation on a canal, means the land under irrigable command of a canal, bound by hydraulic or other boundaries for which a Water Users Association is formed;
   • (i) "Competent Authority" means the Authority appointed under section 38;
8. (j) "Culturable Command Area" means the area under an Irrigation Project, which is culturable and can get irrigation facility through Canal System;
9. (k) "Deficit Year", in relation to a diversion system or reservoir based canal system, means a year in which the water availability at the head works is less than that in a Normal Year;
10. (l) "Designated Discharge" means designed discharge or a revised designed discharge which the Canal System can carry after its rehabilitation or renovation, as the case may be;
11. (m) "Entitlement" means bulk water use entitlement or individual water use entitlement, as determined by Appropriate Authority from time to time;
12. (n) "General Body", in relation to a Water Users Association means the body of all members of such Association;
13. (o) "Hydraulic Basis" means the basis for identifying an area of operation of Water Users Association served by one or more hydraulic structures such as Head Regulator of Canal, Distributary, Minor, Sub-Minor, Field Channel, Lift Irrigation Scheme or irrigation through lifting water by pumps and similar regulatory structures;
14. (p) "Irrigation Development Corporation" means an Irrigation Development Corporation established by the State Government by an Act of the State Legislature;
15. (q) "Lands under Management of Irrigation Systems by Farmers" means lands under irrigable command of a canal where the management of irrigation water distribution with all its related aspects including responsibility of maintenance is handed over to Water Users Association;
16. (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;
17. (s) "Lift Irrigation Water Users Association (LIWUA)", in relation to Management of Irrigation System by Farmers (MISF), means an association constituted for the purpose of lift irrigation, registered in the prescribed manner as provided in section 43;
18. (t) "Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority (MWRRA)" means the authority established by the State Government by an Act of the State Legislature for regulation of water resources in the State;
19. (u) "Major Irrigation Project", "Medium Irrigation Project" and "Minor Irrigation Project" means project having culturable command area exceeding ten thousand hectares, exceeding two thousand hectares but not exceeding ten thousand hectares, and not exceeding two thousand hectares, respectively;
    • (v) "Management of Irrigation Systems by Farmers (MISF)" means involvement of irrigation users in all aspects of irrigation, including planning, designing, constructing, supervising, financing, operating, managing, maintaining, monitoring and evaluating of the Canal System;
20. (w) "Member" means a member of a Water Users Association who is either a land holder or occupier of the delineated area of the Water Users Association and includes Water Users Association of another upper level association constituted under the provision of this Act;
    • (x) "Non-Irrigation Water Supply" means water supply from an irrigation project for purposes other than irrigation and includes water supply for the purposes such as domestic, Industrial, power generation, fisheries and as may be specified by the Appropriate Authority from time to time;
21. (y) "Normal year", in relation to a diversion system or a reservoir based canal system means a year in which the water availability at the headworks (including the water that is allowed to be lifted from the reservoir and losses therefrom) is as envisaged in the Irrigation Project Report or as revised subsequently by the State Government;
22. (z) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
23. (aa) "Prescribed Unit Water Use Entitlement", in relation to a reservoir based canal system means the total volume of water that is available in an irrigation year or season per hectare of Culturable Command Area at the point of supply to Water Users Association, arrived at after considering prior sanction for Non-Irrigation purposes and all the losses and gains from the canal system in a Normal Year;
24. (ab) "Prescribed Unit Water Allowance", in relation to a canal system which is not reservoir supported, means the discharge allocable per hectare of the Culturable Command Area, measured at the point of supply to a Command Area;
25. (ac) "Previous Dues", in relation to assessment and recovery of water charges, means the outstanding dues of members of Water Users Association pertaining to the period prior to the date of handing over the management of irrigation systems;
26. (ad) "Reservoir based canal system" means a canal system where certain per cent of the volume of water as specified by the Appropriate Authority is stored, making the availability of water predictable for use;
27. (ae) "rules" means the rules made under this Act;
28. (af) "Rotational Water Supply (RWS)" means a system of water distribution in which water is supplied to water users by rotation, according to an approved schedule indicating the day, duration and time of supply;
29. (ag) "Sanctioned Water Use Entitlement", in relation to an Agreement with Water Users Association on a reservoir based canal system means, the total volume of water guaranteed to be supplied to the Water Users Association, at the agreed point of supply, in different seasons, in a Normal Year;
30. (ah) "State Government" or "Government" means the Government of Maharashtra;
31. (ai) "Surplus Year", in relation to a diversion system or reservoir based canal system means a year in which the water availability at the headworks is more than that in the Normal Year;
32. (aj) "Water Allowance" means the discharge allotted at the point of supply to the Water Users Association;
33. (ak) "Water Users" means and includes any individual or body corporate or an Association, using water from a Government source of irrigation;
34. (al) "Water Users Association", in relation to Management of Irrigation systems by Farmers means all types of Water Users Association at all levels of canal system for flow as well as lift irrigation;
35. (am) "Water Users Association at Minor Level" means the primary unit of Water Users Association;
    • (II) Words and expressions used in this Act, but not defined herein, shall have their respective meanings as assigned to them in the Maharashtra Irrigation Act, 1976 (Mah. XXXVIII of 1976)