The Assam Irrigation Water Users Act, 2004

-w /m V5PW Registered No. - 768/97 THE ASSAM G AZE TTE EXTRAORDINARY . ___ _ 2fL3 2RTf*T5 P l BI ISIILI) BV At THORLLY______ •S? 19 {v*!^ , <1*1*114, 19 2005 , 29 1926 OPP) No.19 Djspur, Wednesday, 19th January, 2005, 29th Pausa, 1926 (ST.) GOVERN ME NT OF ASSAM ORDERS BY THE GOVERN OR LEG ISLA TIVE DEPARTMENT : : : LEGISLA TIVE BRANCH NOTIFICATION The 18th January, 2005 No. EGE.83/2 000/50.- The fo llow ing Act o f the Assam Legislative Ass embly which re ceived the a ssent o f the G ove rnor is hereby publishe d for general info rma tion . 52____THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY. J ANU ), JUQS ASSAM ACT NO. V OF 2005 (Received the assent o f the Governor on 13th January, 2005) THE ASSAM IRRIGATION WATER I SERS ACT, 2004. A N ACT to prov ide for farmers' participation in the man age ment of irrigat ion systems and for matter s connected th erew ith o r incidental thereto . Whereas i t is expedient to provide for farm ers' par ticipat ion in the man age ment of irrigat ion system for ensuring efficien t and equitable supply and distr ibut ion of wa ter throug h farm ers' Or ganis ati ons to opt imise agr icultural prod uc tio ns ; It is he reby enacted in the Fifty-fifth Year o f the R epublic of India as follows CHAPTER-I Short title, extent and commence­ men t. PRELIMINARY 1.(1) This Act may be cal led the Assam Irrigat ion Water Users' Act, 2004. (2) It extends to the whole of Assam. (3) It shall come into force on such date as the Go ver nm ent m ay, by notification in the Assam G azette , a ppo in t: Provided that diff eren t date s m ay be appoin ted by the G overnm ent for di fferent areas and for dif fere nt p rov isions of the Act. Defin itions 2. (a) In this Act, unless the context oth erw ise require, - "area of ope ration" in relation to Water Use rs' Association means a con tinuous block of land in theco mm and area of an ir rigatio n system as m ay be noti fied for the purposes of this A ct ; ■ w (b) "ay acut roa d'' means a road with in the a rea of ope ration of W ater Users' Association for the purpos e of irrigat ion a nd agr icu lture but do not inc lud e a road vested in Gra m Pan cha yat , Municipality, Municipal Co rpo rat ion or the Pub lic Works Dep ar tm en t of the Go vernm ent; (c) "co mm and areas" means an area ir riga te d or capable of being irri gated either by grav itatio nal flow or by lift irrigat ion or by any othe r method from a Gove rnm ent or a Government aided so urce and includes every such area whether it is ca lled ayacu t or by any other nam e under any land for th e tim e being in for ce ; (d) "competent au thority" means the auth ori ty appointed und er section v*! THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY. .IAN, 19. 2005 5 (e) "Distr ict Collector" m eans the collector of the d istr ict in w hich the irr igati on system is situa ted and inc lud es any officer specially notif ied by the G overnment to pe rform all or any of the functions of the Distr ict Col lector u nder this Act ; (f) "drai nage sys tem" in rela tion to an irrigation includes, - (i) escape channels from an ir rigation or d istr ibu tory system and othe r works connected therewith, b li t does no t inc lude works for removal of sew age; (ii) channels ei ther natural or artificial for the discharge of waste or surp lus wa ter and all works conn ected therewith ; (iii) all connecting drains and main dra ins to dra in off surplus water from field drains; and (iv) all fie ld drains, related struc tures u nder out lets . (g) "fa rm ers ' organisation" w herever it occurs, shall mea n a nd inc lude - (i) Water Users' Association consis ting of all the w ater users as specif ied under sect ion 3, (ii) Dis tribu tory Com mittee at the secondary level as const ituted under section 5, (iii) Project Committee at the project l evel as con stituted und er Section 7. (h) "fie ld chan nel" includes a channel existing or to be cons tructed by the Government or by the land holde rs or by any agency to receive and d istr ibu te w ater from a ou tle t; (i) "fie ld dra in" includes a channel excavated and ma intained by the land holde r or by any othe r agency to disc harge waste or surplus wa ter from the land hold ing under a out let and includes drains, escape channels and other similar works exist ing or to be construc ted. (j) "financial year" means a year commencing from the 1st April of the rel eva nt year to the 31st March of tire ensu ing year ; (k) "fin anc ing agency" means any commercial bank or any co-opera tive society or any other bank or organisa tion es tabl ished or incorp orated un de r any law fo r the time being in force, which len ds m oney for the dev elopment of the area of opera tion of the Water Users' Association; 54 (1) THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, JAN. 19, 2005 "di stri butary system" means and includes (i) all main canals, branch canals, distribu taries and minor canals constructed for the supply and dis trib ution of wa ter for irrigation; (ii) ail works, stru ctu res and app liances connected wi th the distribution of water for irrig ation; and (iii) all f ield channels and other related channels and struc tures under an outlet. (in) "Government" means the State Government of Assam ; (n) "hydraulic basis" means the basis for identify ing a viable irrigated area served by one or more hydraulic structures such as head works, distr ibuta ries, minors, outlets and the like; (o) "ir