CITY OF PANAJI CORPORATION
ACT, 2002 THE CITY OF PANAJI CORPORATION ACT, 2002. [Act No. 1 of 2003] [21st January, 2003 ] ANACT To provide for and constitute a Municipal Corporation for a
Larger Urban area for Panaji Municipal area and other developed areas. BE it enacted by the
Legislative Assembly of Goa in the Fifty-third year of the Republic of India as
follows:-- (1)
This Act may be called as the City of Panaji Corporation Act,
2002. (2)
This Act shall apply to the areas specified in Schedule I of this
Act: Provided that the State
Government may by notification declare that any area or any part thereof, not
forming a part of the city of Panaji Corporation, to be a Panchayat area under
the Panchayat Raj Act. (3) It shall
come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification,
appoint in this behalf and different dates may be appointed for different
chapters or sections of this Act. (1)
Subject to Section 1, on the commencement of this Act, the areas
presently included in the Schedule I shall, save as hereinafter provided, be
deemed to have been withdrawn from the operation of the Goa Municipalities Act,
1968 or the Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1993 as the case may be. (2)
This withdrawal shall not affect the validity of anything done or
suffered, or any right, title, or proceedings, obligation or liability accrued,
before the commencement of this Act. (3)
Nothing herein contained shall deprive any person of any right to
property, or other private right, except as hereinafter provided. (1)
All debts and obligations incurred, all contracts entered into
with and all matters and things engaged to be done by, or for, the Municipality
of Panaji and village panchayat areas indicated in Schedule I, before this Act
comes into force shall be deemed to have been incurred, entered into with or
engaged to be done by, or for, the Corporation as constituted under this Act. (2)
Every appointment, rule, bye-law, form, notification, notice, tax,
fees, levy, scheme, order, licence or permission/legal proceedings, process
made, issued, imposed, sanctioned or given under the Goa Municipalities Act,
1968, or Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1993, shall so far as it relates to the
Municipality of Panaji or any panchayat area mentioned in Schedule I and so far
as it is in force at the commencement of, and is not inconsistent with, this
Act, be deemed to have been made, issued, imposed, sanctioned or given under
the provisions of this Act, and shall unless previously altered, modified,
cancelled, suspended, surrendered or withdrawn, as the case may be, under this
Act remain in force for the period, if any, for which it was so made, issued,
imposed, sanctioned or given: Provided however, in
matters concerning construction, sale of articles, trading and in all other
matters the presently existing bye-laws applicable to Panaji Municipal Council
immediately prior to commencement of this Act, shall continue to apply to the
Corporation area until new bye-laws are framed under this Act and the earlier
bye-laws made applicable under this Act are repealed or superseded; (3)
All rates, taxes, fees, levies and sums of money, due to the
Municipality of Panaji or any panchayat area mentioned in Schedule I when this
Act comes into force, shall be deemed to be due to the Corporation; (4)
All suits or other legal proceedings, civil or criminal,
instituted, by or against the Municipality of Panaji or any panchayat area
mentioned in Schedule I may be continued by or against the Corporation. The State Government may,
by notification, appoint a person to exercise, perform or discharge the powers,
duties and functions which are conferred or imposed by or under this Act as the
Commissioner until that officer is appointed under section 48. In this Act, unless there
is anything repugnant to the subject or context:-- (1)
?Administrator? means an Administrator appointed by the State
Government under Section 380 of this Act, to exercise the powers and to perform
the duties of the Corporation and its authorities; (2)
? Assembly constituency? means constituency provided by law for
the purpose of elections to the Goa Legislative Assembly, or any part thereof,
which is for the time being comprised in the City; (3) ?Assembly
roll? means the electoral roll prepared for any Assembly Constituency in
accordance with the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950; (4) ?assessment
list? means any municipal assessment register prescribed by section 122 of this
Act and includes any register subsidiary thereto; (5) ?authorized?
means authorized by the Corporation either generally or specially; (6) ?bakery?
means any place in which bread or confectionery including biscuits is baked,
cooked or prepared in any manner whatsoever for purposes of profit or sale; (7) ?budget
grant? means a sum entered on the expenditure side of a budget estimate which
has been finally adopted by the Corporation, and includes any sum by which such
budget grant may at any time be increased under sections 88, 89 or 90 of this
Act; (8)
?building? includes a house, outhouse, stable, hut, shed or other
enclosure, whether used as a human dwelling or otherwise and shall include also
verandahs, fixed platforms, plinths, door-steps, walls and the like; (9) ?building
line? means a line beyond which the outer face or any part of an external wall
of a building should not project in the direction of any street existing or
proposed; (10) ?The
Commissioner? means the Municipal Commissioner for the City appointed under
section 48 and includes an acting Commissioner appointed under the Act and any
municipal officer empowered under this Act to exercise, perform or discharge
any of the powers, duties or functions of the Commissioner to the extent to
which such officer is so empowered; (11)
?City of Panaji? or ?the City? means the large urban area
specified in the notification issued in this respect under clause (2) of
Article 243 Q of the Constitution of India, known by the name of the City of
Panaji; (12) ?Closet
accommodation? means a receptacle for human excreta, together with the
structure comprising such receptacle and the fitting and apparatus connected
therewith; (13) ?the
Corporation? or ?Corporation Area? means the Municipal Corporation of the City
of Panaji constituted or deemed to be constituted under this Act; (14)
?Councillor? means any person who is duly continued under this Act
or elected as a member of the Corporation under this Act; and includes, a
nominated Councillor who shall not have the right:- (i)
To vote at any meeting of the Corporation and committees of the
Corporation; and (ii)
To get elected as a Mayor or a Deputy Mayor of the Corporation or
a chairperson of any of the Committees of the Corporation; (15)
?dangerous diseases? means cholera, plague, tuberculosis,
diphtheria, malaria, and any disease which the Corporation or the State
Government may, by public notice, declare to be a dangerous disease for the
purpose of this Act; (16)
?District Court? means the District Court, constituted for the
North Goa district; (17)
?drain? includes a sewer, tunnel, pipe, ditch, gutter or channel,
and any cistern, flush, tank, septic tank, or other device for carrying off or
treating sewage, offensive matter, polluted water, sullage, waste water, drain
water or sub-soil water and any culvert, ventilation, shaft or pipe or other
appliance or fitting connected therewith, and any ejectors, compressed air
mains, sealed sewage mains and special machinery or apparatus for raising,
collecting, expelling or removing sewage or offensive matter from any place; (18)
?drug? means any substance used as medicine or in the composition
or preparation of medicines, whether for internal or external use; (19)
??eating-house? means any
premises to which the public are admitted and where any kind of food is prepared
or supplied for consumption on the premises for the profit or gain of any
person owing or having an interest in or managing such premises; (20)
the expression ?erect or re-erect any building? with its
grammatical variations and cognate expressions includes: (a)
any material alteration or enlargement of any building; (b)
the conversion by structural alteration into a place for human
habitation of any building not originally constructed for human habitation; (c)
the conversion by structural alteration of one or more places of
human habitation into a greater number of such places; (d)
the conversion by structural alteration of two or more places of
human habitation into a lesser number of such places; (e)
such alteration of the internal arrangement of a building as
effects a change in its drainage or sanitary arrangements or affects its
stability; (f)
the addition of any rooms, buildings, out-houses or other
structure to a building; (g)
the reconstruction of the whole or any part of the external walls
of a building or the renewal of the posts of wooden buildings; (h)
any change over ground or in land; (21)
the expression ?essential officer or servant? means every person
employed in the municipal corporation in a service declared to be essential by
the Commissioner; (22)
??factory? has the meaning
assigned to it under the Factories Act, 1948; (23) ?Finance
Commission? means the Finance Commission constituted in accordance with the
provisions of Article 243-I of the Constitution of India; (24) ?food?
includes every article used for food or drink by man other than drugs or water,
and any article which ordinarily enter into or is used in the composition or
preparation of human food; and also includes confectionery, flavouring and
colouring matters and spices and condiments; (25) ?keeper?
means the person in charge of a lodging-house, and may include the owner for
the purposes of any rules or bye-laws made under this Act; (26) ?land?
includes land which is being built upon or is built upon or covered with water; (27) ?licensed
plumber?, ?licensed surveyor? and ?licensed architect? mean, respectively, a
person licensed by the Corporation as a plumber or surveyor or architect under
this Act; (28) ?lodging
- house? means a building or part of a building which is let for lodgings; (29) ?market?
includes any place within the City where persons assemble for the sale of meat,
fish, fruit, vegetables, live-stock or any other article of food; or commodity
and is declared to be so by the Commissioner; (30)
?municipal drain? means a drain vested in the Corporation; (31)
?municipal market? means a market vested in or managed by the
Corporation; (32)
?municipal slaughter-house? means a slaughter-house vested in or
managed by the Corporation; (33) ?municipal
tax? means any impost levied by the Corporation under the provisions of this
Act; (34) ?municipal
water-works? means a water-work vested in or managed by the Corporation; (35) ?nuisance?
includes any act, omission, place or thing which causes or is likely to cause
injury, danger, annoyance or offence to the sense of sight, smell or hearing,
or which is or may be dangerous to life or injurious to health or property; (36)
??occupier? includes any
person for the time being paying, or liable to pay, to the owner the rent, fees
or compensation or any portion of the rent, fees or compensation of the land or
building in respect of which the word is used or damages on account of the
occupation of such land or building, and also an owner living in, or other-wise
using, his own land or building and a rent-free tenant or a person declared to
be a Mundkar under the Goa, Daman & Diu Mundkars (Protection from Eviction)
Act, 1976; (37)
?offensive matter? includes animal carcasses, dung, dirt, putrid
or putrefying substances, and filth of any kind which is not included in
?sewage? as defined in this section; (38)
?Other Backward Classes? means such classes or parts of or groups
within such classes as are declared, from time to time, by the State Government
to be Other Backward Classes (excluding creamy layer). (39)
??owner? when used with
reference to any land or building includes the person for the time being
receiving the rent of the land or building or of any part of the land or
building whether on his own account or as agent or trustee for any person or
society or for any religious or charitable purpose, or as a receiver who would
receive such rent if the land, building or part thereof were let to a tenant; (40) ?population?
means the population as ascertained at the last preceding Census of which the
relevant figures have been published; (41) ?prescribed?
means prescribed by rules or bye-laws made under this Act; (42) ?public
analyst? means any person to be appointed by the Corporation to perform the
duties and to exercise the power of a public analyst prescribed under this Act; (43)
?public place? includes any public park or garden, or any ground
to which the public have or are permitted to have access; (44)
the expression ?public securities? means Government securities and
any securities guaranteed by Government, securities issued by the Corporation
and any other securities which the State Government may declare to be public
securities for the purposes of this Act; (45)
?public street? means any street- (a)
heretofore levelled, paved, metalled, channelled sewered or
repaired out of municipal or other public funds; or (b)
which under the provisions of section 294 is declared to be, or
under any other provision of this Act becomes, a public street; and includes (c)
the roadway over any public bridge or causeway, (d)
?the footway attached to any
such street, (e)
public bridge or causeway, and the drains attached to any such
street, public bridge or causeway; (46)
?registered trade union? means a trade union registered under the
Indian Trade Unions Act, 1926; (47)
(a) a person shall be deemed to ?reside? in any dwelling-house or
hut which, or some portion of which, he sometimes, although not
uninterruptedly, uses as a sleeping apartment; and (b) a person shall not be
deemed to cease to ?reside? in any such dwelling-house or hut merely because he
is absent from it or has elsewhere another dwelling-house or hut in which he
resides, if there is the liberty of returning to it at any time and no abandonment
or the intention of returning to it; (48)
?rubbish? includes dust, ashes, broken bricks, mortar, glass,
garden or stable refuse or refuse of any kind which is not ?offensive matter?
or ?sewage? as defined in this section; (49)
?sewage? means night-soil and other contents of water-closets,
latrines, privies, urinals, cesspools, or drains and polluted water from sinks,
bath-rooms, stables, cattle-sheds and other like places, and includes trade
effluents and discharges from manufactories of all kinds; (50)
?sewage connection? includes any drain set up by the Corporation
or the State Government connecting any watery closets, latrines, privy,
urinals, bath-room, sink, manhole or tap with any drain set apart by the
Corporation for sewage and other offensive matter; (51)
?State Election Commission? means the State Election Commission
consisting of the State Election Commissioner appointed in accordance with the
provisions of clause (I) of Article 243-K of the Constitution of India; (52)
?street? means any road, land, gully, alley, passage, pathway,
square or Court whether a thoroughfare or not, which is accessible to the
public whether permanently or temporarily; and includes every vacant space,
notwithstanding that it may be private property and obstructed wholly or partly
by any gate, post, chain or other barrier, if houses, shops, or other buildings
abut thereon and if it is used by any persons whether occupiers of such
buildings or not, as a means of access to or from any public place or
thoroughfare but shall not include any part of such vacant space which the
occupier of any such building has a right at all hours to prevent all other
persons from using as aforesaid; (53) ?street
line? means a line dividing the land comprised in and forming part of a street from
the adjoining land; (54) ?traffic
sign? includes all signals, warnings signposts, direction posts, signs or other
devices, erected by any person or authority authorized by law to do so, for the
information, guidance or direction of persons using roads or of wheeled and
other traffic; (55) ?vehicle?
means a wheeled conveyance capable of being used on the street; (56) ?Wards
Committees? means the Wards Committees constituted under section 41; (57)
?water-closet? means closet accommodation used or adapted or
intended to be used in connection with Government or municipal water works and
comprising provisions for the flushing of the receptacle by means of a
water-supply and having connection with a sewer; (58)
?water connection? includes? (a)
any tank, cistern, hydrant, stand-pipe, meter or tap situated on
private property and connected with a water-main or pipe belonging to the
Corporation or Government; (b)
the water-pipe connecting such tank, cistern, hydrant, stand pipe,
meter or tap with such water-main or pipe; (59)
?water for domestic purposes? shall not include water for cattle,
or for washing vehicles where the cattle or vehicles are kept for sale or hire,
or by a common carrier, and shall not include water for any trade, manufacture
or business, or for building purposes, or for watering gardens, or for
fountains or for any ornamental or commercial purposes; (60)
?water-work? includes a lake, stream, spring, well, pump,
reservoir, cistern, tank, duct, whether covered or open, sluice main-pipe,
culvert, engine and anything for supplying or used for supplying water; (61)
?workshop? means any building, place or premises, or any part
thereof, not being a factory, to or over which the employer of the persons
working therein has the right of access or control, and in which, or within the
compound or precincts of which, any manual labour is employed or utilized in
aid of or incidental to any process, operation or manufacturing for the
following purposes:-- (i)
the making of any article or part thereof; or (ii)
the altering, repairing, ornamenting or finishing of any article;
or (iii)
the adapting for sale of any article. The Municipal authorities
charged with carrying out the provisions of the Act shall be- (a)
the Corporation; (b)
the Standing Committee; (c)
the Commissioner. The Corporation shall by
the name of the Corporation of the City of Panaji be a body corporate, and have
perpetual succession and a common seal, and shall by that name sue and be sued. The Corporation shall have
power to acquire and hold property, both movable and immovable, within or
without the limits of the City, and subject to the provisions of this Act and
the rules made thereunder, to transfer any property held by itself and to enter
into contracts and to do all other things necessary for the purposes of this
Act. (1)
The Corporation shall consist of:-- (a)
Fifty Councillors directly elected at ward elections; (b)
Five nominated Councillors having special knowledge or experience
in municipal administration, engineering, architecture, archaeology, heritage,
etc., nominated by the State Government by a notification. (2)
The State Election Commissioner with the approval of the State
Government shall, from time to time by notification in the Official Gazette,
specify for the City the number and boundaries of the wards into which the City
shall be divided for the purpose of the ward election of Councillors, and the
number of Councillors to be elected for each ward: Provided that, the
provisions made under sub-section (1) or notification issued under sub-section
(2) shall not have effect until the expiry of the duration of the existing term
of the Corporation. (1)
In the seats to be filled in by election in the Corporation there
shall be seats reserved for persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes, the
Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and women, as may be determined by the
State Election Commissioner, in consultation with the Government; (2)
The seats to be reserved for the persons belonging to the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in the Corporation shall bear, as
nearly may be, the same proportion to the total number of seats to be filled in
by direct election in the Corporation as the population of the Scheduled Castes
or, as the case may be, the Scheduled Tribes, in the Corporation area bears the
total population of that area and such seats shall be allotted by rotation to
different wards in the Corporation: Provided that, one-third of
the total number of seats so reserved shall be reserved for women belonging to
the Scheduled Castes or, as the case may be, the Scheduled Tribes: Provided further that,
where only one seat is reserved for Scheduled Castes, or, as the case may be
the Scheduled Tribes, then no seats shall be reserved for women belonging to
the Scheduled Caste, or as the case may the Scheduled Tribes and where only 2
seats are reserved for the Scheduled Caste or, as the case may be, the
Scheduled Tribes, one of the 2 seats shall be reserved for women belonging to
the Scheduled Caste, or as the case may be, the Scheduled Tribes. (3) The seats
to be reserved for persons belonging to the category of Other Backward Classes
shall be twenty seven per cent of the number of seats to be filled in by
election in the Corporation and such seats shall be allotted by rotation to
different wards in the Corporation: Provided that, one-third of
the total number of seats so reserved shall be reserved for women belonging to
the category of Other Backward Classes. (4)
One-third (including the number of seats reserved for women
belonging to the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the category of Other
Backward Class) of the total number of seats to be filled in by direct election
in the Corporation shall be reserved for women and such seats shall be allotted
by rotation to different wards in the Corporation. (5)
The reservation of seats (other than the reservation for women)
under sub-section (2) shall cease to have effect on the expiration of period
specified in Article 334 of the Constitution of India. (1)
The superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of
the electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to the Corporation
shall vest in the State Election Commissioner; (2)
The State Election Commissioner may, by order delegate any powers
and functions to any officer of the Commission or any officer of the State
Government not below the rank of Deputy Collector or to any officer of the
Corporation not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner; (3)
All the officers and members of the staff appointed or deployed
for preparation of electoral rolls and conduct of election of the Corporation
under this Act and the rules shall function under the superintendence,
direction and control of the State Election Commissioner; (4)
Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act and the rules, the
State Election Commissioner may issue such special or general orders or
directions which may not be inconsistent with the provisions of this Act or any
other law or rules for fair and free elections. The State Election
Commissioner may, with a view to prevent impersonation of electors at the time
of election, issue such directions, as he thinks fit, to the presiding officers
and such directions may include instructing the electors to produce, at the
time of polling, the photo identity cards issued to them under the provisions
of the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951. The Assembly roll for the
time being in force, on such date as the State Election Commissioner may, by
general or special order notify, shall be divided by the State Election
Commissioner into different sections corresponding to different wards in the
City; and a printed copy of each section of the roll so divided and
authenticated by the State Election Commissioner or an officer authorized by
him, shall be the ward roll for each ward. (1)
Every person who is enrolled in the municipal electoral roll as a
voter for a ward shall be qualified to be a Councillor, and to be elected
either from such ward or from any other ward. (2)
Any person who ceases to be a Councillor shall, if qualified under
sub-section (1), be eligible for re-election as such. No person shall be eligible
for election, as a Councillor if he-- (a)
is not a citizen of India; or (b)
has been adjudged by a competent Court to be of unsound mind; or (c)
has, at any time, been convicted of an offence punishable under section
153A, or sub-section (2) or (3) of section 505, of the Indian Penal Code; Provided that, such
disqualification shall be for a period of six years from the date of such
conviction; or (d)
has been convicted by a Court in India of any offence involving
moral turpitude, unless a period of six years has elapsed since the date of
such conviction; or (e)
has been dismissed from the service of the Government for
misconduct and has been declared to be disqualified for employment in the
public service; or (f)
has been dismissed for misconduct from the service of any
municipal Corporation, municipal committee, notified area of committee,
district council or local board and has been declared by the State Government
to be disqualified for employment in the public service; or (g)
has been so disqualified by or under any law,? (h)
for the time being in force for the purposes of elections to the
Legislature of the State: Provided that no person
shall be disqualified on the ground that he is less than twenty-five years of
age, if he has attained the age of twenty-one years; (i)
?made by the Legislature of
the State of ?Goa?. (j)
holds any salaried office under or place of profit of the
Corporation or any other local authority, while holding such office or place;
or (k)
has directly or indirectly any share or interest in any contract
with, by or on behalf of the Corporation while owning such share or interest: Provided that a
disqualification under clause (e), (f), or (i) may be removed by an order of
the State Government in this behalf. Explanation:-- A person
shall not, by reason of being a share holder in or a member of any incorporate
or registered company, be deemed to be interested in any contract entered into
between the company and the Corporation. (l) interferes
or in any way acts prejudicial to the interest of the Corporation or the State
Government, including by making attempts to stall or in any way obstruct the
performance of duties, functions or powers exercised by any officials of the
Corporation or the State Government, including acts of demolition of illegal
structures. Every election, of a
Councillor, and every election of the Mayor or Deputy Mayor shall be notified
in the prescribed manner and such persons shall enter in their respective
offices from the date specified for that purpose in such notification. (1)
The Corporation shall, unless sooner dissolved, continue for a
period of five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and no
longer. (2)
A Corporation formed immediately after the commencement of this
Act shall continue for a period of one year from the date of publication of
this Act in the Official Gazette or until the new elections are held under the
provisions of this Act, whichever is earlier: Provided however, the State
Government may extend the term of the Corporation referred to in sub-section
(2) above not beyond a period of six months, after the expiry of one year, for
exceptional reasons. Except as provided for in
the transitory provisions hereinafter made, the term of office of the
Councillors shall be co-terminus with the duration of the Corporation. An election to constitute
the Corporation shall be completed:-- (a)
before the expiry of its duration of five years as specified in
section 17; (b)
in the case of dissolution of the Corporation, before the
expiration of a period of six months from the date of its dissolution. In the event of failure to
accept office by a person elected, to be a Councillor, or of the death,
resignation or vacancies or disqualification of a Councillor, or of his
becoming incapable of acting before the expiry of his term of office, a casual
vacancy shall be deemed to have occurred in such office and such vacancy shall
be filled as soon as conveniently may be but not later than six months by the
election, of a person thereto as Councillor, who shall take office forthwith
and shall hold such office in the unexpired term of his predecessor. If any person having been
elected, a Councillor? (a)
subsequently becomes subject to any of the disqualifications
specified in section 15 and such disqualification is not removable or being
removable is not removed, or (b)
absents himself during three consecutive months from the meetings
of the Corporation, except from temporary illness or for any other cause which
the Corporation may consider sufficient to justify such absence, or (c)
is retained or employed in any professional capacity in connection
with any matter to which the Corporation is a party, or (d)
absents himself during six consecutive months from the meetings of
the Corporation, or (e)
fails to pay any arrears of any kind due by him to the Corporation
within three months after a special notice in this behalf has been served upon
him by the Chief Executive Officer, such person shall cease to be a Councillor
and the State Government shall, by notification, declare his seat to be vacant. The elected Councillors of
the Corporation shall, at the first meeting of the Corporation each year, elect
from amongst themselves, a Mayor and a Deputy Mayor. (1) Any
Councillor (which term for the purposes of this section shall include the Mayor
or Deputy Mayor) who becomes subject to any of the disqualifications specified
in section 21, shall forthwith cease to be a Councillor and his office shall
become vacant: Provided that where a
person who, by reason of a sentence of a Court, becomes disqualified by virtue
of clause (d) of section 15 is at the date of disqualification a Councillor,
his seat shall, notwithstanding anything in this section, not become vacant by
reason of the disqualification until three months have elapsed from the date of
such sentence or, if within those three months of such date an appeal or
petition for revision is brought in respect of the conviction or the sentence,
until that appeal or petition is disposed of, but during any period during
which he continues to be a Councillor by virtue of this provision, he shall not
sit or vote; (2)
If any question arises whether a vacancy has occurred under
sub-section (1), it shall be decided by the State Government and its decision
shall be final; (3)
The State Government may at any time remove a Councillor? (a)
if he refuses to act, or becomes incapable of acting, or absents
himself without sufficient excuse for more than three consecutive meetings of
the Corporation, and if the Corporation recommends his removal by a majority of
two-thirds of the Councillors; or (b)
if his continuance in office is undesirable in the interests of
the public or of the Corporation, and if the Corporation recommends his removal
by a majority of two-thirds of the Councillors. (4)
The State Government may at any time remove a Councillor if he,
being a legal practitioner, acts or appears on behalf of any other person
against the Corporation in any legal proceeding or against the State Government
in any such proceeding relating to any matter in which the Corporation is or
has been concerned, or acts or appears on behalf of any person in any criminal
proceeding instituted by or on behalf of the Corporation against such person; (5)
?No order under sub-section
(3) or sub-section (4) shall be passed until reasonable opportunity of fifteen
days has been given to the person concerned to furnish an explanation. (6)
?Removal from office under
sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) shall disqualify the person so removed for
further election, selection, or appointment to the office from which he is
removed for the period during which, but for such removal, he would have
continued in office. (1)
Within fifteen days from the expiration of each calendar quarter,
the Commissioner shall? (a)
draw up a list of all Councillors (which term for the purposes of
this section shall include the Mayor and Deputy Mayor), who have failed to pay
any tax due by them to the Corporation within six months from the date on which
such tax became due; (b)
issue to every person on the said list a notice of demand
requiring him to pay the arrears within thirty days from the date of service of
such notice; and (c)
submit a copy of the list to the State Government. (2)
On receipt of the list, the State Government shall, if it finds
that a notice of demand has not been issued to any person on the list, serve
him with a special notice of demand requiring him to pay the arrears within
thirty days from date of the service thereof; (3)
?If on receipt of the notice
referred to in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) the Councillor fails to pay
within three months the arrears of any tax specified in the notice, he shall
cease to be a Councillor and his office shall be vacant; and he shall be
disqualified for further election, selection or appointment to such office
until the arrears due by him are paid and a certificate to that effect is
granted to him in the prescribed manner; (4)
The State Government may make rules under this Act providing for
all matters connected with the administration of this section. The Corporation shall meet
at least once every month or when so directed by the State Government for the
transaction of business. After every general
election, notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the Commissioner
shall call the first meeting of the Corporation on the date specified in the
notification issued under section 16, to elect the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor, the
Standing Committee and the Special Consultative Committees. (1)
A meeting of the Corporation shall be either ordinary or special. (2)
The date of every meeting, except the meeting referred to in
section 26, shall be fixed by the Mayor, or in the event of his being incapable
of acting then by the Deputy Mayor, and in the like event in his case then by
the Commissioner: Provided however, when
directions are issued by the State Government, for the Corporation to meet, the
Commissioner shall fix the time and date of such meeting. (3) ?Notice of every meeting specifying the time
and place thereof and the business to be transacted thereat shall be dispatched
to every Councillor and exhibited at the municipal office seven clear days
before an ordinary meeting and three clear days before a special meeting: Provided that if the notice
is exhibited at the municipal office, failure to serve it on any Councillor
shall not affect the validity of a meeting. (4) No
business other than that specified in the notice relating thereto shall be
transacted at a meeting except when such meeting is held under the directions
of the State Government. The Mayor, or in any such
event as aforesaid, the Deputy Mayor, may whenever he thinks fit call a special
meeting, and shall be bound to do so within two weeks of the receipt of a
written requisition signed by not less than three members of the Standing
Committee. Any meeting of the
Corporation may, with the consent of a majority of the Councillors present or
under the directions of the State Government, be adjourned to any other date;
but no business other than that left over at the adjourned meeting shall be
transacted at the next meeting. A notice of such adjournment posted in the
municipal office on the day on which the meeting is adjourned shall be deemed
sufficient notice of the next ensuing meeting. (1) Members
of the public shall be admitted to the meeting of the Corporation: Provided that the
Corporation may temporarily exclude the public from a meeting as often as may
be desirable at any meeting when in the opinion of a majority of the
Councillors present at such meeting expressed by resolution, in view of the
special nature of the business then being dealt with or about to be dealt with,
such exclusion is advisable. (2)
Such resolution shall be put by the presiding authority of its own
motion or at the request of any Councillor, without previous notice or discussion. (3)
Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or abridge the
power of the presiding authority at any time to cause any person who interrupts
the proceedings to be removed. (1)
At a meeting of the Corporation the Mayor, if present, shall
preside. (2)
If the Mayor is absent from a meeting of the Corporation the
Deputy Mayor shall preside. (3)
If both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor are absent from the meeting of
the Corporation, the members present shall choose one of their members to
preside. (4)
In the case of an equality of votes the person presiding at the
meeting shall have a second or a casting vote. (1)
The Quorum for the meeting of the Corporation shall be ten
members. (2)
If at any meeting there are at any time not sufficient members
present to form a quorum, the President of the meeting shall adjourn it to such
time or date as he thinks fit and announce the same at once; and the business
set down for the meeting shall be brought forward in the usual manner at the
subsequent meeting, or if the subsequent meeting should be adjourned, then at
any meeting thereafter whether at such meeting there is a quorum or not. (3)
No business other than the business fixed for the original meeting
shall be transacted at any such subsequent meeting. (4)
A notice of a adjournment exhibited in the municipal office on the
day on which the meeting is adjourned shall be sufficient notice of the
subsequent meeting. (1)
No Councillor shall vote or take part in the discussion of any
matter before a meeting in which he has directly or indirectly by himself or
his spouse or his partner any share or interest in any contract, grant or
employment with, by or on behalf of, the Corporation. (2)
If a Councillor or his spouse has any pecuniary interest, direct
or indirect, in any contract, or proposed contract or other matter, and is
present at a meeting of the Corporation or Standing Committee at which the
Contract or other matter is the subject of consideration, he shall at the
meeting, as soon as practicable after the commencement thereof, disclose the
fact, and shall not take part in the consideration or discussion of, or vote on
any question with respect to, the contract or other matter: Provided that this section
shall not apply to an interest in the contract or other matter which a
Councillor may have as a tax-payer or inhabitant of the City, or as an ordinary
consumer of electricity or water, or to an interest in any matter relating to
the terms on which the right to participate in any service, including the
supply of goods is offered to the public. (3)
For purposes of this section a person shall (subject as
hereinafter in this sub-section provided) be treated as having indirectly a
pecuniary interest in a contract or other matter, if? (a)
he or any nominee of his is a member of a company or other body
with which the contract is made or is proposed to be made or which has a direct
pecuniary interest in the other matter under consideration, (b)
he is a partner, or member of the joint Hindu family or is in the
employment of a person with whom the contract is made or is proposed to be made
or who has a direct pecuniary interest, in the other matter under
consideration: Provided that-- (c)
this sub-section shall not apply to membership of, or employment
under, any public body; (d)
a member of a company or other body shall not, by reason only of
his membership, be treated as being so interested if he has no beneficial
interest in any shares or stock of that company or other body; (e)
?no person shall be deemed
to have any share or interest in a contract, grant or employment by reason only
of his having any share or interest in? (f)
any lease, sale or purchase of land or any agreement for the same;
or (g)
?any agreement for the loan
of money or any security for the payment of money only; or (h)
any newspaper in which any advertisement relating to the affairs
of the Corporation is inserted; or (i)
any joint stock company which may enter into contract with or be
employed by the Commissioner on behalf of the Corporation; or (j)
?the occasional sale to the
Commissioner on behalf of the Corporation, to a value not exceeding in any one
financial year five thousand rupees, of any article in which he regularly
trades. (1) The
Presiding authority shall preserve order and may direct any Councillor whose
conduct is in his opinion disorderly to withdraw immediately from the meeting
of the Corporation; and any Councillor so ordered to withdraw shall do so
forthwith and shall absent himself during the reminder of the day?s meeting;
and if he is ordered a second time within fifteen days to withdraw, the
presiding authority may suspend him for any period not exceeding fifteen days
and he shall absent himself from meeting accordingly: Provided that the presiding
authority may remit the suspension on receiving apology to his satisfaction
from the Councillor under suspension. Provided also that suspension shall not
prevent any Councillor from serving on any committee. (2)
The presiding authority may, in case of grave disorder arising in
the meeting, suspend the meeting for a period not exceeding three days. (3)
If any person who has been ordered to withdraw, unlawfully remains
in the meeting, the presiding officer may take such steps as he may deem fit to
cause him to be removed. The Standing Committee
shall consist of six Councillors. (1)
The Corporation shall, at its first meeting each year, elect six
out of its number to be members of the Standing Committee. Members of the
Standing Committee shall, subject to the provisions of section 40, hold office
until the first meeting of the Corporation in the next following year. (2)
Any Councillor who ceases to be a member of the Standing Committee
shall be eligible for re-election. (1)
The Standing Committee shall at its first meeting elect one of its
members to be Chairman of the Standing Committee until a new Standing Committee
is constituted. (2)
In the absence of the Chairman the members of the Standing
Committee present shall choose one of their members to preside over their
meeting. (3)
A member of the Standing Committee who ceases to be Chairman shall
be eligible for re-election as such. (4)
If any casual vacancy occurs in the office of the Chairman, the
Standing Committee shall, as soon as it is convenient can after the occurrence
of such vacancy, elect one of its members to fill the vacancy and every
Chairman so elected shall continue in office for the unexpired term of his
predecessor. Any member of the Standing
Committee who absents himself from all meetings of the Standing Committee
during two consecutive months shall cease to be a member of the Standing
Committee, and his office as such member shall be vacant, and he shall not be
eligible for re-election to the Committee during the unexpired term of the
Corporation. If any casual vacancy
occurs in the office of a member of the Standing Committee, the Corporation
shall, as soon as may be after the occurrence of such vacancy, elect one of its
member to fill the vacancy and every Councillor so elected shall continue in
office for the unexpired term of his predecessor. The Standing Committee in
existence on the day for the retirement of Councillors shall continue to hold
office until such time as a new Standing Committee is constituted under section
36 notwithstanding that the members of the said Committee, or some of them, may
no longer be Councillors. (1)
There shall be constituted not more then seven Wards Committees
for the City of Panaji, each comprising such contiguous electoral wards, as may
be decided by the Corporation. (2)
Each Wards Committee shall consist of:-- (a)
the Councillors representing the electoral wards within the
territorial area of the Wards Committee; (b)
the officer-in-charge of the territorial area of the Wards
