Section 2 in The West Bengal Rural Indebtedness Relief Act, 1975
2. Definitions.
- In this, Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, -(a)"agriculture" includes horticulture and dairy farming, pisciculture, forestry, sericulture, beekeeping, piggery, poultry farming and growing of fruits, vegetable and the like ;(b)"bank" means a banking company as defined in clause (c) of section 5 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and includes the State Bank of India constituted under the State Bank of India Act, 1955, a subsidiary bank as defined in the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959, a corresponding new bank as defined in clause (d) of section 2 of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970 and includes any other financial institution which may be notified in this behalf by the State Government;(c)"debt" includes all liabilities in cash or in kind incurred by a debtor on or before the first day of July, 1975, either secured or unsecured and payable presently or in future, but does not include the following, namely :-(i)any share of the produce of land payable on account of land cultivated under the system known as adhi, barga or bhag;(ii)any mortgage by a raiyat of his holding or any share thereof under a usufructuary mortgage referred to in sub-section (1) of section 7 of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955 ;(iii)any sum recoverable as a public demand under the Bengal Public Demands Recovery Act, 1913 ;(iv)any sum due to the State Government or a bank or a co-operative society or a local or statutory authority or the Life Insurance Corporation of India ;Explanation. - Any liability incurred by a debtor on or after the first day of July, 1975, which is in fact a substitution of a liability previously incurred by him shall be deemed to be a debt within the meaning of this Act.Explanation II. - For the purposes of this Act, debt includes, all kinds of mortgage and a mortgage includes an out and out sale with an agreement, written or oral, for reconveyance of the property transferred, to the transferor;(d)"debtor" means a person who is resident outside an area included in Corporation, Municipality, notified area or Cantonment and who belongs to any of the following categories, namely :-(i)marginal farmer,(ii)small farmer,(iii)share-cropper,(iv)landless labourer, and(v)artisan;(e)"farmer" means a person who is engaged in agriculture;(f)"loan" means an advance, whether of money or in kind, made or condition of repayment with interest and includes any transaction which is in substance a loan;(g)"marginal farmer" means a farmer who owns land measuring not more than one hectare;(h)"small farmer" means a farmer who owns land measuring more than one hectare, but less than two hectares.
