LexThe Irrigation and Water Conservaton Act, 31 of 2003
Kerala · state statute
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this actACT 31 OF 2003
THE KERALA IRRIGATION AND WATER CONSERVATION ACT, 2003 [1]
An Act to consolidate and amend the laws relating to construction of irrigation works,
conservation and distribution of water for the purpose of irrigation and levy of betterment
contribution and water cess on lands benefited by irrigation works in the State of Kerala and
to provide for involvement of farmers in water utilisation system and for matters connected
therewith or incidental thereto.
Preamble.-Whereas it is expedient to consolidate and amend the laws relating to construction
of irrigation works, conservation and distribution of water for the purpose of irrigation and
levy of betterment contribution and water cess on lands benefited by irrigation works in the
State of Kerala and to provide for involvement of farmers in water utilisation system and for
matters connected there with or incidental thereto;
BE it enacted in the Fifty- fourth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title, extent and commencement.- (1) This Act may be called the Kerala
Irrigation and Water Conservation Act, 2003.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Kerala.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification in
the Gazette, appoint [1]
Provided that different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act,
and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed
as a reference to the coming into force of that provision.
2. Definitions.- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) "area of operation" in relation to farmers organisation means a continuous block of
land in the command area of an irrigation system as may be notified;
(b) “ Authority” means the Kerala Dam Safety Authority constituted under section 57;
(c) "back water" means lagoons receiving water of the streams and rivers running
parallel to the sea coast;
(d) "Board" means the Water Management and Utilisation Board constituted under
sub-section (1) of section 90;
(e) "canal" means an artificial open channel carrying water including situations
passing through tunnels enroute;
(f) "Certificate" means a certificate issued under section 21;
(g) "Collector" means the Collector of a district and includes any officer appointed
by the Government to exercise all or any of the powers or to perform all or any of the
functions of a Collector under this Act;
(h) "command area" means the area irrigated or capable of being irrigated either by
gravitational flow or by lift irrigation or by any other method and includes every such area
whether it is called ayacut or any other name;
(i) "competent authority” means the competent authority appointed under sub-
section (1) of section 53;
(j) "construction" with reference to an irrigation work include improvement,
extension, repair and maintenance of that irrigation work;
(k) "distributory system" means and includes,-
(i) all main canals, branch canals, distributory canals or minor canals constructed,
maintained and operated for the supply and distribution of water for irrigation;
(ii) all works, structures and appliances connected with the distribution of water
for irrigation; and
(iii) all field channels, farm channels and other related channels and structures
under a sluice or pipe outlet;
(l) "drainage system" means channels either natural or artificial for the discharge of
waste or surplus water and all works connected there with or ancillary there to and includes,-
(i) escape channels from an irrigation or distribution system and other works
connected there with but does not include works for removal of sewage;
(ii) all connecting drains and main drains to drain off surplus water from field drains;
and
(iii) all field drains and related structure under pipe outlet;
(m) "Farmers Association" means the water users association formed in accordance
with the provisions of section 49 and the Water Management and the Utilisation Board
constituted under section 90;
(n) "field channel" means a channel which runs from an outlet in a Government
channel or canal and which conveys or distributes water to blocks of land exceeding five
hectares in extent but not exceeding one hundred hectares in extent;
(o) "field drain" means a channel excavated and maintained by the land holder or by
any other agency to discharge waste or surplus water from the land holding under a pipe
outlet including drains, escape channels and other similar works existing or to be constructed
and includes a channel either existing under construction or proposed to be constructed by the
Government or Water Users Association or any other agency for the purpose of discharging
waste or surplus water from the command area or a sluice or pipe outlet or from the total
ayacut of more than one outlet, as the case may be, including drains, escape channels and
such other similar works;
(p) "financial year" means a period of one year commencing from the first day of
April of the year under concern and ending on the 31st day of March of the ensuing year;
(q) " financing agency" means any commercial bank or any co-operative bank or
credit society or any other financial institution or other organisation established or
incorporated as per any statutory provision which is instrumental for lending or financing