rigation system" means major, medium and minor irrig ation systems for harnessing water for irrigation and otheral lied uses from Government or Governm ent aided source and includes reservoirs, open head channels, diversion system, lift irrigation scheme, tanks, wells and the lik e; 5 s •/ << • I • Explanation : (1) "ma jor irriga tion system" means system under major irrig ation project hav ing irrigable command area o f more than 10,000 hectares; (2) "me dium ir rigat ion system" means irrigation system under medium irrigation project having irrigable command area of more than 2,000 hectares an d up to 10,000 hectares ; (3) "mino r irrigat ion system" means irrigation system under minor irrigation project having irrigable command area up to 2,000 hectares. (p) "land holders" means an owner or a tenan t recorded as such in the Regulat ion records of righ ts under the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation, 1 of 1886 1886 (as ammended) and the Assam (Temporarily Settled Areas) A ssa m A c t Tenancy Act, 1971 (as amended) in respect of land in the notified ol ayacut. (q) "maintena nce" means execution of such works on the irrigat ion system as are necessary to ensu re tha t the physical system desig ned to the standards operates for proper distr ibution of water to the areas of operation ; (r) "noti fication" means a notification published in the Assam Gazette and the expression "notified" shall be construed accordingly ; (s) "op era tion plan" means a schedule of irrigat ion deliveri es with details of the mode and du ration of supplies drawn up for regulation of irriga tion in the command area of an ir rigat ion system ; (t) "pre scribed" means prescribed by the Governm ent by rules made under this A ct ; (u) "waraban di" means a system of dist ribu tion of water allocation to water users by turn, according to an approved schedule indicating the day, duration and the time of supply ; THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, JAN. 19, 2005___ 55 (v) “w ate r user" means and includes any in div idu al or b ody corporate or soc iety us ing water for ag ricu ltu re , domes tic , po wer , no n­ dome stic , com mercia l, indu st ria l or any othe r pu rp os e from a Government or Government a ided source of ir rigatio n ; (w) “wat er all oc at ion" in re la tion to an ir riga tion syste m me ans dis trib ution of wa ter dete rmined f rom time to t ime by Water Users' Assoc iation in its area of operat ion. (x) “W ater Users Association" means the Association consti tute d und er sub-section (3) of Sec tion 3. CHAPTER-I I FARMERS' ORGANISATION Delinea tion of water use rs' area and const itu tion an Association. 3. (1) The D istrict Collector may, by noti ficat ion and in accordance with the rules made, un der this Actin this behalf, del inea te every com mand area und er each of the irrigatio n sys tem on a hydra uli c basis except , the command area of tire shallow tub e wel ls inst alled out side the com mand area of the i rrigation schemes, ins talled by the individual farmers or by the Patha r I’aric hal ana Sam itie s reg istere d by the Depar tment of Agriculture, which may be adm inistratively viable and decla re it to be a water use rs' area for the p urpose of this Act. (2) Every water users' area shall be d ivi ded into const ituencie s which shall not be less than four bu t not more than ten, as may be prescribed . (3) The re shall be a Water Users' A ssociation cal led by its local d intinct nam e for every wate r users' area de lineated und er sub-sec tion (1). (4) (a) Eve ry Wate r Us ers ' Assoc iat ion sha ll co ns ist of the fol low ing members, namely :- (i) all water users who are land holder s in a wa ter users area prov ided thatwh ere both the owner and ten ant are land holders in re spect of the same land, tire tena nt ; (ii) five ex-officio members, nam ely one Sectional Ass istant and one Junior Engineer from the I rriga tion Depa rtment, who shall act as coord inator be tween the Gover nm ent Depa rtm ent s and the Farmers ' Organis ation and two fro m the Ag ric ult ure Depar tment in the rank of vill age Level Exte ntion Worker (VLEW) and A gric ultu re Extension Officer and one Elected Gaon Panchaya t Me nib er/Ga on Pan cha yat Pre sid ent of the Gaon Panchay at concerned; 56 THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, JAN. 19, 2005 (iii) (b) (c) Election of 4. (1) Pre sident and Members of the Man agin g Committee of Water Users' Association. (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) Del inea tion of 5 .( 1 ) dist ributo r}, area an d co nst itu tion of the Dis tributor), Committee memb ers specified in c lause (i) an d (ii) shall consti tut e t he General Body for the W ater Use rs' Association. A per son e ligib le to become a memb er of mo re than one terr itorial cons tituencies of a Water Users' Associa tion u nd er (i) shal l be enti tled to be a member of only one terr itor ial con sti tue ncy and he shall exercise his option thereof as prescr ibed. memb ers specified i n cla use (i) shall alone have th e r ight to vote. Th ere sha ll be a Ma nagin g Co mmitt ee for ev ery Water Users ' Associatio n. The member of the Manag ing C om mi ttee o f the W ater Use rs' Associa tion shall be form the elec ted rep res en tat ive of the resp ective Water Users' Association and the siz e of the commit tee will vary from 4 to 10 members dependin g on the size of the ter ritorial constitu ency. The District Collector shall m ake