Committee, if any; (c)
such number of other members not exceeding three, nominated by the
Councillors referred to in clause (a), from amongst the members of recognised
non-Government Organisations and community based Organisations engaged in
social welfare activities working within the area of the Wards Committee: Provided that such persons
are registered as electors in the Wards within the jurisdiction of the Wards
Committee: Provided further that, the
norms for recognition of the non-Government Organisations, the requisite
qualification for nomination as members and the manner in which they are to be
nominated shall be such as the State Government may prescribe. (3)
The duration of the Wards Committee shall be co-terminus with the
duration of the Corporation. (4)
The elected Councillors referred to in clause (a) of sub-section
(2) shall at the first meeting of the Wards Committee in each financial year,
elect from amongst themselves the Chairperson who shall hold office until the
first meeting in the next following financial year. (5)
The Chairperson of the Wards Committee shall be deemed to have
vacated the office as soon as he ceases to be a Councillor. (6)
In the event of the office of the Chairperson falling vacant
before the expiry of its term, the Wards Committee shall elect a new
Chairperson: Provided that the
Chairperson so elected shall hold office so long only as the Chairperson in
whose place he is elected would have held office if such vacancy had not
occurred. (7)
The functions of the Wards Committee shall, subject to the general
supervision and control of the Corporation be:- (a)
the speedy redressal of common grievances of citizens connected
with local and essential municipal services like water supply, drainage,
sanitation and storm water disposal; (b)
to consider and make recommendations on the proposals regarding
estimates of expenditure pertaining to the wards under different heads of
accounts of the budget before being forwarded to the Commissioner; (c)
to grant administrative approval and financial sanction to the
plans for municipal works to be carried out within the territorial area of the
Wards Committee costing upto rupees five lakhs, provided that a specific
provision exists therefore in the budget sanctioned by the Corporation. (8)
Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (7), the
Corporation may, by resolution, delegate to a Wards Committee such other
powers, authority and functions as it may deem fit and expedient; (9)
The Wards Committee shall meet at least once in every month at its
Ward Office, if any, or in the Corporation Office. (1)
There shall be three Special Consultative Committees each
consisting of not less than three and not more than seven Councillors, namely:? (a)
a Public Works Committee to which may be referred for inquiry and
report, or for opinion, any matter connected with roads, buildings, lighting,
public parks and gardens; (b)
a Public Health and Markets Committee to which may be referred for
inquiry and report, or for opinion, any matter connected with public health and
safety, health of animals in the City, sanitation, markets, slaughter-houses,
vaccination, the disposal of rubbish and offensive matter, and the regulation
of dangerous and offensive trades; (c)
a Hospital Committee to which may be referred for enquiry and
report, or for opinion, any matter relating to hospitals and dispensaries and
medical and public health administration in the City. (2)
The term of office of every Committee mentioned in sub-section (1)
shall be one year. (3)
At the first meeting after every general election the Corporation
shall elect from among its Councillors members to serve on the Committees in
sub-section (1). (4)
If casual vacancies reduce the number of members of a Committee
below the minimum, the Corporation shall elect members to the vacancies from
among the Councillors, and such members shall hold office for the unexpired
term of the Committees. The Corporation may also
elect from time to time for such period as it may think fit, Special Committees
including the Women and Child Welfare Committee, so however that the number of
such Committees shall not exceed five and each such Committee shall consist of
such number of Councillors as it may think fit, and may refer to such
Committees for inquiry and report, or for opinion, any matter relating to the
purposes of this Act: Provided that, on the Women
and Child Welfare Committee not less than seventy-five per cent of the members
shall be from amongst women Councillors: Provided further that, the
chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson of the women and Child Welfare Committee
shall be from amongst the women Councillor members thereof. Explanation:-- For the
purpose of computing the number of members at seventy-five per cent., fraction,
if any, shall be rounded off to one. Except otherwise provided
by or under this Act, any questions brought before any meeting held under this
Act, shall be decided by a majority of the votes of the members present, and,
in the case of an equality of votes, the presiding authority at the meeting
shall have a second or casting vote: Provided that in the case
of an equality of votes at the election of the Mayor or Deputy Mayor or any
member of the Standing or Special Consultative Committee, the presiding
authority shall not exercise his casting vote, and the result shall be decided
by lot. No act or proceeding of the
Corporation or of any Committee appointed under this Act, shall be questioned
on account of any vacancy in the membership or any defect in the election or
qualification of the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Presiding Authority, any Councillor
or member thereof, or any defect or irregularity in any such act or proceeding
not affecting the merits of the case. Until the Contrary is
proved? (i)
every meeting of the Corporation or any Committee shall be deemed
to have been duly convened and held, and all the members of the meeting shall
be deemed to have been duly qualified, when the minutes of the meeting have
been signed in accordance with the provisions of this Act; and (ii)
where the meeting is a meeting of the Standing Committee, such
Committee shall be deemed to have been duly constituted and to have had power
to deal with the matters referred to in the minutes. (1)
Minutes recording the proceedings at every meeting of the
Corporation and of any of its Committees and the names of members present
thereat shall be entered in the minute book as confirmed at the same or the
next ensuing meeting by the person presiding. (2)
A copy of the minutes of the proceedings of each meeting of the
Corporation shall be forwarded to the State Government within seven days of the
meeting. (3)
The minute books prescribed by this section shall be open at the
municipal office at all reasonable times to the inspection of any councillor
without payment and to the inspection of any other person on payment of a fee
of fifty rupees. (1) (a) The
Commissioner shall from time to time be appointed by the State Government; (b) The Commissioner shall
hold office during the pleasure of the State Government. (2) Notwithstanding
the provisions of clause (b) of sub-section (1), the Commissioner shall be
forthwith removed from office if at a meeting of the Corporation not less than
three-fourths of the total number of Councillors constituting the Corporation
for the time being shall vote in favour of a proposition in this behalf; and he
may be removed by the State Government at any time if it appears to the State
Government that he is incapable of performing the duties of his office or has
been guilty of any misconduct or neglect which renders his removal expedient: Provided that when the
Commissioner is a member of a Civil Service or holds a lien on any civil post
under the Government he shall be liable to be recalled to the service of the
State by the State Government at any time in the exigencies of public service
of which the State Government shall be the sole judge. The Commissioner shall be
the principal executive officer of the Corporation and all other officers and
servants of the Corporation shall be subordinate to him. He shall have the
right to speak at, and otherwise take part in, any meeting of the Corporation
or any committee thereof, but shall not be entitled to vote or to move any
proposition. The Commissioner shall be accountable and answerable to the State
Government for performance of his functions, duties and powers under this Act. (1) The
Commissioner shall receive from the municipal fund such monthly salary and
allowance as the State Government may from time to time determine: Provided that the salary of
the Commissioner shall not be altered to his disadvantage during the period for
which his appointment has been made or renewed; (2) The
Commissioner shall devote his whole time and attention to the duties of his
office as prescribed in this Act or in any other law for the time being in
force and shall not engage in any other profession, trade or business
whatsoever: Provided that he may with
the sanction of the Corporation serve on any committee constituted for the
purpose of any local inquiry or for the furtherance of any object of local
importance or interest; (3)
The conditions of service including in matters of grant of leave
of a person appointed as a Commissioner, shall be the same as applicable to the
officer of the rank of Secretary to the State Government; (4)
During any absence on leave of the Commissioner, the State
Government shall appoint a person to act as Commissioner; (5)
Subject to any special orders of the State Government, every
person so appointed shall exercise the powers conferred and perform the duties
imposed on the Commissioner by this Act or by any other enactment for the time
being in force, and shall be subject to the same liabilities, restrictions and
conditions to which the Commissioner is liable and shall receive such monthly
salary not exceeding the salary payable for the time being to the Commissioner,
as the State Government may determine. (1)
The State Government shall from time to time, appoint a person to
be the Deputy Municipal Commissioner an officer from amongst the members of Goa
Civil Service holding the rank not below that of Grade I. (2)
The Corporation shall appoint fit and proper persons, for such
periods, respectively, as it deems fit, to be City Engineer, Health Officer and
Municipal Secretary, and shall fix the monthly salary and allowances to be paid
to the persons so appointed: Provided that the
appointment, salary, allowances and conditions of service of the City Engineer,
Health Officer and Municipal Secretary and any step taken by the Corporation
with a view to the termination of their appointments shall be subject to the
approval of the State Government: Provided further that each
of the officers mentioned in sub-section (2) shall, notwithstanding anything
contained in the first proviso, be removable from office at any time for
misconduct or for neglect of or incapacity for the duties of the office if at a
meeting of the Corporation not less than five-eighths of the total number of
Councillors consisting the Corporation for the time being shall vote in favour
of a proposition in that behalf. (1) Subject to
the provisions of this Act the Corporation may appoint such other officers and
servants as are necessary for the efficient carrying out of the purposes of
this Act, and may assign to them such duties and pay them such salaries,
allowances, pensions and gratuities, and make on their behalf, such payments to
provident or annuity funds as the Corporation may determine by byelaws made in
this behalf under this Act, subject to the condition that no post the gross
maximum salary of which exceeds ten thousand rupees per month shall be created
without the previous sanction of the State Government: Provided that-- (2)
the power of appointing a municipal officer, whose minimum monthly
salary is not less than seven thousand rupees, shall vest in the Corporation; (3)
the power of appointing municipal officers and servants, whether
temporary or permanent, whose minimum salary is not less than five thousand
rupees but is less than seven thousand rupees shall vest in the Standing
Committee; (4)
the power of appointing all other municipal officers and servants
shall vest in the Commissioner; (5)
any appointment made within his power by the Commissioner shall be
reported for its information to the Standing Committee; (6)
Any authority competent to make an appointment under sub-section
(1) may employ by transfer to the service of the Corporation any person from
the service of another Municipal Corporation or Municipal Committee in the
State with the consent of such person and the other Corporation or Committee. (7)
The State Government may make rules regulating the conditions of
service in regard to the leave, provident fund and pension admissible to the
person so transferred in respect of the period of service rendered by him
before his transfer and specifying the extent of the liability of the local
authorities concerned with the transfer. (1)
The State Government or authority competent to appoint any officer
or servant may? (i)
appoint him in a vacant post on which no other municipal officer
or servant holds a lien; (ii)
grant him such leave as may be due to him under the rules or
byelaws framed in this behalf; and (iii)
appoint any person to act in the place of such officer or servant
upon the conditions laid down in the said rules or byelaws: Provided that-- (iv)
when the acting period exceeds four months, the acting officer or
servant shall possess the qualifications prescribed in the rules or byelaws, if
any, for the particular post; (v)
any appointment of a person to act as City Engineer, Health
Officer or Municipal Secretary may be disallowed by the State Government, and
shall be null and void from the date the order disallowing it is communicated
to the Corporation. (2)
A person appointed under this section to act for any officer or
servant shall, while so acting, perform the same duties and exercise the same
powers and be subject to the same liabilities, restrictions and conditions to
which the said officer or servant is liable; and shall receive such pay and
allowances as may be provided in the rules or byelaws. (1)
No person shall be eligible for employment as a municipal officer
or servant if he? (a)
has, directly or indirectly, by himself or his spouse or partner,
any share or interest in any contract or employment with, by, or on behalf of
the Corporation, other than an interest in land held on a lease from the
Corporation, or is a director, secretary, manager or other salaried officer of
an incorporated company which has any such share or interest; or (b)
has acted or is acting professionally in relation to any matter on
behalf of any person having therein any such share or interest as aforesaid. (2)
If any municipal officer or servant acquires, directly or
indirectly, by himself or by his spouse or partner any share or interest as
aforesaid, otherwise than as such officer or servant, he shall cease to be a
municipal officer or servant and his office shall become vacant. (3)
Nothing in the foregoing sub-sections shall apply to any such
share or interest as, under section 33, it is permissible for a Councillor to
have without being thereby prohibited from voting or taking part in the
discussion of any matter. (1)
Any municipal officer or servant may be discharged? (a)
during a period of probation or from temporary service, (b)
if appointed otherwise than under contract to hold a temporary
appointment, on the expiration of the period of the appointment, (c)
if engaged on contract, in accordance with the terms of the
contract, or (d)
on account of the abolition of the post held by him or on account
of a reduction in the strength of a cadre of municipal officers and servants. (2)
The following penalties may, for good and sufficient reasons, be
imposed upon any municipal officer or servant? (i)
censure; (ii)
withholding of increments or promotion, including stoppage at an
efficiency bar; (iii)
reduction to a lower post or time-scale or to a lower stage in a
time-scale; (iv)
recovery from pay of the whole or part of any pecuniary loss
caused to the Corporation by negligence or by breach of orders; (v)
suspension; (vi)
removal from the service of the Corporation, which does not disqualify
from future employment; (vii)
dismissal from the service of the Corporation, which ordinarily
disqualifies from future employment: Provided that a dismissed
municipal officer or servant may be re-employed by the Corporation with the
special sanction of the State Government; and (viii) fine to
be deducted from salary: Provided that no fine shall
be inflicted upon members of the clerical and ministerial establishments or
upon any municipal servant with a monthly salary of more than five thousand
rupees. Explanation:-- The penalty
of removal may be inflicted upon a municipal officer or servant either for
misconduct not sufficiently grave to justify dismissal or on account of general
unfitness for the duties of his office. (3)
If a municipal officer or servant? (a)
has been engaged on a written contract, he shall be entitled to
notice, or salary in lieu of notice, in accordance with the terms of that
contract; (b)
has not been engaged on a written contract, he shall be entitled
to one month?s notice of the termination of his services or one month?s salary
in lieu of notice. (4)
Municipal officers and servants discharged during a period of
probation or during or on the expiration of the period of a temporary
appointment, whether under contract or not, shall not be entitled to any notice
or salary in lieu of notice. (5)
No municipal officer or servant shall be discharged, dismissed or
removed from the service of the Corporation by order of any authority
subordinate to that which makes appointments to the post he holds at the time
of the order. The Corporation may give an
extraordinary pension, gratuity or compassionate allowance in accordance with
the rules or bye-laws framed in this behalf? (a)
to any municipal officer or servant injured in the execution of
his duty, or (b)
to the family or other relatives dependent on any municipal
officer or servant who is killed in the execution of his duty, or whose death
is due to devotion to duty or who dies during service: Provided that the
extraordinary pension, gratuity or compassionate allowance paid to a municipal
officer or servant shall in no circumstances exceed that payable to a person of
similar rank or position in the service of the Government. (1)
Any municipal officer or servant who has been sentenced by a
Criminal Court to imprisonment for an offence punishable with imprisonment for
a term exceeding six months and involving moral turpitude shall, if such
sentence is not set aside or reversed in appeal or revision, and if such
officer or servant shall not have been dismissed, cease to be a municipal
officer or servant on the expiry of such sentence and the Corporation shall not
re-instate or re-employ any such officer or servant without the previous
sanction of the State Government. (2)
The Corporation shall not pay any salary or any other allowance to
any such municipal officer or servant during or on account of the period of his
imprisonment: Provided that the
Corporation may, with the previous sanction of the State Government, grant a
subsistence allowance to any such officer or servant during or on account of
the said period. No essential officer or
servant shall-- (a)
unless he is authorized in that behalf by the terms of his
contract, resign his appointment or quit his employment without giving written
notice, of not less than one month previously, to the authority appointing him,
of his intention so to do; or (b)
absent himself from duty otherwise than on leave duly granted and
not subsequently cancelled; or (c)
neglect or refuse to perform any of the duties or willfully
perform them in an inefficient manner. (1)
The Corporation shall make adequate provision by any means or
measures which it may lawfully use or take, for each of the following matters,
namely:-- (a)
lighting public streets, places and buildings; (b)
planning for economic and social development; (c)
urban forestry, protection of environment and promotion of
ecological aspects; (d)
cleaning public streets, places, and sewers and all spaces not
being private property, which are open to the enjoyment of the public, whether
such spaces are vested in the Corporation or not; removing noxious vegetation;
and abating all public nuisances; (e)
disposing of night-soil and rubbish and, if so required by the
State Government, preparation of compost manure, from night-soil and rubbish; (f)
complying with the provisions of the Coastal Regulation Zone, Management
Plan and the laws, rules and regulations concerning or dealing with environment
protection and noise pollution; (g)
regulating or abating dangerous or offensive trades or practices; (h)
removing obstructions and projections in public streets or places,
and in spaces not being private property, which are open to the enjoyment of
the public, whether such spaces are vested in the Corporation or in the
Government; (i)
establishing and managing cattle-pounds; (j)
securing or removing dangerous buildings or places; (k)
acquiring and maintaining, changing and regulating places for the
disposal of the dead and disposing of unclaimed dead bodies of paupers; (l)
constructing, altering and maintaining public streets, culverts
and Corporation boundary marks, latrines, urinals, drains, sewers and providing
public facilities for drinking water; watering public streets and places; (m)
the management and maintenance of all municipal water-works and
the construction and maintenance of new works and means for providing a sufficient
supply of suitable water for public and private purposes; (n)
the erection in proper and convenient situations on municipal land
of water closets, closet accommodation, urinals and other conveniences for the
public and the maintenance and the cleansing of the same; (o)
the construction and maintenance of public markets and
slaughter-houses and the regulation of all markets and slaughter-houses; (p)
establishing and maintaining public hospitals and dispensaries and
carrying out other means necessary for public medical relief; (q)
the maintenance of an ambulance service; (r)
naming streets and numbering houses; (s)
registering births and deaths; (t)
public vaccination; (u)
prevention of vagrancy; establishing and maintaining poor houses; (v)
taking measures to prevent the outbreak, spread or recurrence of
infectious diseases; (w)
the maintenance of a municipal office and of all public monuments
and other property vested in the Corporation; (x)
provision of traffic signs; (y)
printing and publishing such annual reports and returns on the
administration of the Corporation as the State Government may, by general or
special order, require the Corporation to submit; (z)
the maintenance of public parks, gardens, recreation grounds,
public places and open spaces in existence and vested in the Corporation; (aa)
fulfilling any obligation imposed by this Act or any other law for
the time being in force; (bb)
establishing and maintaining a farm or factory for the disposal of
sewage; (cc)
any directions issued by the State Government or the Collector of
the district: Provided however, the State
Government may by a notification or in matters provided for hereunder or other
laws vest or continue to vest such functions, duties and obligations in such
other authorities or departments of the State Government and in such matters,
corporation shall ensure by taking appropriate measures to act in aid of such
authorities or departments of the State Government. (2) No suit
for damages or for specific performance shall be maintainable against the
Corporation or any officer or Councillor thereof, on the ground that any of the
duties specified in sub-section (1) have not been performed. In addition to the other
powers and duties conferred or imposed on it by or under this Act or any other
Act for the time being in force, the Corporation subject to any specific,
special or ordinary orders of the State Government may in its discretion
provide from time to time either wholly or partly for all or any of the
following matters, namely:? (a)
reclaiming unhealthy localities, laying out whether in areas
previously built upon or not, new public streets, and acquiring land for that
purpose, including plots of land for building to abut on such streets; (b)
slum improvement and upgradation; (c)
urban poverty alleviation; (d)
cattle pounds and prevention of cruelty to animals; and (e)
regulation of tanneries; (f)
constructing, establishing or maintaining public parks or gardens,
libraries, museums, halls, offices, sarais, rest-houses and other public
buildings; (g)
furthering educational objects other than the establishment and
maintenance of primary schools; (h)
planting and maintaining road-side and other trees; (i)
providing for parking or halting places or lots for vehicles on
any part of any public street or public place which vests in the Corporation; (j)
taking a census, and granting rewards for information tending to
secure the correct registration of vital statistics; (k)
making a survey; (l)
the destruction, or the detention, of ownerie dogs; (m)
securing or assisting to secure suitable place for the carrying on
of offensive trades; (n)
supplying, constructing and maintaining pipe and other fittings
for the supply of water to private premises from water-works maintained by the
Corporation; (o)
supplying, constructing and maintaining receptacles, fittings,
pipes and other appliances on or for the use of private premises for receiving
and conducting the sewage thereof into sewers under the control of the
Corporation; (p)
fairs and exhibitions; (q)
constructing and maintaining such roads and buildings and other
government works as the State Government may transfer to the Corporation; (r)
organization and management of chemical or bacteriological
laboratories for the examination or analysis of water, food or drugs, for the
detection of disease or for researches connected with public health; (s)
the construction and maintenance in the public streets of drinking
fountains for human beings and water-troughs for animals; (t)
the playing of music in squares, gardens or other places of public
resort; (u)
the construction, purchase, organization, maintenance or
management of tramways, trackless trams/sky car, cable car or motor transport
facilities for the conveyance of the public or for amusement of the public or
tourists; (v)
preparation and presentation of address to persons of distinction; (w)
with the previous sanction of the State Government, any public
reception ceremony or entertainment in the city; (x)
any other matter likely to promote the public health, safety or
convenience of the public. (1)
The State Government may entrust either conditionally or
unconditionally to the Corporation, function in relation to any other matter to
which the executive authority of the State extends or in respect of which
functions have been entrusted to the State Government by the Central Government
and the Corporation shall be bound to perform these functions. (2)
Where functions are entrusted to the Corporation under this
section the Corporation shall, in the discharge of these functions, act as an
agent for the State Government. (3)
Where by virtue of this section powers and duties have been
conferred or imposed as agency functions upon the Corporation, there shall be
paid by the State Government to the Corporation such sum as may be determined
by the State Government in respect of any extra costs of administration
incurred by the Corporation in connection with the exercise of those powers and
duties. (4)
In so far as the Corporation is required to act under this
section, it shall be under the general control of, and comply with such
particular directions, if any, as may, from time to time, be given to it by the
State Government or any other authority appointed by the State Government in
this behalf. (5)
The State Government may, by order, place at the disposal of the
Corporation, and the Corporation shall utilise, the services of such servants
of the State or such classes of servants of the State as are employed in the
city in connection with a matter entrusted to the Corporation under this
section, and all such servants shall discharge their duties under the general
supervision and control of the Commissioner: Provided that the extent of
the said general supervision and control shall be such as may be prescribed by
rules or bye-laws made under this Act. Where any duty has been
imposed on, or any function has been assigned to the Corporation under this Act
or any other law for the time being in force, or the Corporation has been
entrusted with the implementation of a scheme:-- (i)
the Corporation may, either discharge such duties or perform such
functions or implement such schemes by itself; or (ii)
subject to such directions as may be issued and the terms and
conditions as may be determined by the State Government, cause them to be
discharged, performed or implemented by any agency: Provided that the
Corporation may also specify terms and conditions not inconsistent with the
terms and conditions determined by the State Government, for such agency
arrangement. The Commissioner shall be
responsible, before the 31st day of July every year to place before the
Corporation with a copy endorsed to the State Government, the report on the
status of environment within the City of Panaji in respect of the last preceding
financial year covering such matters, and in such manner as may be specified by
the State Government from time to time. (1)
Functions of the several municipal
authorities.--The functions of the several municipal authorities subject to any
orders by the State Government shall be such as are specifically prescribed in
this Act. (2)
Municipal Government of the City vests
in corporation.-- Except as in this Act otherwise expressly provided and
subject to the orders of the State Government the Municipal Government of the
city vests in the Corporation. (3)
Special functions of Commissioner.--Subjects,
whenever it is in this Act expressly so directed, to the approval or sanction
of the Corporation or of the standing committee, and subject also to all other
restrictions, limitations and conditions imposed by this Act, the entire
executive power for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act
vests in the Commissioner, who shall also? (a)
perform all the duties and exercise all the powers specifically
imposed or conferred upon him by this Act; (b)
exercise supervision and control over the acts and proceedings of
all municipal officers and servants, and, subject to the rules or bye-laws for
the time being in force, dispose of all questions relating to the services of
the said officers and servants and their pay, privileges and allowances; (c)
on the occurrence of any accident or unforeseen event, or on the
threatened occurrence of any disaster, involving or likely to involve extensive
damage to any property of the Corporation or danger to human or animal life,
take such immediate action as the emergency shall appear to him to justify and
require, reporting forthwith to the Standing Committee or the Corporation, when
he has done so, the action he has taken and his reasons for taking the same and
the cost, if any, incurred or likely to be incurred inconsequence of such
action and not covered by a current budget grant. (d)
perform all functions, duties which the State Government may by
special or general order confer upon the Commissioner. (4)
Municipal officers may be empowered to
exercise the powers of Commissioner.--Any of the powers, duties
or functions conferred or imposed upon or vested in the Commissioner by this Act may be exercised, to his superintendence
and to such conditions and limitations, if any as he may think fit to
prescribe, by any municipal officer whom the Commissioner may generally or
specially empower in writing in this behalf. The Corporation may at any
time call for an extract from any proceedings of the Standing Committee and for
a return, statement, account or report concerning or connected with any matter
with which the Standing Committee is empowered by this Act to deal; and every
such requisition shall be complied with by the Standing Committee without
unreasonable delay. (1)
The Corporation may at any time require the Commissioner? (a)
to produce any record, correspondence, plan or other document
which is in his possession or under his control as Commissioner or which is
recorded or filed in his office or in the office of any municipal officer or
servant subordinate to him; (b)
to furnish any return, plan, estimate, statement, account or
statistics, concerning or connected with any matter appertaining to the
administration of this Act or the Municipal Government of the City; (c)
to furnish a report by himself, or to obtain from the head of a
department subordinate to him and furnish, with his own remarks thereon, a
report upon any subject concerning or connected with the administration of this
Act or the Municipal Government of the City. (2)
?Every such requisition
shall be complied with by the Commissioner without unreasonable delay and it
shall be incumbent on every municipal officer and servant to obey any order
made by the Commissioner in pursuance of any such requisition. (3)
If, on any such requisition being made, the Commissioner shall
declare that immediate compliance therewith would be prejudicial to the
interests of the Corporation or of the public it shall be lawful for him to
defer such compliance
until a time not later than the second ordinary meeting of the Corporation
after he shall have declared as aforesaid. If at such meeting, or any meeting
subsequent thereto, the Corporation shall repeat the requisition and it shall
then still appear to the Commissioner inexpedient to comply therewith, he shall
make a declaration to that effect. Thereupon it shall be lawful for the
Corporation to form a committee consisting of the Mayor, one Councillor chosen
by the Corporation and one member elected by the Standing Committee from among
its members which shall engage to keep secret the existence and purport of all
such documents and matter++++++s as may be disclosed to them except as
hereinafter provided. The Commissioner shall be bound to make known and to
disclose to the said committee all writings and matters within his knowledge or
under his control or otherwise available to him and included within the said
requisition and the said committee having taken cognizance of the information,
writings and matters so laid before shall determine by a majority of votes
whether the whole or any part, and which part, if any, of such matters ought to
be disclosed to the Corporation or kept secret for a defined time, which
decision shall be conclusive and shall be reported to the Corporation at the
next ordinary meeting thereof. (4)
At such meeting the Commissioner when carrying on to do so by the
Corporation, shall produce any documents and make any report or statement that
may be required in order to give effect to the decision of the committee. The exercise or performance
by any municipal authority of any power conferred or duty imposed by or under
this Act which is likely to involve expenditure shall, except in any case
specified in the proviso to section 85, be subject to the following conditions
namely:-- (a)
such expenditure, so far as it is to be incurred in the financial
year in which such power may be exercised or duty performed, shall have been
provided for under a current budget grant; and (b)
if the exercise of such power or the performance of such duty
involves or is likely to involve expenditure for any period or at any time
after the close of the said financial year, liability for such expenditure
shall not be incurred without the sanction of the Corporation. With respect to the making
of contracts under or for any purpose of this Act, including contracts relating
to the acquisition and disposal of immovable property or any interest therein,
the following provisions shall have effect, namely:-- (a)
every such contract shall be made on behalf of the Corporation by
the Commissioner; (b)
no such contract, for any purpose which, in accordance with any
provision of this Act, the Commissioner may not carry out without the approval
or sanction of the Corporation or some other municipal authority, shall be made
by him until or unless such approval or sanction has first been duly obtained; (c)
no contract, which will involve an expenditure exceeding three
lakh rupees or such higher amount as the Corporation may, with the approval of
the State Government, from time to time fix, shall be made by the Commissioner,
unless the same is previously approved by the Standing Committee; (d)
every contract made by the Commissioner involving expenditure
exceeding fifty thousand rupees but not exceeding three lakh rupees or such
higher amount as may be fixed under clause (c) shall be reported by him, within
fifteen days after the same has been made, to the Standing Committee; (e)
the foregoing provision of this section shall as far as may be,
apply to every contract which the Commissioner shall have occasion to make in
the execution of this Act; and the same provisions of this section which apply
to an original contract shall be deemed to apply also to any variation or
discharge of such contract; (f)
not withstanding anything in any of the foregoing sub-sections,
the State Government may require the Commissioner to execute any contract on
behalf of the Corporation and the Commissioner shall be duty bound to execute
the same under the directions of the State Government and in accordance
thereof, provided however, in case of any financial implications, not covered
by a current budget grant of the Corporation, the State Government shall
provide grants to the extent the State Government deems fit. (1)
The mode of executing contract under this Act shall be prescribed
by the bye-laws made under this Act. (2)
No contract which is not made in accordance with the provisions of
this Act and the rules and bye-laws made thereunder shall be binding on the
Corporation. All property movable and
immovable, and all interest of whatsoever nature or kind therein, vested in the
Municipality of Panaji or in village panchayats, for panchayat areas indicated
in Schedule I at the commencement of this Act, with all rights of whatsoever
description used, enjoyed or possessed by the said Municipality or panchayats
as the case may be shall be deemed to be vested in the Corporation as
constituted under this Act. (1)
All property, endowments and funds belonging to any public
institution with the management, control, and administration of which the
Corporation is charged under the provisions of this Act or of any other
enactment for the time being in force, shall vest in the Corporation in trust
for the purposes to which such property, endowment and funds may lawfully be
applied. (2)
The Corporation may, with the sanction of the State Government,
transfer to Government any property, endowments and funds so vested in it in
trust under sub-section (1): Provided that no trusts of
public rights subject to which such property, endowments and funds are held
shall be affected by such transfer. (1)
Whenever it is provided by this Act that the Commissioner may
acquire, or whenever it is necessary, or expedient for any purpose of this Act
that the Commissioner
shall acquire, any immovable property, such property may be acquired by the
Commissioner on behalf of the Corporation by agreement on such terms and at
such rates or prices, or at rates or prices not exceeding such maximum, as
shall be approved by the Standing Committee, either generally for any class of
cases or specially in any particular case. (2)
Whenever under any provision of this Act the Commissioner is
authorised to agree to pay the whole or any portion of the expenses of
acquiring any immovable property, he shall do so on such terms, and at such
rates or prices, or at rates or prices not exceeding such maximum, as shall
have been approved by the Standing Committee: Provided that no agreement
for the acquisition of any immovable property under sub-section (1) or (2) at a
price exceeding one lakh rupees shall be valid until such agreement has been
approved by the Corporation. (3) The
Commissioner may, on behalf of the Corporation, acquire by agreement any
easement affecting any immovable property vested in the Corporation, and the
provisions of sub-sections (1) and (2) shall apply to such acquisition. (1)
Whenever the Commissioner is unable under section 72 to acquire by
agreement any immovable property or any easement affecting any immovable
property vested in the Corporation, or whenever any immovable property or any
easement affecting any immovable property vested in the Corporation is required
for the purposes of this Act, the State Government may in its discretion, upon
the application of the Commissioner made with the approval of the Standing
Committee, order proceedings to be taken for acquiring the same on behalf of
the Corporation as if such property or easement were land needed for a public
purpose within the meaning of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894; (2)
The amount of the compensation awarded and all other charges
incurred in the acquisition of any such property or easement shall, subject to
all other provisions of this Act, be forthwith paid by the Commissioner and
thereupon the said property or easement shall vest in the Corporation; (3)
When any land is required for a new street or for the improvement
of an existing street, the Corporation may proceed to acquire, in addition to
the land to be occupied by the street, the land necessary for the sites of the
building to be erected on both sides of the street, and such land shall be
deemed to be required for the purposes of this Act. (1)
Where any immovable property or any right in or over any such
property is claimed by or on behalf of the Corporation, or by any person as
against the Corporation, it shall be lawful for the Collector of North Goa
after formal enquiry, of which due notice has been given, to pass an order
deciding the claim. (2)
The Corporation or any person aggrieved by an order passed by the
Collector of North Goa under sub-section (1) may, notwithstanding anything
contained in any law for the time being in force, within one year from the date
on which the Corporation or such person had due notice of such order, institute a suit in District Court
North Goa, at Panaji to set aside such order or to claim a relief consistent
therewith; (3)
If any such suit is instituted after the expiration of one year
from the date on which the notice of such order has been given, such suit shall
be dismissed although limitation has not been set up as a defence; (4)
The State Government or the Collector of North Goa may, by general
or special order, delegate the powers conferred on it or him under this section
to an Additional Collector; (5)
The formal enquiry referred to in this section shall be conducted
in accordance with the provisions of the Goa Land Revenue Code, 1968. (6)
A person shall be deemed to have had due notice of an enquiry or
order under this section if notice thereof has been given in accordance with
the provisions of the Goa Land Revenue Code, 1968. (1)
No lands, streets, public places, drains or irrigation channels
shall be sold, leased or otherwise alienated, save in accordance with such
rules as the State Government may make in this behalf. (2)
Subject to the provisions of sub-section (1):-- (a)
the Commissioner may, in his discretion, grant a lease of any
immovable property belonging to the Corporation including any right of fishing
or of gathering and taking fruit, flower and the like, of which the premium or
rent, or both, as the case may be, does not exceed ten thousand rupees for any