necessary resources either by way of cash, goods or other services for the operational
development and sustenance of the benefited area ;
(r) "Government" means the Government of Kerala;
(s) "hydraulic basis" means the basis for identifying a viable irrigated area served by
one or more hydraulic structures such as head works, distributories, minors and pipe outlets;
(t) "irrigation" with its grammatical variations includes "drainage" with its
corresponding variations;
(u) "Irrigation Officer" means an officer appointed by the Government to perform all
or any of the functions of an Irrigation Officer under this Act;
(v) "irrigation system" means a major irrigation scheme or a medium irrigation
scheme or a minor irrigation scheme;
(w) "irrigation work" includes,-
(i) all canals, field channels, reservoirs and tanks, tube wells and filter point wells
which are intended or which may be used for the supply, collection, storage or retention of
water for agricultural purposes;
(ii) all works, embankments, structures, supply and escape channels connected with
such canals, channels, reservoirs or tanks and spouts installed to supply water;
(iii) all water courses which are supplied with water from such canals, channels,
reservoirs, tanks or spouts;
(iv) all drainage works, that is to say, canals, channels, escape channels from a
canal or channel, reservoirs or tanks, dams, weirs, embankments, sluices, groynes, field
channels, and other works for the protection or benefit of agricultural lands or for the
reclamation or dewatering of kole lands, kayal lands, kari lands or such other lands;
(v) all works intended for preventing or regulating the entry of salt water into
agricultural lands;
(vi) all lands and works in all lands occupied by the Government or a local authority
for the purpose of such canals, channels, reservoirs or tanks and all buildings, machinery,
fences, gates and other erections on such lands; and
(vii) any other work which the Government may, by notification, declare to be an
irrigation work.
Explanation.- For the purposes of this clause, "irrigation work" does not include
embankments other than for irrigation purposes and tanks not constructed by the Government,
a local authority or any other authority.
(x) "land holder" means the owner or any other person in lawful possession of any land
in the irrigable command area of any irrigation system recorded as such in the records of
Government;
(y) "lift irrigation work" means an irrigation work by which water is supplied or drained
for agricultural purposes with the aid of pump sets or other mechanical devices;
(z) "local authority" means a municipality constituted under the Kerala Municipalities
Act, 1994 (20 of 1994) or a Panchayat constituted under the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994
(13 of 1994);
(aa) "maintenance" means execution of such works on the irrigation system as are
necessary to ensure that the physical system designed to the standards operate for proper
distribution of water to the land holders in the command area;
(ab) "major irrigation scheme" means a scheme benefiting an irrigable command area
of more than 10,000 hectares;
(ac) "major irrigation work" includes any irrigation work irrigating or useful for the
drainage or protection of a cultivable area of over ten thousand hectares of land and any other
irrigation work declared by the Government to be a major irrigation work, but shall not
include a lift irrigation work;
(ad) "medium irrigation scheme" means a scheme benefiting an irrigable command
area of more than fifteen hectares but less than 10,000 hectares;
(ae) "medium irrigation work" includes any irrigation work irrigating or useful for the
drainage or protection of cultivable area of fifteen hectares or more and not more than ten
thousand hectares of land and any lift irrigation work;
(af) "minor irrigation scheme" means all small schemes benefiting an irrigable
command area of not more than fifteen hectares;
(ag) "minor irrigation work" includes any irrigation work irrigating or useful for the
drainage or protection of a cultivable area of not more than fifteen hectares but shall not
include a lift irrigation work;
(ah) "notification" means a notification published in the Gazette;
(ai) "notified area" means the area notified by Government for any particular
purpose;
(aj) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(ak) "Punja Special Officer" means an officer appointed by the Government under
section 31 ;
(al) "sea mouth" means that part of the river where the river joins the sea;
(am) "State" means the State of Kerala;
(an) "stream" means a stream that flows in a temporary channel but not in a valley;
(ao) "Tahsildar" in relation to any land means the Tahsildar of the Taluk in which that
land is situated and includes a Special Tahsildar;
(ap) "water allocation" in relation to an irrigation system means distribution of water
determined from time to time by a competent authority as notified by the Government;
(aq) "water course" means a river, stream, springs, channel, lake or any natural
collection of water other than in a private land and includes any tributary or branch of any
river, stream, springs or channel;
(ar) "water user" means and includes any individual or body corporate or a society or
an institution or an association using water for any purpose from a Government source of
irrigation.
