ANDHRA PRADESH (TELANGANA AREA) AGRICULTURAL MARKET ACT, 1339 F

Preamble - ANDHRA PRADESH (TELANGANA AREA) AGRICULTURAL MARKET ACT, 1339 F

[1]THE ANDHRA PRADESH (TELANGANA AREA) AGRICULTURAL MARKET ACT, 1339 F

[ACT No. 02 of 1339 F]

[08th Meher, 1339 Fasli]

PREAMBLE

[2] [WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the establishment of open markets for the purchase and sale of cotton and of other agricultural produce and livestock in the [3] [Telangana area of the State of Andhra Pradesh] and for the better regulation of such markets; It is hereby enacted as follows:--]

Section 1 - Short title, commencement and extent

This Act may be called  [the Andhra Pradesh (Telangana Area) Agricultural Market Act, 1339 F.] and shall come into force in [4] [the Telangana area of the State of Andhra Pradesh] from the date of its publication in the [5] [Official Gazette].

 

Section 2 - Definitions

In this Act unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context--

Agricultural produce.

(1)     "agricultural produce" means every produce of land other than cotton declared by the Government by a notification in the [6] [Official Gazette] to be agricultural produce for the purposes of this Act;

Cotton.

(2)     ?"cotton" includes ginned cotton, unginned cotton and cotton waste;

Market.

(3)     "market" means a market established under section 3;

Prescribed.

(4)     ?"prescribed'' means prescribed in accordance with the rules or bye-laws made under this Act.

 

Section 3 - Notification regarding establishment of market for agricultural produce or cotton

(1)     The Government may, by an [7] [Official Gazette] notify the place which has been declared to be a market for agricultural produce or cotton or for both.

 

(2)     The said notification shall specify the limits of such markets and those limits shall include, for the purposes of this Act, the local area determined by the Government.

 

Section 4 - Market Committee

For every market there shall be appointed a Market Committee which shall be constituted in the prescribed manner and the number of the members thereof shall not be less than eight and more than sixteen. The Committee shall have atleast half the number of such persons as shall be either elected or nominated from among the cultivators who grow agricultural produce or cotton in the area determined by the Government. The number of members to be elected from among the traders in the prescribed manner shall not be less than one-forth of the total number of members and the remaining members shall be nominated by the Government.

Section 5 - Power of Government to make rules

(1)     The Government may, subject to the provisions of this Act, make rules either generally or specially for the management and conduct of any market or group of markets.

 

(2)     In particular and without prejudice to the general powers vested under sub-section (1) such rules may be made for the following matters:--

 

(a)      the election and nomination of members of the Market Committee, the number of members to be nominated or elected by each class in accordance with section 4, the manner of nomination or election and the term of office of members;

 

(b)      the powers which the Market Committee shall exercise;

 

(c)      the election of the Chairman of the Market Committee and the term of his appointment to that office;

 

(d)      the filling up of vacancies in the office of the members or the Chairman of the Market Committee, when they are temporarily vacant;

 

(e)      the management of market and the fixation of fees by the Market Committee and the collection and application of the fees under this Act;

 

(f)       the issue by the Market Committee of licence to brokers, surveyors, godown keepers and other persons using the market, the form of licence and the conditions under which such licences shall be issued and the fees which shall be charged for such licences;

 

(g)      the place or places at which cotton or agricultural produce shall be weighed or measured, the kind and description of scales, and weights and measures which shall be used at such places;

[8] [(h) Omitted.]

(i) ???the trade allowance which a person may pay or receive in any business in a market;

(j) ???the settlement by arbitration of disputes which may arise between buyer and seller or their agents regarding the weight, classification price or rates of cotton or agricultural produce or regarding the deductions for weeds and leaves in which cotton, or agricultural produce is wrapped or preserved or for other matters;

(k) ??for prohibiting the brokers from acting on behalf of both the buyer and sellers in any transaction;

(l) ?the manner in which auction shall be conducted and bid made or accepted in the market;

(m) ?providing godown to store cotton and agricultural produce;

(n) ??the preparation and sanction of plants and bills for buildings proposed to be constructed fully or partly at the expense of the Market Committee;

(o) ??the form of the accounts of the Market Committee, the manner in which they shall be audited and the fixing of time or times at which they shall be published;

(p) ??the preparation of the budget and submission thereof for sanction and the preparation of report and returns which shall be submitted by the Market Committee;

(q) ?determining the application of the surplus of the Market Committee budget;

(3)     Such rules may, if necessary, provide that any contravention thereof or of the conditions of licences issued thereunder shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees.

