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The Irrigation Act, 1876

( ACT NO. III OF 1876 )

Water supplied on written application only
74. Every person desiring that water shall be supplied to his land from a canal shall present a written application to that effect to the canal-officer, in the form given in Schedule B hereto annexed, or in a similar form, binding himself by the rules made by the Government under the powers vested in it by this Act; and no person shall be liable to pay any rate or due whatever, on account of water supplied to his land with the permission of the canal-officer, otherwise than on such application, nor shall water be supplied otherwise than on such application.
Written permission to be given
75. If the application mentioned in the last preceding section be granted by the canal-officer, the canal-officer shall cause his permission to be recorded in the form given in Schedule C hereto annexed, or in some similar form, binding himself by the rules made by the Government as aforesaid.
Rules subject to conditions as to-
76. All rules made by the Government under section 99 shall be consistent with the following conditions:-
(a) power to stop water-supply;
(a) The canal-officer may not stop the supply of water to any village-channel, or to any person who is entitled to such supply, except in the following cases:–
 
 
 
 
(1) whenever and so long as it is necessary to stop such supply for the purpose of executing any work ordered by competent authority;
 
 
 
 
(2) whenever and so long as any village-channel is not maintained in such repair as to prevent the wasteful escape of water therefrom;
 
 
 
 
(3) whenever and so long as it is necessary to do so in rotation to supply the legitimate demands of other persons entitled to water;
 
 
 
 
(4) whenever and so long as it may be necessary to stop the supply in order to prevent the wastage or misuse of water;
(b) claims to compensation in case of failure or stoppage of supply;
(b) No claim shall be made against the Government for compensation in respect of loss caused by the failure or stoppage of the water in a canal, by reason of any cause beyond the control of the Government, or of any repairs, alterations or additions to the canal, or of any measures taken for regulating the proper flow of water therein, or for maintaining the established course of irrigation which the canal-officer considers necessary; but the person suffering such loss shall be entitled to such remission of the ordinary charges payable for the use of the water as is authorized by the Government:
(c) claims on account of interruption from other causes;
(c) If the supply of water to any land irrigated from a canal be interrupted otherwise than in the manner described in the last preceding clause, the occupier or owner of such land may present a petition for compensation to the Collector for any loss arising from such interruption, and the Collector shall award to the petitioner reasonable compensation for such loss:
(d) duration of supply;
(d) When the water of a canal is supplied for the irrigation of a single crop, the permission to use such water shall be held to continue only until that crop comes to maturity, and to apply only to that crop; but, if it be supplied for irrigating two or more crops to be raised on the same land within the year, such permission shall be held to continue for one year from the commencement of the irrigation, and to apply to such crops only as are matured within that year:
(e) sale or sub-letting of right to use canal-water; contracts for water transferable with land
(e) No person entitled to use the water of any canal, or any work, building or land or appertaining to any canal, shall sell or sub-let or otherwise transfer his right to such use without the permission of the canal-officer, but all contracts made between Government and the owner or occupier of any immovable property, as to the supply of canal-water to such property, shall be transferable therewith, and shall be presumed to have been so transferred whenever a transfer of such property takes place.
Canal-officer may supply water for purposes other than those of irrigation
77. On application being made for a supply of water to be used for purposes other than those of irrigation, the canal-officer may give permission for water to be taken for such purposes under special conditions and restrictions as to the limitation and control of the supply as he shall think proper to impose in each case.
 
 

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