Section 2 in Gujarat Patel Watans Abolition Act, 1961
2. Definition.- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-
(1)"appointed day" means the date on which this Act comes into force;(2)"authorised holder" means a person in whole the ownership of a watanland, validly alienated permanently by the watandar, whether by sale, gift or otherwise under the existing watan law, vests;(3)"Code" means,-(i)in the Bombay and Saurashtra areas of the State of Gujarat the Bombay Land Revenue Code, 1879, (Bom. V of 1879) and(ii)in the Kutch area of the State of Gujarat the Bombay Land Revenue Code, 1879, (Bom. V of 1879) as extended to that area;(4)"Collector" includes an officer appointed by the State Government to perform the function and exercise the powers Collector under this Act;(5)"commutation settlement" means a settlement made or confirmed under the law application to a patel watan, relieving the holder his heirs and successors of the liability to perform the services appertaining to the patel watan;(6)"existing watan law" includes any enactment, ordinance, rule, bye-law, regulation, order, notification or any other instrument having the force immediately before the appointed day;(7)"hereditary patelship" means every village office of a revenue or police patel held hereditarily under the existing watan law for the performance of duties connected with the administration or collection of the public revenue of a village or with the village police or with the settlement of boundaries or other matters of civil administration to it have ceased to be demanded;(8)"mata" means the aggregate of the rights, privileges and reponsibilities vesting in a matadar family as such under the existing watan law;(9)"matadar" means a member of a matandar family whose name is entered as a matandar or representative matadar in the register kept under the existing watan law;(10)"matadar family" means a family to which the office of village patel or some share in the discharge of duties or in the exercise of powers appertaining to that office belongs hereditarily;(11)"patel watan" means watan held under the existing watan law for the performance of duties appertaining to the hereditary patelship, whether any commutation settlement in respect of such patel watan has or has not been affected;(12)"prescribed" means prescibed by rules made under this Act;(13)"tenancy law" means-(a)in the Bombay area of the State of Gujarat, the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948 (Bom. LXVII of 1948) and(b)in the Kutch area of the State of Gujarat, the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands (Vidarbha Region and Kutch Area) Act, 1958 (Bom. XCIX of 1958);(14)"unauthorised holder" means a person in possession of a watan land without any right or under a lease, mortgage, sale, gift or any other kind of transfer thereof, which is null and void under the existing watan law;(15)"watan" means watan property, if any, together with the hereditary officer and the rights and pribileges attached to it;(16)"watandar" means a person having hereditary in a patel watan under the existing watan law and includes a matadar and a representative watandar:Provided that where any patel watan has been entered in a register or record kept under the existing watan law as held by the whole body of watandars, the whole of such body shall be deemed to be a watander;(17)"watan land" means the land forming part of the watan property;(18)"watan property" means the movable or immovable property held, acquired or assigned under the existing watan law for providing remuneration for the performance of the duty appertaining to a hereditary patelship and also includes cash payments in addition to the original watan property made vountarily by the State Government and subject periodically to modification or withdrawal;(19)words and expressions used but not defined in this Act shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Code.