period not exceeding twelve months at a time: Provided that every such
lease granted by the Commissioner other than a lease of a class in respect of
which the Standing Committee has by resolution exempted the Commissioner from
compliance with the requirements of this provision, shall be reported by him to
the Standing Committee within fifteen days after the same has been granted; (b)
with the sanction of the Standing Committee the Commissioner may
dispose of by sale or otherwise, any such right as aforesaid, for any period
not exceeding three years at a time of which the premium or rent or both, as
the case may be, for any one year does not exceed fifty thousand rupees; (c)
with sanction of the Corporation the Commissioner may lease, sell
or otherwise convey any immovable property belonging to the Corporation. (3)
The Commissioner may,-- (a)
in his discretion, dispose off, by sale or otherwise, any movable
property belonging to the Corporation not exceeding ten thousand rupees in
value; (b)
with the sanction of the Standing Committee, dispose off by sale
or otherwise any movable property belonging to the Corporation; (c)
with the sanction of the Corporation, sell or otherwise convey any
movable property belonging to the Corporation. (4)
The sanction of the Standing Committee or of the Corporation under
sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) may be given either generally for any class
of cases or specifically in any particular case. (5)
The foregoing provisions of this section shall apply to every
disposal of property belonging to the Corporation made under, or for the
purposes of, this Act: Provided that-- (i)
no property vesting in the Corporation in a trust shall be leased,
sold or otherwise conveyed in a manner that is likely to affect the trust
subject to which such property is held; (ii)
no land exceeding one lakh rupees in value shall be sold, leased
or otherwise conveyed without the previous sanction of the State Government and
every sale, lease or other conveyance of property vesting in the Corporation
shall be deemed to be subject to the conditions and limitations imposed by this
Act or by any other enactment for the time being in force. Subject to any special
reservation made or to any special conditions imposed by the State Government
all property of the nature hereinafter in the section specified and situated
within the city except those belonging to or under the control of the State
Government, shall vest in and be under the control of the Corporation, and with
all other property which has already vested, or may hereafter vest in the
Corporation, shall be held and applied by it for the purposes of this Act, that
is to say-- (a)
all public town walls, gates, markets, slaughter-houses and public
buildings of every description, which have been constructed or are maintained
out of the municipal fund; (b)
all public streams, springs and works for the supply, storage and
distribution of water for public purposes, and all bridges, buildings, engines,
materials and things connected therewith, or appertaining thereto, and also any
adjacent land (not being private property) appertaining to any public tank or
well; (c)
all public sewers and drains, and all sewers, drains, culverts and
watercourses in or under any public street, or constructed by or for the
Corporation alongside any public street, and all works, materials and things
appertaining thereto; (d)
all dust, dirt, dung, ashes, refuse, animal matter, or filth or
rubbish of any kind, or dead bodies of animals collected by the Corporation
from the streets, houses, privies, sewers, cesspools or elsewhere or deposited
in places fixed by the Corporation; (e)
all public lamps, lamp-posts and apparatus connected therewith or
appertaining thereto; (f)
all land or other property transferred to the Corporation by the
Government or acquired by gift, purchase or otherwise for local public
purposes; (g)
all public streets not being land owned by the Government and the
pavements, stone and other materials thereof and also trees growing on, and
erections, materials, implements and things provided for such streets. The Corporation shall maintain
a register and a map of all immovable property of which it is the proprietor or
which vests in it otherwise or which it holds in trust for the State
Government. The State Government may
resume any immovable property transferred to the Corporation by itself or by
any local authority, where such property is required for a public purpose,
without payment of any compensation other than the amount, paid by the
Corporation for such transfer and the market value at the date of resumption of
any buildings or works subsequently erected or executed thereon by the
Corporation with the intention that such buildings or works should be
permanent: Provided that compensation
need not be paid for buildings or works constructed or erected in contravention
of the terms of the transfer. (1)
The management, control and administration of every public
institution maintained out of the municipal fund shall vest in the Corporation. (2)
When any public institution has been placed under the direction,
management and control of the Corporation, all property, endowments and funds
belonging thereto shall be held by the Corporation in trust for the purposes to
which such property, endowments and funds were lawfully, applicable at the time
when the institution was so placed: Provided that the extent of
the independent authority of the Corporation in respect of any such institution
may be prescribed by the State Government: Subject to the provisions
of this Act, there shall be a municipal fund, and it shall be held in trust for
the purposes of this Act. (1)
Subject to the provisions of this Act, there shall be credited to
the municipal fund? (a)
all moneys received by or on behalf of the Corporation under the
provisions of this Act or of any other law for the time being in force or under
any contract; (b)
the balance standing to the credit of and whatever accrues or
deemed to accrue or due or receivable by the Panaji Municipality and Village
Panchayats for panchayat areas in Schedule I on the day of commencement of this
Act; (c)
all proceeds of the disposal of property by or on behalf of, the
Corporation; (d)
all rents accruing from any property of the Corporation; (e)
all moneys raised by any tax levied for the purposes of this Act; (f)
all fees payable and levied under this Act; (g)
all moneys received by way of compensation or for compounding
offences under the provisions of this Act; (h)
all moneys received by, or on behalf of, the Corporation from the
State Government or private individuals by way of grant or gift or deposits;
and (i)
all interest and profits arising from any investment of, or from
any transaction in connection with, any money belonging to the Corporation. The moneys credited from
time to time to the municipal fund shall be applied in the following order of
preference:- (a)
Firstly, in making due provisions for the repayment of all loans
payable by the Corporation under the provisions of Chapter IX. Secondly, in
discharge of all liabilities imposed on the Corporation by sub-section (1) of
section 3. (b)
Thirdly, in payment of all sums, charges and costs necessary for
the purposes specified in sections 59 and 60 and for otherwise carrying this
Act into effect, or of which the payment shall be duly or directly sanctioned
under any of the provisions of this Act inclusive of? (c)
the cost of auditing the municipal accounts; (d)
the expenses of every election of Councillors held under this Act; (e)
the salaries, allowances and contributions to pensions and leave
salaries of the Commissioner and of any other officer whose services may at the
request of the Corporation be placed by the State Government at the disposal of
the Corporation; (f) the
salaries and allowances of municipal officers and servants, and all pension,
gratuities, contributions and compassionate allowances payable under the
provisions of this Act; (g) the
salaries and fees of experts for service or advice in connection with any
matter arising out of the administration or undertaking of the Corporation; (h) all
expenses and costs incurred by the Corporation or by any municipal officers on
behalf of the Corporation in the exercise of any power conferred, or the
discharge of any duty imposed on it or them by this Act, including moneys which
the Corporation is required or empowered to pay by way of compensation; (i) every sum
payable? (j)
by order of the State Government or under an award made under the
Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, or a decree or order of a Civil Court,
as the case may be; (k)
?under a decree or order of
a Civil or Criminal Court passed against the Commissioner; (l)
?under a compromise of any
suit or other legal proceeding or claim; (m)
?contributions to public
institutions which the State Government may, after consulting the Corporation,
declare to be in the interest of the inhabitants of the City. All moneys payable to the
credit of the municipal fund shall be received by the Commissioner and shall be
forthwith paid into the State Bank of India at Panaji or into any other Bank
approved by the State Government to the credit of an account which shall be
styled ?The account of the municipal fund of the City of Panaji?. (1)
Subject to the provision of section 375 no payment shall be made
by any bank or society as aforesaid out of the municipal fund except upon a
cheque signed in the prescribed manner; (2)
Payment of any sum due by the Corporation not exceeding one
thousand rupees in amount may be made in cash, cheques for sums not in excess
of ten thousand rupees each being drawn from time to time to cover such
payments; (3)
Payment of any sum due by the Corporation exceeding one thousand
rupees in amount shall be made by means of a cheque signed as provided in
sub-section (1) and not in any other way. Except as hereinafter
provided, no payment of any sum shall be made out of the municipal fund unless
the expenditure of the same is covered by a current budget grant and a
sufficient balance of such budget grant is still available notwithstanding any
reduction or transfer thereof which may have been made under section 88 or 90: Provided that the following
items shall be excepted from this prohibition, namely:-- (a)
sums of which the expenditure has been sanctioned by the Standing
Committee; (b)
refunds or taxes and other moneys which the Commissioner is by
this Act authorized to make; (c)
repayments of moneys belonging to contractors or other persons
held in deposit and of money collected or credited to the municipal fund by
mistake; (d)
sums which the Commissioner is by this Act required or empowered
to pay by way of compensation; (e)
sums payable in any of the circumstances mentioned in clause (g)
in section 82; (f)
expenses incurred by the Corporation in the exercise of the powers
conferred on it by section 254; (g)
costs incurred by the Commissioner under clause (c) of sub-section
(3) of section 64. Whenever any sum is
expended by the Commissioner under clause (d), (e) or (g) of the proviso to
section 85, he shall forthwith communicate the circumstances to the Standing
Committee which shall take such action under section 88 or recommend to the
Corporation to take such action under section 89 as shall, in the
circumstances, appear lawful and expedient for covering the amount of the
additional expenditure. (1)
The Commissioner shall on or before the tenth day of January each
year, cause to be prepared and laid before the Standing Committee, in such form
as may be prescribed and in such manner as the Standing Committee may approve,
budget estimates of the income and expenditure of the municipal fund for the
next financial year. (2)
Such estimate shall? (a)
provide for the repayment of all loans with interest due thereon,
for the repayment of which the Corporation is liable; (b)
provide for the discharge of liabilities imposed on the
Corporation by sub-section (1) of section 3; (c)
provide for the payment in convenient installments from the
municipal fund of an amount equal to the grant assigned for education; (d)
allow for a cash balance at the end of the said year of not less
than such sum as may be prescribed by the State Government. (3)
The Standing Committee shall, on or as soon as may be after the
tenth day of January, consider the budget estimates prepared by the Chief
Executive Officer and make such modifications and additions thereto as it shall
think fit and submit the same to the Corporation not later than the fifteenth
day of February; (4)
The Corporation shall finally adopt the budget estimates before
the beginning of the financial year to which they relate and shall forthwith
submit copies thereof to the State Government: Provided that if for any
reason the Corporation has not finally adopted the budget estimates before the
commencement of the financial year to which they relate, the budget estimates
as prepared by the Commissioner shall be deemed to be the budget estimates for
that financial year until action has been taken by the Corporation: Provided further that if
the Corporation becomes indebted to the Government, the adoption of budget
estimates under this sub-section shall be subject to confirmation by the State
Government. (1) The
Standing Committee may, from time to time during the financial year, reduce or
transfer the amount or a portion of the amount of one budget grant to the
amount of any other budget grant under the same major head in the budget
estimates: Provided that-- (a)
due regard shall be had when making any such reduction or transfer
to all the requirements of this Act; and (b)
every such reduction or transfer shall be brought to the notice of
the Corporation at its next meeting. (2)
If any such reduction or transfer is of an amount exceeding fifty
thousand rupees, the Corporation may pass with regard thereto such order as it
thinks fit, and it shall be incumbent on the Standing Committee and the
Commissioner to give effect to the said order. The Corporation may, from
time to time during the financial year, transfer the amount or a portion of the
amount of one budget grant from one major head to another in the budget
estimate, or increase the amount of any budget grant, or make an additional budget
grant for the purpose of meeting any special or unforeseen requirement arising
during the said year, but not in such a way as to bring the estimated cash
balance at the close of the year below the amount fixed under clause (d) of
subsection (2) of section 87. (1)
If at any time during the financial year it appears to the
Corporation that notwithstanding any reduction of budget grants that may have
been made under section 88, the income of the municipal fund during the same
year will not suffice to meet the expenditure sanctioned in the budget
estimates of that year, it shall be incumbent on the Corporation forthwith to
sanction any measure which it may consider necessary for proportioning the
year?s income to the expenditure; (2)
For the purposes of sub-section (1), the Corporation may either
diminish the sanctioned expenditure of the year, so far as it may be possible
so to do with due regard to all the requirements of this Act, or have recourse,
subject to the conditions and limitations prescribed by this Act, to
supplementary taxation or to an increase of the rates, or adopt all or any of
those methods; (3)
Whenever the Corporation determines to have recourse to such supplementary
taxation, it may do so by increasing, for the in-expired portion of the said
year, the rates at which any tax imposed under this Act is being levied, or by
adding to the number of articles, if any, on which a cess on imports is being
levied, but every such increase or addition shall be made subject to the
limitations and conditions prescribed in regards to such tax or cess. (1)
Subject to the provisions of section 92 of this Act and section 31
of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, the Corporation, in pursuance of a
resolution passed at a special meeting, convened for the purpose, may by the
issue of debentures or otherwise on the security of the immovable property
vested in the Corporation, (or of all or any taxes, duties, tolls, cesses, fees
and dues) authorized by this Act (or of both the immovable property and all or
any taxes, duties, tolls, cesses, fees and dues) raise a loan of any money
which may be required:-- (a)
for the construction of works under this Act, or (b)
for the acquisition of land for the purposes of this Act, or (c)
for the repayment of a loan raised under this Act or any other
loan or debt for the repayment of which the Corporation is liable: Provided that? (d)
No loan shall be raised for the construction of any work other
than permanent work, which expression shall include any work of which the cost
should in the opinion of the State Government be spread over a term of years; (e)
?No loan shall be raised
without the previous sanction of the State Government; (f)
?The terms upon, the period
within and the method by which the loans is to be raised and repaid, shall be
subject to the approval of the State Government; and (g)
The period within which the loan is to be repaid shall in no case
exceed fifty years. (2)
When any sum of money has been borrowed under sub-section (1):-- (a)
No portion thereof shall, without the previous sanction of the
State Government be applied to any purpose other than that for which it was
borrowed; and (b)
No portion of any sum of money borrowed under clause (i) of
sub-section (1) shall be applied to the payment of salaries or allowances of
any municipal officers or servants, other than those who are exclusively
employed upon the works for the construction of which the money was borrowed. (3)
The amount of the loan, the period within which it shall be
repaid, and the terms upon and the method by which the loan is to be raised and
repaid shall be notified by the State Government. Notwithstanding anything
herein before contained the borrowing limits of the Corporation shall be
limited to fifty crores. Every loan raised by the
Corporation under section 91 shall be repaid within the time approved under proviso
(iii) to subsection (1) of the said section and by such methods as may be
approved by the State Government. (1)
If any money borrowed by the Corporation, or any interest or costs
due in respect thereof, is not repaid according to the conditions of the loan,
the State Government if it has itself given the loan may, and in other cases
shall, on the application of the lender, attach the municipal fund in whole or
in part. (2)
After such attachment no person except an officer appointed in
this behalf by the State Government shall, in any way, deal with the attached
fund, but such officer may do acts in respect thereof which any municipal
authority, officer or servant might have done if the attachment had not taken
place, and may apply the proceeds in satisfaction of the arrears and of all
interest and costs due in respect thereof and of all expenses incidental to the
attachment and subsequent proceedings: Provided that no such
attachment shall defeat or prejudice any debt for which the fund or part
thereof attached was previously pledged in accordance with law, but all such
debts shall be paid out of the proceeds of the attached fund or part, before
any part of the proceeds is applied to the satisfaction of the debt in respect
of which such attachment is made. If the Corporation fails to
make any payments the State Government may attach the municipal fund or any
part thereof, and the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 94 shall, with
all necessary modifications, be deemed to apply. (1)
The Commissioner shall at the end of each year, prepare a
Statement showing:-- (a)
the amount and date of borrowing of loans raised by the
Corporation and the annual loan charges; (b)
The loans repaid during the year, and in the case of loans repaid
in instalments or by annual drawings, the amounts repaid during the year and
the balance due at the close of the year; (2)
Every such Statement shall be laid before a meeting of the
Corporation and a copy of such Statement shall be sent to the State Government
and to the Director of Accounts of the State of Goa and shall be published in
the Official Gazette. The provision of the Local
Authorities Loans Act, 1914 shall apply to all loans borrowed under this chapter
so far as the said provisions are not inconsistent with the provisions herein
contained. Subject to any rules made
by the Government in this behalf, account of receipts and expenditure of the
Corporation shall be kept in such manner and in such forms as the Standing
Committee made from time to time prescribed. The Corporation shall, as
soon as the accounts of the past year have been finally passed by it transmit
to the State Government an account in such form as the State Government may
from time to time direct. (1)
The Commissioner shall, as soon as may be after the first day of
April, in each year, cause to be prepared a detailed report of the Municipal
Administration of the city during the previous year, together with a Statement
showing receipts and disbursements credited and debited to the municipal fund
during the previous financial year and the balance at the credit of the fund at
the close of the said financial year. (2)
The Commissioner shall thereafter forward the report and Statement
to each Councillor and to the State Government. (1)
The Commissioner shall draw up a monthly abstracts of the receipts
and expenditure of the preceding month and such abstract shall be examined and
signed by the auditor appointed by the Directorate of Accounts. (2)
For this purpose the Standing Committee shall have access to all
the municipal accounts and to all records and correspondence relating thereto,
and the Commissioner shall forthwith furnish to the Standing Committee any
explanation concerning receipts and disbursements which it may call for. (3)
The abstract of the municipal accounts signed by, the Government
auditor shall be published yearly in the Official Gazette in the prescribed
form. (1)
The municipal accounts shall be examined and audited from time to
time, in accordance with the arrangement approved in that behalf by the State
Government. The auditor shall forthwith report to the Standing Committee any
material impropriety or irregularity which he may at any time observe in the
expenditure or in the recovery of moneys due to the Corporation or in the
municipal accounts. (2)
The report of the auditor of the municipal accounts under
sub-section (1) shall be published in the Official Gazette. (3)
The Government auditor, may communicate to the Standing Committee
at any time any matter relating to the accounts of the Corporation or to the
audit of the said accounts. (1) The
Corporation, the Standing Committee or the Commissioner, as the case may be,
shall forthwith remedy any defects or irregularities that may be communicated
by the auditor and shall send yearly report to the State Government of the
action taken by the municipal authority concerned: Provided that if there is a
difference of opinion between the municipal authority and the auditor, or if
the municipal authority does not remedy any defect or irregularity within a
period considered by the auditor to be reasonable, the matter shall be referred
to the State Government within such time and in such manner as may be
prescribed, and the State Government may pass such orders thereon as it thinks
fit. The orders of the State Government shall be final and municipal authority
shall take action in accordance therewith. (2) If within
any period fixed by an order made by the State Government under sub-section
(1), the municipal authority concerned fails to comply with such order, the
provisions of section 375 shall, with all necessary modifications, be deemed to
apply as if such order had been issued under section 374 without prejudice to
the powers of the State Government to supersede the Corporation in exercise of
its powers under section 379. (1)
For the purposes of this Act, the Corporation shall impose- (a)
property taxes; (b)
a cess on animals or goods brought within the City for sale,
consumption or use therein. (2)
In addition to the taxes mentioned in sub-section (1) the
Corporation may, with the previous approval of the State Government and for the
purposes of this Act, impose any of the following taxes, namely:-- (a)
a tax payable by the owners on all or any vehicles or animals,
used for riding, driving, draught, or burden, or on dogs where such vehicles,
animals or dogs are kept within the city; (b)
a toll on vehicles and animals used as aforesaid entering the City
and on boats moored within the City; (c)
fees on the registration of cattle sold within the City; (d)
a lighting rate where the lighting of public streets, places and
buildings is undertaken by the Corporation; (e)
market dues on persons exposing goods for sale in any market or in
place belonging to or under the control of the Government, or of the
Corporation; and (f)
any other tax not being a tax on professions, trades, calling and
employments which the State Legislature has power to impose in the State under
the Constitution. (3)
The State Government may, by rules made under this Act regulate
the imposition, assessment and collection of taxes under this section and
specify maximum amounts of rates for any tax and for preventing evasion of
assessment and payment of taxes. (4)
Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to empower the
Corporation to levy, assess or collect tax from the State Government or its instrumentality
in respect of any building, property, vehicle or any other item belonging to or
under the control of the State Government. (1)
The Corporation may, at a special meeting, bring forward a
resolution to propose the imposition of any tax under section 104. (2)
When such a resolution is passed the Corporation shall publish in
accordance with the rules made under this Act, a notice, defining the class of
persons or description of property proposed to be taxed, the amount or rate of
the tax to be imposed, and the system of assessment to be adopted. (3)
Any person resident within the city and objecting to proposed tax
may, within thirty days from publication of the said notice, submit his
objection in writing to the Corporation and the Corporation shall at a special
meeting take his object into consideration. (4)
If the Corporation decides, to amend its proposal or any of them,
it shall publish amended proposals, along with the notice indicating that they
are in modification of those previously published for objection. (5)
Any objections which may be received to the amended proposals
within thirty days shall be dealt with in the manner prescribed in sub-section
(3). (6)
The Corporation shall forward its final proposals to the State
Government, which shall either refuse to sanction them or return them for
further consideration, or sanction them without modification or with such
modification not involving an increase of the rate to be proposed as it thinks
fit. (7)
Such sanction, if any, shall be published in the Gazette and the
tax shall then come into force on such date as may be specified in that
notification. (8)
A notification of the imposition of a tax under this section shall
be conclusive evidence that the tax has been imposed in accordance with the
provisions of this Act. (1)
The general tax shall be imposed by the Corporation upon all lands
and buildings within the City except the following namely:- (a)
buildings or lands or portions thereof exclusively occupied for
public worship or for charitable purposes, for public burial or cremation or
for the disposal of the dead; (b)
buildings and lands vested in Government used solely for the
public, purposes or in the Corporation, in of which the said tax, if levied,
would under the provisions hereinafter contained be primarily leviable from the
Government or the Corporation, respectively; (2)
The following buildings and land or portions thereof shall not be
deemed to be exclusively occupied for the purposes specified in clause (a) of
sub-section (1) namely:-- (a)
those in which any trade or business is carried on; and (b)
those in respect of which rent is derived whether such rent is or
is not applied exclusively towards the objects specified in that clause. (3)
Where any portion of any building or land is exempt from the
general tax by reason of its being exclusively occupied for the purposes
specified in clause (a) of sub-section (1), such portion shall be deemed to be
a separate property for the purposes of the said tax. (4)
In fixing the rate of general tax, the Corporation may, subject to
the minimum laid down in sub-section (1), fix rates of general tax rising with
the different slabs of annual valuation but the rate of tax for any such slab
shall be uniform throughout the area of the Corporation. The State Government while
regulating the imposition, assessment and collection of taxes under this Act,
apart from specifying maximum amounts of rates for any tax and for preventing
evasion of assessment and payment of tax, may also provide that all or any of
the property taxes, general taxes or any such other taxes may be imposed on a
graduated scale. (1)
The State Government shall pay to the Corporation annually, in
lieu of the general tax from which buildings and lands vested in the State
Government are exempted by clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 106, a sum
ascertained in the manner provided in sub-sections (2) and (3). (2)
The annual value of the buildings and lands within the City and
vested in the State Government and beneficially occupied, in respect of which
but for the said exemption, general tax should be leviable from the State
Government, shall be fixed by a person appointed in this behalf by the State
Government with the concurrence of the Corporation. The said value shall be
fixed as far as may be, in accordance with the provisions hereinafter contained
concerning the valuation of property assessable to general taxes, at such
amount as the person making the assessment shall deem to be for a term of five
years, subject only to proportionate variation, if in the meantime the number
or extent of the buildings and lands vested in the State Government in the City
materially increases or decreases. (3)
The sum to be paid annually to the Corporation by the State
Government shall be eight-tenths of the amount which, but for this sub-section,
would have been payable under the assessment. For the purpose of
assessing land or buildings to the property taxes-- (a) the
annual value of land shall be deemed to be the gross annual rent at which the
land might at the time of assessment reasonably be expected to be let from year
to year: Provided that in the case
of land assessed to land revenue or of which the land revenue has been wholly
or in part released, compounded for, redeemed or assigned, the annual value
shall, if the State Government so directs, be deemed to be double the aggregate
of the following amounts, namely:-- (b)
the amount of the land revenue for the time being assessed on the
land, whether such assessment is leviable or not, or (c)
when the land revenue has been wholly or in part compounded for or
redeemed, the amount which would have been leviable but for such composition or
redemption; and (d)
the annual value of any building shall be deemed to be the gross
annual rent at which such building, together with its appurtenances and any
furniture that may be let for use or enjoyment therewith, might reasonably at
the time of assessment be expected to be let from year to year, less an
allowance of ten per cent for the cost of repairs and for all other expenses
necessary to maintain the building in a State to command such gross annual
rent. Explanation I:-- For the
purposes of this clause it is immaterial whether the building and the land let
for use or enjoyment therewith are let by the same contract or by different contracts,
and if by different contracts, whether such contracts are made simultaneously
or at different times. Explanation II:-- The term
?gross annual rent? shall not include any tax payable by the owner in respect
of which the owner and tenant have agreed that it shall be paid by the tenant. (e) the
annual value of any building, the gross annual rent of which cannot be
determined under clause (b), shall be deemed to be eight and a quarter per cent
on the sum obtained by adding the estimated present cost of erecting the
building, less any amount which the Commissioner may deem it reasonable to
deduct for depreciation, to the estimated market value of the land valued with
building as part of the same premises: Provided as follows- (f)
in calculating the annual value of any land or building under this
section the value of any machinery on such land or in such building shall be
excluded; and (g)
when a building is occupied by an owner under such exceptional
circumstances to render excessive a valuation of eight and a quarter per cent
on the cost of erecting the building, less depreciation, a lower percentage may
be taken. The Commissioner may, by
written notice, require the occupier of any land or building to furnish him
within fifteen days with the name and address of the owner of such land or
building. Where any building
constructed or adapted for the purpose of a single dwelling, or constructed or
adapted for that purpose as two parts and for another purpose as to the rest,
is let out to two or more tenants severally, the assessing authority in
preparing, or revising the assessment list, or amending a current assessment list
may, if it thinks fit, having regard to all the circumstances of the case,
including the extent, if any, to which the parts separately occupied have been
severed by structural alteration, treat the building or part thereof as a
single property, and a building or part of a building so treated as a single
property shall for the purposes of the property taxes, be deemed to be a single
property. The property taxes leviable
upon any land or building shall be primarily paid by owner failing which by the
occupier thereof. Explanation:-- For the
purpose of this section a tenant of land or building or both, under a lease for
any agreed period with a covenant for its renewal thereafter, shall be deemed
to be owner thereof. (1)
The Corporation may, if it thinks fit, employ a person or persons
to determine the annual value of lands and buildings in accordance with the
principles laid down in section 109. (2)
Any person so employed shall have power, at all reasonable times
and after giving due notice, and on production, if so required, of
authorization in that behalf from the Commissioner to enter on, survey and
value any land or building within the City which the Commissioner may direct
him to survey and value. (3)
If any person willfully delays or obstructs any person in the
exercise of any of his powers under this section he shall be liable to a fine
not exceeding five thousand rupees. (1)
The valuation of any land or building situated in one or more of
the several wards, the respective
number, names and boundaries of which may be specified by the State Government
by notification, which has been made before the commencement of this Act and is
in force at the commencement of this Act, shall remain in force and shall be
deemed to be the valuation for the assessment of the property taxes on such
land or building under this Act for a period of two years or until such time as
the Commissioner makes a fresh valuation under this Act of the lands and
buildings in each such ward, and the annual value of such lands and buildings
in each such ward, shall, after such assessment has been made by the
Commissioner at the termination of successive periods thereafter. (2)
The Commissioner may, instead of making a new assessment every
year, adopt the existing assessment, with such alteration as he thinks fit, as
the assessments for each new year, giving to persons affected by such alterations
the same notice of the altered valuation and assessment prepared. (3)
The Commissioner shall arrange for a survey for the purposes of
assessment of each part of the City at least once in five years save for the
omission, with the previous consent of the Standing Committee, of and small
areas which might be more conveniently re-assessed in a subsequent year. (1)
To enable him to prepare the assessment list, the Commissioner may
by written notice, require the owner or occupier of any land or building or any
portion thereof to furnish him, within such reasonable period as the
Commissioner may fix, with information or with a written return signed by such
owner or occupier. (a)
as to the name and place of abode of the owner or occupier, or of
both the owner and occupier of such land or building; and (b)
as to the measurement or the gross annual rent or revenue or the
description of other specified details or the actual cost or estimated market
value of such land or building. (2)
Every owner or occupier from whom any such requisition is made
shall be bound to comply with the same and to give true information or to make
a true return to the best of his knowledge or belief. (3)
Whoever omits without reasonable cause to comply with such
requisition, or furnishes a return which is untrue, shall in addition to any other
punishment to which he may be liable, be precluded from objecting to any
assessment made by the Commissioner in respect of such land or building of
which he is the owner or occupier. (1)
When the valuation under section 114 of the lands and buildings in
any ward had been completed, the Commissioner shall cause the respective
valuations to be entered in list and give public of the place where such list
may be inspected. (2)
Time for filing complaints against valuation.-- The Commissioner
shall, at the same time and in the same manner, give public notice of a date,
not being less than twenty days from the publication of such notice, by which
objections to the amount of any annual value or other particulars entered in
the assessment list may be delivered at his office. The Commissioner shall, in
all cases in which any land or building is for the first time valued, or in which the
valuation of any land or building previously valued is increased under section
114, give special notice thereof to the owner or occupier of the same, and when
the valuation is so increased, the said notice shall contain a Statement of the
grounds of the increase. (1)
Any person dissatisfied with a valuation made under this Chapter
may deliver at the municipal office a written notice stating the grounds of his
objection to such valuation. (2)
Such notice shall be delivered on or before the last day fixed in
this behalf in the public notice referred to in section 116 and 117. (1)
All such objections shall be entered in a register to be
maintained for the purpose and on receipt of any objection, the Commissioner
shall give a notice in writing to the objector of the time and place at which
his objection will be investigated. (2)
At the time and place so fixed the Commissioner shall hear the
objection, in the presence of the objector or his authorized agent if he
appears, or may, for reasonable cause, adjourn the investigation. (3)
When the objection has been determined, the order passed on such
objection shall be recorded in the said register and, if necessary, an amendment
made in the assessment list in accordance with the result of the objection. (1)
If any dispute arises as to the liability of any land or building
to assessment or as to the basis or principle of assessment, an appeal shall
lie from the decision of the Commissioner to the District Court, North Goa at
Panaji, whose decision shall be final. (2)
Such appeal shall be presented to the District Court within thirty
days from the date of the order passed under section 119, and shall be
accompanied by an extract from the register of objection containing the order
objected to. (3)
The provisions of the Indian Limitation Act, 1963, relating to
appeals shall apply to every appeal preferred under this section. (4)
No appeal shall be admitted under this section unless an objection
has first been determined under section 119. (5)
Effect shall be given by the Commissioner to the decision of the
District Court. (6)
The pendency of an appeal under this section shall not operate to
delay or prevent the levy of any tax or installment thereof payable in respect
of any building or land according to the order of assessment under appeal but,
if by the final decision in the appeal it is determined that such tax or
instalment ought not to have been levied in whole or in part, the Commissioner
shall refund to the person from whom the same has been levied, the amount of
such tax or instalment, or the excess thereof over the amount properly leviable
in accordance with such final decision, as the case may be. (1)
Every valuation made by the Commissioner under section 114 shall,
subject to the provisions of sections 118, 119 and 120 be final. (2)
Every order passed by the Commissioner under section 119 shall,
subject to the provisions of section 120, be final. (1)
The annual value fixed under this chapter shall be entered in one
or more registers to be kept for the purpose, wherein shall also be recorded:-- (a)
the serial number of each set of premises; (b)
the description of each set of premises; (c)
the name and place of abode of the owner and the name of the
occupier; (d)
the amount of the evaluation; (e)
the amount payable on account of the property taxes; (f)
any exemption granted from payment of the said general taxes; and (g)
such other particulars as the Commissioner may direct. (2)
The particulars mentioned in sub-section (1) may be contained in
as many registers as the Commissioner may determine, which shall together
constitute the assessment list. (3)
When the name of the owner or occupier of any premises is not
known, it shall be sufficient to designate him in the said assessment list as
?the owner? or ?the occupier?, as the case may be. (1)
When objections have been determined and appeals disposed of and
the entries required by section 122 have been made, the assessment list shall
be authenticated by the Commissioner, who shall certify under his signature
that except in the cases in which amendments have been made as shown therein,
no valid objection has been made to the annual values entered in the said list. (2)
Thereupon the said assessment list shall, subject to such
alterations as may thereafter be made therein under the provisions of
sub-section (5) of section 120 or of section 126, be conclusive evidence of the
amount of property tax leviable on each land or building within the City in the
financial year to which the list relates. (1) The
Commissioner may at any time amend the assessment list by the inclusion,
omission or substitution of any matter: Provided that whenever he
proposes to make any amendment in respect of any matter other than the
correction of an arithmetical total, he shall before making the amendment, send
notice thereof to persons interested and shall allow thirty days to elapse for
the making of any objection to the proposed amendment: Provided further that
nothing in this sub-section shall empower the Commissioner to vary the
valuation of any premises determined on appeal to the District Court. (2)
If any amendment be made in respect of any matter other than the
correction of arithmetical totals, any person on whom a notice is served may
object by a
written application addressed to the Commissioner and delivered at the
Corporation Office before the date fixed in the said notice; and the provisions
of sections 119 and 120 shall, with all necessary modifications, apply to such
objection. (3)
When the erection of a new building is completed after the
completion of the assessment list, the Commissioner may add the particulars of
the building to the list, and in such case the provisions of sections 116, 118,
119, 120 and 123 shall apply, except that no public notice shall be required.
