ACT 17 OF 1999
THE KERALA
FISHERMEN’S WELFARE FUND (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1999
An Act further to amend the
Kerala Fishermen’s Welfare Fund Act, 1985.
Preamble.-WHEREAS it
is expedient further to amend the Kerala Fishermen’s Welfare Fund Act, 1985 for
the purposes hereinafter appearing ;
BE it enacted in the
Fiftieth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
1.
Short title and commencement.-(1) This Act may be called the
Kerala Fishermen’s Welfare Fund (Amendment) Act, 1999.
(2) It shall
be deemed to have come into force on the 11th day of November, 1998.
2.
Amendment of section 2.-In section 2 of the Kerala Fishermen’s
Welfare Fund Act, 1985 (30 of 1985), (hereinafter referred to as the principal
Act),-
(i)
the existing clause (a) shall be relettered as clause (aa) and before
clause (aa) as so relettered the following clause shall be inserted, namely:-
“(a) “allied
worker” means any person who is engaged mainly in fishery related activities
for his livelihood and who does not come under the definition of the term
fisherman in clause (e) of section 2 of the Kerala Fishermen’s Welfare Societies
Act 1980 (7 of 1981) and includes beach workers, small scale fish distributors,
fish curers, peeling workers and small scale processing plant workers, who are
not members or not eligible to get membership in any other Statutory Welfare
Scheme ;” ;
(ii)
existing clause (b) shall be relettered as clause (bb) and before clause
(bb) as so relettered, the following clause shall be inserted, namely:-
“(b) “beach worker” means a
person who is employed in fishing harbours or fish landing centres or fish
landing sites to carry out activities such as,-
(i)
unloading of fish from fishing crafts to fish baskets ;
(ii)
transportation of fish baskets to auction site or icing site ;
(iii)
transportation of trash fish or small fish to curing site ;
(iv)
sorting of fish at the landing site, unloading and crushing of ice,
packing fish with ice in boxes and loading of packed boxes into vehicles used
for transportation ;
(v)
loading of fish directly from boats to lorries, sale of ice in the
fishing harbours or fish landing centres;
(vi)
cleaning action hall, fishing crafts and supplying water for fishing
boats; and
(vii)
mending and repair of fishing nets ;”;
(iii)
for clause (d), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:-
“(d) “dealer means any
person who carries on, within the State of Kerala, the business of buying or
selling or processing fish or exporting fish (in raw or in processed form) or
fish products and includes,-
(i)
a commission agent, a broker or any other mercantile agent; by whatever
name called; and
(ii)
a non-resident dealer or an agent of a non resident dealer or a local
branch of a firm or company or association situated outside the State of Kerala
;”;
(iv) for
clause (e), the following clauses shall be substituted, namely:-
“(c) “fish” means
fish of all varieties including prawn, lobster, shellfish, clam, squids or any
other acquatic organism exploited commercially for edible purposes or for
manure;
(ea) “fish curer” means a
worker who is engaged in the activities connected with drying, salted dry
curing and salted wet curing;
(eb) “fish products” means
fish in raw or in processed form;”;
(v)
after clause (j), the following clauses shall be inserted, namely:-
“ (ja) “peeling worker”
means a worker who is engaged in peeling prawn, lobster, clam cleaning squids
and cuttle fishes in huts, peeling sheds and fish processing plants ;
(jb) “processing” means any
means of preservation of fish or fish products effected with or without
physical or chemical changes by mechanical means or otherwise, intended to
facilitate increase in the shelf life of fish or fish products or to avoid loss
during transit or value addition ;
(jc) “processing worker”
means a worker who is engaged in cleaning grading, processing and packing of
fish or fish product;
(jd) “sale proceeds” means
the amount realised or is likely to be realised by sale of fish or fish
products;”;
(vi)
for clause (k), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:-
“(k) “Scheme” means the
Kerala Fisherman’s Welfare Fund Scheme or the Allied Workers’ Welfare Scheme,
framed under this Act;”;
(vii)
after clause (k) the following clause shall be inserted, namely:-
“(ka) “small scale
distributors” means, those persons engaged in the distribution of fish from
fish landing centres or fish harbours or fish curing yards or markets through
retail outlets or by house delivery and includes:-
(i)
auto-carrier distributors;
(ii)
cycle load vendors ;
(iii)
drivers and cleaners engaged in fish transporting on a permanent basis;
(iv)
head load vendors, including vendors, who sell fish in temporary camps;
(v)
mini lorry distributors; and
(vi)
moped load distributors ;” ;
3.