CHAPTER II
CONSERVATION OF WATER IN WATER COURSES
3. Water courses and water in water courses to be Government property.--
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any other law for the time being in
force, or in any custom or usage or in any contract or other instrument but subject to the
provisions of section 218 of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 (13 of 1994) and section 208
of the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994 (20 of 1994), all water courses and all water in such
water courses in the State shall be the property of the Government, and the Government shall
be entitled to conserve and regulate the use of such watercourses and the water in all those
water courses for the purposes of irrigation and the generation of Electricity and for matters
connected therewith or for both.
4. Regulation on abstraction of water from water course.- (1) Save as provided in this
Act, no person or agency shall abstract water from a water course by installation of any
mechanical or electrical device, the capacity of which, in the aggregate, is more than five
horse power, or any hose, pipe or other similar device or by any other means except with the
previous permission of the officer authorised by the Government in this behalf within whose
jurisdiction such device for abstraction of water is installed and subject to such terms and
conditions and on payment of such fees, as may be prescribed:
Provided that the Kerala Water Authority or any local authority shall not be liable to
obtain a permit under this sub-section.
(2) Any person or agency aggrieved by an order refusing to grant permission under
sub-section (1), may within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed, appeal to the
Collector and the Collector shall, after hearing the appellant and the authorised officer, pass
such orders on the appeal as he deems fit within one month from the date of receipt of the
appeal.
(3) If any person abstracts water from a water course in violation of the provisions
of sub-section (1) or an order of the Collector under sub-section (2), the officer authorised
under sub-section (1) or any person authorised by him in that behalf shall, without prejudice
to any other action that may be taken for such violation, have power to enter any property,
place or premises in which any device is installed for abstraction of water and to remove or
cause such device to be removed or also to confiscate such device if he is satisfied that such
confiscation is necessary for the prevention of abstraction of water.
(4) Any lapse in supervision of the provisions contained in sub-section (3) by the
officers authorised under sub-section (1) or any person authorised by him on that behalf will
also be liable for disciplinary action.
5. Regulation on construction of reservoirs , anicut etc.- (1) No person or agency
or local authority shall construct any reservoir or anicut or weir or any other permanent
structure in or across any water course for the purpose of diverting water therefrom except
with the previous sanction of the Government or such authority as may be authorised by the
Government in that behalf and subject to such terms and conditions as the Government or
such authority may impose.
(2) Where any structure is constructed in violation of the provisions of sub-
section (1), the Government or the authority authorised by the Government under that sub-
section shall, without prejudice to any other action that may be taken for such violation, have
power to remove such structure or cause it to be removed and to recover the cost of such
removal from the person or persons responsible for such construction.
6. Regulation on diversion of rivers, inter-basin transfer of water, etc.- (1) No
person or agency or a local authority or any other authority shall divert any river or interlink
two or more rivers or effect inter-basin transfer of water from such rivers without obtaining
prior permission from the Government.
(2) Where any structure is constructed in or across a river for the purpose of
diversion or linking of such river the Government or such officer or authority as the
Government may authorise in this behalf shall have the right to remove such structure and to
recover the cost of such removal from the person or authority responsible for such
construction.
7. Prohibition of quarrying of sand in water courses.- No person shall quarry
sand in any area in a water course within a distance of five hundred metres from any dam,
check dam, reservoir or any other structure or construction on or across such watercourse,
owned or controlled or maintained by Government for the purpose of irrigation :
Provided that nothing in this section shall apply to collection and removal of silt
and sand from the reservoir or the water spread area of a dam or check dam by the Water
Resources Department for the maintenance of such dam or check dam.
