Section Text
1997.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Bihar.
(3) It shall come into force at once. In this Act unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context-
(a) "Assured irrigable Command" means an area declared to be an
assured irrigable command area under section 50:
(b) "Beneficiary" means-
i. In relation to any irrigation channel, a person whose land is
irrigated or is capable of being irrigated by any irrigation work of
the State Government;
ii. In relation to any flood embankment work, a person whose land
is protected or is likely to be protected by such embankment;
iii. In relation to any drainage work a person whose land is benefited
or is likely to be benefited from such drainage work;
(c) "Betterment Contribution" means contribution levied under chapter
XII of this Act;
(d) "Betterment levy officer" means such officer as the State Government
may appoint to be the betterment levy officer in respect of any area of
an irrigation work, or portion of an irrigation work:
(e) "Block" means an area defined as such under section 2 of the Bihar
Panchayat Raj Act, 1993 (Bihar Act 19 of 1993);
(f) "Block Development Officer" means an officer appointed as such
under section 2 of the Bihar Panchayat Raj Act, 1993 (Bihar Act 19 of
1993);
(g) "Canal Revenue" means and includes water rate, betterment
contribution, water cess, license fee for fishing and navigation, sale of
grass, trees and other produce from the land belonging to irrigation
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work, proceeds from lease of land belonging to irrigation work, and
from water mills;
(h) "Collector" means the head revenue officer of a district and includes a
deputy Commissioner or other officer appointed by the State
Government to exercise all or any of the powers of a Collector;
(i) "Culturable commanded area" means all lands which are fit for
cultivation under irrigable command of an irrigation work;
(j) "Canal" means and includes-
(i) "Main Canal". which takes off from an irrigation work and
normally does not irrigate the fields directly;
(ii) "Branch Canal" which branches off from main canal and feeds
the distributaries, like main canal the branch canal may not
irrigate the field directly;
(iii) "Distributary /Sub-distributary" which takes off directly from
main canal or branch canals or a larger distributary to distribute
water to minors and water courses;
(iv) "Minor" Which takes off from a distributary or sub-distributary
to distribute water to other minor water courses and / or field
channels, capacities of the minors may be different in different
projects/schemes;
(v) "Water course" which takes off from a distributary or a minor
to distribute water to the field channels. Its capacity may be
different in different projects /schemes;
(vi) "Outlet" which is an opening constructed in an irrigation work
through which water is delivered to a field channel or directly
to the fields;
(k) "Drainage work" means and includes-
(i) Channels either natural or artificial for the discharge of waste or
surplus water and all works connected with or auxiliary to such
channel ;
(ii) Escape channel from an irrigation work, dams, weirs,
embankments, flood embankments, sluices, groynes and other
works connected therewith, but does not include works for the
removal of sewage;
(iii) Any work in connection with a system of reclamation made or
improved by State Government for the purpose of drainage of
an area;.
(iv) all field drains, i.e., drains, except channels and other similar
works constructed and maintained by the owners or occupiers
or by the State Govt. on behalf and at the cost of the owners or
occupiers.
(l) "Embankment" means and includes
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(i) every bank, dam, wall and dyke made or used for excluding
water from or for retaining water upon any land; every sluice,
spur, groyne, training wall or other work annexed to, or portion
of any such embankment; every bank, dam, dyke, wall groyne
or spur made or erected for the protection of any such
embankment or of any land from erosion or over flow by or of
river, tides, waves or waters; and also all buildings and roads,
intended for purpose of inspection and supervision and
(ii) Public Embankment maintained by the State Government .
(m) (i) "Engineer" means an engineer in-charge of irrigation works in
the area or any engineer specially appointed by the State
Government to perform the function of an engineer under this
Act;
(ii) "Chief Engineer" means the Chief Engineer of the Water
Resources Department of the State Government , and includes
any person appointed by the State Government , by notification
to be Chief Engineer for the purposes of this Act either
generally or in respect of any proposed work or sanctioned
work specified in such notification who shall be responsible and
answerable for the proper and efficient working of the branch of
irrigation works under him and work as professional advisor to
Government in all matters relating to his branch.
(iii) "Superintending Engineer" means an officer appointed by the
State Government to be Superintending Engineer in charge of a
Circle, an administrative unit of Water Resources Department
who shall be responsible to the Chief Engineer for the
administration and general professional control of irrigation
works and officers of the department within his circle and
includes any person appointed by the State Government, by
notification to be Superintending Engineer for the purposes of
this Act either generally or in respect of any proposed work or
sanctioned work specified in such notification.
(iv) "Executive Engineer" means an officer appointed by the State
Government to be Executive Engineer in charge of a division,
an executive unit of Water Resources Department who shall be
responsible to Superintending Engineer for execution and
management of all works in his division and includes any
person appointed by the State Government by notification to be
Executive Engineer for the purpose of this Act either generally
or in respect of any proposed or sanctioned work specified in
such notification.