ar rangem ent fo r th e elect ion of the President of the Managing Com mit tee of the Water Users' Association by di rect e lec tion by the me tho d of secre t ba llo t in the ma nner prescribed . The Distr ict Collector shall also make a rran ge men t for the elec tion of Managing Com mit tee consist ing of one mem ber front each of the territo rial consti tuency of wa ter user s' a rea by m eth od of secret ballot in the ma nner p rescribed. If a t an elect ion held un de r s ub sec tion (2) an d (3) the P res ide nt or the Members of the terr itoria l constituency of Water Users' Association are not electeckfresh elect ions shall be held in the m anne r prescr ibed : Pro vided tha t the Govern me nt fo r th e reas ons to be recorded in w riting may, from time to time, postp one t he elect ion. The Pre sident and the mem bers of tire Managing Comm itte e shall, if no t rec alled earl ier, be in office fo r a period of 3(th ree) years, from the date of the first m eeting. The Managing Commit tee shall exercise the po wers an d perfor in the fun ctio ns o f the Water U sers' Associatio n. The Governm ent may by notification and in accordan ce with the rules mad e in this behalf, d elin eat e every comm and area of the irrigat ion system com pris ing of one or more Wate r Users ' Association, and dec lare it to be a d ist rib uta ry area for the pur po se of this A ct (2) There shall be a Dis tributary Com mittee called by its local dist inct nam e for every distr ibutary area declared as such und er sub-section (1). THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, JAN. 19, 2005 __ 57 Election of Pre sident and Co nst itut ion of Man agin g Committee. Del inea tion of project area an d const itut ion of Project Committee. (3) All the Presidents of the Water Users' Associa tion in the dist ributary area so long as they hold such Office, shall consti tute the General Body of the committee including two nominated official members. One of them shall be an Assistant Engineer of Irrigat ion Departm ent who shall work as a coordinator between the va rious departments. Water Users' Associations and Dist ribu tary Committees and the second member shall act as adviser who shall be from Agriculture Departmen t in the rank of Agriculture Extension Officer. 6. (1) The re shall be a Managing Com mit tee for every Dis trib uto r)' Committee. (2) The Dist rict Collector shall make arr angeme nt, in the manne r prescr ibed, for the election by the method of secret ballot, of the President and members of the Managing Committee who shall not be more than five from among the m embers of the General Body of the Distr ibutary Committee provided that the Government for the reasons to be recorded in writing, may postpone elections if situation demands so. (3) If, at an election held under sub-section (2), the Pres iden t and the members of the Managing Committee a re no t elected, fresh election shall be held in the prescribed manner. (4) The term of office of the President and the members of the Managing Commit tee shall, if not recalled earlie r be for a period of 3(three) years from the date of its first meeting. (5) The Managing Committee shall exercise the powers and perform the functions of the Distr ibutary Committee. 7. (1) The Government may, by notification and in accordance with the rules made under this Act in this behalf, delineate every command area or par t thereof of an irrigation system and decla re it to be a project area for the pu rpose of this Act. (2) There shall be a Project Committee called by its distri ct name for every project area declared under sub-section (I). (3) All the Presidents of the Distributary Committee in the project area, so long as they hold such office, shall const itute the General Body for the Project Committee. The Project Comm ittee shall have two nominated members one of whom shall act as a coordinator between various departm ents and farmers' org ani sat ion and shall be an Executive Engineer of Irrigation Departm ent and the second member shall act as advisor who shall be from Agr icul ture Depar tment in the rank of Dis trict Agricul tural Officer. The nominated members shall not have right to vote. 58 THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, JAN. 19, 2005 Election of Chairman and con stitutio n of Man agin g Committee. Apex Commit tee 8. (1) There shall be a Managing Committee for every Project Committee. (2) The Dist rict Collector shall make arr angeme nt in the manner prescribed for election by the method of secret ballot of the Chairman and Managing Committee consisting of not more than nine members from amongst the members of the General Body of the Project Com mit tee: Provided that the Government for the reasons to be recorded in writing may, from time to time, postpone election. (3) If, at an election held unde r sub-section (2), the Chairm an and the members of the Managing Committee are not elected, from election shall be held in the prescribed manner. (4) The term of office of the Chai rman and members of the Managing Committee, shall, if not recalled earlier, be for a period of 3(three) years from the date of its first meeting. (5) The Managing Commit tee shall exerciseThe power and periorm the functions of the Project Committee. 