Vidhi Codex

The Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority Act, 2005

Chapter I PRELIMINARY

General200537 sections7 chapters
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Chapter I PRELIMINARY

1. Short title, extend and commencement.

Statutory text
  1. (1) This Act may be called the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority, Act, 2005.
  2. (2) It extends to the whole of the State of Maharashtra.
  3. (3) It shall come into force on such date1 as the State Government may, by notification in Official Gazette, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different areas and for different sections of this Act.

Chapter I PRELIMINARY

2. Definitions.

Statutory text
  1. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
    • (a) "Aggregate Bulk Water Entitlement" means an aggregate of Entitlements issued to a group or association of Water User Entities for the purpose of joint management of the Bulk Water Entitlements;
    • (b) "Allocation" means the portion or percentage of an Entitlement declared annually or seasonally by the Prescribed Authority to be made available to the holder of an entitlement based upon the availability of water for the period within the sub-basin, river basin, project or storage facility for that season or year; and during water crisis or scarcity on the principle of proportionate entitlement;
    • (c) "Authority" means the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority established under section 3;
    • (d) "Board" means the State Water Board constituted under section 15;
    • (e) "Bulk Water Entitlement" shall mean the volumetric entitlement to a share of the surface water resources produced by a project, river system or storage facility, for a specific category or Categories of Use, and deliverable within a specific period of time as specifically provided in the order granting the Entitlement;
    • (f) "Category of Use" shall mean use of water for different purposes such as for domestic, agricultural irrigation, agro-based industries, industrial or commercial, environmental, etc., and includes such other purposes as may be prescribed;
    • (g) "Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Authority;
    • (h) "Council" means State Water Council constituted under section 16;
      • (i) "Entitlement" means any authorisation by any River Basin Agency to use the water for the purposes of this Act;
    • (j) "Government" or "State Government" means the Government of Maharashtra;
    • (k) "Governor's Directives" means the directives issued by the Governor under rule 7 of the Development Boards for Vidarbha, Marathwada and the rest of the Maharashtra Order, 1994 made under clause (2) of article 371 of the Constitution of India; [1(k-1) "High Power Committee" means the committee constituted by the State Government under the Government Resolution, Irrigation Department, No. Misc. 1001/ (154-01)/I. M.-(P), dated the 21st January 2003;]
    • (l) "Individual Water Entitlement" means any authorization by the Authority to use the water other than Bulk Water Entitlement of an Aggregate Bulk Water Entitlement;
    • (m) "Integrated State Water Plan" means a water plan approved by the State Water Council;
    • (n) "Irrigation Project" means a project constructed to provide irrigation facilities to the land situated in the command area in accordance with the project reports or orders in this regard, as revised from time to time;
    • (o) "Member" means a Member of the Authority and includes the Chairperson;
    • (p) "prescribed" means prescribed by the rules made under this Act;
    • (q) "Prescribed Authority" means any authority at various levels within the water resource management system that has been duly authorised by the Authority to determine and declare, on an annual or seasonal basis, the quota or amount of water available within a system for use as an allocated percentage of the Entitlements duly issued by the Authority;
    • (r) "Project Level Entity" means a group of all Water User Entities, from a common supply source within a water resources project;
    • (s) "Quota" means a volumetric quantity of water made available to an Entitlement holder, which is derived by multiplying an Entitlement by the annual or seasonal allocation percentage;
    • (t) "Regulations" means regulations made by the Authority under this Act;
    • (u) "River Basin Agency" means any one of the following River Basin Development Corporations operating in the River Basin and includes the Government Authorities as specified by the Government, from time to time,-
  2. (1) the Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation established under the Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation Act, 1996 (Mah. XV of 1996);
  3. (2) the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation established under the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation Act, 1997 (Mah. XXVI of 1997);
  4. (3) the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation established under the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation Act, 1997 (Mah. III of 1998);
  5. (4) the Tapi Irrigation Development Corporation established under the Maharashtra Tapi Irrigation Development Corporation Act, 1997 (Mah. IV of 1998);
  6. (5) the Godavari Marathwada Irrigation Development Corporation established under the Maharashtra Godavari Marathwada Irrigation Development Corporation Act, 1998 (Mah. XXIII of 1998); [2(u-1) "Sectoral allocation" means the allocation made in a water resources project by the State Government to the various Categories of Use;]
    • (v) "Selection Committee" means a Selection Committee constituted under section 5; [3(v-1) "Special Invitee" means a person appointed to the Authority under clause (f) of subsection (1) of section 4;]
    • (w) "State" means the State of Maharashtra;
      • (x) "State Water Policy" means the Water Policy of the State;
    • (y) "Sub-Basin" means a hydrologic unit, or hydrologic sub-unit of a river basin within the State;
    • (z) "Sub-surface entitlement" means an Individual or Bulk Water Entitlement to a volumetric quantity of water to be extracted in the command area of the irrigation project from a tube well, bore well or other well or by any other means of extraction of sub-surface water, or a group or field or wells duly and legally permitted, registered and constructed in accordance with standards prescribed by the Authority;
    • (za) "Utility" means any Water User Entity responsible for the management, treatment and distribution of domestic or municipal water supplies (including water used for industries);
    • (zb) "Volumetric" means a measurement of water on the basis of volume as per the norms of the Bureau of Indian Standard;
    • (zc) "Water User Entity" means any Water User's Association, Utility, Industrial User's Association, Other User's Association or any other group which is authorised by the Authority to receive and utilize a water Entitlement;
    • (zd) "Water User's Association" means a Water User's Association formed at the minor level or above, which represents the users of irrigation water from that segment of any project, canal or natural flow or storage system.
  7. (2) Words and expressions used and not defined in this Act but defined in various irrigation or water resources related Acts in the State shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in those Acts.

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