Definitions.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

1. (i) "agriculture" with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions includes,-

1. (a) horticulture;
2. (b) the raising of crops (including plantation crops) grass or garden produce;
3. (c) dairy farming;
4. (d) poultry farming;
5. (e) breeding of livestock and bees;
6. (f) grazing; but does not include the cutting of wood only;
   • (ii) "Agricultural Labourer" means a person who does not hold any agricultural land and whose principal means of livelihood is by manual labour on agricultural land, in the capacity of a labourer on hire or on exchange, whether paid in cash or in kind or partly in cash and partly in kind;
   • (iii) "appropriate level of debt" means the amount determined by the Commission as repayable by the debtor under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 5;
   • (iv) "Commission" means the Telangana State Commission for Debt Relief constituted under section 3;
   • (v) "Co-operative Society" means a society registered or deemed to have been registered under the 1Telangana Co-operative Societies Act, 1964;
   • (vi) "creditor" means any person engaged in money lending, whether under a licence or not and includes his heirs, legal representatives, assignees, Co-operative Society and any other person as may be notified by the Government;
   • (vii) "debt" means any liability, whether secured or unsecured due from a farmer, agricultural labourer and rural artisan on or before the date of commencement of this Act or, in respect of any particular distress affected area in the State, on or before such date as the Government may, by notification in the Gazette, specify whether payable under a contract, or under a decree or order of any Court or tribunal or otherwise and includes, · any sum payable to,- · an institutional creditor; · a co-operative society; · any sum borrowed by a farmer, agricultural labourer and rural artisan from the creditor; but does not include any loan amount taken by the farmer, agricultural labourer and rural artisan for commercial purposes or luxury other than agricultural allied commercial purposes, to augment his income and the amount payable to Central or State Governments and the amount due to Local Self Government Institutions, Statutory Bodies, Central or State Public Sector Undertakings and other Institutions as may be notified by the Government;
   • (viii) "district" means a revenue district;
   • (ix) "distress affected area" means revenue district or districts or part thereof in the State, declared by the Government under section 6, for the purpose of this Act;
   • (x) "distress affected crop" means any crop or crops of the State declared by the Government under section 6, for the purpose of this Act;
   • (xi) "distress affected farmer" means a farmer declared as such by the Commission and includes agricultural labourer and rural artisan for the purpose of this Act; Note: Farmer means "a small farmer for the purpose of this Act".
   • (xii) "fair rate of interest" means the rate of interest determined by the Commission under clause (b) of subsection (1) of section 5 of this Act;
   • (xiii) "financial institution" means any financial institution constituted by or under any Central Act, State Act for the time being in force and owned and controlled by the Government;
   • (xiv) "Government" means the Government of Telangana;
   • (xv) "institutional creditor" means the State Bank of India or any Subsidiary Bank within the meaning of clause (k) of section 2 of the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Bank’s) Act, 1959 or any Scheduled Bank;
   • (xvi) "interest" means any amount or other thing paid or payable in excess of the principal sum borrowed or pecuniary obligation incurred, or where anything has been borrowed in kind, in excess of what has been so borrowed, by whatsoever name such amount or thing may be called, and whether the same is paid or payable entirely in cash or entirely in kind or partly in cash and partly in kind and whether the same is expressly mentioned or not in the document of contract, if any;
   • (xvii) "member" means a member of the Commission constituted under section 3 of the Act and includes the Chairman; (xviii) "notification" means a notification published in the Telangana Gazette; and the word ‘notified’ shall be construed accordingly;
   • (xix) "penal interest" means any amount payable in excess of interest on a debt;
   • (xx) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made by the Government under this Act;
7. (xxi) "principal amount" means the amount originally advanced together with the amount, if any, as has been subsequently advanced, notwithstanding any stipulation to treat any interest as capital and notwithstanding that the debt has been renewed, whether by the same farmer or by his heirs, assignees, or legal representatives or by any other person acting on his behalf or on his interest, and whether in favour of the same creditor or his heirs, assignees or legal representatives or of any other person acting on his behalf or in his interest;
8. (xxii) "rural artisan" means a person who does not hold any agricultural land and whose principal means of livelihood is production or repair of traditional tools, implements and other articles or things used for agriculture or purposes ancillary thereto and includes a fisherman or any person who normally earns his livelihood by practicing a craft either by his own labour or by the labour of all or any of the members of his family in rural area; (xxiii) "Secretary" means the Secretary to the Commission appointed under sub-section (4) of section 3;
9. (xxiv) "small farmer" means a person whose principal means of livelihood is income derived from agricultural land and who holds and personally cultivates, or who cultivates as a tenant or share cropper or mortgagee with possession, agricultural land which does not exceed in extent,-
10. (a) in the case of persons other than the members of the Scheduled Tribes, one hectare, if it is wet, or two hectares, if it is dry;
11. (b) in the case of the members of the Scheduled Tribes, two hectares, if it is wet, or four hectares, if it is dry; Explanation:- For the purposes of computing the extent of land under this clause, one hectare of wet land shall be deemed to be equal to two hectares of dry land.