(1) This Act may be called “The Uttarakhand State Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion & Facilitation) Act, 2020.
(2) It extends to the whole of State of Uttarakhand.
(3) It shall come into force at once.
Definition. 2. In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context -
(1) “Administration” means an administration of State Government;
(2) “Ad-hoc buyer” includes a buyer to be registered under Section 79 of this Act;
(3) “Agricultural produce” includes all produce, whether processed or not, of agriculture, 2 horticulture, apiculture, forest excluding trees grown on private land, specified in the schedule ;
(4) “Agriculturist ” means a person who is engaged in production of agricultural produce including rearing of livestock by himself or by hired labour or otherwise, including tenant;
“Agriculturist” also includes association of farmers, by whatever name called, registered under any law for the time being in force and is engaged in aggregation of member farmers’ produce including livestock;
(Explanation: If a question arises, as to whether any person is an agriculturist or not for the purpose of this Act, the decision of the District Collector / Deputy Commissioner/ District Magistrate/ Officer In-charge of Land Revenue of the District by whatever name it may be called in which such person is engaged in production of agricultural produce and/or rearing of livestock, shall be final.
Further, the expressions of land holder and tenant shall have the meaning assigned to them in the respective Land Reforms Act of the States).
(5) “Assaying lab” means a laboratory set up, as prescribed in the Rules/Bye-laws/guidelines/ instructions, for testing of quality parameters as per the tradable parameters or grade-standards or any other parameters notified by the competent authority;
(6) “Board” means the Marketing Board, established by Uttarakhand State Government;
(7) “Buyer” means a person, who himself or itself or on behalf of any person or agent buys or agrees to buy agricultural produce including livestock in the market;
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(8) “Bye-laws” means subject to any Rules made by State Government under this Act, the Market Committee may, in respect of principal market yard and sub-market yard(s) or other sub marketyard(s) under its management, make Bye-laws for the regulation of business and conditions of trading therein”;
(9) “Cold storage” means cold storage declared as market sub-yard under Section 12 of this Act”;
(10) “Commission agent” means a person who buys or sells agricultural produce including livestock on behalf of his principal, or facilitates buying and selling at primary and other level of transaction, on e-platform or any other mode of transaction and activities ancillary thereto, keeps it in his custody and controls it during the process of its sale or purchase, and collects payment thereof, if required, from the buyer and pays it to the seller, and receives by way of remuneration a commission or percentage upon the amount involved in such transaction;
(11) “Delineated Market Area” means a geographical area notified under Section 5 for the purpose of election of the Members of Market Committee and undertaking marketing related development therein;
(12) “Director” means Director of Agricultural Marketing or any other officer, excepting Managing Director of State Agricultural Marketing Board, appointed by the State Government, by notification to exercise and/or perform such of the powers or functions of the Director of Agricultural Marketing under the provisions of this Act or the Rules, as may be prescribed in notification;
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(13) “Direct marketing” in relation to agricultural produce, means direct wholesale purchase of agricultural produce from the farmers by the processors, exporters, bulk buyers, etc outside the principal market yard, sub-market yard, private market yard and market sub-yard under Section 13 of this Act;
(14) “Electronic trading” means trading of notified agricultural produce including livestock in which registration, auctioning, billing, booking, contracting, negotiating, information exchanging, record keeping and other connected activities are done electronically on computer network/ internet;
(15) “Electronic trading platform” means electronic platform set up either by State Government or its agencies or a person licenced under Section 54 for conducting trading in notified agricultural produce including livestock through electronic media or by any means of communication in which registration, buying and selling, billing, booking, contracting and negotiating are carried out online through computer network/ internet or any other such electronic device;
(16) “Export” means dispatch of agricultural produce including livestock outside India;
(17) “Farmer-Consumer Market Yard” means market yard established under Section 11 of this Act ;
(18) “Farmer-Producer Company (FPC)” means a company of farmer-producer members as defined in Section IXA of the Indian Companies Act,1956, including any amendments thereto, re-enactment thereof and incorporated with the Registrar of Companies;
(19) “Government” means the State Government;
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(20) “Government Agency” means State Agricultural Marketing Department/ Directorate, State Agricultural Marketing Board (SAMB), Agricultural Produce and Livestock Market Committee (APLMC) established or constituted under this Act;
(21) “Licence” means licence granted under the provisions of this Act;
(22) “Licensee” means a person holding a licence issued under the provisions of this Act;
(23) “Livestock” means cows, buffaloes, bullocks, bulls, goats and sheep, and includes poultry, fish and such other animals, and products thereof, specified in the schedule ;
(24) “Managing Director” means Managing Director of the State Agricultural Marketing Board or any other Officer, except the Director of Agricultural Marketing, appointed by the State Government, to exercise and/or perform such of the powers and functions of the Managing Director or Chief Administrator or Administrator or Chief Executive Officer or Secretary, or by whatever name it is called, of the State Agricultural Marketing Board;
(25) “Market Committee” means the Agricultural Produce and Livestock Market Committee established under the provisions of this Act or established under existing regulation;
(26) “Marketing” in relation to Agriculture Produce means all activities involved in the flow of agricultural produce from production point commencing at the stage of harvest till the same reaches the ultimate consumers viz. grading, processing, storage, transport, channels of distribution and all other functions involved in the process;
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(27) “Market Sub-Yard” means warehouse/ silos/ cold storage or other such structure or place declared to be market sub-yard or deem to be market subyard under Section 12;
(28) “Market Yard” in relation to delineated market area includes principal market yard, sub –market yard and market sub-yard in such delineated market area notified by the Government, and managed & operated by the Agricultural Produce and Livestock Market Committee;