CHAPTER III
CONSTRUCTION OF IRRIGATION WORKS AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION
8. Construction and commissioning of irrigation works by Government.- (1)
Where the Government consider that it is necessary, in the interest of the general public, to
construct an irrigation work of any kind on any land, the Government may, by notification,
declare their intention specifying the land which is proposed to be covered by such
irrigation work.
(2) Where the Government consider that an irrigation work constructed by them
should be commissioned partly or fully, the Government shall publish in the Gazette a
notification to that effect containing such particulars as may be prescribed.
9. Consequences of construction of irrigation works.-(1) Where the
Government construct an irrigation work for utilising the water in a water course,-
(a) the Government shall be entitled to regulate, utilise, protect and
distribute all water in such water course and all the tributaries and branches thereof upwards
such irrigation work in such manner as may suit the public purpose ;
(b) no person or agency shall, without the sanction of the Government or
such authority as may be authorised by the Government in that behalf, do anything which
obstructs, interferes with, diminishes or is likely to obstruct, interfere with or diminish, the
flow of water in such water course;
(c) No person or agency shall use water from any irrigation work owned or
controlled or maintained by the Government for any purpose other than domestic purpose
except under, and in accordance with the terms and conditions of a licence issued by such
authority as may be prescribed.
(2) Where the prescribed authority is satisfied that a licence issued under clause
(c) of sub-section (1) may affect adversely the effective functioning of the irrigation work, he
may, after giving the person affected thereby an opportunity of being heard, revise or cancel
such licence.
10. Payment of amount for damage etc.- (1) Any person who, by reason of the
construction of an irrigation work by the Government, or the exercise of the powers
conferred on the Government by or under this Act, suffers material damage on account of the
deprivation or infringement of his riparian right to use watercourse for the purpose of
irrigating his land or for any other purpose, shall be paid an amount of money for such
damage:
Provided that no amount shall be payable under this sub-section to a person who
has not exercised his riparian right for a period of two years immediately preceding the
commencement of this Act:
Provided further that no payment under this sub-section shall be denied to a
person if the non-exercise of the right was for no fault of his own:
Provided also that no payment under the sub-section shall be denied to a person
without giving him a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
(2) The amount payable under sub-section (1) shall be assessed in cases where
water was being used,-
(a) for the purpose of irrigating land, at ten times the annual loss suffered or
likely to be suffered by such deprivation or infringement;
(b) for any other purpose, at five times the annual loss suffered or likely to be
suffered by such deprivation or infringement.
(3) Every claim under this section shall be preferred to the Collector within whose
jurisdiction the land , the riparian right over which is deprived of, or infringed, is situated.
(4) The Collector shall, after such enquiry as he deems fit and after giving the
claimant an opportunity of being heard, by order, determine the amount, if any, payable to
the claimant in consultation with the concerned Irrigation Officer and Agricultural Officer.
11. Bar to claims.- No claim under section 10 shall be entertained after the expiry
of one year from the date of the notification under sub-section (1) of section 8:
Provided that the Collector may, if he is satisfied that the claimant was
prevented by sufficient cause from preferring the claim within the said period of one year,
condone delay up to ninety days after the expiry of that period.
12. Appeal.-Any person aggrieved by an order of the Collector under sub-section
(4) of section 10 may, within ninety days from the date of receipt of the order, prefer an
appeal to a committee constituted by Government in this behalf, in such form and in such
manner, as may be prescribed, and the committee shall decide the appeal with in a period of
six months from the date of receipt of the appeal and its decision there on shall be final:
Provided that the committee may admit an appeal preferred after the expiry of the
said period of ninety days if it is satisfied that the appellant had sufficient cause for not
preferring the appeal within that period, but in no case such appeal shall be admitted after the
expiry of six months from the date of the receipt of the order appealed against.
