The Kerala Farmers' Debt Relief Act &Rules
santhosh
(Querist) 27 April 2008
This query is : Resolved
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H. S. Thukral
(Expert) 28 April 2008
r u looking for Kerala Farmers' Debt Relief Commission Act ?
Kerala Farmers' Debt Relief Commission Act, 2006
An Act to provide relief to those farmers who are in distress due to indebtedness, by constituting a Commission with power to pass awards after adjudication and to recommend appropriate measures for the redressal of the grievances of such farmers through conciliation and negotiation and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. WHEREAS, the benefits conferred by the Kerala Agricultural Debtors' (Temporary Relief) Act, 2001 (Act 19 of 2001) are available only in respect of debts incurred by farmers before the 29th December 2001, on which date the said Act came into force; AND WHEREAS, even after the said date the farmer indebtedness in the State continued to be on the increase due to various factors; AND WHEREAS, certain districts in the State are afflicted by severe distress due to the agrarian crisis, and it ruined many farmers financially and in some cases led to suicide; AND WHEREAS, several suits and other proceedings have been filed in courts, tribunals and other authorities for the recovery of debts accrued from farmers; AND WHEREAS, it is expedient to provide relief to the farmers who are in distress due to indebtedness, by constituting a Commission with power to pass awards after adjudication and recommend appropriate measures for the redressal of the grievances of such farmers through conciliation and negotiation and for matters connected there with or incidental thereto; BE it enacted in the Fifty-seventh year of the Republic of India as follows:-
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1. Short title and commencement.- (1) This Act may be called the Kerala Farmers' Debt Relief Commission Act, 2006.
(2) It shall come into force at once.
2. Definitions.- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(i) "agriculture" includes horticulture, farming and growing of medicinal plants, crops and intercrops, fruits, vegetables, flowers, grass, fodder grass and trees or any kind of cultivation of soil, conducting nursery, breeding and keeping of live stock including fish mussel, bees, silkworm, poultry, duck, cattle or pig and the use of land for agriculture allied activities or any other agricultural purposes;
(ii) "agricultural labourer" means a person who, in consideration of the wages payable to him by a landowner, works on the agricultural land of such land owner or does any other agricultural operation;
(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 Kerala State Farmers' Debt Relief Commission constituted under section 3;
(v) "Co-operative Society" means a society registered or deemed to have been registered under the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, 1969 (21 of 1969);
(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 on or before the commencement of this Act 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 from the creditor;
But does not include any loan amount taken by the farmer for commercial purposes or luxury other than agricultural allied commercial purposes, to augment his income and the amount payable to Central or State Governments or other State Government or Governments of Union Territories and the amount due to Local Self Government Institutions, Statutory Bodies, Central or State Public Sector Undertakings and other Institutions as may be specified by the Government by notification;