9. (1) The Government may by notification consti tute an Apex Committee with the following Memb ers: (i) Minister, Irrigation Department - Chairman ; (ii) Five persons from amo ngst the Chairm an of the Project Committees; (iii) Two persons from the Local Non-G overnment Organisations (NGOs) who are active in water management and agricultural activities; (iv) Three persons from Officers not below the rank of Secretary or Chief Engineer from the Irrigation an d/o r Agriculture Department; (v) The elected Gaon Panchayat President of the Gaon Panchayat as Ex-officio Member; (vi) The Members may be increased by such numbers as may be considered by the Government. (2) The Committee, constituted under sub-section (1) may exercise such powers and functions as may be necessary to - (a) laydown the policies for implementation of the provision of this Ac t, (b) give such directions to any farmers ' organ ization as may be cons idered nec essary , in exercis ing th ei r po we rs and performing their functions in accordance wi th the provisions of this Act. THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, JAN. 19, 3o(b ..__59 hiflccdure for 10. (1) A mot ion for reca ll of a Chairman or Pr es iden t or a Managing re ('a11' Committee, as the case may be, of a farmers' organizat ion may be made by giving a written notice as may be prescrib ed, signed by not less than one third of the total num ber of m emb ers of the farmers' organization who are enti tled to vote : Provided that no notice of motion un de r this section shall be made within one yea r of the date of assumption of office by the person against w hom th e motion is sough t to be moved. (2) If the motion is carried w ith tfie supp ort of majorit y of the members presen t and vot ing at a meetin g of the Gener al Body spec ially convened for the purpose, the Distric t Collector or the Government as the case may be, shall by orde r rem ove him from office and res ult ing vacancy shall be filled in the sam e ma nner as a casual vacancy. Constitution of j ] , «lih-mmniitteein f a r m e r s ’ organisation. The Managing Committee off ar m er s’organizat iori may constitute sub-committees to carry o ut all or any of the functions vested in each organisation under this Act. fa rm ers ’ organisation to be a body corporate. Changes in f a r m e r s ’ organisation. 12. Every farmers' organisation shall be a body corpora te wi th a d istinc t nam e having perp etua l success ion and a comm on seal and subject to the provis ions of this Act vested w ith the capacity of ente ring into contracts and of doing all things necessary, p roper or exped ien t for which it is constitute d and it shall sue o r be sue d in its corporate nam e represented by the Chai rman or the Pre sid ent as th e case may b e : Prov ided that no farm ers' organisation shall have th e powe r to alienate in any man ner any p rop erty vested to it. 13. The Governmen t may in the interest of the fa rmers ' organisa tion in the command area by the notification and in accordance with the rules made in this beha lf - (a) form a new farm ers' organisation by separa ting the area from any farm ers' organisation, (b) increase th e area of any farmers' o rgan isation, (c) dirnish the area of any farmers' organisation, (d) alte r the boundaries of any farm ers' org anisation or (e) cancel a notification issued und er this Act or rectify ing any mist ak e: Prov ided tha t no such separation , increase, dim inu tion, alteration and cancellation shall be effected unless a reasonab le opp ortuni ty is given to the organisat ion likely to be a ffected. 60 THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, JAN. 19, 2005 i Jualification of 'dictates or 14. No v illage em ployee and no officer or em ployee of the Gov en un eu t/" of India or any State Government or of local aut hority or an employee of an institution receiving aid from the funds of the Government shal l be qualified for being chosen as or for being a Chairm an, or Presiderm or a m ember of the Managing Committee . Explana tion - 1 (1) For the purp ose of this Section the expressio n village employee mean s in rela tion to the State of Assam any per son who hold s any of the village offices such as Gaon Panchayat, Mahku ma Parishad or any such vil lage office by wh atev er design ation it m ay be locally know n. (2) No person who has been convicted by a criminal court for any offence committe d und er any law for the time being in force involving mor a I tur pi tude shall be qualified for being chosen or for being a Chairma n or Pres ident or a mem ber of a M anag ing C ommittee . (3) A person shall be d isqualified for being chose n as a C hairman or a President or a mem ber of the Managing Com mit tee if on the da te fixed for scrutin y of nom ina tion s for election or on the da te of nominat ion heis - (a) of unsound mind and stands so decla red by a com petent court. (b) a defau lter of land revenue or w ate r tax o r charges payable e ithe r to the Government or to the fa rme rs' organisa tion . (c) interested in a subsis ting contrac t made with or any work being don e for, Gaon Pan chayat or any State or Centr al Go vernm ent or th e farm ers' o rgan isation or W ater U sers' As socia tio n: Provided that a person shall not be deemed to have any interes I in such contract or work by reason only of his ha ving sha re or interes t in - (i) a company as a mere share ho lde r b ut no t as a Director, or (ii) any lease, sale or purchase of immoveable pro perty or any agre ement for the same, o r (ii i) any agreement fo r the loan of money or any security for the pay ment of money only, or (iv) any new spaper in which any advertisem ent rela ting to the affairs