In such a case the assessment shall take effect from the beginning of the
quarter following the date on which the building is added to the assessment
list or from the date when it is occupied or let, if that is earlier. (1)
When an owner has furnished information or a written return as
provided by section 115, he shall give notice in writing to the Commissioner of
any subsequent increase in the rent. (2)
If an owner of any land or building or any portion thereof has,
after he has been assessed for the same, made any increase in the rent thereof,
he shall give notice in writing to the Commissioner of such increase. (3)
The Commissioner shall, on receipt of such notice as to increase
of rent, amend the assessment list by altering the assessment of such land or building
or any portion thereof as provided for by section 124. (1)
When any building or any portion of a building liable to the
payment of property taxes is demolished or removed otherwise than by order of
the Commissioner, the person liable for the payment of the said taxes shall
give notice thereof, in writing, to the Commissioner. (2)
Until such notice is given, the person aforesaid shall be liable
to pay every such property tax on the land on which the building stood as he
would have been liable to any in respect of such building if the same, or any
portion thereof, had not been demolished or removed. Whoever fails to give
notice of an increase of rent required by sub-section (1) and (2) of section
125, or gives notice of an increase of rent which in substance is untrue, shall
in addition to any punishment to which he may be liable, be precluded from
objecting to any assessment made by the Commissioner in respect of such
building or land or any portion thereof of which he is the owner. When the valuation of any
land or building is revised in consequence of any objection made under section
118 or an appeal is preferred under section 120, the revised valuation shall
take effect from the quarter in which the first valuation would have taken
effect in the same manner and for the same period and subject to the same
condition as the original valuation. When an objection to a
valuation has been made under section 118, the property taxes shall, pending
the final determination of the objection, be paid on the previous valuation. If upon the hearing of any
objection or appeal from any valuation it is made to appear to the Commissioner
or the court, as the
case may be, that the appellant has paid any sum or sums of money in
consequence of assessment which he ought not to have paid, the Commissioner or
the court as the case may be, shall direct the excess payment to be refunded to
the appellant. The Corporation
Commissioner, and every authority under this Act, shall be duty bound to
assess, and recover from such persons, such tax, fees or compensation which is
levied by any other law enacted by the State Legislature, for the time being in
force or that may be levied hereafter, and upon such recovery and collection,
the amount shall be credited to the State Government by the Corporation without
any delay. The Commissioner shall
furnish to any person who applies for it, a copy of the valuation or assessment
list for the time being in force or any extract from any such list on payment
of a sum not exceeding the rate of five rupees for every page numbered
separately, and the Commissioner or a person authorized by him in this behalf
shall, if required, certify the copy or extract in such manner as may be
prescribed. (1)
No assessment and no charge or demand of any tax made under this
Act or any other law shall be called in question or in any way affected by
reason of? (a)
any mistake: (b)
in the name, residence, place of business or occupation of any
person liable to pay the tax; or (c)
in the description of any property or thing liable to the tax; or (d)
in the amount of tax assessed; or (e)
any clerical error; or (f)
any other defect of form. (2)
For the purpose of assessing any tax on property under this Act it
shall suffice if the property is so described as to be readily identifiable and
the owner or occupier need not be named. (1)
The State Government may by order exempt from the payment of any
such tax in whole or in part any person or class of persons or any property or
description of property. (2)
If at any time it appears to the State Government, on a
representation made or otherwise, that any tax imposed by or under this Act is
unfair in its incidence or that the levy thereof or of any part thereof is
injurious to the interests of the general public, it may require the
Corporation to take within a specified period measures to remove the objection;
and, if within that period the requirement is not complied with to the
satisfaction of the State Government, the State Government may by notification
suspend the levy of the tax or of such part thereof until the objection has
been removed. (1)
When any land or building or any portion of a building treated as
a separate property for the purpose of assessment under any provision of this
Act has been vacant an unproductive of rent for a period of at least sixty
consecutive days, the Commissioner shall refund three-quarters of the property
119[taxes] proportionately to the period during which the land or building has
been vacant and unproductive of rent. Such a refund shall be granted
proportionately for the number of months the land or building is vacant, each
complete consecutive period of thirty days being reckoned as one month. (2)
The burden of proving the facts entitling any person to claim
relief under this section shall lie upon him. (3)
For the purpose of this section any building reserved by its owner
for his own occupation whenever required, shall be deemed to be occupied
whether it is actually occupied by such owner or not. (4)
No such refund shall be granted unless notice in writing of the
circumstances under which it is claimed has been given to the Commissioner
within three months of the beginning of the period for which a refund is
claimed. (5)
In no case shall any such refund be permitted unless the total sum
demanded by way of all taxes on the property concerned has actually first been
paid up to the end of the period for which the concession is claimed. (1)
Every person shall, on the demand of an officer duly authorized by
the Commissioner in this behalf, furnish such information as may be necessary
in order to ascertain whether such person is liable to pay any tax under this
Act or any other law and if so, how much; and every hotel or lodging
housekeeper or secretary of a residential club shall also, on demand made as
aforesaid, furnish a list of all persons residing in such hotel, lodging house
or club. (2)
If any person so called upon to furnish information omits to do so
or furnishes information which is untrue to his knowledge, he shall be
punishable with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees. If the occupier of any land
or building neglects or refuses, without reasonable cause, to comply with a
notice served under section 110 or furnishes information which is untrue to his
knowledge he shall be punishable with fine which may extend to two thousand
rupees. (1)
Whenever the title in any land or building or in any part or share
of any land or building is transferred, the transferor and transferee shall,
within three months of the registration of the deed of transfer, or if it be
not registered, within three months of the execution of the instrument of
transfer, or, if no such instrument be executed after the transfer is effected,
give notice in writing of such transfer to the Commissioner. (2)
Every person liable for the payment of a tax or any property, who
transfers his title to or over such property without giving notice of such
transfer to Corporation as aforesaid, shall in addition to any other liability
which he incurs through such neglect, continue to be liable for the payment of
all such taxes payable in respect of the said property until he gives such
notice or until the transfer is recorded in the Corporation?s books. (3)
In the event of the death of the person in whom title to any land
or building or in any part or share of any land or building vests, the person
who as heir or otherwise takes the title of the deceased by descent or device
shall, within three months from the death of the deceased, give notice of his
title to the Commissioner in writing. (4)
Nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect the liability of
the heir or devise for the said taxes or to affect the prior claim of the
Corporation for the recovery of the taxes due thereupon. The Commissioner may
authorize any person to do the following acts at any time between sunrise and
sunset after giving twenty-four hours notice to the occupier, or, if there be
no occupier, to the owner, of a building or land? (a)
to enter, inspect and measure any building for the purpose of
valuation; (b)
to enter and inspect any stable, coach house or other place where
there is reason to believe that there is any vehicle or animal liable to
taxation under this Act or for which a license has not been duly taken out. Every person bringing or
receiving within limits of the City any article in respect of which a toll or
cess on imports is payable, shall when required by an officer duly authorized
by the Commissioner in this behalf and so far as may be necessary for
ascertaining the amount of tax chargeable? (a)
permit the officer to inspect, examine, weigh and otherwise deal
with the article, and (b)
communicate to the officer any information and exhibit to him any
bill, invoice or document of a like nature which such person may possess
relating to the article. (1)
If any person, bringing or receiving within the prescribed limits
of the City a conveyance or package on which a toll or cess on imports is or is
believed to be leviable, refuses on the demand of an officer authorized by the
Commissioner in this behalf to permit the officer to inspect, weigh or
otherwise examine the contents of the conveyance or package for the purpose of
ascertaining whether it contains any article, in respect of which a toll or
cess on imports is payable, or refuses to communicate to the officer any
information or to exhibit to him any bill, invoice or document of a like nature
which he may possess relating to the article, or with the intention of defrauding
the Corporation communicates false information or exhibits any false, forged,
or fraudulent bill, invoice or document of a like nature, he shall be punished
with a fine which may extend to one thousand rupees. (2)
Any such person may demand that the conveyance or package or both,
as the case may be, shall be taken without unnecessary delay before the
Commissioner or a person appointed by him for this purpose, who shall cause the
inspection to be made in his presence. If animals or articles
passing the limits of the Corporation are liable to the payment of a toll or
cess on imports, then every person who, with intention to defraud the
Corporation causes or abets the introduction of, or himself introduces or
attempts to introduce within the said
limits, any such animals or articles upon which payment of the toll or cess on
imports due on such introduction has neither been made nor tendered, shall be
punishable with fine which may extend either to ten times the value of such
toll or cess on imports, or to five thousand rupees, whichever may be greater. (1) The
Corporation may, for the purposes of clause (j) of sub-section (1) of section
59, levy within its area, an additional tax on lands and buildings (hereinafter
referred to as ?the street tax? of so many per centum, not exceeding ten, of
their rateable value as the Corporation may, from time to time, determine: Provided that:-- (a)
all buildings and lands vesting in the Central Government; (b)
all other buildings and lands exempted from the general tax under
section 106; (c)
all buildings and lands of a rateable value below such sum as the
Corporation may determine, shall be exempted from the levy of education cess. (2)
The Corporation may require the Commissioner to recover the amount
of the street tax determined under sub-section (1) by an addition to the
general tax levied under this Act. Every addition to the general tax imposed
under this subsection shall be recovered by the Commissioner from each person
liable therefore, in the same manner as the general tax due from him.The
provisions of section 112 shall apply to the street tax as if it were a part of
the general tax levied under this Act. (1)
When any amount declared by or under the provisions of this Act or
any other law to be recoverable in the manner provided in this Chapter or
payable on, account of any tax now imposed or hereafter to be imposed within the
limits of the City shall have become due, the Commissioner shall, with the
least practicable delay, cause to be presented to any person liable for the
payment thereof a bill for the sum claimed as due. (2)
Contents of bill-- Every such bill shall specify (a) the period
for which, and (b) the property, occupation or thing in respect of which the
sum is claimed, and shall also give notice of- (a)
the liability incurred in default of payment, and (b)
the time within which an appeal may be preferred as hereinafter provided
against such claim. (1)
If the sum, for which a bill is presented as aforesaid, is not
paid within fifteen days from the presentation of the bill, the Commissioner
may serve upon the person to whom such bill has been presented a notice of
demand in the prescribed form. (2)
For every notice of demand a fee shall be charged at the rate
specified in the bye-law and shall be payable by the said person, and the fee
shall be included in the costs of recovery. (1)
If the person on whom a notice of demand is served under
sub-section (1) of section 145 does not within twenty-one days of the service
of such notice? (a)
pay the sum demanded in the notice; or (b)
show cause to the satisfaction of the Commissioner why he should
not pay the same; or (c)
prefer an appeal in accordance with the provisions of section 154
against the demand, such sum with all costs of recovery may be recovered under
a warrant in the prescribed form signed by the Commissioner? (d)
by distress and sale of the movable property belonging to such
person, or (e)
?by attachment and sale of
the immovable property belonging to him: Provided that, where any
precautionary or other measures in respect of any such property have been taken
by the State Government for the recovery of any sum claimed by it, no
proceedings shall be taken or continued under this Chapter in respect of such
property until the State Government?s claim has been paid off. (2) To whom
warrant should be addressed.-- Where the property is within the limits of the
City, the warrant shall be addressed to an officer of Corporation and where the
property is outside the limits, to the Collector of the district concerned: Provided that the officer
to whom the warrant is addressed may endorse such-warrant to a subordinate
officer, (3) Levy of
fee on every warrant issued.-- F or every warrant issued under this section,
fee shall, be charged at the rates specified in the bye-laws and the said-fee shall
be included in the costs of recovery. The Corporation may in its
discretion may remit the whole or any part of any fee chargeable under
sub-section (2) of section 145 or sub-section (3) of section 146. Any officer, charged within
the execution of a warrant, of distress issued under section 146 may, if
authorised by a general or special order in writing by the Commissioner between
sunrise and sunset break open any outer or inner door or window of a building
in order to levy distress-- (a)
if he has reasonable ground for believing that such building
contains property which is liable to such distress, and (b)
if after notifying this authority and purpose and duly demanding
admittance, he cannot otherwise obtain admittance: Provided that such officer
shall not enter or break open the door or window of any apartment appropriated
to the use of women until he has given not less than three hours notice of his
intention and has given the women an opportunity to withdraw. The officer charged with
the execution of a warrant of distress issued under section 146 shall, if
authorized by the warrant, distrain, wherever it may be found, any movable
property or attach any immovable property of the person named in the warrant
subject to the following conditions, namely:-- (a)
the following property shall not be distrained:-- (b)
?the necessary wearing
apparel and bedding of the defaulter, his wife and children; (c)
the tools of artisans; (d)
when the defaulter is an agriculturist, his implements of
husbandry, seed, grain, and such cattle as may be necessary to enable him to
earn his livelihood; (e)
the distress shall not be excessive, that is to say, the property
distrained shall be as nearly as possible equal in value to the amount
recoverable under the warrant, and if any property has been distrained which,
in the opinion of the Commissioner or of the person to whom the warrant was
addressed, should not have been so distrained, it shall forth-with be returned
to the person from whom it was distrained; (f)
the officer shall on distraining the property forthwith make in
the presence of two witnesses an inventory of the property which he distrains
under such warrant, and shall at the same time give a written notice in the
prescribed form, or in a form to the like effect, to the person in possession
thereof at the time of distraint that such property will be sold as therein
mentioned; (g)
when the property is immovable? (h)
the attachment shall be made by an order prohibiting the defaulter
from transferring or charging the property in any way, and all persons from
taking any benefit from such transfer or charge; (i)
the orders shall be proclaimed at some place on or adjacent to the
property by beat of drums or other customary mode, and a copy of the order
shall be fixed on a conspicuous part of the property and upon a notice board of
the Corporation office, and also, when the property is land paying revenue to
the State Government, in the office of the Collector (North). (j)
any transfer of or charge on the property attached or any interest
therein made without the written permission of the Commissioner shall be void
as against all claims of the Corporation enforceable under the attachment. (1)
When the property seized is subject to speedy and natural decay,
or when expense of keeping it in custody together with the amount to be levied
is likely to exceed its value, the Commissioner shall at once give notice to
the person in whose possession the property was, when distrained, to the effect
that it will be sold at once; and shall sell it accordingly unless the amount
named in the warrant is forthwith paid. (2)
On the expiry of the time specified in the notice served by the
officer executing the warrant, the property distrained or attached, or in the
case of immovable property, a sufficient portion thereof, if not sold at once
under sub-section
(1), may be sold by public auction under the orders of the Commissioner, unless
the warrant is suspended by him or the sum due is paid by defaulter together
with all costs incidental to the notice, warrant, distress, attachment or
detention of the property as the case may be. (3)
Where the sum due together with costs is paid by the defaulter as
aforesaid, any attachment levied on his immovable property shall deemed to be
removed. (4)
All sales of immovable property under this section shall, so far
as may be practicable, be regulated by the procedure laid down in the rules
made by the State Government in that behalf. (5)
No officer or servant in the service of the Corporation shall
directly or indirectly purchase any property at any such sale. (6)
The sale proceeds or such part thereof as may be sufficient shall
be applied, first, in discharge of any such due to the State Government in
respect of such property and secondly, in discharge of the sum due to the
Corporation and all such incidental costs as aforesaid. (7)
The surplus proceeds shall be forthwith credited to the
Corporation and notice of such credit shall be given at the same time to the
person in whose possession the property was at the time of distraint or
attachment. If such person claims the surplus by written application to the
Commissioner within three years from the date of the notice given under this
sub-section, the Commissioner shall refund the surplus to him. (8)
Any such surplus not so claimed shall be the property of the
Corporation. Where the warrant is to be
executed outside the limits of the City, the Commissioner may by endorsement
direct the person to whom the warrant is addressed to sell the property
distrained or attached; and in such a case it shall be lawful for such person to
sell the property and to do all things incidental to the sale in accordance
with the provisions of section 150 and to exercise the powers and perform the
duties of the Commissioner under sub-section (1) and (2) of section 150 in
respect of such sale except the power of suspending the warrant. Such person
shall after deducting all costs of recovery incurred by him, remit the amount
recovered under the warrant to the Commissioner who shall dispose of the same
in accordance with the provisions of section 150. The fees for every notice
or warrant issued and for the maintenance of any live-stock seized under this
Chapter shall be chargeable at the rates specified in this behalf in the
bye-laws of the Corporation and shall be included in the cost of recovery to be
levied under section 146. (1)
If any sum recoverable under the provisions of this Chapter is due
or is about to become due from any person, and if the Commissioner shall have
reason to believe that such person is about to leave the limits of the City the
Commissioner may direct the immediate payment by such person of such sum and
cause a bill for the same to be presented to him. (2)
If, on presentation of such bill, the said person does not
forthwith pay the said sum or does not furnish security to the satisfaction of
the Commissioner, the amount shall be levied by distress and sale of his
movable property in the manner specified
in this Chapter except that it shall not be necessary to serve upon him any
notice of demand and the Commissioner?s warrant for distress and sale may be
issued and executed without any delay. (1)
Appeals against any notice of appeal. Demand issued under
sub-section (1) of section 145 may be made to any Executive Magistrate by whom
under the directions of the District Magistrate such class of cases is to be
tried. (2)
No such appeal shall be entertained unless? (a)
the amount claimed from the appellant up to the date of filing the
appeal has been deposited by him in the Corporation office, and a written
objection has been made and determined in accordance with the provisions of
this Act; (b)
the appeal is brought within fifteen days next after the order
terminating the written objection; (c)
in the case of any tax or claim other than property tax an
application in writing, stating the grounds on which the amount of the tax or
claim is disputed, has been made to the Commissioner within fifteen days next
after the presentation of the bill. (3)
As far as possible, within fifteen days from the expiry of the
aforesaid period, within thirty days, the Commissioner shall intimate to the
Executive Magistrate the names and other particulars of the appellants who have
deposited with him the required amount within the prescribed period and the
names and other particulars of the appellants who have not deposited with him
such amount within such period. On receipt of such intimation, the Executive
Magistrate shall summarily dismiss the appeal of any appellant who has not
deposited the required amount with the Commissioner within the prescribed
period. (4)
In the case of any such appeal, which may have been entertained by
the Magistrate before the date of commencement of the Act aforesaid or which
may be entertained by him on or after the said date, the Magistrate shall not
hear and decide the appeal, unless the amount of the tax claimed by each of the
bills, which may have been issued since the entertainment of the appeal is also
deposited, from time to time, with the Commissioner in the first month of the
half year to which the respective bill relates. In case of default by the
appellant at any time before the appeal is decided, on getting an intimation to
that effect from the Commissioner, the Magistrate shall summarily dismiss the
appeal. All sums due from any
person in respect of taxes on any land or building shall, subject to prior
payment of any land revenue in respect of it due to the Government, be a first
charge upon the said land or building and upon any movable property found
within or upon such land or building and belonging to the said person: Provided that no arrears of
any such tax shall be recoverable from any occupier who is not the owner, if
such arrears are for a period during which the occupier was not in occupation. For every sum paid on
account of any tax under this Act a receipt shall be tendered by the person
receiving these payments, stating the sum and the tax on account of which it
has been paid. The Commissioner may, with
the previous approval of the Standing Committee, order to be struck off the
books any sum due on account of any tax or of the costs of recovering any tax,
which may appear to him to be irrecoverable. (1)
If any toll or cess on imports is not paid on demand, the officer
empowered to collect the same may seize any article on which the cess on
imports is chargeable, or any animal on which the toll is chargeable, or any
part of the burden, borne by such animal of sufficient value to satisfy the
demand. (2)
The Commissioner after the lapse of five days from the seizure and
after the issue of a proclamation fixing the time and place of sale, may cause
any property so seized, or so much thereof as may be necessary, to be sold by
auction to satisfy the demand, with the expenses occasioned by the seizure,
custody, and sale thereof, unless the demand and expenses are in the mean-time
paid: Provided that, by order of
the Commissioner, articles of a perishable nature which cannot be kept for five
days without serious risk of damage may be sold after the lapse of such shorter
time as he may think proper having regard to the nature of the articles. (1)
No objection shall be taken to any valuation or assessment, nor
shall the liability of any person to be assessed or taxed be questioned in any
other manner or by any other authority than as provided in this Act. (2)
The State Government may make rules under this Act regulating the
refund of taxes and such rules may impose limitations on such refunds. (3)
No refund of any tax shall be claimable by any person otherwise
than in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the rules thereunder. For the purpose of flushing
and cleansing drains the Commissioner may construct or set up such reservoirs,
sluices, engines, and other works as he may from time to time deem necessary. The Commissioner may
subject to any orders of the Government cause all or any municipal drains to
empty into any place, whether within or without the limits of the Corporation,
and may dispose of the sewage at any place, whether within or without the
limits of the Corporation, and in any manner which he may deem suitable: Provided that the State
Government may prohibit the Commissioner from causing any municipal drains to
empty into any place or from disposing any sewage at any place or in any
manner, which it considers unsuitable. For the purpose of
receiving, storing, disinfecting, treating, purifying, distributing, or
otherwise disposing of sewage the Commissioner may-- (a)
construct any work within or without the limits of the
Corporation; (b)
purchase or take on lease any land, building, engine, material or
apparatus, either within or without the limits of the Corporation; and (c)
enter into an arrangement with any person, for a period not
exceeding three years, for the removal or disposal of sewage within or without
the limits of the Corporation. The Commissioner may
enlarge, arch over or otherwise improve any municipal drain, and may
discontinue, close up or destroy any such drain which has, in his opinion,
become useless or unnecessary: Provided that if, by reason
of anything done under this section, any person is deprived of the lawful use
of any drain, the Commissioner shall, as soon as may be, provide for his use
some other drain as effectual as the drain which has been discontinued, closed
up or destroyed. The Corporation shall
provide latrines and urinals for the use of the public. (1)
The Commissioner may by notice, require the owner of any building
or land to provide, move or remove any drain, privy, latrine, urinal,
absorption pit, disposal work, cesspool or other receptacle for filth or refuse
or provide any additional drains, privies, latrines, urinals, absorption pits,
disposal works, cesspools or other receptacles as aforesaid which should, in
his opinion, be provided for the building or land, in such manner and of such pattern
as the Commissioner may direct. (2)
The Commissioner may, by notice, require any person running a
hotel, lodging house, bar or restaurant or any place wherein eatables and
beverages are sold or served or employing more than ten workmen or labourers to
provide such latrines and urinals as the Commissioner may think fit and to
cause the same to be kept in proper order and to be daily cleaned. (3)
The Commissioner may, by notice, require the owner or occupier of
any building or land to have any privy, latrine or urinal provided or the same
shut out by a sufficient roof and wall or fence from the view of persons
passing by or dwelling in the neighbourhood, or to remove or alter, as the
Commissioner may direct any door or trapdoor or other opening of a privy,
latrine or urinal opening on to any street or drain. (1)
The Commissioner may by notice, require the owner or occupier of
any building or land to repair, alter or put in good order any private drain,
privy, latrine, urinal, absorption pit, disposal work, cesspool or receptacle
for any filth or refuse, or to close or destroy any private drain, privy,
latrine, urinal, absorption pit, disposal work or cesspool belonging thereto,
or direct that such private drain shall from such date as he prescribes in this
behalf, be used for offensive matter and sewage only, or for rain-water and
unpolluted sub-soil water only, and by written notice require the owner or
occupier of the premises to make an entirely distinct private drain for rain-water
or for unpolluted sub-soil water or for offensive matter and sewage. (2)
No drain connecting any premises with a municipal drain or other
place set apart for the discharge of drainage may be closed, discontinued or
destroyed by the Commissioner under sub-section (1) except on condition of his
providing another drain equally effectual for the drainage of the premises and
communicating with such municipal drain or other place aforesaid as the
Commissioner thinks fit; and the expenses of construction of any drain so
provided by the Commissioner and of any work done under this Section shall be
paid from the municipal fund. The Commissioner may, by
notice, require any person who may construct any new drain, privy, latrine,
urinal, absorption pit, disposal work, cesspool or receptacle for filth or
refuse without his permission in writing or contrary to his directions or the
provisions of this Act or the rules or byelaws made thereunder or who may
construct, rebuild or open any drain, privy, latrine, urinal, absorption pit,
disposal work cesspool or receptacle for filth or refuse which the Commissioner
has ordered to be demolished or stopped or not to be made, to demolish the drain,
privy, latrine, urinal, absorption pit, disposal work, cesspool or receptacle,
or to make such alteration therein as he may think fit. The Commissioner may, by
notice, require any person who without his permission in writing may newly
erect or rebuild any building over any drain, conduit, water-course, pumping
main, or water pipe vested in the Corporation to pull down or otherwise deal
with the same as the Commissioner may think fit. (1)
The Commissioner may, by notice, require any owner or occupier on
whose land any drain, privy, latrine, urinal, absorption pit, disposal work,
cesspool or other receptacle for filth or refuse for the time being exists
within a fifteen metres of any spring, well, tank, reservoir, swimming pool or
other source from which water is or may be derived for public use, to remove or
close the same within one week from the service of such notice. (2)
Whoever, without the permission of the Commissioner, makes or
keeps for a longer time than one week after the issue of notice under this
section, any drain, privy, latrine, urinal, absorption pit, disposal work,
cesspool or other receptacle for filth or refuse, within fifteen metres of any
spring, well, tank, reservoir, swimming pool or other source from which water
is or may be derived for public use, shall be punishable with fine which may
extend to two thousand rupees, and, when a notice has been issued, with a
further fine, not exceeding five hundred rupees for each day during which the
offence is continued after the lapse of the period allowed for removal. Whoever, without the
permission of the Commissioner causes or knowingly or negligently allows the
contents of any sink, cesspool or any other offensive matter to flow, drain or
be put upon any street or public place, or into any irrigation channel or any
drain not set apart for the purpose, shall be punished with fine which may extend
to two thousand rupees. Whoever, without the
permission of the Commissioner, makes or causes to be made, or alters or causes
to be altered, any drain, leading into any of the drains vested in the
Corporation, shall be punished with fine which may extend to two thousand
rupees. The Commissioner may, by
notice, require the owner or occupier of any land or building to cleanse,
repair, cover, fill up or drain off any private well, tank, reservoir, pool, depression
or excavation therein which may appear to the Commissioner to be injurious to
health or offensive to the neighbourhood: Provided that if for the
purpose of effecting any drainage under this section it should be necessary to
acquire any land not belonging to the same owner or to pay compensation to any
person, the Corporation shall provide such land or pay such compensation. It shall not be lawful to
erect or re-erect any building, any part of which is within fifteen metres of a
municipal drain or of some place set apart by the Commissioner for the
discharge of drainage or to occupy any such building newly erected or
re-erected unless and until-- (a)
a drain has been constructed which, in the opinion of the
Commissioner, shall be sufficient for the effectual drainage of such building
to such municipal drain or place, and (b)
there have been provided for and set up in such building and in
the premises appurtenant thereto, all such appliances and fittings as may
appear to the Commissioner drainage from, and conveying the same off, the said
building and the said premises, and of effectually flushing the drain of the
said building and every fixture connected therewith. Whenever it is provided in
this Act that steps shall or may be taken for the effectual drainage of any
premises, the Commissioner may require that there shall be one drain for
offensive matter and sewage and another drain for rain-water and unpolluted
sub-soil water, each employing into separate municipal drains or other places
set apart by the Commissioner for the discharge of drainage, or into other
suitable places. (1)
If it appears to the Commissioner that the only means by which the
owner or occupier of any building or land can conveniently cause his drain to
empty into a municipal drain or other place set apart by the Commissioner for
the discharge of drainage, is by carrying the same into, through or under any
land belonging to or occupied by some person other than the said owner or
occupier, the Commissioner shall give such other person a reasonable
opportunity of stating any objection, and if no objection is raised, or if any
objection which is raised appears to him invalid or insufficient, may, by an
order in writing, authorise the said owner or occupier to carry his drain into,
through or under the said land in such manner and on such conditions including
requiring the applicant to deposit compensation which may be paid to the owner
of such land, as he may think fit to allow. (2)
Subject to the provisions of this Act, on receipt of any such
order bearing the signature of the Commissioner the person in whose favour it
is made or any agent or person employed by him for the purpose may, after
giving to the owner or occupier of the land reasonable written notice of his
intention to do so, enter upon the said land with assistants and workmen at any
time between sunrise and sunset, and execute the necessary work. (3)
In executing any work under this section as little damage as
possible shall be done, and the owner or the occupier of the premises for the
benefit of which the work is done shall? (a)
cause the work to be executed with the least practicable delay; (b)
fill in, re-instate and make good at his own cost and with the
least practicable delay, the ground or portion of any building or other
construction opened, broken up or removed for the purpose of executing the said
work; and (c)
pay compensation to any person who sustains damage by the
execution of the said work without prejudice to any compensation which may be
conditionally fixed under sub-section (1) hereinabove. (4)
If any land in which work has been executed under sub-section (2)
was unbuilt upon at the time of such execution and if at any time thereafter
the owner or occupier thereof desires to erect a building thereon and applies
to the Commissioner in this behalf, the Commissioner shall, by written notice,
require the owner or occupier of the premises for the benefit of which such
drain was constructed, to close, remove or divert the same in such manner as
may be approved by the Commissioner and to fill in, re-instate, and make good
the land as if the drain had not been carried into, through or under the same. Every owner of a drain
connected with a municipal drain or other place set apart by the Commissioner
for drainage shall be bound to allow the use of it to other persons, or to
admit other persons as joint owners thereof, on such terms as may be prescribed
under section 178. Any person desiring to
drain his premises into a municipal drain through a drain of which he is not a
owner may make a private arrangement with the owner for permission to use his
drain, or may apply to the Commissioner for authority to use such drain or to
be declared a joint owner thereof. (1)
Where the Commissioner is of opinion, whether on receipt of an
application or otherwise, that the most convenient means by which the owner or