(4) The power to make rules conferred by this section is subject to the condition that such rules shall be enforced after previous publication.

 

Section 6 - Making of bye-laws

Subject to the rules made by the Government under section 5 and with the sanction of the officer appointed by the Government for this purpose, the Market Committee may in respect of the management of the affairs of its market and of the conditions of purchase and sale therein, make bye-laws providing that any contravention thereof shall be punishable with fine which may extend to fifty rupees.

Section 7 - Sub and Joint Committees and delegation of powers

The Market Committee shall have power to appoint a Sub-Committee or a Joint Committee consisting of one or more members thereof for discharging any work or works or to report on any matter or matters and to delegate one or more members thereof such of its powers as it may think necessary.

Section 7A - Declaration of Market Services as a State Civil Service

[9] [(1) The officers and servants specified in the Schedule annexed to this Act appointed for the purposes of this Act are hereby declared to belong to the civil service of the State to be designated as the Hyderabad [10] [area] Marketing Service-

(2) ??The law for the time being in force regulating the recruitment and conditions of service of persons appointed to the civil services of the State and the rules for the time being in force relating to the conduct of Government servants shall apply to the officers and servants belonging to the said Marketing Service.

(3) ??Nothing herein contained shall apply to the officers and servants employed by the Market Committee under section 8.

?

Section 7B - Contribution of the Market Committee towards the Marketing Service

(1)     Every Market Committee shall credit thirty percent of its revenue to the Consolidated Fund of the State to meet all expenditure in respect of the salaries, allowances, pensions and gratuities of the officers and servants specified in the Schedule annexed to this Act:

Provided that the expenditure on salaries, allowances, pensions and gratuities of such officers and servants shall not exceed such contribution.

(2)     The accumulated pension contributions of the officers and servants specified in the said schedule shall be credited to the consolidated fund of the State.]

Section 8 - Appointment of servants of Market Committee and their salaries

(1)     The Market Committee may employ such officer and servants as it may think necessary for the management of the market and may pay such salaries to them as it may think proper. If the Market Committee employ an officer or servant who is in the service of the Government it may pay contribution in respect of pension, gratuity or leave allowance in accordance with the rules made by the Government which may be for the time being in force.

 

(2)     The Market Committee may also provide for leave allowance, pension or gratuity to its officers and servants and may contribute to any provident fund which may be established for the benefit of such officers and servants.

 

(3)     The powers conferred by this section upon the Market Committee shall be exercised subject to the rules made in this behalf by the Government.

Section 9 - Execution of contracts

(1)     Every contract executed by the Market Committee shall be in writing and signed on behalf of the Market Committee by the Chairman and two members thereof.

 

(2)     No contract other than a contract executed under sub-section (1) shall be binding on the Market Committee.

Section 10 - Market Committee Fund

All monies received by the Market Committee shall be credited to a fund which shall be called the "Market Committee Fund" and the expenses incurred under or for the purposes of this Act, shall be defrayed out of the said fund. The surplus remaining after the payment of such expenses shall be expended in accordance with the rules made in this behalf.

Section 11 - Purposes for which Market Committee Fund shall be utilized

[11] [Subject to the provisions of section 7-B and section 10] all fees received by the Market Committee under this Act shall be utilised for the following purposes:--

(1)     the establishment and improvement of the market;

 

(2)     the construction and repair of buildings necessary for the purposes of the market and the health, convenience and safety of the persons using the market;

 

(4)     the salary, pension, leave allowance, contribution and provident fund of the officers and servants employed by the Market Committee.

 

Section 12 - Trade allowance not permitted by rules not to be payable

No allowance other than the allowance prescribed under the rules or the bye-laws made under this Act shall be paid to or received by any person in any transaction in a market established under this Act and no Civil Court shall, in a suit or proceeding in respect of any transaction in such market, have regard to any trade allowance which has not been so prescribed.

Explanation:-Every deduction, other than the deductions made by reason of variation in sample when the purchase is made with reference to a sample or by reason of variation in standard when the purchase is made by reference to a known standard or by reason of disparity in the actual weight and the prescribed weight of bags or by reason of the admixture of foreign substances, shall be deemed to be trade allowance for the purposes of this Act.