of the farmers' organisa tion is i nser ted. THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, JA NJTL _^005----- 61 -c> Explanation - II For removal of doubt it is hereby dec lared tha t where a contract is fully perfo rmed, it shall not be de eme d to be subsis ting mere ly on the groun d tha t the Gram Panchayat the farmers' organisa tion , the Sta te or Central Go ver nm ent has not pe rfo rm ed its pa rt of the con tractual obligation. (4) A Cha irman or a Pres iden t o r a mem ber of Managing C omm ittee shall also become disqualifie d to contin ue in office, if he - (a) is convicted in a c riminal case involving moral turpit ude, or (b) rem ains ab se nt for th re e co ns ec ut iv e m ee tin g w ithou t reasonab le c au se : Provided tha t such disquali fica tion un der item (b) shall not ap ply in the case of wo me n wh o are in an ad va nc ed sta ge of preg nancy and for a period of thre e mo nth s after delive ry. Filling up of vacancies. 15. (1) A vacancy arising eithe r due to disquali fica tion un de r sub-section (4) of Section 14 or du e to dea th or res ignatio n or by any reason, such vacancy shall be filled up by nomination in the fol lowing manne r (a) A vacancy in the Wate r U sers' Association shall be fi lled up by nomination by the Managin g Co mm ittee of the Distr ibu tor y Com mit tee in the manner prescr ibed ; (b) A vacancy in Dist ribu tory Committee shall be filled up by nom inat ion by the M anaging Comm ittee of the Pro ject Com mittee in the ma nner p rescrib ed ; and (c) A vacancy in the Projec t Comm itte e shal l be filled up by nom ination eith er by the Apex Committee or by the Government in the ma nne r prescribed. (2) The Distr ict Collector shall take necessary s teps to conduct election, to fill up any vacancy caused within a period of one mo nth from the date of occurence of such vacancy. (3) The term of office of a m ember or a P res ide nt or a Chairm an of the farm ers' organisa tion elected under sub- sect ion (2) shall expire at the tim e at which it would have expired , if he had been elected a t the o r d in a r y e le ct io n 62 T H E A S S A M G A Z E T T E , E X T R A O R D IN A R Y , JA N . 19, 20 05 Objects and 16. functions of the farm ers’ organisation. CHAPTER-III The objects of the farmers' organisation shall be to promote and secure distr ibution of water among its users, ade qua te main tenance of the irrigation system, efficient and economical utili sation of water to optimize agricultural production, to protec t the environment and to ensu re ecological balance by involving the farmers , to develop a sense of ownersh ip of the irrigation sys tem in accordance with the water bud get and the operational plan. Functions of 17. The Wate r Users 'Association shall perform the following functions, Water Users’ namely Association. (a) to prepare and implement a wa rab andi schedule for each irriga tion season consistent wi th the opera tional plan, based up on the ent itle ment, area soil and crop pin g pa tte rn as approved by the Distribu tory Commi ttee, or as the case may be, the Project Co mm itte e; (b) to prepare a plan for the maintenance o f system in the area of its operation at the end of each crop season and to carry out the maintenanceworks of both distr ibuto ry system and minors and field d rains in its area of operation w ith the funds of the Association from time to t im e; (c) to regulate the use of water amon g the var ious ou tlets u nde r its area of operation according to the waraband i schedule of the sy ste m; (d) to prom ote economy in the use of water all ocate d; (e) to ass ist the Rev enue De partm en t in the prep arat ion of demand and collection of wa ter ra te s; (f) to maintain a regis ter of land and holder s as per revenue reco rd ; (g) to prepare and mainta in a regis ter of co-opte d mem bers; (h) to prep are and maintain an invento ry of the irrig ation system with in the area of ope ration ; (i) to monitor flow of water for irr igati on ; (j) to resolve the disputes , if any, between the Members and Water Users in its area of ope ra tio n; (k) to raise reso urces; (l) to main tain ac cou nts ; (m) to cause annual aud it of its a ccounts ; (n) to assist in the conduct of election to the Managing Committee; (o) to maintain other records as may be p rescrib ed ; T H E A S S A M G A Z E T T E , E X T R A O R D IN A R Y, JA N . 19, 2 0 0 5 ____63 (p) to abide by the decisions of the D istr ibutary Comm ittee and Project Commit tee; (q) to conduct General Body meeting, as may be prescribed ; (r) to encourage avenue for p lanta tion on canal bunds and tank bunds by leasing such bunds; and (s) to conduct regu la, water budgeting and also to conduct periodical social audi t, as may be pre scribed. Func tion of 18. The Distributary Committee shall perform the following functions, Distnbutory namely Committee. (a) to pre pare an operationa l plan based on its ent itlement, area, soil, crop ping pat tern at the beg inn ing of each irrigation seasons, consistent with the operational p lan prepare d by the Project Commit tee; (b) to prepare a plan for the maintenance of both distr ibutary and medium drains within its area of opera tion at the end of each crop seasons and execute the main tenance of works w ith the fund of the Committee from time to tim e; (c) to regulate the use of water among the various W ater Users' Association u nder its area of operati on ; (d) to res olv e di sp ut es , if any , be tw ee n the Wate r Users ' Associations in its area of o pe ra tio n; (e) to maintain a register of Water Users' Association in its area of ope rat ion ; (f) to maintain an inventory of the irrigat ion system in the area of its operation includ ing drains ; (g) to promote economy in the use of water alloca ted ; (h) to main tain ac counts; (i) to cause annual au di t; (j) to maintain other records as may be prescribed ; (k) to monito r the flow of wate r for i rri ga tio n; (l) to conduct General Body meet ing as may be p res cribed; (m) to abide by the decision of the Project Com mittee; (n) to cause regular water budgeting and also the periodical social aud it as may be pre scr ibe d; (o) to assist in the conduct of election to the Managing Committee; and (p) to encourage avenue for plantat ion in its area of operation. 