Amendment status not verified — confirm the current text below against the official source.
In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in Definitions the subject or context,- (1) "Appellate Committee" means a.committee the procedure of which shall be as prescribed, appointed by the Provincial Government in respect of a- notified area to- hear appeals under this Act consisting of three members of whom the Chairman . shall be a Revenue Officer not below the rank of a Collector, one member shall • be a member of the Indian Forest Service or the..: West Bengal Forest Service not below the rank. <.- of a Deputy Conservator of Forests and the other member shall be an owner of a private forest who shall be selected in the prescribed manner from amongst the owners of private forests in . flUCh notified area; (2) "cattle" includes elephants, camels, jJ;mffaloes, horses, mares, geldings, ponies, colts, :fillies, mules, asses, pigs, rams, ewes, sheep, lambs, goats and kicls; • · (3) 'conservation'', used in reference to a forest, includes such measures as are necessary 1n the opinion of the Regional Forest-officer £or. the prevention or remedying of the erosion of the soil or any flood or landslide;' (4) 'Controlled forest" means a forest in respect of which a working plan has been approved under ·sub-section (Z) of segtion 4; The West Bengal:Private' Forests Act, 1948. [ West Bengal Act ·(Chapter I.Preliminary. Section 2.) (5) 'forest'' includes .any land recorded as forest in a record f rights prepared- under Chapter K of the Bengal 'Tenancy Act, 1885; . VII of (6) ''forest-offence'' means an offence punishable under 1885. this .A.ct or under any rule made thereunder; (7) ''Forest-officer'·' means any person whom the Provincial Government or any officer empowered by the Provincial Government in this behalf,' may appoint to carry out all or • any of the purposes of this Act or to do anything required by this Act or any rule made thereunder to be done by a Forest-officer; (8) ·"forest-produce" includes- (a) the following whether found in; or brought from, a forest or not, that is to say:- (i) timber, charcoal, caoutchouc, catechu, wooc.- oil, resin, natural varnish, bark, lac, malua flowers, maha seeds, kuth and myrabolams, and (ii) wild ·animals and skins, tusks, horns, bones, silk, cocoons, honey and wax, and all other parts or produce of animals, and () the following when fo1.rnd in, or brought from, a forest, that is to say:- (i) trees and leaves, flowers and fruits, and all other parts or produce not hereinbe£ore mentioned, of trees, · • ¢ (ii) plants not being trees (including grass, creepers, reeds and moss), and all parts or produce of such plants, and (iii) peat, surface soil,. rock and minerals (includ- ing lime-stone, laterite, mineral oils, and all products .a£ mines _or quarries); (9) "Forest Settlement-officer" means an officer, who shall ordinarily be a Revenue Officer, appointed 'by the Provincial Government to perform. the functions of a Forest Settlement-officer under this .A.ct and includes a Board, the procedure of which shall be as prescribed, appointed bv the Provincial Government to perform such func- tions, consisting of not more than three officers of whom at least two shall be Rerenue Ofcers; (10) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette; (11) ''notifed area'' means an area specified in a noti- fication issued· under sub-section (Z) of section 3; (12) ."owner" includes any mortgagee in possession, lessee, common manager, receiver appointed by a competent 'Court and any person holding any property in trust and also includes a Court cf Wards in respect of property under the superin- tendence or charge of such Court; . The 'West Bengal Private Forests Act, 1948. 3 XIV o1 1948.1 (Chapter II.-Consevation of Prate Forests and Affore- station of Waste-lands.-Section 3.) (13) "prescribed" means prescribed by under this Aet; rules made (17) (Z6) ' • 2 ; I 1 -i I,. 3 7 .3 i 1 ' . .4. "river" includes any .stream, canal, creek or other channel, natural or artificial; 'timber'' includes trees when they haye £all.e11 or have· been felled, and all wood whether cut up, or fashioned or hollowed out £or any purpose or not; (18) "tree" includes palms, bamboos, stumps, brush- wood and canes; Prepara• tion of, and appeal and re- vision in respect of work- ing plans (2) On the expiry of the period mentioned in the noti- }or: private fl.cation under sub-section (), the Regional Forest-officer. ore st s. shall, a£ter considering each working plan submitted to him uncler that sub-section, ancl after consultation in the manner prescribecl with the Conservator of Rorests of the forest circle within which such forest is situated, by an order in writing, accept the. working plan or modify it in such manner as he may consider necessary or substitute another working plan for it. "vested forest" means a forest of which the control has been vested in a Regional Forest- officer by a notification under sub-section (2) of section 6 or under section 7 or under section 11 and includes any forest deemed to be, or managed as, a vested forest under this .A.ct; (20) "waste-land'' means any waste-land which is not the property of the Crown or over which the Crown has no proprietary right; (21) "working plan" means a written scheme £or the management and treatment of a forest; and · (22) ''year'' means a year beginning on the 1st day of · .April. · CHAPTER II. CONSERVATION OF PRIVATE FORESTS AND AFFORESTATION 01' WASTE-LANDS. (14) "private forest" means a forest which is not the property of the Crown or over which the · Crown has no proprietary right; (1,5) "Re·gional Forest-officer" means a Forest-offic.!:)r appointed by the Provincial Government as such· by a notification- for a notified area; 3, (1) The Provincial Government may, by notification, direct that every owner of a private forest which is not a vested forest, but which is situated within such area as may be specified in the notification, shall prepare in the prescribed manner ancl submit within· the period mentioned in the notification to the Regional Forest-officer a working • plan £or the conservation of such private forest. l 4 The West Bengal Private Forests Act, 1948. [ West Bengal At (Chapten II.Conservation of Private Forests and Afforesta- . tion of Waste-lands.-Section 4.) (3) If any owner of such private forest does not submiit a orking plan within the period specifed in the notifca- tion issued under sub-section (), the Regional Forest-officer may, after consultation in the manner prescribed with the Conservator of Forests of the forest circle within which such forest is situated, prepare a working plan in respect of such forest. (4) When the Regional . F.orest-officer by an order 1n writing modifes any working plan under sub-section (2) or substitutes another working plan under ·that sub-section for the working plan submitted under sub-section (Z), he shall cause a copy of such order to be served in the prescribed manner upon the.owner of such private forest to which such working plan relates· and such owner may, within sixty days of the date of service of such order, appeal against .such order to the Appellate Committee and the Appellate - Committee may thereupon, . after giving such owner an opportunity of being heard, by an order in writing, either accept the working plan ith or without modifications or reject it and the decision of the Appellate Committee on every such appeal shall, subject to the provisions of sub- section (5), be final:- (5) The Board of Revenue may, on application by an owner of a private forest for revision of an order of the Appellate Committee passed in appeal under sub-section (4), and if such application is made within thirty days from the date of the order, call for the record of the appeal in which the order was passed and on receipt of such record, after giving such owner an opportunity of being heard, may, if it does not see fit to reject the application, direct · the "Appellate Committee by an order in writing to make such modifications in the working plan accepted by the said Committee under sub-section (4) as may be specified 1n such order in writing. (6) The Board of Revenue shall, as soon as may be after an application for revision is disposed of under sub-section (5), communicate the order passed by it on such applica- tion to the 'Appellate Committee, and on receipt of such order the Appellate Committee shall, where the Board of Revenue has directed any modification to be made in such working· plan, modify it accordingly. Approved working plans.