In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
[(a) "adult" or "adult person" means a person who has attained the age of eighteen years;
(a-a1) "applicant" means the head of a household or any of its adult members who has applied for employment under the Scheme;
(a-a2) "Block" means a community development area within a district comprising of a group of Gram Panchayats;]
[(a-1) "Central Act" means the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (42 of 2005);]
[(a-2) "Central Council" means the Central Employment Guarantee Council constituted under sub-section (1) of section 10 of the Central Act ;]
(b) "the Committee" means the District Level Committee, or, as the case may be, the Panchayat Samiti Level Committee, constituted under section 5;
[(b-1) "District Programme Co-ordinator" means an officer of the State Government designated as such under sub-section (1) of section 6-1A, for implementation of the Scheme in a district;
(b-2) "Gram Panchayat" means a panchayat constituted under the Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act (III of 1956);
(b-3) "household" means the members of a family related to each other by blood, marriage or adoption and normally residing together and sharing meals or holding a common ration card;]
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[(d) "implementing agency" includes any Department of the State Government, a Zilla Parishad, Panchayat Samiti, Gram Panchayat or any local authority or Government undertaking authorized by the State Government to undertake the implementation of any work under the Scheme;]
(e) "implementing officer" means the highest officer of the implementing agency in the District or any officer subordinate to him to whom any of the powers or duties of the agency have been entrusted ;
[(e-a1) "Joint District Programme Co-ordinator" means an officer of the State Government designated as such under sub-section (4) of section 6-1A, for implementation of the Scheme in a district;
(e-a2) "Joint Programme Officer" means an officer appointed under sub-section (1) of section 6-1B, for implementing the Scheme;]
[(e-1) "minimum wage" means the minimum wage fixed for agricultural labourers for the relevant Zone by the State Government under section 3 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 (II of 1948);]
[(e-2) "MGNREGS State Fund of Maharashtra" means the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme State Fund of Maharashtra constituted under section 12-A;]
[(f) "Panchayat Samiti area" means the local area of a Block constituted under section 5 of the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act, 1961 (Mah. V of 1962);]
(g) [* * *]
[(g-1) "preferred work" means any work which is taken up for implementation on a priority basis under a Scheme;]
(h) "productive works" means any works which, in the opinion of the State Government, will directly or indirectly contribute to the increase of production, or the absence of which will inhibit the increase of production;
(i) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
[(i-a) "Programme Officer" means an officer appointed under sub-section (1) of section 6-1B, for implementing the Scheme;
(i-b) "project" means any work taken up under a Scheme for the purpose of providing employment to applicants;]
[(j) "rural area" means any area in the State except the urban area within the meaning of clause (m-1) of this section and those covered by any urban local body or a cantonment board established or constituted under any law for the time being in force;]
[(k) "Scheme" means the Employment Guarantee Scheme prepared and published under section 3-A;]
[(l) "State Council" means the Maharashtra State Employment Guarantee Council constituted under section 4 ;
(m) "unskilled manual work" means any physical work which any adult person is capable of doing without any skill or special training ;
[(m-1) "urban area" means the local area of a "C" Class Municipal Council or a Nagar Panchayat constituted under the Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act, 1965 (Mah. XL of 1965); ]
[(n) "wage rate" means the wage rate referred to in section 3-C;]
(o) "Zilla Parishad" means the Zilla Parishad established under section 6 of the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act, 1961 (Mah. V of 1962).]