Section 2 in The West Bengal Relief of Rural Indebtedness 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, bee-keeping, piggery, poultry farming and growing of fruits, vegetables and the like;(b)"agricultural labourer" means a person who follows any one or more of the following agricultural occupations in the capacity of a labourer on hire or exchange, whether paid in cash or in kind or partly in cash and partly in kind, namely :-(i)farming including cultivation and, tillage of soil,(ii)dairy farming,(iii)production, cultivation, growing and harvesting of any horticultural commodity,(iv)raising of livestock, bees or poultry, and(v)any practice performed on a farm as incidental to or in conjunction with farm operations (including any forestry or timbering operations) and preparation for market and delivery to storage or to market or to carriage for transportation of farm products;(c)"Appellate Officer" means an officer appointed under sub-section (1) of section 12;(d)"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 also a person who normally earns his livelihood by practising craft either by his own labour or by the labour of the members of his family in the rural area;(e)"authority" means an officer appointed under section 3;(f)"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, a banking institution notified by the Central Government under section 51 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and also includes any other financial institution which, may be notified in this behalf by the State Government;(g)"Collector" includes any officer not below the rank of Deputy Collector appointed by the State Government to exercise all or any of the powers of a Collector under this Act;(h)"debt" includes all liabilities in cash or in kind incurred by a debtor on or before the first day of July, 1975, either voluntarily or by or under a decree or order of any Court and which may be secured or unsecured and payable presently or in future, but does not include the following, namely :-(i)any rent due in respect of a property let out to a debtor,(ii)any liability arising out of a breach of trust,(iii)any liability for damages against a wrong-doer for any act of tort committed by him,(iv)any claim for wages or by way of remuneration for service rendered,(v)any liability for maintenance arising under an order of a Court or otherwise,[* * * * * * *] [Sub-clause (vi) omitted by W.B. Act 36 of 1976.](vii)any share of the produce of land payable on account of lane cultivated under the system known as adhi, barga or bhag.[* * * * * *] [Sub-clause (viii) omitted W.B. Act 36 of 1976.](ix)any sum recoverable as a public demand under the Bengal Public Demands Recovery Act, 1913,(x)any sum due to the Central or any State Government or a bank or a co-operative society or a local or statutory authority or the Life Insurance Corporation of India.Explanation I. - 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;(i)"debtor" means a person who is resident outside an area included in a Corporation, municipality, notified area or Cantonment and who belongs to any of the following categories, namely; -(i)marginal farmer,(ii)small farmer,(iii)agricultural labourer, and(iv)artisan;(j)"farmer" means a person who is engaged in agriculture;(k)"marginal farmer" means a farmer who possesses not more than two hectares if he is member of any of the Schedule Tribes, and one hectare in other cases, of land, either as an owner or as a raiyat or as a share-cropper;(l)"prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;(m)"small farmer" means a farmer who possesses more than two hectares but less than four hectares if he is a member of any of the Scheduled Tribes, and more than one hectare but less than two hectares in other cases, of land, either as an owner or as a raiyat or as a share-cropper.
