Section 2 in The West Bengal Private Forests Act, 1948.
2. Definitions.
- In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, -(1)"Appellate Committee" means a committee the procedure of which shall be as prescribed, appointed by the [State] [Word substituted for the word 'Provincial' by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.] Government in respect of a notified area to hear appeals under this Act consisting of three members of whom the Chairman shall be a Revenue Officer not below the rank of a Collector, one member shall be a member of the Indian Forest Service or the West Bengal Forest Service not below the rank of a Deputy Conservator of Forests and the other member shall be an owner of a private forest who shall be selected in the prescribed manner from amongst the owners of private forests in such notified area;(2)"cattle" includes elephants, camels, buffaloes, horses, mares, geldings, ponies, colts, fillies, mules, asses, pigs, rams, ewes, sheep, lambs, goats and kids;(3)"conservation", used in reference to a forest, includes such measures as are necessary in the opinion of the Regional Forest Officer for the prevention or remedying of the erosion of the soil or any flood or landslide;(4)Controlled forest" means a forest in respect of which a working plan has been approved under sub-section (1) of section 4;(5)"forest" includes and land recorded as forest in a record-of-rights prepared under Chapter X of the Bengal Tenancy Act, 1885;(6)"forest-offence" means an offence punishable under this Act or under any rule made thereunder;(7)"Forest-officer" means any person whom the [State] [Word substituted for the word 'Provincial' by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.] Government or any officer empowered by the [State] [Word substituted for the word 'Provincial' by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.] Government in this behalf, may appoint to carry out all or any of the purposes of this Act or to do anything required by this Act or any rule made thereunder to be done by a Forest-officer;(8)"forest-produce" includes -(a)the following whether found in, or brought from, a forest or not, that is to say :-(i)timber, charcoal, caoutchouc, catechu, woodoil, resin, natural varnish, bark, lac, mahua flowers, mahua seeds, kuth and myrabolams, and(ii)wild animals and skins, tusks, horns, bones, silk, cocoons, honey and wax, and all other parts or produce of animals, and(b)the following when found in, or brought from, a forest that is to say :-(i)trees and leaves, flowers and fruits, and all other parts or produce not hereinbefore mentioned, of trees,(ii)plants not being trees (including grass, creepers, reeds and moss), and all parts or produce of such plants, and(iii)peat, surface soil, rock and minerals (including lime-stone, laterite, mineral oils, and all products of mines or quarries);(9)"Forest Settlement-officer" means an officer, who shall ordinarily be a Revenue Officer, appointed by the [State] [Word substituted for the word 'Provincial' by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.] Government to perform the functions of a Forest Settlement-officer under this Act and includes a Board, the procedure of which shall be as prescribed, appointed by the [State] [Word substituted for the word 'Provincial' by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.] Government to perform such functions, consisting of not more than three officers of whom at least two shall be Revenue Officers;(10)"notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette;(11)"notified area" means an area specified in a notification issued under sub-section (1) of section 3 ;(12)"owner" includes any mortgagee in possession, lessee, common manager, receiver appointed by a competent Court and any person holding any property in trust and also includes a Court of Wards in respect of property under the superintendence or charge of such Court;(13)"prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;(14)"private forest" means a forest which is not the property of the [Government] [Word substituted for the word 'Crown' by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.] or over which the [Government] [Word substituted for the word 'Crown' by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.] has no proprietary right;(15)"Regional Forest-officer" means a Forest-officer appointed by the [State] [Word substituted for the word 'Provincial' by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.] Government as such by a notification for a notified area;(16)"river" includes any stream, canal, creek or other channel, natural or artificial;(17)"timber" includes trees when they have fallen or have been felled, and all wood whether cut up or fashioned or hollowed out for any purpose or not;(18)"tree" includes palms, bamboos, stumps, brushwood and canes;(19)"vested forest" means a forest of which the control has been vested in a Regional Forest-officer by a notification under sub-section (2) of section 6 or under section 7 or under sections 11 and includes any forest deemed to be, or managed as, a vested forest under this Act;(20)"waste-land" means any waste-land which is not the property of the [Government] [Word substituted for the word 'Crown' by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.] or over which the [Government] [Word substituted for the word 'Crown' by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.] has no proprietary right;(21)"working plan" means a written scheme for the management and treatment of a forest; and(22)"year" means a year beginning on the 1st day of April.