occupier of any premises can drain such premises is through a drain belonging
to some person other than the said owner or occupier, the Commissioner shall
give the owner of the drain a reasonable opportunity of stating his objection
thereto, and, if no objection is raised or if any objection which is raised
appears to him invalid or insufficient, may, by an order in writing, authorise
the said owner or occupier to use the drain or declare the said owner to be a
joint owner thereof, on such terms and conditions and on such payment of fees
or compensation which may be required to be paid to such owner of the drain as
may appear to him equitable with regard to the payment of rent or compensation
and to connecting the drain of the said premises with the communicating drain
and to the respective responsibilities of the parties for maintaining,
repairing, flushing and cleaning the joint drain. (2)
Every such order, bearing the signature of the Commissioner, shall
be a complete authority to the person in whose favour it is made, or to any
agent or person employed by him for this purpose, after giving or tendering to
the owner of the drain the compensation or rent specified in the said order and
otherwise fulfilling, as far as possible, the conditions of the said order, and
after giving to the owner of the drain reasonable written notice of his
intention so to do, to enter upon the land in which the said drain is situated
with assistants and work men, at any time between sunrise and sunset and,
subject to the provisions of this Act, to do all such things as may be
necessary for? (a)
connecting the two drains; or (b)
renewing, repairing or altering the connection; (c)
discharging any responsibility attaching to the person in whose
favour the Commissioner?s order is made for maintaining, repairing, flushing or
cleansing the joint drains or any part thereof. (3)
In respect of the execution of any work under sub-section (2), the
person in whose favour the Commissioner?s order is made shall be subject to the
same restriction and liabilities as are specified in sub-section (4) of section
175. (1)
If, in the opinion of the Commissioner any part of a group or
block of premises is situated conveniently near a municipal drain already
existing or about to be constructed or a place set apart by the Commissioner
for the discharge of drainage, and if the Commissioner is of opinion that such
group or block can be drained more economically or advantageously in common
than separately, he may give the owner of all the premises a reasonable
opportunity of stating any objection, and, if no objection is raised or if any
objection is raised appears to him invalid or insufficient, may cause such
group or block to be drained by such method as appears to him to be most
suitable therefore, and the expenses incurred by him in so doing shall be paid
by the owners of such premises in such proportions as the Standing Committee
may think fit. (2)
Not less than fifteen days before any work under this section is
commenced, the Commissioner shall, by written notice, intimate to the owner of
all the premises to be drained? (a)
the nature of the intended work, (b)
the estimated expenses thereof, and (c)
the proportion of such expense payable by each owner. (1)
In case of premises abutting on a public street in which there is
municipal drain and in the case of premises in pursuance of the provisions of
this Chapter, the Commissioner shall construct at the expense of the owner of
the said premises such portion of the drain of the said premises as may be
necessary to lay under any part of a public street. (2)
The portion of any connecting drain so laid under a public street
shall vest in the Corporation and be maintained and kept in repair by the
Commissioner as a municipal drain. (3)
The remainder of every drain constructed, erected, set up or
continued for the sole use and the benefit of any premises shall? (a)
vest in the owner of such premises; (b)
be maintained and kept in repair by the owner or occupier of such
premises; and (c)
be from time to time flushed, cleansed and emptied under the
orders of the Commissioner at the cost of the municipal fund: Provided that, where
several premises are drained in common under the last preceding section, such
remainder shall vest in the owners jointly and the cost of maintenance and
repair thereof shall be distributed in the same proportions as are fixed by the
Standing Committee under the said section. (1)
For the purpose of ventilating any drain, whether belonging to the
Corporation or any other person, the Commissioner may, after giving not less
than four days written notice to occupiers of the premises, erect upon any
premises or affix to the outside of any building, or to any trees, any such
shaft or pipe as may appear to him necessary and may cut through any projection
from any building (including the eaves of any roof thereof) in order to carry
up such shaft or pipe through any such projection and may lay in, through or
under any land such appliances as may in opinion of the Commissioner be
necessary for connecting such ventilating shaft or pipe with the drain intended
to be ventilated. (2)
Any shafts or pipe so erected or affixed shall? (a)
be carried at least five metres higher than any sky-light or
window situated within a distance of ten metres therefrom; (b)
if the same be fixed to a wall supporting the eaves of a roof, be
carried at least two metres higher than such eaves; and (c)
be removed by the Commissioner to some other place, if at any time
the owner of the aforesaid premises, building or tree is desirous of effecting
any change in his property which cannot without unreasonable inconvenience be
carried out unless the shaft or pipe is removed. (3)
If the Commissioner declines to remove a shaft or pipe under
clause (c) of sub-section (2), the owner of the aforesaid premises, building or
tree may apply to the District Court, North Goa, and the said Court may, after
such enquiry as it thinks fit to make, direct the Commissioner to remove the
shaft or pipes, and it shall be incumbent on the Commissioner to obey such
order. (4)
Where the owner of any building or land cut through, opened or
otherwise dealt with under sub-section (1) is not the owner of the drain
intended to be ventilated, the Commissioner shall, so far as is practicable,
reinstate and make good such buildings and fill in and make good such land at
the cost of the municipal fund. All drains and fittings
thereof including ventilating, shafts and pipes constructed or set up at the
cost of the municipal fund shall vest in the Corporation. (1)
The Commissioner shall provide or appoint, in proper and
convenient situations, public receptacles, depots and places for the temporary
deposit or final disposal of rubbish, offensive matter, sewage and the
carcasses of dead animals accumulating in the City. (2)
All things deposited in receptacles, depots or places provided or
appointed under this section shall be the property of the Corporation. The Commissioner may give
public notice that the collection and removal of sewage, offensive matter and
rubbish from the land and buildings in any portion of the city will be undertaken
by municipal agency, and he shall then forth-with take measures for the due
collection and removal of such matter from any lands and buildings situated in
the said portion of the City. (1)
The Commissioner may, by public notice, direct that all rubbish
and offensive matter accumulating in any premises in any street or quarter of
the City, specified in the notice, shall be collected by the occupier of such
premises and deposited in a box, basket or other receptacle, of a kind
prescribed by the Corporation to be provided by such occupier and kept near the
entrance to, or where open space is available, within the premises. (2)
The Commissioner may cause public dust-bins or other convenient
receptacles to be provided at suitable intervals and in proper and convenient
situations in streets or quarters in respect of which no notice issued under
sub-section (1) is for the time being in force; may, by public notice, direct
that all rubbish and offensive matter accumulating in any premises, the
entrance to which is situated within fifty metres of any such receptacle, shall
be collected by the occupier of such premises and deposited in such receptacle. (3)
The Commissioner may, by public notice, direct that all rubbish
and offensive matter accumulating in any premises in any street or quarter in
respect of which no notice issued under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) is
for the time being in force, shall be collected by the occupier of such
premises and deposited in lump in the street on which such premises abut or in
some portion of such premises. (4)
In any notice issued under any of the foregoing sub sections the
Commissioner shall prescribe the hours within which rubbish and offensive
matter shall be deposited under the section. (5)
The Commissioner may, by public notice, direct that sweepers
privately employed on the removal of sewage, rubbish or offensive matter shall
remove the same in proper receptacles of a type to be approved by the
Commissioner in such manner as not to cause any unnecessary nuisance to
passers-by in the street. No person-- (a)
shall throw or place any rubbish, offensive matter or sewage, on any
street, or in any place not provided or appointed for the purpose under the
provisions of this Act; (b)
who is the owner or occupier of any land or building shall allow
any sewage or offensive matter to flow, soak or be thrown therefrom, or keep or
suffer to be kept therein or thereupon, any thing so as to be a nuisance to any
person, or negligently suffer any receptacle or place for deposit of offensive
matter or rubbish on his premises to be in such a State as to be offensive or
injurious to health. The Commissioner may from
time to time-- (a)
set apart suitable places for use by the public for bathing, or
for washing animals, or for washing or drying clothes; (b)
specify the times at which and the sex of persons by whom such
places may be used; (c)
prohibit, by public notice, the use by the public, for any of the
said purposes, of any place not so set apart; and (d)
charge fees for the use of such place by any specified class or
classes of persons or by the public generally. No person shall-- (a)
Steep in any bank, reservoir, stream, well, trough or ditch any
animal, vegetable or mineral matter likely to render the water thereof
offensive or dangerous to health; (b)
Whilst suffering from any contagious infectious or loathsome
disease, bathe in or near any lake, tank, reservoir, fountain, cistern, duct,
sand-pipe, stream, well or trough, or any part of a river within the limits of
Corporation boundary or within eight kilometres upstream from the Corporation
boundary. (1)
Regulation of washing of clothes by
washerman.--The Commissioner may, by public notice, prohibit the washing of
clothes by washermen in the exercise of their calling except at such places as
he may appoint for this purpose; and after such prohibition no washerman shall
wash clothes at any place not appointed for this purpose except for himself or
for the owner or occupier of such place. (2)
Washing places to be provided by
Commissioner for washermen.--The Commissioner shall provide suitable places
for the exercise of their calling by washermen, and may require the payment of
such fees for the use of any such place as he may from time to time determine. For the purpose of
providing a supply of water proper and sufficient for public and private
purposes, the Commissioner may, either within or without the City-- (a)
construct and maintain water-works and do all acts which may be necessary
or expedient in connection with such construction or maintenance; (b)
purchase or take on lease any water-work or any water or right to
store water or to take and convey water; or (c)
enter into any arrangement with any person for the supply of
water. (1)
The Commissioner may supply water for any purpose on receiving
either from the owner or the occupier of any permission, a written application
specifying the purpose for which such supply is required and the quantity
likely to be consumed. (2)
The supply of water shall be made upon such terms and conditions
as to payment and quantity and for such period, as the Corporation may
prescribe in this behalf. Where an application under
section 191 has been received, all necessary communication-pipes and fittings
shall be supplied by the Commissioner and the work of laying and applying such
communication-pipes and fittings shall be executed by municipal agency under the
Commissioner?s orders: but the cost of making any such connection and of all
communication-pipes and fittings so supplied and all work so executed, shall be
paid by the owner or the person making such application. The Commissioner shall
provide a meter and charge rent for the same. Any owner or occupier of
any land or building in or on which water supplied under this Act is misused
from negligence or other circumstances under his control or in which the pipes,
mains or other works are out of repair to such an extent as to cause waste of
water shall, if he has knowledge thereof, be bound to give notice of the same
to such officer as the Commissioner may appoint in this behalf. Neither the owner nor
occupier of any land or building in which pipes, mains or other works are
situated, nor the Corporation shall be liable to pay compensation to any person
for any damage caused by any leakage of water or any failure to keep in repair
such pipes, mains or other works, unless the owner or occupier or the
Corporation has knowledge thereof and has failed to take reasonable prompt
action to report the same to the prescribed officer or to stop the leakage or
to execute the required repairs as the case may be. If any person whose
premises are supplied with water neglects to pay any sum payable, under section
191 when due, or to give notice as provided in section 193 or wilfully or
negligently misuses or causes waste of water, the Commissioner may cut off the
supply of water to the said premises. Whenever water is supplied
under this Chapter through a meter, it shall be presumed, that the quantity
indicated by the meter has been consumed, until the contrary is proved. No person shall-- (a)
wilfully or negligently injure or suffer to be injured wells,
reservoirs, mains, pipes or other appliances for the supply of water under the
management or control of the Corporation; (b)
draw off, divert or take any water from any Municipal well,
reservoir, main or pipe; or (c)
tamper with any meter under the management or control of the
Corporation. No persons shall-- (a)
open or keep open the valves of any water-works used for the supply
of water to the public by any means other than the use of pressure by the hand;
or (b)
having opened such valve fail to close the same or leave the same
open or tamper with any valve or hydrant not intended for the supply of water
to the public. Except with the permission
of the Corporation, no person shall? (a)
erect any building for any purpose whatever on any part of the
area enclosed by the boundary-fence of any lake or reservoir from which a
supply of water is derived for a municipal water-work; or (b)
remove, alter, injure, damage or in any way interfere with
aforesaid boundary-fence. Except as provided
hereinafter, no person shall-- (a)
bathe in or near any water-works belonging to the Corporation; or (b)
wash, throw, or cause any animal to enter into the water of such
works; or (c)
throw any rubbish, dirt, filth or any other thing what-so-ever
into or upon the water of such works; or (d)
wash or cleanse therein any cloth, wool, leather or skin of any
animal or any clothes or other things; or (e)
cause the water of any sink, drain, steam engine, boiler or other
filthy water belonging to him or under his control, to run or be brought, into
any such water-works or do any other act whereby the water in such works may be
fouled or polluted or its quantity altered. If an offence against any
provision of Chapter XIII, XIV, XV or XVI or against any rule or byelaw made
under the provisions of this Act relating to water-supply has been committed on
any premises to which a private supply of water is furnished by the
Corporation, it may be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that such
offence has been committed by the occupier of the said premises. (1)
In carrying out the duties imposed on the Corporation by clause
(d), (e), (l) and (n) of section 59, or exercising the powers conferred upon
it by sections 160, 161, 162, 163, 181, 183 and 184 the Corporation shall not
cause any nuisance which in the circumstances of the case can reasonably be
avoided. (2)
The Commissioner shall make reasonable compensation to any person
who has sustained damage occasioned by the carrying out of any such operations: Provided that no compensation
shall be claimed or paid for inconvenience unavoidably caused. Subject to the provisions
of any law for the time being in force, the Commissioner may carry any cable,
wire, pipe, drain or channel of any kind required for the establishment or
maintenance of any system of drainage, water-supply or lighting through,
across, under or over any street or any place laid out as or intended for a
street, and also after giving reasonable notice in writing to the owner or
occupier, through, across, under, over or along side any land or building
whatsoever within or without the City, and may place and maintain in any
immovable property in the City or without the City any posts, poles, standards,
brackets or other contrivances for supporting cables, wires, pipes, channels
and lights and may do all acts necessary or expedient for repairing, and
maintaining any such cable, wire, pipe, drain, channel, post, pole, standard,
bracket or other similar contrivance in an effective state for the purpose for
which it intended to be used or for removing the same. In the event of any cable,
wire, pipe, drain, sewer, or channel being laid or carried above the surface of
any land or through, over or up the side of any building, such cable, wire,
pipe, drain, sewer or channel, as the case may be, shall be so laid or carried
as to interfere as little as possible with the rights of the owner or occupier
to the due enjoyment of such land or building and reasonable compensation shall
be paid in respect of any substantial interference with any such right to such
enjoyment. Except in cases to which
sections 328, 329 and 330 relate the Commissioner shall cause not less than
fourteen days notice in writing to be given to the owner or occupier before
commencing any operations under section 203. (1)
No person shall, without the permission of the Commissioner, at
any time, make or cause to be made, any connection or communication with any
cable, wire, pipe, ferrule, drain or channel constructed or maintained by or
vested in the Corporation for any purpose whatsoever, (2)
Any person acting in contravention of the terms of sub-section (1)
shall be punished with a fine not exceeding five thousand rupees. Where any premises have no
drain communicating with a public sewer, or a drain communicating with the
public sewer, but insufficient for the effectual drainage of the premises, or a
drain not adapted to the general sewerage system of the city, or a drain which
is in the opinion of the Commissioner, otherwise objectionable, the
Commissioner may, by notice, require the owner of the premises to make
satisfactory provision for the drainage of the premises or to do such other work within such time as
may, in the opinion of the Commissioner, be necessary for remedying the cause
of complaint. The Commissioner may
establish meters or other appliances for the purpose of testing the quantity or
quality of electricity supplied to the premises of any person or for the use of
any person or business. The ferrules,
communication-pipes, connections, meters, stand-pipes and all fittings thereon
or connected therewith, leading from mains or services cable, wires, pipes,
drains, or channels onto any house or land and the wires, pipes, fittings and
works inside any such house or within the limits of any such land, shall in all
cases, other than cases which the State Government may by general or special
order exempt from the operation of this section, be executed to the
satisfaction of the Commissioner. Subject to the provisions
of any law for the time being in force the Commissioner may, from time to time,
fix the scales of charges which the Corporation may make for establishing
communications from and connections with sewer mains or with any drainage
system, provided for by the Corporation or the State Government and may levy
such charges from the owner or occupier as the circumstances may require
provided however, in cases of any charges being recovered from the owner or
occupier, such charges in connection with the drainage system provided by the
State Government shall be reimbursed to the State Government. (1)
The Commissioner may, by notice, require the owner of any building
or land in any street to put up and keep in good condition proper troughs and
pipes for receiving and carrying water and sullage from the land or building
and for discharging the same so as not to inconvenience persons passing along
the street. (2)
For the purpose of efficiently draining any building or land the
Commissioner may by notice in writing? (a)
require any Courtyard, alley or passage between two or more
building to be paved by the owner or part owner of such building with such
materials and in such manner as may be approved by the Commissioner, and (b)
require such paving to be kept in proper repair. In dealing with municipal
drainage, sewage and waterworks schemes the Commissioner shall follow the general
principles laid down by the Corporation, with the approval of the State
Government, for any schemes of sewage or drainage or water-works and may refer
to the Standing Committee any question connected with the carrying out of such
schemes in which the intention of the Corporation does not appear to him to
have been clearly expressed, or in which the provisions of the scheme appear to
him to require modification. The Standing Committee shall in its discretion
either decide the question or refer the matter for the orders of the
Corporation: Provided that any question
involving the expenditure of a sum, exceeding one lakh of rupees shall be
referred to the Corporation for orders. (1)
Without the written permission of the Commissioner, no building,
wall or other structure shall be erected or re-erected, and no street, railway,
electric or telephone line or similar other structure shall be constructed over
any municipal drain or air main. (2)
If any building, wall or other structure is erected, or re-erected
or constructed in contravention of the provisions of sub-section (1), the
Commissioner may, subject to the provision of any law for the time being in
force, remove the same or otherwise deal with it as he may think fit. The
expenses incurred by him under this sub-section shall be paid by the person
offending. No drainage or sewage or
water?works scheme involving an expenditure of a sum of five lakhs of rupees or
more shall be sanctioned by the Corporation without the previous approval of
the State Government. Any municipal sewage or
drainage schemes or any municipal water-works may be inspected by a person
appointed by the State Government in this behalf and the Commissioner or any
such person may at all reasonable times-- (a)
enter upon and pass through any land whether within or without the
City, adjacent to or in the vicinity of such a drainage or sewage scheme or
such water- works in whomsoever such land may vest; (b)
after giving not less than four days written notice to the
occupiers, cause to be conveyed into and through any such land all necessary
men, materials, tools and implements. If in exercise of any of
the powers conferred by section 203 or 215 any damage or inconvenience is
caused, which in the circumstances could reasonably have been avoided, the
Corporation or the Government shall pay compensations according to the damage
or inconvenience is caused by the Corporation or by a person appointed by the
Government. No person shall-- (a)
newly establish, or (b)
remove from one place to another, or (c)
re-open or renew after discontinuance for a period of not less
than three years, or (d)
enlarge or extend the area or dimensions of any factory, workshop
or bakery in any area set apart for the accommodation of industries by any act,
for the time being in force or by any local authority, except with the
permission of the Commissioner and in accordance with the terms and conditions
stated in such permission: Provided that no such
permission shall be required in the case under clause (c) if during the period
of discontinuance the machinery has not been removed from the place where the
factory, workshop or bakery was originally established. (1)
Whenever it appears to the Commissioner that any factory, workshop
or workplace or any building or place, in which mechanical power is employed is
not kept in a cleanly state or is not ventilated in such manner as to render as
far as practicable harmless any gas, vapour, soot or other impurity generated
in the course of the work carried on therein, or is so over-crowded during
working hours as to be dangerous or injurious to the health of the persons
employed therein; or that any machinery therein is so fixed or so insecurely
fenced as to be dangerous to life or limb, the Commissioner may, by written
notice, require the owner thereof to take such action as the Commissioner shall
think fit to order. (2)
Nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect any provision of
Indian Boilers Act, 1923, and nothing in this section regulating the fixing or
fencing of any machinery shall apply to any factory subject to the provisions
of the Factories Act, 1948. Except in accordance with
the provision of this act, no person shall-- (a)
store or keep in any premises any articles mentioned in any
bye-laws made under this Act as dangerous or offensive, or as being, or likely
to be a nuisance to the public or dangerous to life, health or property; (b)
store or keep in any premises the hide or any part of the carcass
of any animal afflicted at the time of its death with infectious or contagious
disease; or (c)
carry on or allowed to be carried on in any premises any trade,
manufacture, industry or operation mentioned in any rules under this Act as
dangerous to life, health or property or as likely to create a nuisance, either
from its nature or by reasons of the manner in which or the conditions under
which the same may be carried on: Provided that nothing in
this section shall affect the provisions of the Indian Explosives Act, 1884, or
the Petroleum Act, 1934. (1)
No person shall use or permit to be used any premises for any of
the following purposes without or other wise than in conformity with the terms
of a licence granted by the Commissioner in this behalf, namely:-- (a)
carrying on within the City the trade or operations of a ferrier; (b)
keeping articles in excess of the maximum laid down for such
articles by any bye-laws; (c)
keeping any article which, except for domestic purpose, is
prohibited by any bye-laws; (d)
keeping in or upon any building used or intended to be used as a
dwelling-house or within five metres of such building, any quantity of cotton
in excess of four hundred weights; (e)
keeping horses, cattle or other four footed animals for sale or
hire or for the sake of the produce thereof, or for any purpose for which any
charge or remuneration is made or received; (f)
carrying on any of the prescribed trades or operations connected
therewith, or any trade or operation which in the opinion of the Commissioner,
is dangerous to life, health or property or likely to create a nuisance either
from its nature or by reason of the manner in which, or the conditions under
which, it is carried on. Explanation I:-- A person
shall be deemed to know that a trade or operation is, in the opinion of the
Commissioner, dangerous or likely to create a nuisance within the meaning of
this clause after a written notice to that effect signed by the Commissioner
has been served on him or affixed to the premises to which it relates. Explanation II: -- A person
shall be deemed to carry on trade or operation or to allow it to be carried on
within the meaning of this paragraph if he does any act in furtherance of such
trade or is in any way engaged or concerned therein as principal, agent, master
or servant or in any other similar capacity. (2)
It shall be in the discretion of the Commissioner to grant a licence
for any of the purpose referred to in sub-section (1) subject to such
restrictions or conditions as he may think fit to specify or to refuse to grant
such licence. (3)
Every person to whom a licence is granted by the Commissioner
under sub-section (2) shall keep such licence in or upon the premises, to which
it relates. (4)
Nothing in this section shall be deemed to apply to mills for
spinning or weaving cotton, wool, silk or jute or to any other mill or factory
which the Commissioner may with the previous approval of the Standing
Committee, from time to time, specially exempt from the operation thereof. (1)
No person engaged in any trade or manufacture which may be
specified in bye-laws shall? (a)
wilfully cause or suffer to be brought or to flow into any lake,
tank, reservoir, cistern, well, duct or other place for storing water belonging
to the Corporation or into any drain or pipe communicating therewith, any
washing or other substance produced in the course of any such trade, or
manufactured as aforesaid; or (b)
wilfully do any act connected with such trade or manufacture
whereby the water in any such lake, tank, reservoir, cistern, well, duct or
other place for storing water is fouled or corrupted. (2)
After giving not less than twenty-four hours previous notice in
writing to the owner or to the person who has the management or control of any
works, pipes or conduits connected with any such manufacture or trade as is
referred to in sub-section (1), the Commissioner may lay open and examine the
said works, pipes and conduits; and if, upon such examination, it shall appear
that the provisions of sub-section (1) have been contravened by reason of
anything contained in or proceeding from the said works, pipes or conduits the
expenses incurred in laying open and examining them and in adopting any other
measure which the Commissioner considers necessary for removing the cause of
such contravention shall be paid by the owner of the said works, pipes or
conduits, or by the person who has the management or control thereof, or
through whose neglect or fault the contravention has occurred. (3)
But if it appears that there has been no such contravention, the
said expenses and also compensation for any damage occasioned by such laying
open and examination shall be paid by the Commissioner. (1)
Subject to the bye-laws made by the Corporation in this behalf,
the Commissioner may, at any time, by day or night, and without notice, enter
into or upon any premises used for any of the purposes mentioned in section 220
or upon any premises in which furnace is employed for the purpose of any trade
or manufacture, or into any bakery, in order to satisfy himself that there is
not contravention of any provision of this Act or any rule or bye-law made
thereunder or of any condition of any licence granted under this Act, or that
no nuisance is being created upon such premises. (2)
No claim for compensation shall lie against any person for any
damage which may unavoidably be caused by any such entry or by the use of any
force necessary for effecting such entry: Provided that no force
shall be used for effecting an entry, unless there is reason to believe that an
offence is being committed against some provision of this Act or some rules
made thereunder. (1)
No exhibition by cinematograph or other apparatus in which
inflammable film is used, no public dramatic performance, circus, or pantomime,
shall be given within limits of the City except in premises for which a licence
has been granted by the Commissioner under this Section. (2)
If the owner of a cinematograph or other apparatus uses the
apparatus or allows it to be used, or if any person takes part in any public
dramatic performance, circus or pantomime, or if the occupier of any premises
allows those premises to be used, in contravention of the provisos of this
section, or of any condition of a licence granted under this section, he shall
be liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand rupees and in the case of a
continuing offence, to a further penalty of one thousand rupees for each day
during which the offence continues, and his licence shall be liable to be
revoked by the Commissioner. (1)
The Corporation may at its discretion permit the establishment of
a new private market in the City or in any specified portion thereof. (2)
No person shall establish a new private market for the sale of
animals intended for human food, or for the purpose of exposing them for sale
except with sanction of the Corporation. (3)
When the establishment of a new private market is sanctioned the
Commissioner shall cause a notice of the sanction to be exhibited in Konkani,
Marathi, English and Hindi in some conspicuous spot on or near the building or
place where such market is to be held. (1) Except
under a licence granted by the Commissioner in accordance with the general or
special orders
issued by the Standing Committee in that behalf, and in conformity with its
terms, no person shall establish or keep a private market or when established,
remove it from one place to another place or re-establish it after it has been
closed for a period in excess of twelve months, or enlarge its area of
dimensions: Provided that the
Commissioner shall not refuse a licence to keep a private market or cancel or
suspend the same, for any cause other than the owner?s failure to comply with
this Act or the terms of his licence after the compliance has been required of
him. (2) When the
Commissioner has refused, cancelled or suspended any licence to keep a private
market, he shall cause a notice thereof in Konkani, Marathi, English and Hindi
Languages to be conspicuously exhibited near the building or place where such
market is or was to be held. (1)
Without a licence from the Commissioner no person shall sell or
expose for sale any animal, or any meat or fish intended for human food in any
place other than a Corporation or licensed market. (2)
Nothing in sub-section (1) shall apply to meat or fish sold in any
hotel or eating house for consumption on the premises. The Corporation may, and if
required by the State Government shall, by bye-laws-- (a)
prohibit the manufacture, sale or preparation or exposure for
sale, of any specified article of food or drink, in any place or premises not
licensed by the Corporation; (b)
regulate the hours and manner of transport of any specified
articles of food or drink within the City and prescribe the route by which such
articles shall be carried; (c)
prohibit the sale of milk, butter, ghee, curd, meat, game, fish
and poultry by persons licensed by the Corporation; (d)
prohibit the import by persons not licensed by the Corporation of
milk, butter, ghee, curd, meat, game, fish and poultry within the City for
sale; (e)
provide for the grant and withdrawal of licences and the levying
of fees therefore under this section: Provided that no person
shall be punishable for breach of any bye-law made under clause (a) by reason
of the continuance of such manufacture, preparation, or exposure for sale, or
sale in any place or upon any premises which are at the time of the making of
such bye-laws used for such purpose until he has received from the Corporation
six months notice in writing to discontinue such manufacture, preparation or
exposure for sale. (1)
The Corporation may, and when required by the State Government,
shall, fix places or set up abbettoires, with the approval of the State
Government either within or without the limits of the City, for the slaughter
of the animals or of any specified description of animals, for sale, and may
with the like approval grant and withdraw licences for the use of such premises, or if they belong
to the Corporation may charge rent or fees for the use of the same. (2)
When such places have been fixed by the Corporation beyond
municipal limits it shall have the same power to make bye-laws for the
inspection and proper regulation of the same if they were within those limits. (3)
When any such premises have been fixed no person shall slaughter
any such animal for sale within the City at any other place. (4)
Any person who slaughters for sale any animal at any place within
the City other than the one fixed by the Corporation under this section shall
be punishable with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees. (1)
Whenever any animal in the charge of any person dies otherwise
than by slaughter for sale or for a religious purpose, such person shall within
twenty-four hours either? (a)
convey the carcass to the place fixed by the Corporation for the disposal
of dead animals. (b)
give notice of the death to the Commissioner who shall cause the
carcass to be disposed of. (2)
For the disposal of dead animals under clause (b) of sub-section
(1), the Commissioner may charge such fees as the Corporation may fix by public
notice. (3)
For the purposes of this section the word ?animal? shall include
homed cattle, elephants, camels, horses, ponies, asses, mules, deer, sheep,
goats and swine. (4)
Any person bound to act in accordance with sub-section (1) of this
section shall, if he fails so to act, be punished with fine which may extend to
one thousand rupees. No person shall sell,
expose or hawk or keep for sale any animal intended for human consumption which
is diseased, and no person shall sell, store for sale, expose or hawk for sale
or manufacture any food, drink or drug intended for human consumption or
medical treatment which is unsound, unwholesome, adulterated, unfit or
prohibited for human consumption. (1)
No person shall keep or permit to be kept in any shop or place in
which milk is stored or in any manufactory, shop or place in which butter,
ghee, wheat, flour, mustard oil, tea, edible oil, edible fat or any article
notified by the State Government in this behalf is manufactured or stored, any
substance intended to be used for adulteration of such milk, butter, ghee,
wheat, flour, mustard oil, other article. (2)
If any article capable of being so used is found in any such
manufactory, shop or place, the Court, shall, unless and until the contrary is
proved, presume, in any prosecution under this section that it is intended to
be used for adulteration. No person shall, directly
or indirectly, sell, expose or hawk for sale, or manufacture or store for sale
any drug or article of food or drink to which the State Government has by
notification applied this section unless it fulfills the conditions specified
in such notification. No person shall sell, or