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(v) "Divisional Canal Officer" means an Executive Engineer
exercising control over a Division of an irrigation work, or a
portion of an irrigation work and includes any person appointed
by the State Government by notification to be Divisional Canal
Officer for the purpose of this Act either generally or in respect
of any proposed work or sanctioned work specified in such
notification.
(vi) "Canal Officer" means an officer exercising control over a sub-
division of an irrigation work or portion of an irrigation work
and includes an officer to whom any of the function of a Canal
Officer under this Act have been assigned by the State
Government
(n) "Improved Land " means the land fit for cultivation before the
execution of any works under this Act but of which the productive
powers have been increased by such works.
(o) "Irrigation Work" means and includes-
(i) All reservoirs, tanks, dams, barrages, weirs, canals, channels,
domestic water supply works, pipes, ponds, springs-ponds,
spring channels, aqueducts, sluices, lift irrigation through
pumping installations, constructed, maintained or controlled by
the State Government for the supply or storage of water;
(ii) All works, embankments, structures, control structures
including outlets, supply and escape channels, connected with
such reservoirs, tanks, dams, barrages, weirs, canals, channels,
domestic water supply works, pipes, ponds, spring ponds,
spring channels, aqueducts, sluices, pumping installations and
roads constructed for facilitating the construction or
maintenance and operation of such works;
(iii) All drainage works, flood embankments, wells and village
channels;
(iv) Any part of a river, stream, lake or natural collection of water or
natural drainage and ground water to which the State
Government has applied the provisions of this Act, and
(v) All lands held by the State Government for the purpose of such
reservoirs, tanks , dams, barrages, weirs, canals, channels,
domestic water supply works, pipes, ponds, spring ponds,
spring channels, aqueducts, sluices, pumping installations and
all buildings, machinery, fences, gates and other erections upon
such lands;
(p) "Land" means and includes interest in land, benefit arising out of land
and things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything
attached to the earth;
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(q) "Lands under Irrigable Command" means such lands as are irrigated
or capable of being irrigated by flow or lift from an irrigation work
being under its command and shall include also such cultivated land
which received in the opinion of the Executive Engineer, by seepage
or otherwise from an irrigation work or by indirect flow, percolation
or drainage from or through adjoining land, an advantage beneficial to
the crop;
(r) "Lift Irrigation" means irrigation by lifting water by means of a pump
operated otherwise than by human or animal power
(s) "Line of Navigation" means canal navigation;.
(t) "Notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette;
(u) "Occupier" means and includes an occupier of land who cultivates or
possesses the same for the time being;
(v) "On -Farm Development" means and includes any of the following
works:-
(i) Land-levelling and land shaping including realignment of field
boundaries;
(ii) Providing of falls, culverts, other necessary structures and farm
roads in the fields;
(iii) Land reclamation by use of engineering, biological and
chemical measures, including leaching;
(iv) Contour bunding and nala bunding;
(v) Such other works as may be necessary or incidental to
development of land or ground or flow water potential and for
optimising the utilisation of land and water resources;
(w) "Owner" means and includes every person having interest in the
ownership of land or property and the rights and obligations attached
to an owner under the provisions of this Act shall attach, jointly and
severally to every person having such joint interest in the ownership;
(x) "Prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(y) "Probable Irrigable Command Area" means an area declared to be a
probable irrigable command area under this Act;
(z) "Reclaimed Land" means land which was unfit for cultivation before
the execution of any work under this Act, but which has been
rendered productive by such work;
(aa) "Vessel" includes any ship, barge, boat, raft, timber, bamboos, or
floating materials propelled in any manner;
(ab) (i) "Village Channel" means a channel or a field channel by which
water is led from canal into fields to be irrigated and includes
all subsidiary works connected with any such channels except
the head sluice through which water is supplied from a canal to
such channel, constructed by owners or occupiers or
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beneficiaries or State Government on their behalf and at their
cost and maintained by such owners or occupiers or
beneficiaries or by the State Government at their cost and on
their behalf; Government distributaries, sub-distributaries,
minors and water courses will also be treated as village
channels if these are turned over to the beneficiaries or their
representatives or Water Users Associations formed by the
beneficiaries to be maintained and operated by them at their
cost, either fully or with part Government grants and will be
governed by provisions of Chapter X of this Act;
(ii) "Field Channel" is a channel constructed from an outlet to or
into the irrigation chuk and includes all subsidiary works except
the outlet through which water is supplied from an irrigation
work;
(iii) "Farm channel" is a temporary or permanent channel
constructed by the farmers in their fields for taking water from
field channels for irrigation;
(ac) "Water Users' Association" means the Water Users' Association
formed by the beneficiaries of a canals or part there of for
maintenance and operation of canal and utilisation of canal water and
registered under the societies registration; Act 1860 ( Act 21, 1860);
(ad) "Well" means a well sunk for search or extraction of ground water and
includes an open well, dug well, bored well, dug cum bored well,
tubewell and filter point.
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