64 THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, JAN. 19. 2005 Functions of Project Committee Power to levy and collect fee. Appointment of competent authority and his functions. 19. The Project Com mittee shall perform the following fu ncti ^s, namely (a) to approve opera tional plan based on its entitle men t area, soil, crop ping patte rn as prepa red by the compete nt authority in respect of the enti re project area at the beginning of each Irrigat ion s eas on; (b) to approve a plan for the maintenance of irrigation system including the major drains wi thin its area of ope ration at the end of each crop season and execute the main tenance work with the funds of the Committee from time to tim e; (c) to m ainta in a list of the Distr ibutory Committees and Wate r Users' Association in its area of op erati on ; (d) to main tain an inventory of the .dist ribu tory and drainage system in its area of o perat ion; (e) to re so lve di sp ut es if any, be tw ee n the D is tr ib ut or y Comm itte e; (f) to promote economy in the use of w at er ; (g) to maintain accou nts ; (h) to cause ann ual aud it of its acc ounts ; (i) to maintain other records as may be p rescrib ed ; (j) to conduct General Body meeting as may be p rescribed; (k) to cause regula r water budg eting and also the periodical social aud it as may be prescribed ; and (l) to encourage avenue plantation in its area of ope ration . 20. A farmers' organiza tion may, for carrying out the purpos e of this Act and achieving the objects of the Association and per forming its functions, levy and collect such fees as may be pre scribed from time to time. 21. (1) The Governm ent may, by notification, ap point such officers from tlie Ir rig at ion or any othe r Go ve rnmen t or Gov er nm en t Aided De partm ent as it may conside r nec essary to be the com pet ent authori ty to every fa rmers' organisat ion fo r the purpo se of this A ct (2) the competent authority appo inted under sub-section (1) shall be responsible to respective farmers ' organization in the implementation and execution of all decisions taken by the farm ers' organ isation . The office bearers of the committees of the farmers ' organisation shall act voluntarily. i THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, JAN. 19, 2005 65 Resources of fanners' organisation. Offences and penalties. CHAPTER-IV RESOURCES 22. The fund of the farmers' organisation shall com prise of the following, namely (i) grant received from the Governm ent as a share of the wa ter tax col lec ted in the area of op er at io n of the fa rm ers' organisation; (ii) such other funds as may be gran ted by the State and Central Governmen t for the development of the area of o pe ratio n; (iii) resources raised from any financing agency for unde rtaking any economic deve lopment activities in its area of operations; (iv) income from the properties and assets attached to the irrigation system within its area of opera tion ; (v) fees collected by the farmers' organisation for the services rendered in bet ter management of the irrigation sys tem ; and (vi) amoun t received from any oth er sources such as gr an t/ do na tio n/loan on the basis of app rov al of the Man aging Committee. CHAPTER-V OFFENCES AND PENALTIES 23. Whoever withou t any lawful authority does any of the following acts, namely (a) damages, alters, enlarges or obstructs any irrigation system, (b) interferes with, increases, dimin ishes th e w ater supp ly in or the flow of water from, th rough , ove r or und er any ir rigation system, (c) being responsible for the maintenance of the irr igation system neglec ts to take pro per precau tion s for the pre ven tion of wa sta ge of the wa ter thereo f or in ter feren ces with the authorized distr ibution of wate r there from or use w ater in an unau thor ized manner or in such manne r as to cause damage to the ad jacent land holdings, (d) corrupts orfouls , water of any irriga tion system so as to render it less fit for the purposes for which it is ordina rily used, (e) obstructs or remove any Level Marks o r Water Ga uge or any other mark or sign fixed by the Au thority or a Public Servant, and 66 THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, JAN. 19, 2005 (f) opens, shut s, or obstructs or atte mpts to open, shu t or obs truct an*; sluices or outle ts or any oth er sim ilar struct ure s in any irrigat ion system , shall, on a c om pla int ma de by a farm ers' orga niza tion , if c onvicted, be punis hed wi th impri son me nt which may extend to one year or with fines w hich may extend to f ive t hou sand rupe es or w ith bo th. Punishment 24. under other laws not barred. Nothin g in this