13. Entrustment of irrigation works.- (1) Where the Government consider it
necessary so to do, they may, subject to such terms and conditions as may be specified by
them, entrust the construction or maintenance or both of any irrigation work, to any local
authority or to any co-operative society or other society of farmers or to any other body
corporate benefited by that irrigation work, and may, at any time, resume such work:
Provided that no work entrusted to a local authority or a co-operative society or a
society of farmers or to a body corporate shall be resumed without giving such local authority
or co-operative society or other society or body corporate an opportunity of being heard.
(2) The local authority or co-operative society or other society of farmers or any other
body corporate to which any work is entrusted under sub-section (1) shall undertake the
maintenance and upkeep of such work after completion on proper agreement and if the local
authority or co-operative society or other society of farmers or the other body as the case may
be, fails to comply with such agreement, the persons who have executed the agreement shall
be responsible for the loss, if any, or the cost of maintaining the same by the department
subsequently and such loss or cost of maintenance shall be realised from them.
Explanation.- For the purpose of this section, the expression "co-operative society"
means a society registered or deemed to be registered under the Kerala Co-operative Societies
Act, 1969 (21 of 1969) and the expression "other society" means a society registered under
the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (Central Act 21 of 1860)or, as the case may be, under the
Travancore Cochin Literary Scientific and Charitable Societies Registration Act, 1955 (12 of
1955).
14. Construction of minor and petty irrigation works.- (1) The construction and
maintenance of all minor and petty irrigation works within the limit of a local authority shall
subject to the provisions of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 and the Kerala Municipality
Act, 1994 devolve upon that authority.
(2) Where a local authority is unable to carry out the construction and maintenance
of any minor or petty irrigation work devolved on it under sub-section(1), the Government
may on written request from such local authority, carry out such work or entrust such work,
subject to such terms and conditions as they may specify, to any of the societies referred to in
section 13.
CHAPTER IV
CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF FIELD CHANNELS
15. Alignment of field channels.- The alignment of any field channel and technical
specification thereof shall be the responsibility of the Government.
16. Land owners to maintain field channel.-The maintenance of field channels
and the conveyance of water through them shall be the responsibility of the owners of the
lands benefited by such channels:
17. Maintenance of field channels by Water users Association.-Subject to section 16,
every water users association formed under section 49 shall be bound to maintain field
channels, within their respective area of operation, fit for the conveyance of water.
18. Maintenance of field channels.-Where the land owners fail to maintain field
channels and the Irrigation Officer is satisfied that maintenance of field channels is necessary
for proper irrigation of lands of such owners, he shall by notice, require the land owners
concerned to maintain field channels within such time and in such manner as may be
specified in the notice.
19. Procedure for speedy construction of field channels by Government.-(1) The
Irrigation Officer shall, in consultation with the beneficiaries or local authority, determine
suitable alignment of field channels, mark out the land which, in his opinion, is necessary for
the construction thereof and shall forthwith publish in such manner a notice in such form and
containing such particulars as may be prescribed.
(2) The Irrigation Officer shall arrange for the publication of the notice in
the village or villages and in the office of the local authority in which, such land is situated
and serve the notice on the owners of the land mentioned therein .
(3) After the service of the notice by the Irrigation Officer as required by sub-
section (2), he may require the land owners to intimate within one month from the date of
service of the notice whether they desire to carry out the work by themselves and; if so, he
may obtain an undertaking from each land owner specifying the date within which the work is
to be completed and such other particulars as may be prescribed.
(4) Where the land owners do not desire to carry out the work or fail to carry
out the work or the remaining work within the time specified in the undertaking as the case
may be, the work shall be carried out or caused to be carried out by the Irrigation Officers.
(5) The work or the remaining part of the work, as the case may be, carried
out or caused to be carried out by the Irrigation Officer under sub-section (4) shall be deemed
to have been carried out by him with the consent of the land owners.
CHAPTER V
ISSUE OF CERTIFICATES AND LEVY OF WATER CESS
20. Publication of statement showing lands benefited .- (1) As soon as may be after
the publication of this notification under sub-section (2) of section 8 in respect of an irrigation
work, the Irrigation Officer shall prepare a statement in the prescribed form showing the
lands benefited or capable of being benefited by such irrigation work, the nature of the crops
cultivated or proposed to be cultivated by the owners in such lands and the general pattern of
cropping adopted or proposed to be adopted in those lands.
