IRRIGATION AREAS ACT 1953

Irrigation Areas LAWS OF MALAYSIA REPRINT Act 386 IRRIGATION AREAS ACT 1953 Incorporating all amendments up to 1 January 2006 PUBLISHED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF LAW REVISION, MALAYSIA UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE REVISION OF LAWS ACT 1968 IN COLLABORATION WITH PERCETAKAN NASIONAL MALAYSIA BHD 2006 1 2 IRRIGATION AREAS ACT 1953 First enacted … ... ... ... … … … 1953 (Ord. No. 31 of 1953) Revised 1989 (Act 386 w.e.f. 21 September 1989) … … … … … … … PREVIOUS REPRINT First Reprint ... ... ... ... ... 2001 3 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 386 IRRIGATION AREAS ACT 1953 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Section 1. Short title and application 2. Interpretation 3. Declaration of irrigation areas 4. Nature of cultivation 5. Padi cultivation 6. Classification of the lands within an irrigation area 7. Water rate when payable 8. Collection of water rates 9. Management of irrigation areas 10. Delegation of powers and duties 11. Filling up obnoxious water-ways 12. Removal of trees or refuse 13. Power to withhold water 14. Damage to irrigation works by fire 15. Obstruction or damage 16. Waste or obstruction of water 17. Further penalty for wasting water 18. Compulsory provision of batas 19. Refusal to allow passage of water 20. Construction of unauthorized water-ways 21. Allowing animals to stray 22. Unauthorized use of vehicles and boats 23. Pollution of water 4 Laws of Malaysia Section 24. Tampering with irrigation works 25. Power to arrest 26. Power to compound offences 27. Power to make rules 28. Service of notices 29. Prosecution of offences 30. Repeal SCHEDULE ACT 386 Irrigation Areas 5 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 386 IRRIGATION AREAS ACT 1953 An Act relating to the establishment and regulation of irrigation areas in Malaysia. [25 June 1953] Short title and application 1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Irrigation Areas Act 1953. (2) This Act shall apply to the States of *Peninsular Malaysia only. Interpretation 2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— “appropriate authority” means the Ruler in Council or the Yang di-Pertua Negeri in Council of a State; “irrigation” means the practice of causing water to flow upon, or spread over, or under, the surface of land or of retaining water on or under the surface of land for agricultural purpose and includes drainage for the removal of water which is injurious to agriculture; “irrigation area” means any area which may from time to time be so declared by the appropriate authority under this Act; “irrigation water” means water which is put on to or retained on land by means of irrigation works and includes water reaching such land as rainfall; “irrigation works” includes the construction and maintenance of headworks, main canal, subsidiary canals, distribution channels, drainage channels, banks, bunds, batas, water gates, culverts, sluices, drains and other similar works; *NOTE—All references to “West Malaysia” shall be construed as reference to “Peninsular Malaysia” –see the Interpretation (Amendment) Act 1997 [Act A996], subsection 5(2). 6 Laws of Malaysia ACT 386 “Land Administrator” has the same meaning as defined in the National Land Code [Act 56 of 1965]; “occupier” includes a lessee or tenant and the cultivator or person in actual possession, management or control of any land; “owner” means the registered proprietor of any land in the States of *Peninsular Malaysia and the legal owner or holder by customary tenure of any land in the States of Malacca and Penang. Declaration of irrigation areas 3. The appropriate authority may, by notification in the Gazette, declare any lands in a State within the area affected by any irrigation works wholly or in part carried out or sanctioned by the Government of that State to be an irrigation area. Such notification shall define the boundaries of such area and may include any headworks and main canals. Nature of cultivation 4. The appropriate authority may, by notification in the Gazette, declare in respect of any unalienated lands within an irrigation area that such lands shall not be used for any industry, cultivation or other purpose except such as may be in such notification specified. Padi cultivation 5. (1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in section 3 of the **Rice Cultivation Ordinance of the Straits Settlements [S.S. Cap. 145], no land within an irrigation area to which this section applies shall be used for any purpose other than the cultivation of padi, without the consent of such officer as may be authorized by the appropriate authority in that behalf, hereinafter referred to as the authorized officer. (2) Any consent given under subsection (1) and the extent and particulars of the land affected by such consent shall be recorded in a register, to be called the “Tambak Register”, to be kept by the Land Administrator, who shall issue to the owner or occupier of such land a copy of the entry in the Tambak Register. *NOTE— All references to "West Malaysia" shall be construed as reference to "Peninsular Malaysia"— see the Interpretation (Amendment) Act 1997 [Act A966], subsection 5(2). **NOTE—The Rice Cultivation Ordinance of the Straits Settlements [S.S. Cap 145] in respect of the State of Malacca has since been repealed by the Malacca Enactment No. 3 of 1968. Irrigation Areas 7 (3) A consent given under subsection (1) may be varied from time to time, and thereupon such memorial shall be made on the Tambak Register as may be necessary to indicate the variation, or a fresh entry may be made therein. In either case the owner or occupier shall surrender the copy referred to in subsection (2) for alteration or cancellation as the case may be. (4) In the case of any land within an irrigation area which the owner or occupier thereof has used for any purpose other than the planting of padi, without obtaining the consent