Section 13 - Market Committee shall be body corporate

Every Market Committee shall be a body corporate and shall be called..........Market Committee and shall have a perpetual succession and a common seal. It may institute a suit in the name by which it has been established as a body corporate and may also be sued in the same name. It shall be authorised to acquire and hold in its possession both movable and immovable property. It shall have power to lease or sell or otherwise transfer any movable or immovable property in which it may have acquired rights or which it may have acquired and it shall be authorised to enter into any contract and do all other things for the purposes of this Act.

Section 14 - Power to take loan

(1)     Every Market Committee may, with the previous sanction of the Government, borrow money to carry out the purposes of this Act on the security of its property in which it has acquired rights and which belongs to it or on the security of the fees which may be collected under this Act.

 

(2)     The conditions under which money may be so borrowed as loan and the period within which it shall be repayable shall be subject to the previous approval of the Government.

Section 15 - Dissolution of Market Committee

(1)     If in respect of any Market Committee the Government is of opinion that it is incompetent to perform the functions assigned to it by or under this Act or fails continuously to perform the said functions or exceeds the powers vested in it or makes unlawful use of its powers, the Government may, by an order to be notified in the [12] [Official Gazette], declare in respect of such Market Committee incompetent to perform its functions or it continuously fails in their performance or has exceeded or made unlawful use of its powers (as the case may be) and may dissolve it.

 

(2)     When a Market Committee is dissolved the members thereof shall cease to hold office from the date of the order.

 

(3)     When a Market Committee is dissolved the whole of its property and rights vested in it, together with all the encumbrances and liabilities, shall be transferred to the Government:

Provided that if no new Market Committee is appointed under section 4 for the market, all the property of the dissolved Market Committee remaining after the settlement of its debts and liabilities shall be transferred to the Local Authority [13] [ * * * ] of the area in which the market is situate for the purpose of being utilised for public benefit in the said area.

Section 16 - Strangers prohibited from working within limits of Market

No person shall work as a broker, load carrier, measurer or surveyor or godown keeper within the limits of a market, so long as he is not employed by the Market Committee or has received a licence therefrom. Any contravention of this provision shall be punishable with fine which may extend to fifty rupees and in the case of a continuing breach the amount of fine may extend to on hundred rupees for each day.

Section 17 - No private market shall be established at places declared to be markets or at places adjacent thereto

Where the Government has, by notification under the provisions of section 3 declared any place to be a market, no person shall, within the area of. a market or within such distance therefrom as may in each case be notified by the Government in the [14] [Official Gazette], except with the written sanction of the Government signed by a Secretary to the Government and subject to such conditions as may be imposed at the time of according the sanction, set up, establish, continue or allow to be continued any market for the purpose of purchase and sale of cotton or agricultural produce (as the case may be).

 

Section 18 - Penalties

Any person who, in contravention of the provisions of this Act, sets up, establishes, continues or allows to be continued any market for the purposes of purchase and sale of cotton or agricultural produce or who violates the conditions under which he has been permitted to set up, establish or continue any market, shall be punished with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees and in the case of a continuing breach of the provisions of section 16, with fine which may extend to one hundred rupees for each day after the first day on which the offence was committed.

Section 19 - First Class Magistrate to have jurisdiction

[15](1) No magistrate other than a Magistrate of the First Class shall try any offence against this Act or the ' rules made under section 5.

(2) ??All monies recovered from an offender as fine and damages shall be paid to the Market Committee.

(3) ??Proceedings against an accused under this Act may be taken up by person authorised in writing by the Market Committee or by the officer appointed by the Government for this purpose.

 

Section 20 - Application of Act to livestock

(1)     The provisions of this Act shall, so far as applicable, apply in relation to the establishment and regulation of open markets for the purchase and sale of livestock as they apply in relation to the establishment and regulation of open markets for the purchase and sale of cotton and of other agricultural produce.

 

(2)     To facilitate the application of this Act for the purposes mentioned in sub-section (1), the reference in this Act to the expression "agricultural produce" shall be deemed to include a reference to livestock.

Explanation:--In this section "livestock" includes horses, cows, buffallows, bullocks, camels, goats, sheep and any other animal which may be specified by the Government by notification in the [16] [Official Gazette.]

 

Schedule - SCHEDULE

[17] [SCHEDULE.

(See section 7-A).