BANKING TRADE AND COMMERCE

AGRICULTURAL DEBTOR'S RELIEF ACT.

Agricultural Debtors' Relief Act.—Even before the Money -lender 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, had 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 holder 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 above Act was first applied to one or two selected talukas of a few districts of the State, in 1942. In the light of its working in those areas, the Act was amended in 1945, and was applied to selected talukas of all districts except Bombay Suburban District, and from February 1947, it was applied to the whole of the State. In 1917, it was once again amended to introduce radical changes, one of which was the transfer of the administration to Civil Courts.

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 6 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 when the debt was originally incurred or the rate allowed by the decree in respect of such debts, whichever is the lowest. For the co-operative years 1948-49 and 1949-50 (July to June), Government had fixed 4 per cent, per annum as the rate of interest for the purposes of awards passed under section 32 (2). In the case of awards passed in favour 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 not exceeding 6 per cent, per annum as the State Government may notify in that behalf. Government had fixed 6 per cent, per annum as the rate of interest for the co-operative years 1948-49 and 1949-50 for the purposes of and award made under section 33 (3) of the Act.

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