referred to in subsection (1), the authorized officer may refuse to grant such consent and may serve a notice on the owner or occupier directing him to fill up any drain or remove any bund or embankment or building or structure which prevents water from coming on to or remaining on the land, and every such owner or occupier shall comply with such notice within the period specified therein, not being less than one month from the date thereof. (5) If such owner or occupier fails to comply with such notice he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding one thousand ringgit or both and the court may direct that the whole or any part of the fine, if paid, shall be handed to the authorized officer who shall use it for carrying out the works, if any, specified in the notice. (6) Any person aggrieved by any consent, refusal, order or notice under this section may appeal to the appropriate authority or to any Board or Committee to whom the appropriate authority may delegate its powers in writing and the decision of the appropriate authority, or of such Board or Committee in such appeal shall be final. (7) No proceedings under sections 3 and 7 of the *Rice Cultivation Ordinance of the Straits Settlements, shall be instituted against the owner or occupier of any land for failure to cultivate padi on any area shown in the Tambak Register to be exempted from such cultivation. (8) This section applies only to such areas of land within an irrigation area as the appropriate authority may, by notification in the Gazette, direct. *NOTE—The Rice Cultivation Ordinance of the Straits Settlements [S.S. Cap 145] has since been repealed by Malacca Enactment No. 3 of 1968. 8 Laws of Malaysia ACT 386 Classification of the lands within an irrigation area 6. (1) The appropriate authority may, by notification in the Gazette, classify the lands within an irrigation area: Provided that no lands shall be liable to any higher classification within a period of five years from the date of the last classification unless they shall in the meantime be used for some industry, cultivation, or purpose other than that for which they were used at the time of such classification and involving the use of a greater supply of water. Imposition of water rate (2) The appropriate authority may, by notification in the Gazette, impose upon all or any land within an irrigation area, annual rates, hereinafter called water rates. Different rates may be imposed on different classes of land, as classified under subsection (1). Water rate when payable 7. A water rate imposed under section 6 shall become payable as follows— (a) in the case of lands used for cultivation of padi— (i) no water rate shall be payable in respect of any lands until irrigation water has been available on such lands or a period sufficiently long to allow a crop or padi to be planted and gathered; and (ii) upon the first day of January, next following the date when such a crop has first been, or might first have been, gathered there shall be payable to the Land Administrator one half of the water rate imposed upon such lands, and upon every first day of January, thereafter shall be payable the full amount of the water rate imposed upon such lands; (b) in the case of lands used for any other industry, cultivation, or purpose, the water rate imposed upon such lands shall become payable on the first day of January, next following Irrigation Areas 9 the date at which a water supply has been available on such lands sufficient for the conduct of such industry, cultivation, or other purpose, and thereafter on the first of January, of each succeeding year: Provided that, where the full supply of water necessary to the purpose to which the lands are applied has not been available or for any other reason approved by the appropriate authority, any officer appointed for this purpose by the appropriate authority may reduce the amount so payable to such amount as may seem to be just and shall notify the Land Administrator accordingly. Collection of water rates 8. All sums due for water rates under this Act shall be collected, so far as the same may be practicable, in the manner provided by law for the collection of land revenue. Management of irrigation areas 9. (1) Every irrigation area and the irrigation works therein shall be in the charge of a Drainage and Irrigation Engineer, or such other officer as the appropriate authority may, from time to time, appoint. (2) Such Engineer or officer shall report to the appropriate authority annually, and at such other times as the appropriate authority may require, upon the working of the area in his charge, and shall in like manner furnish an annual balance sheet showing the receipts on account of water rates, and the expenditure on construction, management, supervision and maintenance of the works in his charge. (3) For the purposes of such balance sheet the Land Administrator shall furnish to the Drainage and Irrigation Engineer or other officer in charge of the irrigation area a monthly statement of the amount of water rate collected by him. Delegation of powers and duties 10. (1) Any Drainage and Irrigation Engineer or other officer appointed under section 9 to have charge of an irrigation area may, with the approval of the appropriate authority and subject to such 10 Laws of Malaysia ACT 386 limitations as the appropriate authority may think fit, by writing under his hand, from time to time, authorize any officer to exercise any of the powers and perform any of the duties conferred and imposed by this Act on the Drainage and Irrigation Engineer or other officer in charge of such area and may in like manner and with the like approval withdraw any such authority. (2) Everything done in pursuance of an authority granted under this section shall have the same effect as if it were done by the Drainage and Irrigation Engineer or other officer in charge of the irrigation area. Filling up obnoxious water-ways 11. The Drainage and Irri