Act sha ll pre ven t any perso n being prosecuted and punis hed unde r any o ther law for the t ime be ing in force fo r any act or o mmissio n made pun ishable by o r u nd er this A c t: Provided tha t no per son shall be pro sec ute d and punished for the same offences more tha n once. Compounding of 25. (1) Farmer s' organizat ion ma y accept from any person w ho com mitted offences. o r i n r e S pe c t o f whom a re ason able be lief can be infer red that he has com mit ted an offence pun ishable un de r this Act of tire ru les made the re under , a sum of money no t exce eding Rupees two tho usand by way of comp oun ding of such offence. (2) On pay me nt of such sum of m oney, the sai d per son , if in c ustody, shall be d ischarged and no fur the r p roc eed ing shal l be taken against him in re gar d to the offences so com pounded. CH APTER-V I SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES Settlementof 26. (1) Any dis pute or diffe rence touching the c onstit ution, management , disputes. po we rs Or fun ctions of a farme rs' orga ni sa tio n ari sin g between mem bers , shall be det erm ined by the Ma nag ing Com mit tee df the Water Users' Association. (2) Any such d ispute s or diffe rences ar isin g betw een a me mber and the Man agin g Committee or a W ater Use rs' Assoc iati on o r between two or more Wate r Us ers ' Assoc iat ion sh al l be de te rm in ed by the Man aging C omm ittee of the D istr ibu tary Com mittee. (3) Any such d isp ute or diffe rence aris ing between a member and the Man agin g C omm ittee of a Distr ibu tary Co mm itte e o r between two or more Distr ib ut ary Co mmittees sh al l be de te rm in ed by the Managing C omm ittee or the Project Com mit tee. (4) An y such di sp ut e or dif ferenc e ar ising be tw een a me mb er and Managing Comm ittee or Project Com mittee or b etw een two or more Project Com mittees shall be de termined by the Apex Committee, whose de cisio n shal l be final. THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, JAN. 19, 2005 (5) Every dispute or difference under this section sha ll be disposed of within 15 (fifteen) days from the date of reference of the dispu te or difference. Appeals. 27. (1) A party to a dispute or difference aggrieved by any decision m ade or orde r passed by the Managing Committee of a Water Users' Association may appeal within 15 days to the Managing Committee of the Distributory Committee whose decision there ot fshall be final. (2) ' Any party to a dispute or difference aggrieved by any decision made or ord er passed by the Man agin g Comm itte e of Distr ibu tor y Committee may appeal to the Managing Committee of a Project Committee within 15 days whose decision thereon shall be final. (3) Any party to a dispute or difference aggrieved by arty decision made or orde r passed by the Managing Committee of a Project Committee may appeal to the Apex Committee within 15 days whose decision thereof shall be final, (4) Any appeal made unde r sub-section (1) or sub-sect ion (2) or sub­ section (3) shall be preferred within 15 days of communication of the decision of the o rder to the person aggrieved. (5) Every appeal unde r this section shall be disposed of within 15 days from the date of filing of tire appeal. CHAPTER-VII MISCELLANEOUS Records. 28. (1) Each farmers' organisa tion shall keep at its office the following accounts, records and documents, namely :- (a) an up to date copy of this A ct; (b) a map of the area of operation of titre farmers' organisation along with the map of the structure and distributory. networks prepa red in consultation w ith the Irrigation D epartme nt; (c) a statement of assets and liab iliti es; (d) minutes book ; (e) books of accounts showing receipt and paym ents; (f) books of accounts of all purchases and sales of goods by the Associations ; (g) a register of measurement book, level field books, work orders and the l ik e; 68 THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, JAN. 19, 2005 Audit. Recovery of dues. Meetings. Resignation. Appo intment of a Commissioner. (h) copies of aud it reports and enq uiry're por ts ; " (i) all such other accounts, records and docu ments as may be prescribed from time to time. (2) The books of acco unts and oth er rec ords shal l be opene d for informatio n to the member of the farmers' organ isation . 29. Every farmers' organisat ion shall get its accounts aud ited in the manner prescribed. 30. All the amounts payable or due to farmers' organ isation shall be recovered as arrears of land revenue by local Land Revenue Officer as per rules. 31. The me eting of the far mers ' orga nisa tio n and the Manag ing Committee thereof at such intervals, the procedure, the presidency and the quorum thereof and the cessation of mem bership thereof shall be such as may be prescribed. 32. (1) A member of Managing Committee of farm ers' organisat ion may resign his office by a letter sent by a registered post or tend ered in person to the Chairman or President of the Managing Commit tee concerned. (2) The Pres iden t of the Managing Co mm ittee of a Wa ter Users' Association may resign his office by a let ter sent by regis tered post or tendered in person to the Presiden t of the Dist ributory Committee concerned. (3) The Pr es iden t of the Ma nag ing Co mmi tte e of a Di str ibutory Committee may resign his office by a let ter sent by regis tered po ste r ten dered in person to the Chairm an of the Project Com mit tee concerned. (4) The Chairman of the Managing Committee of a Project Committee may resign his office by letter sent by regis tered pos t or tendered in person to the Chairm an of the Apex Committee. (5) Such resignation as m entioned above shall take effect from the date of its acceptance or on the expiry of 30 days from the date of its receipt whichever is earlier. 