(2) In the case of an irrigation work commissioned partly or fully before the commencement
of this Act or acquired partly or fully by the Government before such commencement, the
Irrigation Officer shall, as soon as may be after such commencement, prepare in the
prescribed form a statement of the lands benefited or capable of being benefited by such
irrigation work, containing the particulars mentioned in sub-section (1).
(3) The Irrigation Officer shall send sufficient copies of the statements prepared
under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) to the Tahsildar, and thereupon the Tahsildar shall
cause the statements to be published in the Taluk Office and the concerned village offices and
also serve notice on the owners of the lands included in the statement requiring them to file
objections, if any, in respect of the inclusion of such lands and the particulars of such lands in
the statement, to the Tahsildar within a period of one month from the date of receipt of the
notice:
Provided that where the lands benefited or capable of being benefited by an
irrigation work are situated in more than one taluk, the statement shall be sent to the Tahsildar
of the taluk in which the major portion of such land is situated:
Provided further that if any dispute arises regarding the taluk in which the major
portion of such lands is situated, such dispute shall be referred to the Government and the
decision of the Government thereon shall be final.
(4) The objection in pursuance of a notice under sub-section (3) shall be
confined to any one or more of the following grounds, namely:-
(a) that the land or any portion thereof is not benefited or capable of being
benefited by the irrigation work;
(b) that the person shown as owner of a land is not the owner thereof;
(c) that the area or any other particulars therein including the nature of crop or
crops cultivated or proposed to be cultivated therein is wrong;
(d) that there exist any other fact materially affecting the lands included in the
statement.
(5) The Tahsildar shall consider the objections and , after holding such enquiry as
he deems necessary and giving the objector an opportunity of being heard , make an order
within three months from the date of receipt of the objections, either rejecting the objections
or excluding the land or portion thereof from the statement or making other necessary
modifications therein.
(6) An order passed under sub-section (5) shall be communicated to the objector
in such manner as may be prescribed.
(7) Any person aggrieved by an order under sub-section (5) may appeal in such
manner as may be prescribed to the Collector within sixty days from the date of receipt of the
order and such appeal shall be decided by the Collector within two months from the date of
receipt of the appeal and the decision of the Collector thereof shall be final.
Explanation.- A land shall be deemed to be capable of being benefited
irrespective of the non- enjoyment of the benefit, if such non- enjoyment is solely due to any
act or omission on the part of the owner of that land.
21. Issue of certificate.- (1) Subject to such modifications as may be made under
sub-section (5) or sub-section (7) of section 20 in the statement prepared under sub-section (1)
or sub-section (2) of that section, a certificate showing the area of land and the crop cultivated
therein shall be issued by the Tahsildar, in such form and in such manner and subject to such
conditions as may be prescribed , to the owners of the lands included in the said statement and
copies thereof shall be sent by him to the officers of the local authority within the local area of
jurisdiction of which the lands included in the certificate situate.
(2) A certificate issued under sub-section (1) shall be valid for a period of ten
years from the date of issue, unless cancelled in accordance with the provisions of this Act or
modified as and when the crops or cropping pattern is changed.
(3) The owner of land to whom a certificate has been issued under sub-section (1
) may, within forty five days from the date of receipt of the same apply to the prescribed
authority for the cancellation or modification, as the case may be, of the certificate if he is
aggrieved by the issue of, or by any of the conditions in, the certificate.
(4) On receipt of an application under sub-section (3) the prescribed authority
may, after such enquiry as it thinks fit and after giving the owner of the land an opportunity of
being heard, for reasons to be recorded in writing, by order, cancel or modify, or refuse to
cancel or modify, the certificate.
(5) Any person aggrieved by an order of the prescribed authority under sub-
section (4) may, within forty five days from the date of receipt of the order by him, appeal to
the Collector in such manner as may be prescribed and the Collector shall, after giving him an
opportunity of being heard, pass within sixty days from the date of receipt of the appeal, such
order thereon as he thinks fit.
