FINANCE

AGRICULTURAL DEBTORS' RELIEF ACT

Agricultual Debtors' Relief Act.-Even before the Money- Lenders Act was passed, the Government had brought into operation on a small scale the Bombay Agricultural Debtors' Relief Act, 1939. It was enacted with a view to reducing the aggregate indebtedness of genuine agriculturists so as to bring it reasonably within the compass of their capacity to repay. The term "agriculturist" as defined in the Deccan Agriculturists' Relief Act, 1879, which too bad been enacted to deal with the problem of agricultural indebtedness, was found to be actually bringing into its fold not only genuine agriculturists of the cultivator class, but also pseudo-agriculturists. Under the term "debtor" as defined in the Bombay Agricultural Debtors' Relief Act, the indebted person must be a bolder of land and must also be cultivating land personally. Further, his income from sources other than agriculture should not exceed a certain maximum limit. Income from land got cultivated by tenants was to be regarded as non-agricultural income under the Act.

The application of the Act has been restricted to debts not exceeding Rs. 15,000 in any individual case. The rate of interest in case of. awards should not exceed six per cent per annum or such less rate as may be notified in that behalf by the State Government or the rate agreed upon between the parties by whom the debt was originally incurred or the rate allowed by the decree in respect of such debts, whichever is lowest. Government fixed (in 1948-49) four per cent per annum as the rate of awards made under section 32 (2) of the Act. In case of awards passed in favour of interest for purposes of land mortgage banks under section 33, the bank is entitled to recover the amount due to it from the debtor together with interest at such rate as the State Government may notify in this regard. Six per cent per annum was the rate of interest fixed by Government for purposes of awards made under section 33 (3) of the Act. However, this has been revised to 7¼ per cent tinder a Government Notification, dated 12th October 1953.

The Bombay Agricultural Debtors' Relief Act was made applicable to the whole district from 1st February 1947. The fundamental object behind the Act is to give monetary relief to the debtors through co-operative societies. The work of carrying out propaganda and giving wide publicity to the Act is also entrusted to the co-operative department. It was found that the promulgation and administration of this Act has relieved a heavy and long standing burden of debts on the agriculturists. (Table on page No. 401).

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