offer, expose, manufacture or store for sale, as being a specified drug or
article of food or drink to which the State Government has by notification
extended this section, article (hereinafter referred to as ?substitute? which
resembles or purports to be a notified drug or article but differs therefrom in
nature, substance or quality. (1)
No person shall directly or indirectly, himself or by any other
person on his behalf, sell, expose or hawk for sale, or manufacture or store
for sale, any article of food or drink which is not of the nature, substance,
or quality it is represented to be: Provided that an offence
shall not be deemed to be committed under this section in the following cases,
namely:-- (a)
where any matter or ingredient not injurious to health has been
added to any article of food or drink in order to facilitate the production or
preparation of the same as an article of commerce in a state fit for carriage
or consumption, and not fraudulently to increase the bulk, weight or measure of
the article or to conceal the inferior quality thereof; or (b)
where any article of food or drink is unavoidably mixed with some
extraneous matter in the process or collection or preparation. (2)
In any prosecution under this section it shall be no defence to
allege that vendor, manufacturer or storer was ignorant of the nature,
substance or quality of the article sold, exposed, hawked about for sale, or
manufactured or stored for sale, by him, or that the purchaser having bought
such article only for analysis was not prejudiced by the sale. No person shall, without or
otherwise than in conformity with the terms of a licence granted by the
Commissioner in this behalf-- (a)
carry on within the limits of the City the trade or business of a
dealer in milk or milk products or of an importer, vendor or hawker of the
same, or (b)
use any place for the sale of milk or milk products. In any prosecution under
sections 230, 231, 232 and 233-- (a)
the Court shall, until the contrary is proved, presume that any
animal, food, drink, drug or substitute therefor found in the possession of a
person who is in the habit of selling that class of animal or of manufacturing,
storing or selling such articles, was being kept, manufactured or stored for
sale by such person; (b)
no such person shall plead that he was ignorant that the animal,
food, drink, drug or a substitute was diseased, unsound, unwholesome, unfit or
prohibited for human consumption or adulterated or did not fulfil the
conditions specified, or was a substitute, as the case may be; (c)
no offence shall be deemed to have been committed where such
person proves to the satisfaction of the Court that he obtained the food,
drink, drug, or substitute under a warranty from the person manufacturing it
within the City or importing it within the same that the food, drink, drug or
substitute had not been adulterated, or that it fulfilled the conditions
specified or that it was not a substitute and that he had no reason to believe
otherwise or had no reasonable ground for believing that by lapse of time or
otherwise the warranty no longer held good. When any person has been
discharged or acquitted of an offence on the grounds mentioned in clause (c) of
section 236 and the warranty proves to be incorrect or misleading, the
warrantor shall be liable to be prosecuted for such offence and the provisions
of section 236 shall apply in a like manner as if he were himself the seller or
storer, as the case may be. (1)
Any officer of the Corporation duly authorised in this behalf by
the Commissioner may enter into and inspect any market, building, shop, stall,
or place used for the sale of any animal, food, drink or drug intended for
human consumption or medical treatment or for the preparation, manufacture or
storage of the same for sale, and may inspect and examine any such animal,
food, drink or drug and any utensil or vessel used for preparing, manufacturing
or containing any such food, drink or drug. (2)
If any such animal appears to such officer to be diseased, or if
any such food, drink or drug appears to him to be unsound, unwholesome or unfit
or prohibited for human consumption or medical treatment, as the case may be,
or to be adulterated, or not to fulfil the specified conditions or to be a
substitute, or if any such utensil or vessel is of such kind or in such state
as to render any food, drink, or drug, prepared, manufactured or contained
therein unwholesome or unfit for human consumption or medical treatment, he may
seize and remove such animal, food, drink, drug, utensil or vessel in order
that the same may be dealt with hereinafter in this Chapter provided. (3)
The authorised officer may, instead of removing any animal, food,
drink, drug, utensil or vessel seized under sub-section (2) leave the same in
such safe custody as the Commissioner directs in order that it may be dealt
with as hereinafter in this Chapter provided; and no person shall remove it
from such custody or interfere or tamper with it in any way while it is so
detained. (1)
When any animal, food, drink, drug, utensil or vessel is seized
under sub-section (2), of section 238, it may be, destroyed by the officer,
making the seizure with the consent of the owner or the person in whose
possession it was found. (2)
The officer destroying any animal food, drink, drug, utensil or
vessel under sub-section (1) shall report such destruction to the Medical
Officer of Health. (3)
If any food, drink or drug seized under sub-section (1) is of a
perishable nature and is in the opinion of the officer making the seizure,
infected, unsound, unwholesome or unfit for human consumption or medical
treatment, it may, with the previous sanction of the Medical Officer of Health,
be destroyed without the consent referred to in sub-section (1). (4)
The expenses incurred in taking any action under sub-section (1)
and (3) shall be paid by the person in whose possession such animal, food,
drink, drug, utensil or vessel was at the time of its seizure and no claim
shall lie for compensation for any animal or article so destroyed. (1)
Any animal, food, drink, drug, utensil or vessel seized under
sub-section (2) of section 238 but not destroyed in pursuance of section 239
shall, subject to the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 238, be taken
before a Magistrate as soon as may be after such seizure. (2)
If it appears to the Magistrate that such animal, food, drink,
drug, utensil or vessel was rightly seized, he shall cause the same to be
forfeited to the Corporation or to be destroyed at the expense of the person in
whose possession it was found at the time of its seizure. (3)
If the Magistrate is of the contrary opinion, the person from
whose shop or place it was taken shall be entitled to have it restored to him,
and it shall be in the discretion of the Magistrate to award him such
compensation, not exceeding the actual loss or expenses which he has sustained
or incurred, as the Magistrate may think proper. Any animal, food, drink or
drug in respect of which any authority exercising powers under this Chapter
passes an order of destruction or disposal so that it cannot be used as food or
medicine, shall thereupon be deemed to be the property of the Corporation. The provisions of this
Chapter shall, so far as they are applicable, apply to such other articles as
the State-Government may by notification in the Gazette declare to be dangerous
for human use. Whoever-- (a)
being a medical practitioner or a person openly and constantly
practising the medical profession and in the course of such practice becoming
cognizant of the existence of any infectious disease in any dwelling other than
a public hospital, or, in default of such medical practitioner or person
practising the medical profession, (b)
being the owner, or occupier of such dwelling and becoming
cognizant of the existence of any such disease therein, or, in default of such
owner or occupier, (c)
being the person in charge of, or in attendance on, any person
suffering from any such disease in such dwelling, and becoming cognizant of the
existence of the disease therein, fails forthwith to give information, or
knowingly gives false information to the Medical Officer of Health or to any
other officer to whom the Corporation may require information to be given
respecting the existence of such disease, shall be punishable with fine which
may extend to five thousand rupees: Provided that a person not
required to give information in the first instance, but only in default of some
other person, shall not be punishable if he shows that he had reasonable cause
to suppose that the information had been, or would be, duly given. The Medical Officer of
Health, or any other municipal officer authorised by him in this behalf, may,
at any time by day or by night, without notice, or after giving such notice of
his intention as may, in the circumstances, appear to him to be reasonable,
inspect any place in which any dangerous disease is reported or suspected to
exist, and take such measures as he may think fit to prevent the spread of the
disease beyond such place. (1)
If it appears to the Medical Officer of Health that the water in
any well, tank or other place is likely, if used for the purpose of drinking or
for any other domestic purpose, to endanger or cause the spread of any
dangerous disease, he may by public notice prohibit the removal or use of the
said water for such purpose. (2)
No person shall remove or use for such purpose any water in
respect of which any such public notice has been issued. (1)
When, in the opinion of the Medical Officer of Health, any person
is suffering from a dangerous disease and is also without proper lodging or
accommodation or is lodged in such a manner that he cannot be effectually
isolated so as to prevent the spread of infection, and the said officer
considers that such person should be removed to a hospital or place at which
patients suffering from such disease are received for medical treatment, he
may, with the approval of the Commissioner, direct or cause the removal of such
person to such hospital or place: Provided that all costs
incurred for the removal and the treatment of any such patient shall be borne
by the Corporation: Provided also that, if any
such person is a woman, she shall not be removed to any such hospital or place
unless the same has accommodation for women, of a suitable kind, and set apart
from the portion assigned to males. (2)
Any person having charge of a person in respect of whom an order
is made under sub-section (1) shall obey such order. (1)
If the Medical Officer of Health or any officer of the Corporation
authorized by him in this behalf, is of opinion that the cleansing or
disinfecting of any building or any part of a building, or any article therein
which is likely to retain infection, or of any tank, pool or well adjacent to a
building, would tend to prevent or check the spread of any dangerous disease,
he may cause to be cleaned or disinfected such building, part, article, tank,
pool or well and may by written notice, require the occupier of such building
or any part thereof to vacate the same for such time as may be prescribed in
such notice. (2)
The cost of cleansing or disinfecting any building or part
thereof, or any article therein under sub-section (1), shall be paid by the
occupier of such building and the cost of cleansing or disinfecting any tank,
pool or well under the said sub-section, shall be paid by the person in actual
possession of such tank, pool or well or if there be no such person, by the
owner thereof: Provided that if, in the
opinion of the Commissioner, the owner or occupier is from poverty unable to
pay the cost, the Commissioner may direct payment thereof to be made from the
municipal fund. (1)
If the Medical Officer of Health is of opinion that the
destruction of any hut or shed is necessary to prevent the spread of any dangerous
disease, he may after giving to the owner or occupier of such hut or shed such
previous notice of his intention as he considers reasonable, take measures for
having such hut or shed and all the materials thereof destroyed. (2)
Compensation not exceeding the value of the hut shall be paid by
the Corporation to any person who sustains loss by the destruction of any such
hut or shed, but, except as so allowed by the Commissioner, no claim for
compensation shall lie for any loss or damage caused by any exercise of the
power conferred by sub-section (1). No person shall let a
building or any part of a building in which he knows or has reason to know that
a person has been suffering from a dangerous disease,-- (a)
unless the Medical Officer of Health has disinfected the same and
has granted a certificate to that effect, and (b)
until a date specified in such certificate as that on which the
building or part may be occupied without causing risk of infection. Explanation:-- For the
purposes of this section the keeper of a hotel or inn shall be deemed to have
let part of his building to any person accommodated therein. (1)
The Corporation shall provide a place or places with all necessary
apparatus and establishment, for the disinfection of conveyances, clothing,
bedding or other articles which have become infected, and when any articles
have been brought to any such place for disinfection, shall cause them to be
disinfected either? (a)
free of charge; or (b)
in its discretion, on payment of such fees as it may from time to
time fix in this behalf. (2)
The Corporation shall, from time to time, by public notice,
appoint a place or places at which conveyances, clothing, bedding or other
articles which have been exposed to infection from any dangerous disease may be
washed; and no person shall wash any such article at any place not so appointed,
without having previously disinfected the same. (3)
The Medical Officer of Health, or any person authorized by him in
this behalf, shall disinfect or destroy, or by written notice direct the
disinfection or destruction of any clothing, bedding or other articles likely
to retain infection. (4)
The Commissioner shall pay such compensation as may appear to him
reasonable for any article destroyed under sub-section (3) and his decision as
to the amount of compensation shall be final. (1)
No person shall, without previous disinfection of the same, give,
lend, sell, transmit, or otherwise dispose of any article which he knows or has
reason to know has been exposed to infection from any dangerous disease. (2)
Nothing in sub-section (1) shall apply to a person who transmits,
with proper precautions any such article for the purpose of having same
disinfected. (1)
No person who is suffering from a dangerous disease shall enter,
or cause or permit himself to be carried in, a public conveyance, nor shall any
other person knowingly cause or permit a person in his charge and suffering
from a dangerous disease or the dead body or any person who has died from such
disease to be carried in public conveyance without? (a)
previously notifying to the owner, driver, or person in charge of
such conveyance that he is so suffering, and (b)
taking proper precautions against the spreading of such disease. (2)
Notwithstanding anything contained in any enactment relating to
public conveyances for the time being in force, no owner or driver or person in
charge of a public conveyance shall be bound to carry any person suffering as
aforesaid or any such dead body in such conveyance, unless payment or tender of
sufficient compensation for the loss and expenses he must incur in disinfecting
such conveyance is first of all made to him. (3)
?No owner, driver or person
in charge of a public conveyance shall knowingly carry or permit to be carried
in such conveyance any person suffering as aforesaid or any such dead body in
contravention of sub-section (1). (1)
The owner, driver or person in charge of any public conveyance in
which any person suffering from a dangerous disease or the dead body of any
person who has died of such disease has been carried shall immediately take the
conveyance for disinfection to a place appointed under sub-section (1) of
section 250. (2)
The person in charge of such place shall forthwith intimate to the
Medical Officer of Health the number of the conveyance and proceed to disinfect
the conveyance. (3)
No such conveyance shall be used until the Medical Officer of
Health has granted a certificate stating that it may be used without causing
risk of infection. In the event City being at
any time visited or threatened with an outbreak of any dangerous disease, or in
the event of any infectious epizootic disease breaking out or being likely to
be introduced into the City, the Corporation, if it considers that the other
provisions of this Act, or the provisions of any other enactment for the time
being in force are insufficient for the purpose, may, with the sanction of the
State Government-- (a)
take such special measures; and (b)
by public notice, prescribe such temporary rules to be observed by
the public or by any person or class of persons as it may deem necessary to
prevent the outbreak of such disease or the spread thereof. (1)
On and from the commencement of this Act, the Corporation shall be
the planning and development authority for the Corporation area which shall be
deemed to be a planning area in terms of the provisions of section 18 of the
Goa Town and Country Planning Act, 1974. (2)
On the publication of this Act in the Official Gazette, the Panaji
planning area shall stand withdrawn from North Goa Planning and Development
Authority and all functions, powers and duties of Planning Authority for the
Corporation area in terms of the Goa Town and Country Planning Act, 1974 and
the regulations framed thereunder shall be performed by the Corporation and the
Corporation shall stand declared as a planning area in terms of section 18 of
the Goa Town and Country Planning Act, 1974. (1)
No person shall? (a)
erect or re-erect any building; or (b)
commence to erect or re-erect any building; or (c)
make any material external alteration to any building; or (d)
construct or reconstruct any projecting portion of a building
which the Commissioner is empowered by section 267 to require to be set back or
is empowered to give permission to construct or reconstruct,-- (e)
?unless the Commissioner has
either by an order in writing granted permission or has failed to intimate
within the prescribed period his refusal of permission for the erection or
re-erection or the building or for the construction or re-construction of the
projecting part of the building, or (f)
after the expiry of one year from the date of the said permission
or such longer period as the Commissioner may allow or from the end of the
prescribed period as the case may be: Provided that nothing in
this section shall apply to any work, addition or alteration which the
Corporation may by bye-law declare to be exempt. (2)
If a question arises whether a particular alteration in or
addition to an existing building is or is not a material alteration, the
decision of the District Court, North Goa at Panaji, shall be final and
conclusive. (3)
No appeal shall be admitted under this section unless the matter
has been determined by the Commissioner. (1)
Every person who intends to erect or re-erect a building shall
submit to the Commissioner,-- (a)
an application in writing for approval of the site together with a
site plan of the land, and, in the case of land which is the property of the
Government or of the Corporation, a certified copy of the documents authorizing
him to occupy the land and if so required by the Commissioner, the original
document or documents, and (b)
an application in writing for permission to build together with a
ground plan, elevation and section of the building and a specification of the
work to be done. (2) Every
plan of any building to be constructed wholly or partly of masonry, submitted
under sub-section (1) shall, in token of its having been prepared by him or
under his supervision, bear the signature of a licensed surveyor. (3) Every
document submitted under sub-section (1) shall be prepared in such a manner and
shall contain such particulars as may be prescribed. (4)
Nothing herein contained shall require a person to comply with the
provisions of clause (b) of sub-section (1) until such time as the site has
been approved by the Commissioner or such person as he may appoint. (1)
The Commissioner shall refuse to sanction the erection or
re-erection of any building in contravention of any scheme under section 255 or
in contravention of any bye-law made under the provision of this Act. (2)
The Commissioner may refuse to sanction the erection or
re-erection of any building, if in respect of the building there are just and
sufficient reasons which shall be communicated in writing to the applicant, for
which sanction should not be given, or if the land on which it is proposed to
erect or re-erect such building is vested in the Government in the Corporation
and the consent of the Central or the State Government or the Corporation, as
the case may be, has not been obtained, or if the title to the land is in
dispute between the applicant and the Corporation or the Government. (3)
Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2) but subject
to the provisions of sub-section (9) of section 255, if the Commissioner within
sixty days of the receipt from any person of valid notice of such person?s
intention to erect or re-erect the building or within one hundred and twenty
days of such receipt, if the notice relates to a building on the same or part
of the same site on which sanction for the erection of a building has been
refused within the previous twelve months, neglects or omits to pass orders
sanctioning or refusing to sanction such erection or re-erection, such erection
or re-erection shall, unless the land on which it is proposed to erect or
re-erect such building belongs to or vests in the Corporation, be deemed to
have been sanctioned, except in so far as it may contravene any rule or bye-law
or town planning scheme sanctioned under this Act or any other enactment for
the time being in force: Provided that if an order
granting or refusing such sanction is suspended under section 378, the period
specified by this sub-section shall commence to run afresh from the date of the
communication of final orders under the said section by the State Government. The Commissioner may on all
or any of the following grounds may refuse to approve the site on which an
applicant proposes to erect or re-erect any building:-- (a)
that the erection or re-erection of the proposed building on such
site would be in contravention of a town planning scheme under section 255 or
of any other provisions of this Act or any other enactment for the time being
in force; or (b)
that the site is in a portion within the limits of the city in
which the position and direction of the streets have not been determined, and
that the building on which it is proposed to erect on such site will, in the
opinion of the Commissioner will obstruct or interfere with the construction in
the future of suitable streets in such portion or with the drainage, water
supply or ventilation thereof: Provided that any person to
whom permission to erect or re-erect a building on such a site has been refused
may, by written notice to the Commissioner require that the position and
direction of streets to be laid down in future in the vicinity of the proposed
building should be forthwith determined, and if such requisition is not
complied with within one year from the date thereof, may, subject to all other
provisions of this Act applicable thereto, proceed with the erection of his
building; or (c)
that the site has been reclaimed or used as a place for depositing
sewage, offensive matter or rubbish or the carcasses of dead animals or is
otherwise unsanitary or dangerous to health; or (d)
that the site is in a portion within the limits of the city for
which a town planning scheme has been sanctioned by the State Government and
that the building which it is proposed to erect or re-erect on such site will in
the opinion of the Commissioner be likely to conflict in a manner, to be
communicated in writing to the applicant, with the provision of a town planning
scheme: Provided that any person to
whom permission to erect or re-erect a building on such a site has been refused
may, by written notice to the Commissioner, require that the preparation of a
town planning scheme for the portion in which the site is situated shall be
proceeded as early as possible; and if the applicant is not informed in writing
within twelve months of the date of the requisition that the State Government
has sanctioned the said town planning scheme, he may, subject to all the other
provisions of this Act applicable thereto, proceed with the erection or
re-erection of the building in respect of which the application was made. (1)
The Commissioner shall not grant permission to erect or re-erect
any buildings unless or until he has approved of the site thereof on an
application under section 257. (2)
The Commissioner may refuse permission to erect or re-erect any
building,-- (a)
If the plans and specifications submitted with the application
show that such building is not in accordance with the town planning schemes
sanctioned under section 255, or with any provision of this Act or any rule or
bye-law made thereunder, or any provision of any law for the time being in
force; or (b)
If in his opinion the erection or re-erection of such buildings
would be a nuisance or injurious to the inhabitants of the neighbourhood or to
the public, or (c)
Unless and until any plans, specifications or particulars called
for by him are supplied. If at any time before the
completion of a building, of which the erection has been sanctioned under
Section 258, the Commissioner finds that any modification of the sanctioned
plan is necessary, the Commissioner may, subject to compensation for any loss
to which the owner may be put, direct that the building may be modified accordingly. Every sanction for the
erection or re-erection of any building shall remain in force for one year only
from the date of such sanction or for such longer period as the Commissioner
may have allowed when conveying sanction under section 256. If the erection or
re-erection of the building is not commenced within one year and not completed
within two years or such longer period as may have been allowed by the
Commissioner the sanction shall be deemed to have been lapsed; but such lapse
shall not bar any subsequent application for fresh sanction under forgoing
provisions of this Act. (1)
Every person who? (a)
erects or re-erects any building; or (b)
makes any material external alteration in or addition to any
building; or (c)
constructs or reconstructs any projecting portion of a building
which the Commissioner is empowered under section 267 to require to be set back
or is empowered to give permission to construct or reconstruct;shall within one
month of the completion of the work deliver to the Commissioner at his office a
notice in writing of such completion and shall give to the Commissioner all
necessary facilities for the inspection of such work. (2)
Within seven days after the receipt of the said notice the
Commissioner shall depute an officer to commence the inspection of such work. (3)
Within seven days from the date of commencement of such inspection
the Commissioner shall? (a)
give permission for the occupation of the building erected or for
the use of the part of the building erected, or (b)
refuse such permission in case such erection, re-erection,
construction or reconstruction is in contravention of any provision of this Act
or any other enactment for the time being in force. (4)
No person shall occupy or permit to be occupied any such building
or use or permit to be used any part affected by the re-erection of such
building? (a)
until the permission referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (3)
has been granted in the prescribed manner, (b)
unless the Commissioner has failed for fifteen days after the
receipt of notice of completion to intimate his refusal to grant the said
permission. (1)
In any case in which the erection of a building has been commenced
or is being carried on unlawfully as mentioned in section 269, the Commissioner
may by written notice require the building operations to be discontinued from
the date of service of such notice. (2)
Any person failing to comply with the term of such notice shall be
punishable with a fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees and if he fails
to comply with the terms of such notice after the first day of his failure so
to do, with a further fine which may extend to one thousand rupees for every
such day after the first. (1)
If any person contravenes any provision of section 263 or disobeys
any direction of the Commissioner made under that section, the Commissioner
after giving twenty-four hours notice shall direct all persons engaged in any
capacity in the work of erecting or re-erecting the building in question or
part thereof or constructing or re-constructing any projecting portion thereof
or occupying or using such building or part thereof to remove themselves and
shall take measures as will prevent any one of such persons from again entering
into or remaining upon such building or part thereof except with his
permission: Provided that any person
occupying or using such building or part thereof either as tenant or as owner
in contravention of sub-section (4) of section 263 shall not be so directed to remove
himself unless he has been served by the Commissioner with one week?s notice in
writing requiring him to vacate: Provided further that if in
the opinion of the Commissioner there is imminent danger to human life, the
Commissioner may require such building or part thereof to be vacated
immediately. (2)
All expenditure incurred in the enforcement of the provisions of
this section may be recovered from the person offending. (1)
No building shall be erected for a temporary purpose without the
sanction of the Commissioner, or otherwise than in accordance with any bye-laws
made in this behalf under this Act. (2)
If any building erected for a temporary purpose is not used strictly
for such purpose and in accordance with any bye-laws made under this Act or
erected without the sanction of the Commissioner, the building may be
demolished by the Commissioner at the expense of the owner thereof, whether he
is prosecuted under this Act or not. (1)
If any part of a building projects beyond the regular line of a
public street, as existing or as determined for the future, or beyond the front
of immediately adjoining building, the Corporation may? (a)
if the projecting part is a verandah, step or some other structure
external to the main building, then at any time, or (b)
if the projecting part is not such external structure as
aforesaid, then whenever the greater portion of such building or whenever any
material portion of such projecting part has been taken down or burned down or
has fallen down require by notice either that the part or some portion of the
part projecting beyond the
regular line or beyond the front of the immediate adjoining building shall be
removed, or that such building when being rebuilt shall be set back to or
towards the said line or front; and the portion of land added to street by such
setting back or removal shall thenceforth be deemed to be part of the public street
and shall vest in the Corporation: Provided that the
Corporation shall make reasonable compensation to the owner for any damage he
may sustain in consequence of his building or any part thereof being set back. (2)
The Corporation may, on such terms as it thinks fit, allow any
building to be set forward for the improvement of the line of the street. (1)
No compensation shall be claimable by an owner for any damage
which he may sustain in consequence of the prohibition of the erection of any
building. (2)
The Corporation shall make reasonable compensation to the owner
for any damage or loss which he may sustain in consequence of the prohibition
of the re-erection of any building or part of a building except in so far as
the prohibition is necessary under any rule or bye-law: Provided that the
Corporation shall make full compensation to the owner for any damage or loss
which he may sustain in consequence of building or any part thereof being set
back preceding such notice the building has by reason of its being in a ruinous
or dangerous condition become unfit for human habitation or unless an order of
prohibition issued under section 271 has been and still is in force in respect
of such building. (3)
The Corporation shall make reasonable compensation to the owner
for any damage or loss which he may sustain in consequence of the inclusion of
his land in a public street but in assessing such compensation, regard shall be
had to the benefits accruing to that owner from the development of the land belonging
to him and affected by such street. (1)
If any building is erected or re-erected in contravention of any town-planning
scheme mentioned under section 255 or of any building bye-laws made under
section 386, the Commissioner, without prejudice to his right to take
proceedings for a fine in respect of the contravention, may by notice require
the owner either to pull down or remove the work or, if he so elects to effect
such alterations therein as may be necessary to make it comply with the said
scheme or bye-laws. (2)
If a building is erected or re-erected? (a)
without any sanction as required by section 256 (1), or (b)
when sanction has been refused, or (c)
in contravention of the terms of any sanction granted, or (d)
when the sanction has lapsed under section 262,the Commissioner
may by notice require the owner or owners to alter or demolish the building
within such reasonable time as the Commissioner may think fit. (3)
If a person to whom a notice has been given under the foregoing
provisions of this section fails to comply with the notice before the expiry of
twenty-eight days, or such longer period as the District Court, North Goa,
Panaji, may on his application allow, the Commissioner - may pull down or
remove the work in question, or effect such alteration therein as he deems
necessary, and may recover from him the expenses reasonably incurred by the
Commissioner in so doing. (4)
If the plans are approved by the Commissioner and the approval is
communicated to the person intending to build the house or if the plans are
rejected by the Commissioner but no notice of their rejection is given to the
person intending to build the house within the prescribed period, it shall not
be open to the Commissioner to give a notice under sub-sections (1) and (2) on
the ground that the building is erected or re-erected in contravention of any
scheme or bye-laws or any other requirements under this Chapter. (5)
Nothing in this section shall affect the right of the Corporation
or any other person to apply to the District Court, North Goa, Panaji, for an
injunction for the removal or alteration of any building on the ground that it
contravenes any provision of this Act or of the bye-laws made thereunder, but
if the building is one in respect of which plans have been deposited and the
plans have been passed by the Commissioner or no notice of its rejection has
been given within the prescribed period after the deposit thereof, and if the
work has been executed in accordance with the plans, the Court on granting an
injunction shall have power to order the Corporation to pay to the owner of the
works such compensation as the Court thinks just, but before making any such
order the Court shall cause the Commissioner, if already not impleaded as a
party, to be joined as a party to the proceeding. Save as otherwise expressly
provided in this Act or rules made thereunder, no Civil Court shall have
jurisdiction to settle, decide or otherwise deal with any question which is by
or under this Chapter is required to be settled, decided or dealt with by the
Corporation or the Commissioner. (1)
If it appears to the Commissioner that any building intended or
used for human habitation or human occupation for any purpose whatever is unfit
for such habitation or occupation, he shall give notice in writing to the
occupier or to the owner, if the building is not occupied, stating that the
building is unfit and signifying his intention to prohibit the further use of
such building for such purposes, and calling upon the occupier or owner to
state in writing his objection to such prohibition within seven days from the
receipt of the notice. If no objection is stated by such occupier or owner
within the said period or if the objection stated appears to the Commissioner
to be insufficient or not well founded, he may, with the previous approval of
the Standing Committee, prohibit by an order in writing the further use of such
building for human habitation or occupation: Provided that, before such order
is given the occupier or owner of the building shall be given an opportunity of
appearing before the Standing Committee in person or by an agent in support of
his objection. (2)
Notice of such prohibition shall be served upon the owner of any
building affected thereby and also upon every occupier or user thereof,
specifying a period,
not being less than fourteen days from the date of service of such notice,
within which every such person shall remove himself and his movable property
from the said building; and if within the period so specified any such person
fails to remove himself and his property as aforesaid, the Commissioner may
cause him and his property and to be removed and may recover from him the cost
of such removal. (3)
?When a building has been vacated
by removal under sub-section (2), the Commissioner shall affix a notice to the
building in the prescribed manner and no person except with the permission in
writing of the Commissioner and in accordance with the terms and conditions of
such permission, shall without sufficient cause enter into or remain in such
building. (4)
If at any time after a building has been vacated by removal under
sub-section (2), the Commissioner considers that it can be rendered fit for
human habitation or occupation by structural alterations or repairs, he may by
a notice in writing call upon the owner to execute, within a period of six
months from the date of receipt of such notice, such structural alterations or
repairs as he deems necessary, and if at the expiry of the aforesaid period
such alterations or repairs have not been executed to his satisfaction, he
shall issue to the owner a notice in writing ordering the demolition of such
building within a period of thirty days from the receipt of the notice or such
longer period as the Commissioner may specify. (5)
If the Commissioner is of the opinion that the building cannot be
rendered fit for human habitation or occupation, he may, with the previous
approval of the Standing Committee, by a notice in writing call upon the owner to
demolish it within a period of thirty days from the receipt of such notice or
such longer period as the Commissioner may specify. (6)