(6) The order of the Collector under sub-section (5) shall be final.
(7) Where a certificate has not been issued to the owner of a land included in the
statement prepared under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 20 or if such statement
has been modified under sub-section (5) or sub-section (7) of that section, in such modified
statement, such owner may apply to the Tahsildar, within such time as may be prescribed, for
the issue of the certificate and the Tahsildar may, within thirty days from the date of receipt of
the application, issue, or refuse to issue the certificate after such enquiry as he deems fit.
22. Cancellation or modification of certificate.- Notwithstanding anything
contained in section 21, the Secretary to Government, Water Resources Department or an
officer authorised by Government in that behalf may, at any time, for reason to be recorded in
writing by order, cancel or modify a certificate issued under that section:
Provided that no such order shall be made without giving the person affected
by the order an opportunity of being heard.
23. Levy of irrigation cess by Government.- (1) The Government shall be
entitled to levy an annual irrigation cess on all lands in respect of which certificates have been
issued under section 21, so long as such certificates are in force.
(2) The levy of irrigation cess under sub- section (1) shall be at such rate as
may be notified by Government from time to time and shall be paid within such time and in
such manner as may be prescribed.
(3) Arrears of irrigation cess levied under sub-section (1) shall bear interest at
the rate of 6% per annum.
(4) Every owner to whom, certificate has been issued under section 21 shall, so
long as such certificate is in force, be liable to pay the water cess levied under sub-section
(1) on or before the due date as shown in the certificate without any separate demand for
payment.
24. Exemption from payment of irrigation cess.- Where there has been failure of
crops in any area, the Government may notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, by
notification, for reasons to be specified in the notification, make an exemption or reduction in
rate in respect of the irrigation cess leviable under this Act on any land included in the
notification for such period as may be specified therein.
25. Levy of irrigation cess by local authority.- (1) A local authority may, with the
previous sanction of the Government, levy an annual irrigation cess on lands benefited by
minor irrigation works executed by it.
(2) The rate of irrigation cess levied under sub-section (1) shall be fixed by the
Government from time to time:
Provided that the rate of irrigation cess fixed under sub-section (2) shall in the
case of minor irrigation works, not more than the rate at which irrigation cess is levied by the
Government on lands benefited by medium irrigation works executed by the Government.
(3) Where there has been failure of crops in any area, the local authority concerned
may by resolution make an exemption or reduction in rate in respect of the irrigation cess
leviable under this section on any land within their jurisdiction.
CHAPTER VI
OBTAINING MATERIALS IN EMERGENCIES
26. Impressment of materials for urgent works, repairs, etc.-(1)Whenever it appears to
the Irrigation Officer that unless some work or repair is immediately executed, an irrigation
work would sustain such serious damage as to cause sudden and extensive public injury, such
officer or any other person authorised by him in that behalf may, under intimation to the
owner or occupier of any land in the neighbourhood of any such irrigation work, enter upon
and take possession of such land and appropriate or remove any trees, timber, bamboos, mats,
ropes, straws, earth, stones, or other materials found therein, and use the same for the purpose
of such work or repair.
(2). The Irrigation Officer or any other person authorised by him, who appropriates
or removes any materials under sub-section (1), shall prepare an inventory thereof and keep it
as a record duly signed by himself, the owner or occupier of the land and two witnesses of the
locality.
27. Payment for materials taken.-(1) The Irrigation Officer shall, as early as
possible, but in no case later than thirty days from the date on which the work or repair under
section 26 was completed, pay to the person whose materials were taken for the said purpose,
the cost of such materials calculated at a rate of 25% in excess of the prevailing market rate.
(2) If any dispute arises as to the prevailing market rate of any materials, such
disputes shall be referred by the Irrigation Officer to the Collector, whose decision thereon
shall be final.
(3) Where the cost of materials is not paid within the period specified in sub-
section (1), it shall bear interest at the rate of 12% per annum.