(29) “Market Yard of National Importance” means a market yard as notified under Section 9 of this Act;
(30) “National Agriculture Market (NAM)” means an integrated market, without prejudice to any law for the time being in force, where buying and selling of notified agricultural produce including livestock and activities incidental thereto are carried out in India possessing marketing utility across time and space”;
(31) “Notified Agricultural Produce and Livestock” means agricultural produce and livestock, specified in the schedule of this Act;
(32) “Over trading” in relation to a trader means the amount exceeding the value of the agricultural produce including livestock purchased at any point of time vis-à-vis to the amount of security deposited with or the bank guarantee he has furnished to the Market Committee;
(33) “Person” includes individual, a co-operative society, Hindu Undivided Family, a company or firm or an association or a body of individuals, whether incorporated or not;
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(34) “Petty Trader” in relation to agricultural produce means a non licensee trader under this Act who carries on purchasing or selling of notified agricultural produce in the quantity not exceeding of such quantity as specified in this Act and notified by the State Government as retail;
(35) “Prescribed” means prescribed by Rules and/or Bye-laws made under this Act;
(36) “Private Market Yard” means a market yard established under Section 10 of this Act;
(37) “Processing Unit” means processing unit declared as market sub-yard under Section 12 of this Act”;
(38) “Processor” in relation to agriculture produce means a person that undertakes processing of any notified agricultural produce on his own accord or on payment of a charge;
(39) “Registration” means registration made under this Act for the purpose as specified;
(40) “Regulation” means regulation made by the Board under Section 98 of this Act;
(41) “Retail Sale” in relation to a notified agricultural produce means, a sale not exceeding such quantity as specified in this Act and notified by the State Government;
(42) “Revolving Market Development Fund” means a non-lapsable Fund maintained by Director under Section 112 (1) of this Act;
(43) “Rules” means rules made under this Act by the State Government ;
(44) “Seller” means a person who sells or agrees to sell agricultural produce including livestock for consideration of price;
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(45) “Schedule” means the Schedule appended to this Act;
(46) “Silo” means silo declared as market sub-yard under Section 12 of this Act ;
(47) “Special Commodity Market Yard” means a market yard as notified under Section 8 of this Act;
(48) “State” means Uttarakhand State;
(49) “Trader” means, a person who buys notified agricultural produce including livestock either for himself or as an agent of one or more persons for the purpose of selling, processing, manufacturing or for any other purpose, as the case may be , except for the purpose of domestic consumption ;
(50) “Year” means the year as may be notified by the State Government ;
(51) “Warehouse” means warehouse declared as market sub-yard under Section 12 of this Act”.
CHAPTER-II ESTABLISHMENT OF MARKETS Notification of Intention of regulating marketing of specified agricultural produce and livestock.
3.(1) The State Government may, by notification in the official gazette, declare its intention of regulating the marketing of such agricultural produce and livestock, in the State, as may be specified in the notification.
The notification may be brought to the notice of the interested public by publishing in local language & English on widely circulated platforms/ media like newspapers, websites and such other formats:
Provided that no area within the limits of a municipality shall be included for regulation under this Act except after consultation with the municipal Board or municipal council, as the case may be.
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(2) The notification under sub-section (1) shall state that any objections or suggestions which may be received by the Government within such period as shall be specified in the notification, not being less than thirty days, will be considered by the Government.
(3) Government may hold consultations with Local bodies, including Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and autonomous district councils who own and operate rural periodical markets or haats or any other such markets for marketing of agricultural produce and livestock within their jurisdictional area, to bring such markets under the regulation of this Act, so as to develop these markets to efficiently function as marketing platform nearest to the farm gate.
Declaration of whole State as one unified market area.
4. Subject to the notification made under Section 3 and after considering such objections and suggestions as may be received from any source before expiry of such period, the Government may, by another notification, declare the whole State as one unified market area specified in the notification issued under Section 3 of this Act for the purpose of regulation of marketing of all or any of the kinds of agricultural produce and Livestock.
Explanation: The area so declared shall be a single unified market area for the whole State for regulation of marketing of notified agricultural produce and livestock.
10 Notification of delineated market area.
5. Subject to the provision made in Sections 3 and 4, the Government may, by further notification, delineate geographical area for a Market Committee as a delineated market area for the purpose of selection of the Members of such Market Committee and undertaking development activities therein.
Explanation: The Market Committee shall not regulate marketing of notified agricultural produce and livestock in its delineated market area. The Market Committee shall enforce regulation on marketing of notified agricultural produce and livestock within the principal market yard, submarket yard(s) and market sub-yard(s).
Alteration/ Amalgamation of delineated market area and of items of agricultural produce and livestock.
6.(1) Subject to the procedure specified in Sections 3 and 5, Government may, at any time by notification , exclude from any delineated market area , any area or include therein an additional area or split one delineated market area in two or more such areas or amalgamate two or more such areas in one delineated market area, or may exclude any notified agricultural produce and livestock from regulation , or include any agricultural produce and livestock, hitherto not regulated, for regulation under this Act.
(2) After the alteration of delineated market area or the items of agricultural produce and livestock, if any, under this Section, it shall not be necessary for the Director to make any declaration under this section unless he is of the opinion that it is necessary to declare any area, hitherto not declared, as delineated market area of any Market Committee.
11 Principal market yard, sub-market yard, market subyard , private market yard , private market sub- yard, farmerconsumer market yard, private farmerconsumer market and electronic trading platform.