If at the expiry of the said period an order to demolish a
building given under sub-section (4) or sub-section (5) has not been complied
with the Commissioner may, with the previous approval of the Standing Committee
direct, by any order in writing, the demolition thereof by any municipal
officer, servant or contractor. The materials of the building so demolished
shall thereupon be sold by public auction and the proceeds of the sale shall be
made over to the owner after deducting the cost of the demolition and sale. If
the amount realised is not sufficient to cover the cost of the demolition and
sale, the balance, if any, shall be recovered from the owner in any manner as
provided under the law: Provided that, before such
an order is given, the owner of the building shall be given an opportunity of
appearing before the Standing Committee in person or by agent, and of showing
cause why such order should not be given. (7)
If any building in respect of which an order under this section
has been given is held under a lease, the lease shall be voidable at the option
of the lessee with effect from the date on which the lessee has to remove
himself from the leased property. (1)
If, in the opinion of the Commissioner, any building, wall,
structure or anything affixed thereto is in a dangerous state, the Commissioner
may, by a notice in writing, require the occupier or owner thereof forthwith
either to demolish or remove the building, wall, structure or anything affixed
thereto or to cause such repairs to be made thereto as the Commissioner
considers necessary for the public safety; and if the danger appears to him to
be imminent, he may forthwith take such steps as may be required to avert such
danger, including the forcible removal without notice from such building of all
the occupiers thereof and their property. (2)
Any expenses incurred by the Commissioner under sub-section (1)
shall be paid by the owner of such building, wall, structure, or anything
affixed thereto. (3)
Except with the permission in writing of the Commissioner no
person shall without sufficient cause enter into or remain in any building from
which the occupier and his property has been removed under sub-section (1). If it appears to the
Commissioner that any building or structure has been abandoned or is unoccupied
and has become a resort of disorderly persons or is by reason of its condition
seriously detrimental to the amenities of the neighbourhood, the Commissioner
may give a written notice to the owner of such building or structure if he is
known and found to be a resident within the limits of the Corporation, or to
any person who is known or believed to claim to be the owner, if such person is
resident within the limits of the Corporation, and/or shall also affix a copy
of the notice on some conspicuous part of the building or structure requiring
all persons having any right or interest therein to take such order with the
said building or structure as may, in the opinion of the Commissioner, be
necessary to prevent the same from being resorted as aforesaid, or from being
seriously detrimental to the amenities of the neighbourhood. (1)
If for any reason it appears to the Commissioner that the level of
the site on which it is proposed to erect or re-erect a building is so low that
such building is likely to become insanitary or likely to be a source of
nuisance, he shall give to the owner of the site proposed to be built upon a
notice in writing, calling upon him to show cause in writing within thirty days
after the receipt of such notice why the site should not be reclaimed with such
materials and raised to such height and within such period not being less than
six months from the date of the notice, as the Commissioner thinks fit and in
the notice, the Commissioner shall specify the cost at which the site can be
reclaimed and raised by municipal agency if the owner desires to employ that
agency. (2)
If no objection is stated within such period as aforesaid, or if
any objection which is stated appears to the Commissioner to be insufficient or
not well founded, he may by a notice in writing, direct such owner or occupier? (a)
to reclaim and raise the site within the specified period; or (b)
within thirty days after the receipt of the said notice to pay to
the Commissioner the estimated cost of reclaiming and raising the site by
municipal agency. (3)
In any case in which the estimated cost of the reclamation has not
been paid to the Commissioner, and the owner still proposes to erect the
building and fails to commence the reclamation within three months of the
receipt of the notice under sub-section (2), or if he fails to raise the site
to the specified height with the specified materials within the specified
period, the Commissioner may recover from him the estimated cost as stated in
the Notice issued under sub-section (1), or so much thereof as the Commissioner
considers necessary to complete the work, and shall carry out and complete the
work. (1)
If any building so situated as to be inaccessible to a fire-engine
or as to cause obstruction to a fire-engine from reaching other buildings is
demolished or destroyed by fire or otherwise, the Commissioner may by a notice
in writing addressed to the owner of the building demolished or destroyed as
aforesaid, direct that no building shall be erected which would be inaccessible
to a fire-engine or which would cause obstruction to a fire-engine from
reaching other building. (2)
No person shall erect or re-erect any building in contravention of
a notice, vide sub-section (1). If it appears to the Commissioner
that any stones, rafters, building materials or debris of building materials
are stored or collected in or upon any premises in such quantity or bulk or in
such a way as to constitute a harbourage or breeding place for rats or other
vermin or is otherwise a source of danger or nuisance or likely to spread any
infectious diseases, virus or any infection to the occupiers of the said
premises or to persons residing in the neighbourhood thereof or generally in
the area surrounding thereof, the Commissioner may by a written notice require
the owner of such premises, or the owner of the materials or debris so stored
or collected therein, to remove or dispose of the same or to take such order
with the same as may, in the opinion of the Commissioner, be necessary or
expedient to abate the nuisance or prevent a recurrence thereof. (1)
The owner of the building shall, within the period of seven days
of the receipt of a written notice from the Commissioner, supply such
information with respect to such building or its occupants as the Corporation
may prescribe. (2)
The occupier of the building occupied as a separate tenement shall
on like notice and within the like period supply such information as may be
prescribed with respect to such building as aforesaid which is in his
occupation. (1)
Should the owner, part-owner, or occupier of any building suffer
the same to be in a filthy or unwholesome state, or in the event of a National
or State event or celebration, the Commissioner may, by a notice require him
within twenty-four hours to cleanse the same or otherwise put it in a proper
state and thereafter to keep it in a clean and proper state and if it appears
to be necessary for sanitary purposes so to do, may, at any time by a notice,
direct the occupier of any building to lime-wash or otherwise cleanse the said
building inside and outside in the manner and within a period to be specified
in the notice. (2)
If the Commissioner is of opinion that the cleansing or
disinfecting of a building or any part thereof, of any article therein, which
is likely to retain infection, will tend to prevent or check the spread of any
disease, he may, by a notice require the owner or occupier to cleanse or
disinfect the same in the manner and within the period to be specified in the
notice. For the purposes of this
Chapter the expression ?building? includes a part of a building. (1) The
Corporation may with the previous sanction of the State Government permanently
close the whole or any part of a public street: Provided that no such street
or part thereof shall be closed unless for a period of not less than one month
before the date of the meeting of the Corporation at which the matter is to be
decided, a notice has been posted in the street or part thereof which it is
proposed to close informing the residents of the proposal and until any
objections to the proposal made in writing at any time before the day of the
said meeting have been received and considered by the Corporation. (2) When any
public street or part thereof is permanently closed under sub-section (1), the
site of such street, or of the part thereof which has been closed, may be
disposed of, subject to the provisions of section 75, as land belonging to the
Corporation: Provided that nothing
herein contained shall be interpreted to mean any restrictions on the power of
the Commissioner to permit or order a temporary closure of a street. (1)
Without the previous permission in writing of the Commissioner no
person shall lay on, under or above any public street any railway or skybus or
erect or lay any poles or cables or the like, or operate the same. (2)
The Commissioner shall give such permission in accordance with any
general or special rules which may be made by the State Government after
considering any representation made by the Corporation. (3)
Nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect any provision of
the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, the Indian Railways Act, 1890, or the Indian
Electricity Act, 1910. (1)
Except with the previous permission of the Commissioner and in
accordance with such terms and conditions, including the payment of rent, as he
may impose, no person shall erect, add to, set up or place against or in front
of any premises any structure or fixture or obstruction which will? (a)
overhang or project into or encroach upon or in any way obstruct
the passage of the public along any street; or (b)
project into or encroach upon or cover any drain or open channel
in any street so as to interfere in any way with the use of proper working of
such drain or channel or to impede the inspection or cleansing thereof. (2)
The Commissioner may, by a written notice, require the owner or
occupier of any premises to take such order as he may direct with any
structure, fixture or covering which has been erected, set up or placed against
or in front of the said premises in contravention of this section. (3)
?Any rent payable under this
section shall be recoverable under chapter XII of this Act. (1)
When any person has been convicted under section 421, the
Commissioner may? (a)
by a notice, require such person to remove the overhanging structure,
encroachment or obstruction and where necessary, to restore the street, drain,
or channel to the condition it was in before the encroachment; and (b)
if the requirement is not complied with within the time fixed in
the notice, have the required act done by his subordinate officers at the
expense of such person and recover the cost of the required act from such
person as an arrear of tax under Chapter XII of this Act. (1)
The Corporation or the Commissioner shall not in respect of any
street vested in the Government, grant permission to do any act the doing of
which without the permission of the Corporation or the Commissioner is
punishable under this Act or the rules or bye-laws made thereunder except with
the previous sanction of the State Government which may accord its sanction
either generally or in particular cases. (2)
The Corporation or the Commissioner shall, if so required by the
State Government, exercise in respect of such streets, all or any of the powers
conferred by this Act upon the Corporation or the Commissioner, as the case may
be. No title to any land
belonging to or vested in the Government or the Corporation shall be deemed to
have been acquired by reason only that the footing of the foundations of any
building, wall or other structure, project or have projected below the surface
of such land. No person shall, except
with the permission of the Commissioner and in accordance with such conditions
including the payment of rent as he may impose either generally or specially in
that behalf, place or deposit upon any street or drain, well or channel
therein, any stall, chair, bench, box, ladder, bale, tray, goods or other
things and the Commissioner may without giving notice remove any such stall,
chair, bench, box, ladder, bale, tray, goods or other thing or may in lieu of
such removal collect such rent for the use of the land as he may impose. (1)
Except in such cases as the State Government may by general or
special order exempt from the operation of this section, no person shall,
except with the permission of the Commissioner and in accordance with such
terms and conditions, including payment of rent or otherwise, as the Commissioner
may impose either generally or in each special case,-- (a)
open, break up, displace, take up or make any alteration in, or
cause any injury to, the soil or pavement, or any wall, fence, post, chain or
other materials or thing forming part of any street or in any open space vested
in the Corporation; or (b)
deposit any building material in any street or in any open space
vested in the Corporation; or (c)
set up in any street or in any open space vested in the
Corporation any scaffold or any temporary erection for the purpose of any work
whatever, or any posts, bars, rails, boards or other things by way of
enclosure, for the purpose of making mortar or depositing bricks, lime, rubbish
or other materials. (2)
Any permission granted under sub-section (1), clause (b) or (c),
shall be terminable at the discretion of the Commissioner, on his giving not
less than twenty-four hours written notice of the termination thereof to the
person to whom such permission was granted. (3)
The Commissioner may, without notice? (a)
cause the soil pavement or any wall, fence, post, chain or other
material forming part of the street to be restored to the condition it was in
before any opening or breaking up or displacement, or alteration or damage made
or done without the permission of the authority specified in sub-section (1); (b)
cause to be removed any building materials, or any scaffold or any
temporary erection, or any posts, bars, rails, boards or other things by way of
enclosure, which have been deposited or set up in any street or in any open
space vested in the Corporation without any permission of the authority
specified in sub-section (1), or which, having been deposited or set up with
such permission, have not been removed within the period specified in the
notice issued under sub-section (2) and recover the costs of such restoration
or removal from the offender. If any door, gate, bar or
window on the ground floor of any premises opens outwards upon a street or upon
any land required for the improvement of a street in such a manner as, in the
opinion of the Commissioner, to obstruct the safe or convenient passage of the
public along such street, the Commissioner may at any time by a written notice
require the owner of the said premises to have the said door, gate, bar or
window altered so as not to open outwards. (1)
If any such structure, fixture or covering as is described in
section 282 has already been erected, set up or placed against or in front of
any premises, the Commissioner may give notice under sub-section (2) of the
said section to the owner of the said premises. (2)
If the owner or occupier of the building proves that any such
structure, fixture or covering was authorised by any law previously in force or
that it was erected with the consent of any Corporation authority duly
empowered in that behalf, the Corporation shall, after such structures have
been removed, make reasonable compensation to every person who suffers damage
by the removal or alteration thereof. (1)
Every person who intends to make or lay out a street shall give a
written notice of his intention to the Commissioner and shall submit such plans
and other documents as the Corporation may prescribe in this behalf. (2)
If any notice given under sub-section (1) does not supply all the
information which the Commissioner deems necessary to enable him to deal satisfactorily
with the case, he may at any time within thirty days of receipt of the said notice, by written
order require the persons who gave the said notice to furnish such information. The level, direction,
width, and means of drainage of every new street and the height and means of
drainage of the buildings to be erected on each side thereof shall be fixed and
determined by the Commissioner. (1)
No person shall make or lay out any new street or erect any
building on either side thereof otherwise than in accordance with the
directions of the Commissioner under section 291. (2)
If any such new street be made or laid out, or if any building on
either side of any such street be erected by any person in contravention of
this section, the Commissioner may, by a written notice, require the said
person to make a statement in writing subscribed by him in that behalf and
addressed to the Commissioner to show cause on or before such date as may be
specified in such Notice to appear before the Commissioner, as the case may be,
either personally or by an agent, and to show cause as aforesaid. (3)
If such person fails to show sufficient cause as aforesaid, the
Commissioner may cause the street or building to be so altered or to be
demolished or removed and may recover the expenses thereof from the said
person. (1)
If any street be not levelled, paved, lighted, sewered, drained,
channelled or flagged to the satisfaction of the Commissioner he may, by a
written notice, require the owner or owners of the street and the owners of the
several premises fronting or adjoining the said street or abutting thereon, or
to which access is obtained through such street, or which will benefit by works
executed under this section, to contribute in such proportions as he may direct
to the cost of levelling, metalling, tarring or asphalting, paving, lighting,
sewering, draining, channeling or flagging the same. (2)
The notice shall show:-- (a)
the nature of the intended works; (b)
the estimated expenses thereof including five percent for
contingencies; and (c)
the proportion of the expenses payable by each owner. (3)
Any person dissatisfied with the notice of the Commissioner
calling upon him to contribute towards the cost may Appeal to the District
Court, North Goa at Panaji. (4)
Every such appeal shall be presented within thirty days from the
date of the receipt of the notice issued under sub-section (1) and shall be
accompanied by a copy of the said notice. (5)
The provisions of the Indian Limitation Act, 1963, relating to
appeals shall apply to every appeal preferred under this section. (6)
On recovery of the full amount of the estimated expenses, the
Commissioner shall carry out the work with all convenient speed. (7)
Any expenditure involved over and above the amount so recovered
shall be met from the municipal fund; but if the actual cost of the work as
finally completed is less than the estimated cost, the surplus shall be
refunded to the contributors proportionately to their contributions in all
cases where a refund would amount to not less than fifty rupees. (8) If no
appeal is preferred under sub-section (3) within the period specified in
sub-section (4), or if an appeal is preferred and no effect is given to the
decision of the District Court affirming the order of the Commissioner, the
Commissioner may execute the work mentioned in the notice referred to in
sub-section (1) and may recover the expenses incurred in so doing from the
owners in default in the proportion specified in the said notice. (9) The
Commissioner may, in consultation with the Police, from time to time, earmark
such places as he thinks fit to be the parking or halting places or lots for
vehicles on any part of a public street or public place. (10)
The Commissioner may, charge such fees or charges from any person
for use of such place or lot by him for parking or halting a vehicle for each
day or part thereof subject to such terms and conditions as the Commissioner
may think fit, with the approval of the Corporation. (1)
When any street has had been levelled, metalled, tarred or
asphalted, paved, made good, lighted, drained, channelled and flagged to the
satisfaction of the Commissioner, he shall, if so required by the persons
liable for the greater part of the expenditure on such street, by notice put up
in any part of such street, declare the same to be a public street. The said
street shall thereupon become a public street. (2)
The Commissioner may, at any time, by a notice exhibited in any
street or part of a street not maintained by the Corporation, give intimation
of his intention to declare the same a public street and, unless within one
month next after such notice is first exhibited the owner of the majority of
owners of such street or such part of street, lodges or lodge objections
thereto with the Corporation, the Commissioner may, by a notice exhibited in
such street or part, declare the same to be a public street vested in the
Corporation. (3)
Any person aggrieved by a notice under sub-section (2) may appeal
within thirty days from the date the notice is first exhibited, to the District
Court of North Goa at Panaji, which shall give a reasonable opportunity of
being heard to the appellant and the Corporation. (4)
The provisions of the Indian Limitation Act, 1963, relating to
appeals shall apply to every appeal preferred under this section. The Commissioner, when
authorized by the Corporation in this behalf, may agree -- (a)
with any person to adopt and maintain any existing or proposed
bridge, via duct or arch and approaches as part of a public street, or as
property vested in the Corporation; or (b)
for the construction or alteration of any such bridge, via duct or
arch or for the purchase or acquisition of any adjoining land required for the
foundation and support thereof, or for the approaches thereto, either entirely
at the expenses of such person or partly at the expense of the Corporation. (1)
No person shall without the previous permission in writing of the
Commissioner cut down any tree or cut off a branch of any tree, or erect or
demolish any building or part of a building or alter or repair the outer
portion of any building, where such action is of a nature to cause obstruction,
danger or annoyance or risk of obstruction, danger or annoyance to any person
using a street. (2)
The Commissioner may at any time by a notice require that any
person doing or proposing to do any of the acts referred to in sub-section (1)
shall refrain from beginning or continuing the act unless he puts up,
maintains, and provides from sunset to sunrise with sufficient lighting such
hoardings or screens as are specified or described in the notice and may
further at any time by notice require the removal, within a time to be
specified in the notice, of any hoarding or screen erected in anticipation or
in pursuance of any of the said acts. (3)
Whoever contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) or omits to
comply with the terms of a notice under sub-section (2), shall be punishable
with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees and in case of a continuing
contravention or omission, with a further fine which may extend to one hundred
rupees for every day after the first during which the contravention or omission
continues. The Commissioner may attach
brackets for lamps to the outside of any building but in such manner as not to
occasion any injury to the building or inconvenience to persons using it or
passing by it. Whoever, without being
authorised by the Commissioner, defaces or disturbs any municipal direction-post,
lamp-post or lamp or damages any municipal light in any public place, shall be
punishable with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees. (1)
Whoever, without the consent of the owner or occupier or other
person for the time being in charge affixes or causes to be affixed any poster,
bill, notice, placard or other paper or means of advertisement against or upon
any street, building, wall, tree, board, fence or pole or writes upon, soils,
defaces or marks any such building, wall, tree, board, fence or pole with chalk
or paint or in any other way whatsoever, shall be punishable with fine which
may extend to one thousand rupees. (2)
Notwithstanding anything contained in section 351, a Court may
take cognizance of an offence under sub-section (1) of this section upon the
complaint of the owner or occupier or other person in charge of the property in
respect of which such offence is alleged to have been committed. (1)
Whoever affixes to, inscribes or stencils on any house, building,
wall, hoardings, gate, fences, pillar, post, board, tree, road or any other
thing whatsoever so as to be visible to a person being in or passing along any
street, public highway, or footpath, and whoever affixes or inscribes or
stencils on any public latrine or urinal or delivers or attempts to deliver, or
exhibits to any inhabitant or to any person being in or passing along any
street, public highway or footpath, or throws into the area of any house or
exhibits to public view in the window of any house or shop, any picture or
printed or
written matter which is of an indecent or obscene nature, shall on conviction
be punished with imprisonment which may extend to one month or with fine which
may extend to one thousand rupees or with both. (2)
Whoever gives or delivers to any other person any such pictures,
or printed or written matter mentioned in sub-section (1), with the intent that
the same, or some one or more thereof, should be affixed, inscribed,
stencilled, delivered or exhibited as therein mentioned, shall on conviction be
punished with imprisonment which may extend to three months or with fine which
may extend to five thousand rupees, or with both. (3)
Any police officer may arrest without warrant any person whom he
shall find committing any offence under this section. (4)
Nothing in this section shall apply to any advertisement published
by the Corporation or published with the sanction of the State Government. (1)
The Commissioner may from time to time? (a)
with the sanction of the Corporation determine the name by which
any street shall be known; (b)
cause to be put up or painted on a conspicuous part of any house
at or near each end, corner of entrance to every street, the name of such
street as so determined; (c)
determine the number by which any premises shall be known; (d)
by a written notice require the owner of any premises, either to
put up or paint a number of such premises in such position and manner as may be
specified in such notice or to signify in writing his desire that the work
shall be executed under the orders of the Commissioner. (2)
No person shall, without the permission of or without other lawful
authority; destroy, remove, deface or in anyway injure any such name, or number
or put up or paint any name or number different from that put upon, painted by
order of the Commissioner. (3)
When a number is put up or painted on any premises under the
orders of the Commissioner in accordance with clause (d) of sub-section (1),
the expense of such work shall be payable by the owner of the premises. (4)
The name by which any street is known shall not be changed except
with the sanction of the State Government. The Commissioner may where
it appears to him to be necessary for the prevention of danger to life or
property, by public notice prohibit all persons from stacking or collecting
timber, wood, dry grass, straw or other inflammable material, or placing mats
or thatched huts or lighting fires in any place or within any limits specified
in the notice. (1)
The Commissioner may by general or special order, direct that no
roofs and external walls of huts or other buildings shall, within the specified
limits be made of grass, mats, leaves, or other inflammable material, or
repaired or renewed with the same, unless his permission in writing has been
obtained. (2)
The Commissioner may by a written notice require any person who
has built the roof and external wall of any hut or other buildings in
contravention of a direction issued under sub-section (1), to remove or alter
the roof or wall so built. (1)
Subject to the provisions of any other Act for the time being in
force, whoever, without the permission of the Commissioner pickets animals or
collects carts on any street, or uses one street as a halting place for
vehicles or animals of any description or as a place of encampment, or causes
or permits animals to stray, shall be punishable with fine which may extend to
five hundred rupees. (2)
Any animal found picketed, tethered or straying on any public
street without the permission of the Commissioner may be removed to a pound by
any officer or servant of the Corporation or by a police officer. Whoever drives or propels
any vehicle not properly supplied with lights in any street during the period
from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise shall be
punishable with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees. (1)
Whoever, in contravention of any general or special prohibition
issued by the Commissioner, and without the permission of the Commissioner,
beats a drum or tom tom, blows a horn or trumpet or beats or sounds any other
instrument or makes a noise on any utensil, shall be punishable with fine which
may extend to one thousand rupees. (2)
In the case of bands, each individual member of such band shall be
punishable under this section. (3)
For purposes of the section ?instrument? shall include a
gramophone, a wireless receiver, a loudspeaker or other electrically, or
electronically or battery operated means of producing or reproducing sound. Whoever, unless authorized,
bound or justified discharges fire-arms or lets off fire-works, fire balloons,
or detonators, or engages in any game in such a manner as to cause, or be
likely to cause danger to persons passing by or dwelling or working in the
neighbourhood, or risk of injury to property, shall be punishable with fine
which may extend to one thousand rupees. Whoever quarries, blasts,
cuts timber or carries on building operations in such manner as to cause or to
be likely to cause danger to persons passing by or dwelling or working in the
neighbourhood, shall be punishable with fine which may extend to one thousand
rupees. Whoever, without the
permission of the Commissioner, lops or cuts the branches or twigs of any tree
or plant standing on a public place, or plucks the fruits, flowers or leaves of
such tree or plant, or causes any damage thereto, shall be punishable with fine
which may extend to one thousand rupees, or in the case of a second or subsequent
breach, to two thousand rupees. (1)
The Superintendent of Police, and his subordinates shall, as far
as may be, co-operate with the Commissioner for carrying out the purposes of
this Act and for the maintenance of public health, safety and convenience
within the limits of the Corporation. (2)
It shall be the duty of every police officer within the limits of
the Corporation ? (a)
to communicate without delay to the Commissioner any information
which he receives of a design to commit or of the commission of any offence
against this Act or any rule or bye-law made thereunder, and (b)
to assist any Corporation Officer or servant reasonably demanding
his aid for the lawful exercise of any power vested in the Corporation or in
any Corporation Officer or servant under this Act or any rule or bye-law made
thereunder. (3)
Any officer or servant of the Corporation, when empowered so to do
by a general or special order of the State Government, may exercise such of the
powers of a police officer for such of the purposes of this Act as may be
specified in the order. (1)
Any police officer, and in the absence of a police officer any
officer or servant of the Corporation empowered in this behalf by the general
or special order of the State Government under sub-section (3) of section 310
may arrest any person who commits any offence against this Act or any rule or
bye-law made thereunder? (a)
if the name and address of the person are unknown to him, and (b)
if the person declines to give his name and address or there is
reason to doubt the accuracy of the name and address given. (2)
Any person arrested under this section may be detained until his
name and address are correctly ascertained: Provided that no person so
arrested shall be detained longer than is necessary for bringing him before a
Magistrate unless an order of a Magistrate for his detention is obtained. On a written requisition
from the Commissioner, the concerned Superintendent of Police shall order
arrest of any person who obstructs any Corporation Officer or servant engaged
in the discharge of any duty imposed by this Act or by any rule or bye-laws
made thereunder. When special police
protection is, in the opinion of the State Government, necessary on the
occasion of any fair, agricultural show or industrial exhibition managed by the
Corporation, or for the purpose of guarding houses evacuated through plague or
other epidemic, the State Government may provide such protection, and the
Corporation shall pay the charges thereof or such part of them as the State
Government considers equitable. (1)
For the prevention and extinction of fire, the Corporation shall requisition
a fire brigade from Goa State Fire Services with such implements, machinery or
means of Communication as the Corporation may think necessary for the
efficiency of the exigency. (1)
On the occasion of a fire within the limits of the City, any
Magistrate, the Commissioner, any member of the Corporation, any member of a
fire brigade maintained by the State Government, then and there directing the
operations of men belonging to the brigade, and, if directed so to do by a
Magistrate or the Commissioner or a member of the Corporation, any police
officer, above the rank of Police Sub-Inspector, may ? (a)
remove or order the removal of any person who by his presence
interferes with or impedes the operation for extinguishing the fire or saving
life or property: (b)
close any street or passage in or near which any fire is burning; (c)
for the purpose of extinguishing the fire break into or through or
pull down or cause to be broken into or through or pulled down, or use for the
passage of houses or other appliances, any premises; (d)
cause mains and pipes to be shut off so as to give greater
pressure of water in or near the place where the fire has occurred; (e)
call on the persons in charge of any fire engine to render such
assistance as may be possible; and (f)
generally, take such measures as may appear necessary for the
preservation of life or property. (2)
When any building belonging to, vested in or occupied by the
Government is endangered by such a fire, the officer of the Public Works
Department for the time being in charge of the building may exercise the power
conferred on a Magistrate by sub-section (1). (3)
On the occasion of a fire, all persons assisting the fire brigade
whether voluntarily or otherwise, shall be under the officer in charge of the
fire brigade and shall obey all orders and directions given by such officer. (4)
?No person shall be liable
to pay damages in respect of anything in good faith done or intended to be done
under sub-section (1). (5)
Any damage done in the exercise of a power conferred or a duty
imposed by this section shall be deemed to be damaged by within fire the
meaning of any policy of insurance against fire. The Commissioner may, by
notice, require the manager or proprietor of any place of public entertainment
to make such provision as he may direct for the prevention and extinction of
fire, and for the easy exit of the audience in case of fire. (1)
The Commissioner may? (a)
authorise any person? (b)
to destroy, or cause to be destroyed or confine or cause to be
confined for such period as the Commissioner may direct, any dog or other
animal suffering or reasonably suspected to be suffering from rabies, or bitten
by any dog or other animal suffering or suspected as aforesaid, or any dog or
other animal dangerous to human safety, or any bird, animal or other vermin
causing a nuisance; (c)
?to confine, or cause to be
confined any dogs found wandering about streets or public places without
collars or other marks distinguishing them as private property and to charge a
fee for such detention and to take appropriate steps. (d)
issue a temporary or standing order that any dogs without collars
or other marks distinguishing them as private property found straying on the
streets or beyond the enclosure of the houses of the owners of such dogs should
be confined or dealt with appropriately: Provided that before
issuing any order a notice to that effect shall be published in the prescribed
manner. Whoever, being the owner or
person in charge of any dog, allows it to be at large in any street without a
muzzle-- (a)
if such dog is likely to annoy or intimidate passers-by, or (b)
if the Commissioner has by notice in the prescribed manner during
the prevalence of rabies directed that dogs shall not be at large without
muzzles, shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees. Whoever wilfully or
negligently lets loose any horse or other animal so as to cause, or negligently
allows any horse or other animal to cause injury, danger, alarm or annoyance to
any person or damage to property, shall be punishable with fine which may
extend to five thousand rupees. (1)
Whoever, in any street or public place within the limits of the
Corporation, begs for alms, or exposes, or exhibits with the object of exciting
or extorting alms any deformity, disease or bodily ailment or any offensive
sore or wound, shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to three
months. (2)
If the Court finds that a person has committed an offence
punishable under sub-section (1), it may, if in its opinion the person is
unable to earn a livelihood owning to Physical infirmity or debility or is
other wise a fit person to be committed to a poor-house, in lieu of passing a
sentence Order that he may be committed to poor-house maintained by the Corporation or approved by the State
Government, for such term and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed
by rules made under this Act. (3)
If the person committed to a poor-house under sub-section (2)
escapes from it or commits a breach of any condition subject to which he was
committed to the poor-house, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a
term which may extend to six months. (4)
If the Court finds that the person who has committed an offence
punishable under sub-section (1) was not born within the limits of the City or
has not been continuously resident therein for more than one year, it may, in
lieu of Passing a sentence or order referred to in the aforesaid sub-sections,
by order in writing direct the said person to leave the said limits within such
