(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force or any contract or other instrument having force by virtue of any such law, any lending, whether in cash or kind, for any purpose whatsoever, either without any security or on the security of any property, made by any person to a Tribal before the appointed date, shall be deemed to be invalid and void ab initio, and thereupon the provisions of the Maharashtra Debt Relief Act, 1975, shall apply to such invalid and void debts as they apply in relation to debts which are deemed to be wholly discharged under that Act.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this sub-section, “a Tribal” means a Tribal who is either a marginal farmer, a rural artisan or a rural labourer, 1[and who is not an assessee under the Income-tax Act, 1961, on the appointed date] or who on the appointed date holds land not more than 9 hectares of unirrigated land or 3 hectares of perennially irrigated land. Where a Tribal holds unirrigated land as well as perennially irrigated land, one hectare of perennially irrigated land shall be considered as equivalent to three hectares of unirrigated land and vice versa.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, no person shall, after the appointed date, lend anything, whether in cash or in kind, for any purpose whatsoever, to a Tribal either without any security or on the security of any property or bind down any Tribal to daily attendance, or to manual labour or to both until the loan is repaid and any such lending made, on or after the appointed date by any person to a Tribal, shall be deemed to be invalid and void ab initio, and if any such lending is made on the security of any property, such property shall be forthwith delivered to the Tribal.
(3) Unless the claim to the property is disputed, if the property is not delivered forthwith, the Tribal may request the Commissioner of Police where there is one, and elsewhere, the District Magistrate or the Superintendent of Police, to enforce delivery of possession of such property. The Commissioner of Police, the District Magistrate, or as the case may be, the Superintendent of Police, shall take or cause to be taken such steps, or use or cause to be used such force as may be reasonably necessary, for securing delivery of the possession of the property, to the Tribal.
4 The Maharashtra Tribals Economic Condition [1977 : Mah. V (Improvement) Act, 1976 Effect of Act, rules, etc., inconsistent with other enactments.
Mah.
III of
1976.
Mah.
III of
1976.
XLIII of 1961.
Lending in cash or kind to Tribals.
1 These words and figures shall be deemed always to have been substituted for the words, letters and figures, “whose net income from all sources does not exceed Rs. 8,000 per annum on the appointed date” by Mah. 56 of 1977, s. 4.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this sub-section,—
(a) “the Commissioner of Police” includes an officer not below the rank of Inspector of Police duly authorised by him;
(b) “the District Magistrate” includes an officer not below the rank of Tahsildar duly authorised by him; and
(c) “the Superintendent of Police” includes an officer not below the rank of Sub-Inspector of Police duly authorised by him.
(4) Nothing contained in sub-sections (1) and (2) shall apply to any lending referred to in those sub-sections made to any Tribal by the State Government, or any corporation owned or controlled by the State or agent authorised by it in this behalf, co-operative society or local authority or by any bank.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this sub-section,—
(1) “a co-operative society” means a society registered or deemed to be registered under the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960;
(2) “a bank” means—
(a) “a banking company as defined in the Banking Regulation Act, 1949;
(b) the State Bank of India constituted under the State Bank of India Act, 1955;
(c) a subsidiary bank as defined in the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959;
(d) a corresponding new bank constituted under the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970;
(e) the Regional Rural Bank constituted under the Regional Rural Banks Act, 1976;
(f) the Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation constituted under the Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation Act, 1963;
(g) any other banking institution notified by the Central Government under section 51 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
5. 1[(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, but subject to the provisions of this section—
(a) no producer or foregatherer of such agricultural produce in such Tribal area as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify (hereinafter referred to as “the specified produce” and “the specified Tribal area”, respectively), shall, after the appointed date, sell such specified produced in such specified Tribal area, either for cash or in kind or in any other manner whatsoever, to any person, except to the State Government or Tribal Authority or agent authorised by the State Government;
1977 : Mah. V] The Maharashtra Tribals Economic Condition 5 (Improvement) Act, 1976 Marketing and transport of specified agricultural produce prohibited.
Mah.
XXIV of
1961.
1 Sub-section (1) was substituted by Mah. 56 of 1977, s. 5(a).
10 of
1949.
23 of
1955.
38 of
1959.
5 of
1970.
21 of
1976.
10 of
1963.
10 of
1949.
(b) no person, except the State Government, Tribal Authority or agent authorised by the State Government, shall purchase from the producer or foregatherer any specified produce in any specified Tribal area.]
(2) The State Government or the Tribal Authority may by order in writing open collection centres in the specified Tribal area for collecting thereat the specified produce for the purpose of their marketing. The State Government or the Tribal Authority shall publish such order for the information of the public in such manner as it thinks fit.
(3) Where 1[any producer or foregatherer] wishes to sell any specified produce within the specified Tribal area under the provisions of this Act, he shall tender all such specified produce only at the collection centre opened for the purpose under sub-section (2).
2[(4) Nothing in sub-section (1) shall apply to any sale by retail by any producer or foregatherer of any specified produce in any specified Tribal area or to any purchase by retail by any person from any producer or foregatherer of such produce in such area.]
(5) When any agricultural produce is notified in relation to any specified Tribal area under sub-section (1), no person other than the State Government, Tribal Authority or agent 3[authorised by the State Government] in this behalf shall, except with the previous permission of the State Government or the Tribal Authority or any officer or other person authorised by the State Government, transport or attempt to transport any such specified produce from such Tribal area to any place outside such area, or vice versa.