33. (i) The Government may by notification app oin t a Commissioner to exercise general control and superin tenden ce over the competent authorities and the District Collector in performance of their functions und er this Act of the rules mad e the reunder. (ii) The pow ers to be exercised and the functions to be perform ed by the Commissioner shall be such as may be prescribed. I III. ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, JAN. 19, 2005 __ 69 ■%Clransitional ^'A rrangem ent . Authentication of order s and documents of tiie farm ers ’ organ isation . Act not to lie invalidated by informality or vacancy etc. 34. The Government may, by notification, appo int an officer or officers to exercise the pow ers and perform the functions of a farm ers' organizat ion and the Managing Committee thereof till such time such farmers' organisa tion are duly const ituted or reconstituted and such • Managing Committee assumes office und er the provisions of this Act. 35. All permissions, orde rs, decis ions and other documents of the farmers' organisations shall be authenticated by the signature of the Chai rman or President of the Managing Comm ittee or any other Member of tire Managing Committee authorised by the Managing Commit tee in this behalf. 36. No act of proceedings of the Man aging Com mitt ee of farm ers' organisation or Committee shall be inval idated by reason only of the existence of any vacancy in or defect in the constitution of the said committee. Deposits and administrat ion of the fund. 37. (I) The farmers' organisation shall keep their funds in a Nationalised Dank or aCo-operative Bank. (2) The fund shall be applied towards meeting of the expenses incurred by the Managing Commit tee of the concerned farmers' organisation in the adminis tration of this Act, and for no other purpose. Sinking Fund. 38. (1.) The Managing Committee of the farmers' organisa tion shall maintain a sinking.fund for the repaym ent of the money borrowed and shall pay every year into the sinking fund such sum as may be sufficient for repayment within the period fixed of all the money so borrowed. (2) The sinking fund or any part the reof shall be a pplied in or towards the discharge of the loan for which such fund was c reated and until such loan is wholly di scharged, it shall not be applied for any other purpose. Budget. 39. The Managing Committee of the farmers ' organisation shall prep are in such form in very financial year a budg et in respect of the financial year next, showing the estimated receipts and expenditure of the Commit tee and shall place before the General Body of the fa rmers' organisat ion for its approva l as may be prescribed. 2Q____THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, JAN. 19, 2004 Power to 40, (1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the prov isions of this Act or remove as to the fir st co ns titut ion or re co ns tit ut io n of any fa rm ers' difficulties. organisatio n after the commencement of this Act, th e Government, as the occasion may require by order published in the Assam Gaze tte , do anything which app ears to them necessa ry for removing the difficulty. (2) All orders ma de un der sub-section (1) sha ll as soon as may be, after they are. made, be placed on the table of the Assam Legisla tive Assembly and shall be subject to much mod ification by way of amendments or repeal as the Legis lative Assembly may make either in the same session or in tire next session. Savings. 41. (1) Nothing contained in this Act shall effec t the rig ht or properties vested in Gaori Panchayat, Municipality or Municipal Corporation under any law for the time being in force. (2) Noth ing contained in this Act, shall apply to the Minor Water Bodies in the Scheduled areas in the State of Assam. Power to make rules. Protection of acts done in good faith. 42. (1) The State G overnment may, by notifica tion in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purpo se of this Act. (2) All rules made by the State Govern ment under this Act shall, as soon as may be after they are made be laid befo re the Assam Legislative Assembly while it is in session, for a total perio d of n ot less than four teen days which may be comprised in one session or two or mo re successive sess ions , and sha ll, un les s som e lat er date is appo inted , take effect from the date of the ir publication in the Official Gazette subjectto such modifications or annulments as the Legislative Assembly may, dur ing the said period agree to m ake so however, , tha t any such modification or annulment shall be wi tho ut prejudice to the valid ity of anything previously d one thereu nder. 43. No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall he institu ted aga ins t any person for anything which is in good faith done or inten ded to be don e un de r thi s Act or un de r the rul es made thereunder. M. K. D EK A , Commissioner & Secy, to the Govt, of Assam, Legislative Department, Dispur. GUW AHAT I- Pr in ted & Pub lis he d by th e Dy. Direc to r (P & S) . D irec to ra te o f Ptg. & Sty ~ Assam , G uw ah at i-21 , (E x- Gaz et te ) No . 37 -5 00 -6 00 -1 9- 1- 20 05 .