28. Payment for damage in taking materials.- Whenever as a result of the removal of
any tree, timber, bamboos, earth, stone or other materials under section 26,causes any damage
directly to the property of any person, the Irrigation Officer shall compensate that person for
such damage, and in case of dispute as to the sufficiency of the amount so paid, he shall refer
the dispute to the Collector whose decision thereon shall be final .
CHAPTER VII
REGULATION OF WATER SUPPLY FOR IRRIGATION
29. Distribution of Water from Irrigation Works.- (1) Distribution of water from all
irrigation works constructed or maintained wholly or partly at the cost of Government shall
be regulated by such rules or orders as may be made or issued by the Government from time
to time.
(2) Distribution of water from irrigation works constructed or maintained at the
cost of a local authority shall be subject to such regulations as may be made by that authority.
(3) An irrigation calender shall be published one month before the date of water
distribution by the Water Resourses Department every year, and the same shall be formed or
modified in accordance with the need and cropping pattern every year, in consultation with
the beneficiaries and with the scientific assessment of the water available and demand.
30. Distribution of Water to another State or Union Territory.- No water from a
watercourse in the State shall be distributed to any other State or Union Territory, except in
accordance with an agreement between the State Government and the Government of such
other State or the Union Territory in terms of a resolution to that effect passed by the
Legislative Assembly of the State.
CHAPTER VIII
EXECUTION OF WORKS BY JOINT LABOUR
31. Procedure on failure to contribute cost or labour for work to be done by joint
labour.- (1) Where, by local custom or for any other good reason, any work connected with
irrigation or flood control or drainage of water for the purpose of agriculture is to be done by
the joint labour or at the cost of owners of all the lands likely to be benefited by such work,
and where any of such owners fails or neglects to do his share of the work or contribute his
share of the cost of labour, it shall be lawful for the Collector, or the Punja Special Officer,
appointed by government in this behalf or any other officer authorised by the Government,
on the application of one or more of the owners interested in such work or injured or likely to
be injured by such failure or neglect, to investigate the matter and pass such order as he deems
fit, and he may, by such order, also direct the defaulting owner to execute any portion of such
work or pay any portion of the cost of the work.
(2) An order directing that the defaulting owner shall execute the portion of the
work shall also specify the portion of the work to be executed, the time within which it should
be done, and the estimate of the cost of such work prepared in such manner as may be
prescribed.
(3) Where the defaulting owner refuses or fails to execute such work within the
time specified in the order under sub-section (1), the Collector, the Punja Special Officer or
such other officer authorised by the Government under that sub-section may entrust the work
to be executed by some other person, and the cost thereof may be recovered from the
defaulting owner in such manner as may be prescribed.
32. Dewatering etc. of Padesekharam:- (1) Where the committee of a
padasekharam applies to the Collector, the Punja Special Officer or any other officer
authorised by the Government in that behalf, to arrange for the dewatering of that
Padasekharam for the purpose of paddy cultivation, it shall be lawful for the Collector, the
Punja Special Officer or such other officer to arrange for the dewatering of such
padasekharam and to recover the cost of such dewatering from all the owners of such
padasekharam:
Provided that arrangement for dewatering shall not be made unless the Irrigation
Officer has certified, after due investigation, the safety of the land in a padasekharam.
(2) The Collector, the Punja Special Officer or the officer authorised under sub-
section (1), arranging dewatering of any padasekharam under the said sub-section or any
person or persons authorised by him to undertake such dewatering work shall,
notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, have the
power to enter upon any field in that padasekharam and to install any machiney for the
purpose of such dewatering and to execute any temporary work incidental thereto.
(3) Where cultivation in any padasekharam or in any portion thereof is likely to be
affected for want of proper irrigation or drainage facilities, the Collector, the Punja Special
Officer or the officer authorised by the Government under sub-section (1) shall have the
power to arrange for the execution of any temporary work as is necessary to irrigate or drain
the padasekharam or any portion thereof, as the case may be, and the cost thereof shall be
realised from all the owners of tExcerpt shown. Open the full act in Lexace.