The Maharashtra Shetgi Watan Rights (Ratnagiri) Abolition Act

1. (1) This Act may be called 1[the Maharashtra Shetgi Watan Rights (Ratnagiri) Abolition Act].
2. (2) It extends to the district of Ratnagiri in the State of Bombay.
3. (3) It shall come into force on such 2date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

1. (a) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
2. (b) "shetgi watan" means the watan, commonly known as shetgi watan or shetki watan, consisting of-
   • (i) the first right of weighment or measurement of all merchandise imported by the land route into the market (peth) of the town of Rajapur in Rajapur Taluka of the Ratnagiri district, and
   • (ii) the right to collect shetgi watan emoluments in respect thereof, under any custom, usage, grant, sanad, takid, or other title;
3. (c) "shetgi watan emolument" means the fee by way of labha or salai or by whatever name called, and whether leviable in kind or otherwise, as an incident of the shetgi watan;
4. (d) "shetye watandar" means the holder of a shetgi watan or any part thereof.

Notwithstanding any custom, usage, grant, sanad or decree or order of a court,-

1. (a) all shetgi watans including all incidents thereof or relating thereto, shall be and are hereby abolished, and
2. (b) all rights of shetye watandars to any shetgi watan emoluments shall be deemed to have been extinguished.

A shetye watandar shall, for the abolition or extinguishment of any of his rights by virtue of section 3, be entitled to compensation at the rate of three times the average of the value of shetgi watan emoluments collected by him during the three years immediately preceding the commencement of this Act.

1. (1) Any shetye watandar entitled to compensation under section 4 may, within six months from the commencement of this Act, make an application to the Collector in the prescribed form, accompanied by the prescribed information, for determining the amount of compensation payable to him under the said section.
2. (2) On receipt of such application the Collector shall, after holding a formal enquiry in the manner provided by Chapter XII of the Bombay Land Revenue Code, 1879 (Bom. V of 1879), make an award determining the amount of compensation.

Any person aggrieved by the award of the Collector may, within 60 days of the date of such award, appeal to the Bombay Revenue Tribunal constituted under the Bombay Revenue Tribunal Act, 1939 (Bom. XII of 1939), notwithstanding anything in the said Act. The provisions of sections 4, 5, 12 and 14 of the Indian Limitation Act, 1908 (IX of 1908), shall apply to the filing of such appeals.

1. (1) The Bombay Revenue Tribunal shall, after giving notice to the appellant and the State Government, decide the appeal and record its decision.
2. (2) In deciding an appeal under this Act the Bombay Revenue Tribunal shall have and may exercise all the powers of a court, and shall follow the like procedure which a court follows, in deciding appeals from a decree or order of an original court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (V of 1908).

Notwithstanding anything contained in the Court-fees Act, 1870 (VII of 1870), every appeal made under this Act to the Bombay Revenue Tribunal shall bear a court-fee stamp of such value as may be prescribed.

Notwithstanding anything contained in the Court-fees Act, 1870 (VII of 1870), every appeal made under this Act to the Bombay Revenue Tribunal shall bear a court-fee stamp of such value as may be prescribed.

The State Government may, subject to the condition of previous publication, make rules for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this Act.