Amendment of section 3.- In section 3 of the principal Act,-
(i)
after sub-section (I), the following sub-section shall be inserted,
namely.-
“(IA) Notwithstanding
anything contained in sub-section (1), the Government may, by notification in
the Gazette, frame a scheme, exclusively for allied workers, to be called “the
allied Workers’ Welfare Scheme” under the said Fund and the provisions of
sections 5, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21 and the schedule to this Act, shall apply, mutatis
mutandis in respect of the said scheme.” ;
(ii)
in sub-section (5), the following shall be inserted at the end, namely:-
“and every allied worker
shall become a member of the Fund, within such time as may be specified by the
Government, in that behalf, for the purposes of the allied Workers’ Welfare
Scheme”.
4.
Amendment of section 4.-In section 4 of the principal Act, for
sub-sections (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5) the following sub sections shall be
substituted, namely:-
“(1) Every fisherman shall
contribute to the Fund every year at such rate, as may be fixed by the Government,
from time to time, on the recommendation of the Board.
(1A) Every allied worker
shall contribute to the Fund, every month, at such rate, as may be fixed by the
Government, from time to time, on the recommendation of the Board.
(2)
A dealer shall contribute to the Fund, every year, one per cent of his
sale proceeds in the year.
(3)
The owner of a fishing vessel of any category, shall contribute to the
fund, every month, an amount, at such rate, as may be fixed by the Government,
from time to time, on the recommendation of the Board, to that category of
fishing vessel.
(4)
The owner of a stakenet or chinanet shall contribute to the Fund, at
such rate, as may be fixed by the Government, from time to time, on the
recommendation of the Board, for nine months every year.
(5)
The owner of a prawn filteration area or a prawn culture farm or a fish
farm shall contribute to the fund every year, at such rate, per hectare, as may
be fixed by the Government, from time to time, on the recommendation of the
Board.
Explanation.-For the
purposes of this sub-section “prawn filtration area” means any water logged
area, where prawn filtration is carried on.
“Prawn culture Farm” means a
farm where prawn, including scampi, are cultured
(5A) In calculating the extent
of the area, half hectare and above shall be taken as one hectare and areas
below half hectare shall be ignored.
(5B) The owners of fish markets or lessees or
licensees or any person claiming, any right or interest, through such owners,
or the owners of the ice plants supplying ice, mainly for the processing of
fish and the vehicles engaged, mainly for the transportation of fish, shall
contribute to the fund, every year at such rate as may be fixed by the
Government, from time to time, on the recommendation of the Board.
5.
Amendment of section 7.-In section 7 of the principal Act,-
(i)
in sub-section (3) for clause (f), the following clause shall be
substituted, namely:-
“ (f) five
representatives of the fishermen to be nominated by the Government, of whom two
shall be from the allied workers.”;
(ii)
in sub-section (6) the words “ or to the Managing Director of the Kerala
State Co-operative Federation for Fisheries Development” shall be omitted.
6.
Amendment of section 13.-In section 13 of the principal Act; the
proviso to sub-section (1) shall be, omitted.
7.
Repeal and saving.-(1) The Kerala Fisherman’s Welfare Fund
(Amendment) Ordinance, 1999 (2 of 1999) is hereby repealed.
(2)
Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or deemed to have been done or any
action taken or deemed to have been taken, under the principal Act, as amended
by the said Ordinance, shall be deemed to have been done or taken under the
principal Act, as amended by this Act.