Chapter I PRELIMINARY

1. (1) This Act may be called the 1[Maharashtra Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act].
2. (2) It extends to the 2[Bombay area of the State of Maharashtra].

In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, 1[(1) "Agriculture" includes horticulture, the raising of crops, grass or garden produce, 2[the use by an agriculturist of the land held by him or a part thereof for the grazing of his cattle, the use of any land, whether or not an appanage to rice or paddy land, for the purpose of rab manure] but does not include allied pursuits or the cutting of wood only; (1A) "Agricultural labourer" means a person whose principal means of livelihood is manual labour on land;]

1. (2) "Agriculturist" means a person who cultivates land personally; 3[(2A) "allied pursuits" means dairy farming, poultry farming, breeding of livestock, grazing 4(other than the pasturage of one's own agricultural cattle)] and such other pursuits as may be prescribed; (2B) "appointed day" means the 15th day of June 1955; (2C) "backward area" means any area declared by the State Government to be a backward area being an area in which, in the opinion of the State Government, socially, economically and educationally backward classes of citizens predominate; and includes an area declared to be a Scheduled area under paragraph 6 of the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution of India; (2D) "ceiling area" means in relation to land held by a person whether as an owner or tenant or partly as owner and partly as tenant the area of land fixed as ceiling area under section 5 or 7; (2E) "Collector" includes an Assistant or Deputy Collector performing the duties and exercising the powers of the Collector under the 5Bombay Land Revenue Code, 1879 (Bom. V of 1879), or any other officer specially empowered by the State Government to perform the functions of the Collector under this Act;
2. (3) "Co-operative Society" means a society registered under the provisions of 6the Bombay Co-operative Societies Act, 1925 (Bom. VII of 1925), or a society deemed to have been registered under the said Act;
3. (4) "Co-operative Farming Society" means a society registered as such under 7the Bombay Co-operative Societies Act, 1925 (Bom. VII of 1925); 8[(5) "to cultivate" with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions means to till or husband the land for the purpose of raising or improving agricultural produce, whether by manual labour or by means of cattle or machinery, or to carry on any agricultural operation thereon; and the expression "uncultivated" shall be construed correspondingly. Explanation.- A person who takes up a contract to cut grass, or to gather the fruits or other produce of trees on any land, shall not on that account only be deemed to cultivate such land;] 9[(6) "to cultivate personally" means to cultivate land on ones own account-
   • (i) by one's own labour, or
   • (ii) by the labour of any member of one's family, or
   • (iii) under the personal supervision of oneself or any member of one's family, by hired labour or by servants on wages payable in cash or kind but not in crop share, being land, the entire area of which-
   • (a) is situate within the limits of single village, or
   • (b) is so situated that no piece of land is separated from another by a distance of more than five miles, or
   • (c) forms one compact block : Provided that the restrictions contained in clauses (a), (b) and (c) shall not apply to any land,-
     • (i) which does not exceed twice the ceiling area,
     • (ii) upto twice the ceiling area, if such land exceeds twice the ceiling area. Explanation I.- A widow or a minor, or a person who is subject to physical or mental disability, or a serving member of the armed forces shall be deemed, to cultivate the land personally if such land is cultivated by servants, or by hired labour, or through tenants. Explanation II.- In the case of a joint family, the land shall be deemed to have been cultivated personally if it is cultivated by any member of such family]; 10******* 11[(6A) "economic holding" means in relation to land held by a person, whether as an owner or tenant, or partly as owner and partly as tenant, the area of land fixed as an economic holding under section 6 or 7; (6B) "fragment" means a fragment as defined in sub-section (4) of section 2 of the 12Bombay Prevention of Fragmentation and Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1947 (Bom. LXII of 1947)]; 13[(6C) "to hold land" as an owner or tenant shall, for the purposes of clause (2D) of this section and 14[sections 32(1B), 32A], 32B, 15[and 63], means to be lawfully in actual possession of land as an owner or tenant, as the case may be];
4. (7) "Improvement" means with reference to any land, any work which adds to the value of the land and which is suitable thereto as also consistent with the purpose for which it is held; and includes,-
   • (a) the construction of tanks, wells, water channels, embankments and other works for storage, supply or distribution of water for agricultural purposes;
   • (b) the construction of works for the drainage of land or for the protection of land from floods or from erosion or other damage from water;
