THE HIMACHAL PRADESH TRACTOR CULTIVATION (RECOVERY OF CHARGES) ACT, 1973 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Part I Preliminary Sections:
1. Short title, extent, and commencement.
2. Definitions. Part II Tractor Cultivation
3. Application for tractor cultivation.
4. Procedure in dealing with applications.
5. Notice of demand.
6. Period within which payment is to be made.
7. Recovery of outstanding dues as arrears of land revenue. Part III General
8. Power to make rules.
9. Repeal and savings. THE HTMACHAL PRADESH TRACTOR CULTIVATION (RECOVERY OF CHARGES) ACT, 1973 (Act No. 16 of 1973)1 (Received the assent of the Governor on the 9th June, 1973 and was published in R.H.P. Extra., dated the 4th July, 1973 at p. 1162-1164). An Act to provide for the cultivation of certain areas by means of tractors by the Department of Agriculture, Himachal Pradesh, and for the recovery of charges in respect of such cultivation. Amended, repealed or otherwise affected by,-
(i) H.P. Act No. 34 of 19782, published in R.H.P. Extra., dated
19.10.1978, page 1901. 1For Statement of Objects and Reasons see R.H.P. Extra., dated 6th January, 1973, p.
9.
2 . For Statement of Objects and Reasons see R.H.P. Extra., dated 16.9.1978, p.
1238. BE it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of Himachal Pradesh in the Twenty-fourth Year of the Republic of India as follows :-
PART I PRELIMINARY
1. Short title, extent and commencement.-(1) This Act may be called the Himachal Pradesh Tractor Cultivation (Recovery of Charges) Act,
1973.
(2) It extends to the whole of Himachal Pradesh.
(3) It shall come into force at once.
2. Definitions.-In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,-
(a) "cultivator" means a person who actually cultivates the soil himself or through members of his household, or gets it cultivated by hired labour ; 1[(b) "Director” means the Director of Agriculture, Himachal Pradesh and includes any other officer so empowered by the State Government in this behalf;]
(c) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act ;
(d) “tractor" means a tractor owned by or worked under the control of the Department of Agriculture, Himachal Pradesh ;
(e) "tractor cultivation" includes any agricultural operation such as ploughing, harrowing, discing, sowing or harvesting which may be performed by tractors ;
( f ) "tractor cultivation charges" means the charges recoverable on account of tractor cultivation.
PART II TRACTOR CULTIVATION
3. Application far tractor cultivation.- (1) Any cultivator may make an application in writing in prescribed form to the Director for havingany agricultural operation performed by tractors on his land or any part of it.
(2) Such application shall be accompanied by a deposit, made in the prescribed manner, of full tractor cultivation charges, according to the prescribed scale:
Provided that in exceptional cases, Director may require only such part as he may specify of the full cultivation charges to be deposited with the application. 1 Clause (b) subs. vide Act No. 34 of 1978.
4. Procedure in dealing with applications.-(1) If the Director accepts an application made under section 3 he shall take all steps necessary in connection therewith.
(2) In case such application is rejected, any deposit made with the application shall be refunded forthwith.
5. Notice of demand.-As soon as may be after the tractor cultivation has been completed, and the amount has fallen due, the Director shall, in respect of such cultivation serve on the cultivator a notice of demand specifying the amount due from him after taking into account the deposit, if any, made by him.
6.Period within which payment is to be made.-A cultivator, whose land has been brought under tractor cultivation on his application, shall within one month of the date of the receipt of notice of demand under section 5 pay in the prescribed manner the sums specified in such notice.
7. Recovery of outstanding dues as arrears of land revenue.-If any cultivator fails to make payment as specified in section 6, the sum due from him shall be recoverable as arrears of land revenue. Part III GENERAL
8. Power to make rules.-(1) The State Government may from timeto time by notification make rules1 for the purposes of carrying into effectthe provisions of this Act.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoingpower, the State Government may make rules regulating or determining allor any of the following matters:-
(a) the mode of making a deposit under sub-section (2) of section 3;
(b) the scale of tractor cultivation charges ; and
(c) the manner of making payment under section 6.
(3)Every rule made under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may beafter it is made, before the Legislative Assembly while it is in session for atotal period of not less than fourteen days which may be comprised in onesession or in two or more successive sessions and if before the expiry of thesession in which it is so laid or the sessions aforesaid, the Assembly makesany modification in the rule or decides that the rule should not be made,the rule, shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect,as the case may be, so, however, that any such modification or annulmentshall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done underthat rule. 1Rules framedvide Not. No.6-3/73-Agr.Sectt., dated the 27th December 1973, appended.
9. Repeal and savings.-The East Punjab Tractor Cultivation (Recoveryof Charges) Act, 1949 (11 of 1949), as in force in the areas added to HimachalPradesh under section 5 of the Punjab Re-organisation Act, 1966 (31of 1966),is hereby repealed:
Provided that anything done or any action taken under the said Actshall, in so far as it is not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, be deemedto have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of this Act. ____________