   • (c) the reclaiming, clearing, enclosing, levelling or terracing of land;
   • (d) the erection of buildings on the land, required for the convenient or profitable use of such land for agricultural purposes; and
   • (e) the renewal or reconstruction of any of the foregoing works or alterations therein or additions thereto as are not of the nature of ordinary repair; but does not include such clearances, embankments, levelling, enclosures, temporary wells, water channels and other works as are commonly made by the tenants in the ordinary course of agriculture; 16[(7A) "joint family" means an undivided Hindu family, and in the case of other persons a group or unit the members of which are by custom joint in estate or residence;] 17[(8) "land" means-
   • (a) land which is used for agricultural purposes 18[or which is so used but is left fallow, and includes the sites of farm buildings] appurtenant to such land; and
   • (b) for the purposes of sections 11, 16, 17, 17A, 17B, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28, 29, 29A, 30, 41, 63, 64, 64A, 84A, 84B and 84C-
     • (i) the sites of dwelling houses occupied by agriculturists, agricultural labourers or artisans and land appurtenant to such dwelling houses;
     • (ii) the sites of structures used by agriculturists for allied pursuits;]
5. (9) "Landholder" means a zamindar, jahagirdar, saranjamdar, inamdar, talukdar, malik or a khot or any person not hereinbefore specified who is a holder of land or who is interested in land, and whom the 19[State] Government has declared on account of the extent and value of the land or his interests therein to be a landholder for the purposes of this Act; 20[(9A) "landless person" means a person who, holding no land for agricultural purposes, whether as an owner or tenant, earns his livelihood principally by manual labour; and intends to take to the profession of agriculture and is capable of cultivating land personally];
6. (10) "Mamlatdar" includes a Mahalkari and any other officer, whom the 21[State] Government may appoint to perform the duties of a Mamlatdar under this Act; 22[(10A) "permanent tenant" means a person-
   • (a) who immediately before the commencement of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands (Amendment) Act, 1955 (Bom. XIII of 1956) (hereinafter called "the Amending Act, 1955"),-
     • (i) holds land as mulgenidar or mirasdar; or
     • (ii) by custom, agreement, or the decree or order of a Court holds the land on lease permanently; or
   • (b) the commencement or duration of whose tenancy cannot satisfactorily be proved by reason of antiquity; and includes a tenant whose name or the name of whose predecessor-in-title has been entered in the record of rights or in any public record or in any other revenue record as a permanent tenant immediately before the commencement of the Amending Act, 1955];
7. (11) "Person" includes 23[a joint] 24** family;
8. (12) "Prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
9. (13) "Profits of Agriculture" in respect of any land means the surplus remaining 25[with the holder] after the expenses of cultivation, including the wages of the cultivator working on the land are deducted form the gross produce; 26[Explanation.- If the members of the family of a holder work on the land for the purpose of cultivation thereof, the labour of such members shall be taken into account in estimating the expenses of cultivation referred to in this clause];
10. (14) "Protected tenant" means person who is recognised to be a protected tenant 27[under section 4-A;] 28 *******
11. (16) "Rent" means any consideration, in money or kind or both, paid or payable by a tenant on account of the use or occupation of the land held by him but shall not include the rendering of any personal service or labour; 29[(16A) "serving member of the armed forces" means a person in the service of the armed forces of the Union : Provided that if question arises whether any person is a serving member of the armed forces of the Union, such question shall be decided by the State Government, and its decision shall be final; (16B) "small holder" means an agriculturists cultivating land less in area than an economic holding who earns his livelihood principally by agriculture or by agricultural labour;]
12. (17) "Tenancy" means the relationship of landlord and tenant; 30[(18) "tenant" means a person who holds land on lease and include,-
    • (a) a person who is deemed to be a tenant under section 4;
    • (b) a person who is a protected tenant; and
    • (c) a person who is a permanent tenant; and the word "landlord" shall be construed accordingly;
13. (19) "Tribunal" means the Agricultural Lands Tribunal constituted under section 67; 31[(20) "village" means a village recognized as such in the revenue accounts;] 32[(20A) "warkas land" means land which is used for the purpose of rab manure in connection with rice cultivation and is classified in the revenue record as warkas;]
14. (21) Words and expressions used in this Act but not defined shall have the meaning assigned to them in 33the Bombay Land Revenue Code, 1879 (Bom. V of 1879), and the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (IV of 1882), as the case may be.