time and by such route or routes as may be stated in the order and not to
return thereto without the permission in writing of the District Magistrate. If
the said person fails to comply with the order within the time specified
therein, the Court may cause the said person to be removed beyond the limit of
the City under such escort as it may direct. (5)
If the said person returns within the limits of the City without
the permission of the authority specified in a term which may extend to six
months. (6)
Until and during the trial, a person accused of an offence under
this section may be detained either in custody under section 309 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973, or in a poor-house, according as the Court may, from
time to time, direct. (7)
Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973, an offence punishable under this section shall be cognizable. Whenever the Commissioner
receives information that any person within the limits of the City lives wholly
or in part on the proceeds of the begging of others, he may, in writing inform
a Magistrate, who shall deal with such person as if the information received
about him was of the description mentioned in section 109 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973, and for the purposes of any proceedings under this
section the fact that a person lives as aforesaid may be proved by evidence of
general repute or otherwise. (1)
Wherever it is prescribed that the permission of the Commissioner
is necessary for the doing of any act, under this Act, such permission shall
unless it is otherwise expressly provided be in writing. (2)
Every licence and written permission granted under this Act or
under any rule or bye-law made thereunder shall be signed by the Commissioner
and shall specify. (a)
the date of the grant thereof; (b)
the purpose and the period (if any) for which it is granted; (c)
the restrictions and conditions (if any) subject to which it is
granted; (d)
the name of the person to whom it is granted; and (e)
the tax or fee, if any, paid for the licence or written
permission. (3)
Except when it is in this Act, or in any rule or bye-law made
thereunder, otherwise expressly provided, for every such licence or written
permission a fee may be charged at such rate as may be fixed by the Corporation
and such fee shall be payable by the person to whom the licence is granted. (4)
Every person to whom a licence or permission has been granted
shall produce it at all reasonable hours of inspection if required by the
Commissioner or any officer authorised by him in this behalf. (5)
Any licence or written permission granted under this Act, or under
any rule or bye-law made thereunder may at any time be suspended or revoked by
the Commissioner if any of its restrictions or conditions is infringed or
evaded by the grantee, or if the grantee is convicted of a breach any of the
provisions of this Act or of any rule or bye-law made thereunder in any matter
to which such licence or permission relates. (6)
When any such licence or written permission is suspended or
revoked, or when the period for which the same was granted has expired, the
Grantee shall, for all purposes of this Act or of any rule or bye-laws made
thereunder, be deemed to be without a licence or written permission until such
time whether within the said period or otherwise as the authority granting the
same may seen fit to cancel the order suspending or revoking the licence or
written permission or until the licence or written permission is renewed, as
the case may be. (7)
Pending the receipt of orders on his application made before the
expiry of a licence or permission, an applicant for the renewal of a licence or
permission thereof shall be entitled to act as if it has been renewed. (8)
The acceptance by or on behalf of the Commissioner of the fee or a
licence or permission shall not entitle the person paying the fee to the
licence or permission. (9) Every
application for a licence or permit shall be addressed to the Commissioner. (10) Save in
cases falling under sections 217 and 219 if the orders of the Commissioner on
an application for a licence or permission which complies with the provisions
of the foregoing sub-sections are not communicated to the applicant within six
weeks from the date of receipt of the application by the Commissioner, the
applicant may act as if the licence or permit had been granted for the year or
for such shorter period as is mentioned in the application. (11)
In every matter where the State Government or any of the
instrumentality or agency of the State Government, desire to construct or erect
or undertake or carry out any act for which a permission under this act is
required, a certificate issued by the Secretary to the Government shall be
taken as proof of the State Government undertaking such an act and the
Commissioner shall issue the necessary permission in terms of this section. Whenever under this Act or
any rule or bye-law made thereunder, the doing or the omitting to do any thing
or the validity of anything depends upon the approval, sanction, consent,
concurrence, declaration, opinion, or satisfaction of -- (a)
the Corporation, or the Standing Committee, or the Commissioner,
or (b)
of any municipal officer,a written document purporting to have
been signed in case (a) by the Commissioner, and in case (b) by the said
municipal officer, purporting to convey or set forth such approval, sanction,
consent, concurrence, declaration, opinion or satisfaction shall be prima facie
evidence thereof. (1)
Every licence, written permission, notice, bill, schedule,
summons, warrant or other document which is required by this Act or by any rule
or bye-law made thereunder to bear the signature of any municipal officer,
shall be deemed to be properly signed if it bears a facsimile of the signature
of such municipal officer stamped thereupon. (2)
Nothing in sub-section (1) shall be deemed to apply to a cheque
drawn upon the municipal fund or to any deed of contract. When any notice, bill,
schedule, summons or other document is required by this Act or any rule or
bye-law made thereunder to be served upon or issued or presented to any person
as owner or occupier of any land or building, in so far as it concerns that
land or building, the service, or issue or presentation thereof shall be
effected either- (a)
by giving or tendering to any person whose name has been entered
in the assessment list as the owner, or one of the owners, of the property concerned,
or (b)
by causing the said notice, bill, schedule, summons or other
document to be affixed on some conspicuous part of the land or building to
which the document relates, or (c)
by delivering at some post office, the said notice, bill,
schedule, summons, or other document under cover addressed by the description
of the owner (or occupier) of______________(here describing the property
concerned) without further name or description of the person concerned, and
obtaining a certificate of posting the same from the post office, or (d)
by any one or more of these methods. When any notice, bill,
schedule, summons or other document is required by this Act or by any rule or
bye-law made thereunder to be served upon or issued or presented to any person, otherwise than as owner or
occupier of any land or building, such service, issue or presentation shall be
effected-- (a)
by delivering at some post office the said notice, bill, schedule,
summons or other such documents under cover bearing the address of the person
concerned and obtaining therefor a certificate of posting, or (b)
by giving or tendering to such person the said notice, bill,
schedule, summons or other such documents, or (c)
by both methods. Nothing in the two
preceding sections shall apply to any summons issued under this Act by a Magistrate. (1)
Any municipal officer duly authorised in this behalf by the
Commissioner may enter into or upon any premises, with or without assistants or
workmen, in order to make any inspection, survey, measurement, valuation or
inquiry, or executed any work which is authorised by this Act or by any rule or
bye-law made thereunder or which, in his opinion it is necessary or expedient
for any of the purposes or in pursuance of any of the provisions of this Act or
of any such rule or bye-law, to make or execute: Provided as follows.-- (a)
except when it is in this Act or in any rule or bye-law made
thereunder otherwise expressly provided, no such entry shall be made between
sunset and sunrise; (b)
except when it is in this Act or in any rule or bye-law made
thereunder otherwise expressly provided, no building used as a dwelling house
shall be so entered, unless with the consent of the occupier thereof, without
giving the said occupier at least six hours previous notice in writing of the
intention to make such entry and (except where it is inexpedient to mention the
purpose) of the purpose thereof; (c)
notwithstanding any power to enter any premises conferred upon
municipal officers by this Act or any rule or bye-law made thereunder,
sufficient notice of such entry shall in every instance be given to enable the
inmates of any apartment appropriated to women to withdraw to some part of the
premises where their privacy need not be disturbed; (d)
due regard shall always be had, so far as may be compatible with
the exigencies of the purpose for which the entry is made, to the social and
religious usages of the occupants of the premises entered. (2)
Except when it is in this Act or any rule or bye-law made
thereunder otherwise expressly provided, no claim shall lie against any person
for compensation for any damage necessarily caused by any entry made or by the
use of any force necessary for effecting such entry: Provided that force shall
not be used for effecting an entry, unless there is reason to believe that an
offence has been or is being committed against some provisions of this Act or
any rule or bye-law made thereunder. (1)
Any municipal officer duly authorised to carry out works may enter
upon any land adjoining or within one hundred metres of any works authorised by
this Act or by any rule or bye-law made thereunder and deposit any earth,
gravel, sand, lime, bricks, stone, or other materials necessary for such works,
or for any other purpose connected with the carrying on of such works. (2)
Such officer shall before depositing materials under sub-section
(1), give the owner or occupier of the land reasonable notice of his intention
to make such entry, and of the purpose thereof, and shall, if so required by
the owner or occupier, set apart by sufficient fences so much of the land as
may be required for the purposes mentioned in the said sub-section. (3)
The municipal officer shall not be bound to make any payment, tender
or deposit before entering upon any land under sub-section (1), but shall do as
little damage as may be, and the Commissioner shall pay compensation to the
owner or occupier of the land for such entry and for any temporary damage that
may be done in consequence thereof, and shall also pay compensation to the said
owner for any permanent damage resulting therefrom. The Commissioner, or any
Corporation officer authorised by him in that behalf, may at any time by day or
night and without notice, enter into or upon any place or premises used or
intended to be used for any purpose for which any licence or permission is
required by or under this Act or any rule or bye-law or any condition of any
licence or permission granted or required under this Act or any rule or bye-law
made thereunder is being contravened, and whether any nuisance is being created
in or upon such place or premises. No person shall, in any
way, obstruct any municipal officer duly authorised in that behalf in making
any entry under sections 328, 329, or 330, or any other municipal officer or
any other persons accompanying him at his request or acting under his orders
for the purpose of such entry. (1)
When any requisition or order is made under this Act or any rule
or bye-law made thereunder, by written notice issued by the Commissioner or by
any municipal officer duly empowered in this behalf, a reasonable period to be
determined by the Commissioner shall be prescribed in such notice for carrying
such requisition or order into effect. (2)
If, within the period so prescribed, such requisition or order or
any portion thereof is not complied with, the Commissioner may take such
measures, or cause such work to be executed or things to be done, as may, in
his opinion, be necessary for giving effect to the requisition or order so
made; and unless it is in this Act or in any rule or bye-law made thereunder
otherwise, expressly provided, the expenses thereof shall be paid by the person
or any one or more of the persons to whom such requisition or order was
addressed. (3)
When a person is required under any provision of this Act or under
any rule or bye-law made thereunder to supply any materials or fittings or to
do any work, the Commissioner may, upon the requisition of such person in
writing, supply the necessary materials or fittings or cause the necessary work
to be done in this behalf: Provided that the said
person shall first deposit a sum sufficient in the opinion of the Commissioner
to cover the cost of the said materials, fittings or work. (4) When a
person is required to execute any work under the provisions of this Act or
under any rule or bye-law made thereunder, the Commissioner may, for reasons to
be recorded in writing instead of giving him the option of executing it, cause
such work to be executed by municipal or other agency under his own
supervision, and may recover the expenses incurred thereby from the person
liable to execute the work: Provided that the
Corporation may, on the advice of the Commissioner, execute the work at the
cost of the municipal fund. (1)
Whenever under this Act or under any rule or bye-law made
thereunder the cost of any work executed or of any measure taken or thing done
by, or, under the order of a municipal authority any Magistrate or any
municipal officer empowered in this behalf, is payable by any person, the
Commissioner may, with the approval of the Standing Committee, instead of
recovering any such cost in any other manner provided in this Act or in any
rule or bye-law made thereunder, take an agreement from the said person to pay
the same in instalments of such amount and at such intervals as will secure the
payment of the whole amount due, with interest thereon at the rate not
exceeding six per centum per annum, within a period of not more than five
years. (2)
If any instalment is not paid on or before the date on which it
falls due, the Commissioner may thenceforward recover interest on the sum then
due at such rate not exceeding nine per centum per annum as he may deem fit. Whenever the owner of any
land or building fails to execute any work which he is required to execute under
this Act, or under any rule or bye-law made thereunder, the occupier (if any)
of such land or building may, with the previous approval of the Commissioner,
execute the said work and shall be entitled to recover from the owner the
reasonable expenses incurred by him in so doing and may, without prejudice to
any other right of recovery, deduct the amount thereof from the rent payable by
him to the owner. No person who receives the
rent of any land or building as an agent or trustee only shall be liable to do
anything which by this Act or any rule or bye-law made thereunder is required
to be done by an owner, if he proves to the satisfaction of the Commissioner
that he has not in his hands funds belonging or payable to the owner sufficient
for the purpose: Provided that nothing in
this section shall be deemed to prevent the Commissioner from carrying out the
necessary works and recovering the expenses so incurred from the actual owner. In any case not otherwise
expressly provided for in this Act, or in any rule or bye-law made thereunder,
the Commissioner may, with the previous approval of the Standing Committee, pay
compensation to any person who sustains damage by reason of the exercise of any
of the powers vested by this Act or by any such rule or bye-law, in the
Commissioner, or in any municipal officer or servant. (1)
In any case in which immovable property has deteriorated in value
owing to the exercise of any power conferred by sections 160, 161, 162, 163,
181, 183, 184, and 254, the Corporation may offer to the owner of the property
reasonable compensation. (2)
If the owner of the property which has deteriorated in value
accepts the compensation, he shall be deemed to have granted to the Corporation
a perpetual right to continue the exercise of its powers under any of the said
sections in such a manner as not to create greater nuisance or to cause greater
damage than was being created, or caused at the time when compensation was
received. (1)
In determining the amount of compensation, the authority assessing
the compensation shall be guided, so far as may be, by the provisions of
sections 23 and 24 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and as to matters which
cannot be dealt with under those provisions by such provisions as may be
prescribed. (2)
The authority assessing compensation for any land acquired by or
under the provisions of this Act shall exercise all the powers and perform all
the functions of a Court of original jurisdiction and (so far as may be) shall follow
the same procedure as may be followed by a Court under the Land Acquisition
Act, 1894. (3)
The decision of an authority assessing compensation shall subject
to the provisions of section 342, be final. (4)
In this section ?land? includes immovable property of every kind
and any rights in or over such property. (1)
Any person who is injuriously affected by the exercise of any
power conferred by sections 160, 161, 162, 163, 181, 183, 184 and 254, may
complain to the State Government that more than the least practicable nuisance
or damage has been created or caused. (2)
The State Government may appoint an officer to enquire into any
such complaints, and such officer shall, for the purpose of this enquiry, have
all the powers of a Civil Court trying a suit and shall submit his report to
the State Government. (3)
Upon receipt of the report the State Government may, if it thinks
fit, direct the Corporation? (a)
to take such measures as it may deem practicable and reasonable
for preventing, abating, removing or diminishing the nuisance or damage; (b)
to pay to the complainant all reasonable costs of relating to his
complaint, which costs may include compensation for the complainant?s loss of
time in prosecuting the complaint. (4)
It shall be incumbent on the Corporation, the Standing Committee
or the Commissioner, as the case may be, to obey every such order. (1)
Any person who has been convicted of an offence punishable under
this Act or under any rule or bye-law made thereunder shall, notwithstanding
any punishment for which he may have been sentenced for the said offence, be
liable to pay such compensation for any damage to any property of the
Corporation resulting from the said offence as the Commissioner may consider
reasonable. (2)
In the event of dispute regarding the amount of compensation
payable under sub-section (1), such amount shall, on application made to him,
be determined by the Magistrate, before whom the said person was convicted of
the said offence and on his failure to pay the amount of compensation so
determined the same shall be recovered under a warrant issued by the said
Magistrate as if it were a fine inflicted by him on the person liable to pay
the compensation. (1)
If, when the Commissioner demands payment of any expenses referred
to in section 333 his right to demand the same or the amount of the demand is
disputed, the Commissioner shall refer the case for the determination of the
District Court, North Goa at Panaji. (2)
The Commissioner shall, pending the decision on any such
reference, defer further proceedings for the recovery of the sum claimed by
him, but shall not, by reason only of the pendency of any dispute or reference
to the said Court, defer the execution of any temporary measures which may be
necessary under any provision of this Act. Where the Corporation or
any municipal officer or servant or any other person is required by this Act or
by any rule or bye-law made thereunder to pay any expenses or any compensation,
the amount to be paid and, if necessary, the apportionment of the same, shall
in case of dispute, be determined by the District Court, North Goa at Panaji,
on application being made to him for this purpose at any time within six months
from the date when such expenses or compensation first become claimable.This
section shall not apply to any case which is otherwise provided for in the Land
Acquisition Act, 1894. If the amount of any
expenses, or compensation determined in accordance with section 337, is not
paid on demand by the person liable to pay the same, it shall be recoverable as
if the same were due under the decree of the Court of a District Judge. Nothing in this Act shall
affect the right of any person who may suffer injury or whose property may be
injuriously affected by reason of any act done in exercise of any power
conferred by sections 160, 161, 162, 163, 181, 183, 184 and 254 to recover
damages. In any case not expressly
provided for in this Act or in any rule or by-law made thereunder, any sum due
to the Corporation on account of any charge, cost or costs, expenses, fees,
rates or rent or any other account under this Act or under any such rule or
bye-law, shall be recoverable by distress and sale of the movable property of
the person from whom such sum is due, in the manner provided by Chapter XII. If the default referred to
in the last preceding section is in connection with a building or a land and
the defaulter is the owner thereof, the sum due may be demanded from any person
who at the time when the said expenses were incurred occupied the same building
or land under or from the said owner. In the event of the occupier failing to
pay the sum due, it may be recovered by distress and sale of the goods and
chattels of the said person as if the amount thereof were a property tax due by
him: Provided that.-- (a)
if the occupier makes a true disclosure of the name and address of
the person to whom the rent is due and proves to the satisfaction of the
Commissioner that the amount of rent payable by him to that person on the date
of the demand for the payment of the said expenses was less than the amount of
the said demand, then the occupier shall not be liable to pay on account of the
said demand any sum greater than the amount payable as rent on the date
aforesaid; (b)
the occupier shall be entitled to credit in account with the owner
for any sum recovered from him on account of the said expenses; (c)
nothing in this section shall affect any agreement made between
the occupier and the owner respecting the payment of expenses as aforesaid. Notwithstanding anything to
the contrary in any other law for the time being in force, the District Court,
North Goa at Panaji, shall exercise all the powers and jurisdiction expressly
conferred on or vested in it by the provisions of this Act; and unless it is
otherwise expressly provided by this Act, its decision shall be subject to
revision by the High Court. (1)
For the purposes of any appeal, inquiry or proceeding under this
Act, the High Court and the District Court, North Goa at Panaji, may exercise
all the powers conferred on them by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and
shall observe the procedure prescribed in the said enactment, so far as it is
not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act. (2)
The costs of every appeal, inquiry, or proceeding under this Act
shall be payable by such parties and in such proportions as the court may
direct and the amount thereof shall, if necessary, be recoverable as if it were
due under a decree of the Court. (1)
The State Government may by notification in the Gazette prescribe
what fee (if any) shall be paid? (a)
on any application, appeal or reference made under this Act, to
the District Court, North Goa at Panaji, and (b)
for the issue in connection with any inquiry or proceeding, of the
Court under this Act, of any summons or other process: Provided that the fee (if
any) prescribed under clause (a) shall not, in cases in which the value of the
claim or subject-matter is capable of being estimated in money, exceed the fees
leviable, for the time being, in cases in which the value of the claim or
subject-matter is of like amount. (2)
The State Government may from time to time, by a like
notification, determine by what person any fee prescribed under clause (a) of
sub-section (1) shall be payable. (3)
No application, appeal or reference shall be received by the
District Court until the fee (if any) prescribed under clause (a) of
sub-section (1) has been paid. Where no time is prescribed
by this Act for the presentation of an application or appeal, such application
or appeal shall be presented, subject to the provisions of section 5 of the
Indian Limitation Act, 1963, within thirty days after the date of the order on
respect of or against which the application or appeal is made: Provided that if the
application is an application for revision to the High Court, the period of
limitation shall be ninety days. (1)
No Court shall take cognizance of any offence under this Act or
under any rule or bye-law made thereunder except on a complaint signed by the
Commissioner, or by the officer in charge of a police station authorized by the
Commissioner in his behalf either generally in regard to all such offences or
particularly in regard only to specific offences or offences of a special
class. (2)
Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973, it shall not be necessary in respect of any offence punishable
under this Act to examine the complainant when the complaint is presented in
writing. If any person summoned to
appear before a Magistrate to answer a charge of an offence under this Act or
against any rule or bye-law made thereunder fails to appear at the time and
place mentioned in the summons, the Magistrate may, if ? (a)
service of the summons is proved to his satisfaction; and (b)
no sufficient cause is shown for the non-appearance of such
person; hear and determine the case in his absence. No Magistrate shall take
cognizance of any offence under this Act or under any rule or bye-law made
thereunder unless complaint of such offence is made-- (a)
within one year next after the date of the commission of such
offence; or (b)
if such date is not known or the offence is a continuing one
within one year next after the date on which the commission or existence of
such offence was first brought to the notice of the Commissioner or of any
other officer or servant whose duty is to report such offence to the
Commissioner. The Commissioner may on
behalf of the Corporation -- (a)
institute, defend or withdraw from legal proceedings under this
Act, or under any rule or bye-law made thereunder or any other enactment for
the time being in force; (b)
compound any offence under this Act or under any rule or bye-law
made thereunder; (c)
admit, compromise or withdraw any claim made under this Act or
under any rule or bye-law made thereunder, or under any other enactment for the
time being in force; and (d)
obtain such legal advice and assistance as he may from time to
time think it necessary or expedient to obtain, for any of the purposes
referred to in the foregoing clauses of this section, or for securing the
lawful exercise or discharge of any power or duty vesting in or imposed upon
the Corporation, the Standing Committee or any municipal officer or servant: Provided that the
Commissioner shall not admit, compromise or withdraw any claim in a suit in
which the whole amount claimed exceeds fifty thousand rupees without the
previous sanction of the Standing Committee, or where the total amount claimed
exceeds one lakh rupees, without the previous sanction of the Corporation. (1)
No suit shall be instituted against the Corporation, the Standing
Committee or any Corporation officer or servant, or any person acting under the
direction of the Corporation, the Standing Committee or any municipal officer
or servant, in respect of any act done in pursuance or execution or intended
execution of this Act, or in respect of any alleged neglect or default in the
execution of this Act or any rule or bye-law made thereunder until the
expiration of one month next after notice in writing has been delivered or left
at the Chief Corporation office or at the residence of such officer, servant or
person, stating with reason particularly? (a)
the cause of action; (b)
the name and residence of the intending plaintiff and of his advocate,
pleader or agent (if any) for the purpose of the suit; and (c)
the relief which he claims. (2)
Every such suit shall be commenced within one year next after the
accrual of the cause of action, and the plaint therein shall contain a
statement that a notice has been delivered or left as required by sub-section
(1). (3)
If the Corporation or any person to whom any notice is given under
sub-section (1) tenders sufficient amends to the plaintiff before the suit is
instituted, the suit shall be dismissed. (4) If the
claim is for damages and if after the institution of the suit a sufficient sum
of money with costs is paid into Court, the suit shall be dismissed. (5)
If the defendant in any such suit is the Commissioner or any other
Corporation officer or servant, payment of any sum or part thereof payable by
him in or in consequence of the suit may, with the sanction of the
Standing Committee, be made from the municipal fund. Save as otherwise expressly
provided, no injunction shall be granted by any Civil Court to interfere with
the public duties of the Corporation, the Standing Committee or the
Commissioner. No suit shall be
maintainable against the Corporation or the Standing Committee, or any
protected Corporation officer or servant, or any person acting under or in
accordance with the direction of the Corporation or Standing Committee or any
Corporation officer or servant, or of a Magistrate, in respect of anything in
good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or under any rule or
bye-law made thereunder. (1)
If any person aggrieved by any order passed under this Act or
under any rule or bye-law made thereunder, does not receive the address to
which he considers himself entitled, he may appeal to any Corporation officer
who has been appointed by the Commissioner to hear such appeals, or failing
such appointment, to the Commissioner. (2)
Any order passed in appeal by any Corporation officer, other than
the Commissioner, shall be subject to revision by the Commissioner. (3)
If the original order has been passed by the Commissioner himself,
the appeal shall lie to the State Government or such person as it may direct. Save as otherwise expressly
provided, every final order passed by the District Court, North Goa at Panaji,
or a Magistrate in exercise of original jurisdiction under the provisions of
this Act shall be subject to appeal, and every final order passed by such Judge
or Magistrate in exercise of appellate jurisdiction shall be subject to
revision at the instance of either party, by the Court to which appeals or, as
the case may be, revision from the Court which gave such decision, ordinarily
lie. (1)
The State Government may having regard to the factors mentioned in
clause (2) of article 243-Q of the Constitution of India, by notification in
the Official Gazette and in such other manner as it may determine, declare its
intention to include any further or more areas other than those mentioned in
Schedule I, within the limits of the City any specified area in the
neighbourhood of the City. (2)
If the local authority having jurisdiction in the said area or any
person resident therein objects to such declaration, such authority or person
may submit an objection in writing to the State Government within such period
as may be specified in this behalf in the said notification; and the State
Government shall take such objection into consideration. (3)
When the said period has expired and the State Government has
considered any objections under sub-section (2), the State Government may by
notification include such area or any portion thereof within the limits of the
City. (1)
When the said area is included within the limits of the City under
section 389, then ? (a)
The Goa Municipalities Act, or The Goa Panchayat Raj Act as the
case may be, if in force in such area shall be deemed to be repealed therein
and (b)
Except as the State Government may otherwise by notification in
the Official Gazette direct, all rules, bye-laws, regulations orders,
directions and powers made, issued or conferred under this Act and in force at
the date of inclusion shall apply to the said area, in supersession of all
corresponding rules, bye-laws, regulations, orders, directions and powers made,
issued or conferred under The Goa Municipalities Act, or The Goa Panchayat Raj
Act as the case may be. (2)
The State Government may issue such orders as may be necessary to
give effect to the inclusion of the said area and any matters incidental or
ancillary thereto. (1) The State
Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette and in such other
manner as it may determine, declare its intention to exclude any specified area
within the limits of the City from the operation of such provisions of this Act
as are, in the opinion of the State Government unsuited thereto, and thereupon
the said provisions shall cease to have effect in the said area: Provided that before making
the declaration, the State Government shall be satisfied that the City of
Panaji after exclusion of such specified areas continues to fulfill the factors
mentioned in clause (2) of article 243-Q of the Constitution of India. (2) The State
Government may make rules for the guidance of the municipal authorities and
public officers in respect of the matters covered by the said provisions while
the area is excluded. Where a power is expressed
as being conferred on any authority to require a person to do a number of
things, that authority may from time to time in its discretion require that
person to do any one or more of those things. Whenever any right is
conferred or duty imposed by or under this Act, or by any rule or bye-law made
thereunder, on the owner or occupier of any premises, and, in consequence of
there being gradations of owners or occupiers, doubt arises as to who is the
owner or owners or occupiers, entitled to exercise such right or bound to
perform such duty, the Commissioner may, after due inquiry determine from time
to time which of such owners or occupiers shall be deemed to be so entitled or
bound: Provided that if the name
of any one of such owners or occupiers has been entered in the assessment list
in pursuance of any decision given by the Commissioner, such owner or occupier
shall be deemed to be so entitled or bound until his name is duly removed from
the said assessment list. Every officer or servant in
the employment of the Corporation whether for the whole or part of his time,
and every Councillor of the Corporation shall be deemed to be a public servant
within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and for the
purposes of the Prevention of Corruption Act. No person shall obstruct or
molest any person with whom the Commissioner has entered into a contract, in
the performance or execution of his duty, or of anything which he is empowered
or required to do by virtue or in consequence of this Act or any rule or
bye-law made thereunder. No person shall remove any
mark set up for the purpose of indicating any level, measurement or direction
necessary to the execution of works authorised by this Act or by any rule or
bye-law made thereunder. In every enactment or
instrument in force at the commencement of this Act, unless a different
intention appears -- (a)
all references to the municipal area shall be construed in respect
of the City as references to the area within the limits of the City; (b)
all references to the Municipal Committee or the Municipality of
Panaji shall be construed in respect of the City as references to the
Corporation constituted by this Act; (c)
all references to the President or Vice-President of the
Municipality of Panaji shall be construed in respect of the City as references
to the Commissioner, (d)
all references to the members of the said Municipality shall in
respect of the City be construed as references to the Councillors referred to
in section 9; and (e)
all references to any chapter or section of the The Goa
Municipalities Act, or The Goa Panchayat Raj Act shall as far as possible be
construed in respect of the area under this Corporation as references to this
Act or to its corresponding chapter or section. (1)
Any informality, clerical error, omission, or other defect, in any
assessment made, or in any notice, bill, schedule, summons or other document
issued, under this Act, may at any time and as far as possible be rectified. (2)
No such informality, clerical error, omission or other defect
shall be deemed to render the assessment, notice, bill, schedule, summons or
other document invalid or illegal, if the provisions of this Act have in
substance and effect been complied with, but any person who sustains any
special damage by reason of any such informality, clerical error, omission or
other defect shall be entitled to recover compensation. If any dispute arises
between the Corporation and any local authority as regards anything done or to
be done under this Act, it shall be referred to the State Government for
decision, and such decision may include an order as to the costs of any enquiry
ordered by the State Government, and shall be final: Provided that it shall be
competent to the Corporation and the local authority to agree in writing that
any such dispute shall, instead of being referred to the State Government for
decision, be referred to the decision of an arbitrator or arbitrators appointed
under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, or to a Civil Court under
section 90 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. (1)
If at any time it appears to the State Government that a dispute
has arisen or is likely to arise between the State Government and the
Corporation as to the interpretation of any of the provisions of this Act or of
any of the rules made thereunder, which is of such a nature and of such public
importance that it is expedient to obtain the opinion of the High Court upon
it, the State Government may refer the question to the High Court for
consideration, and the High Court may, after such hearing as it thinks fit,
report to the State Government. (2)
The report drawn up by the High Court under sub-section (1) shall
be binding on the State Government and the Corporation. (3)
Nothing in this section shall derogate from the authority of the
State Government as laid down in Chapter XXXIII The State Government may
require the Commissioner to furnish it with-- (a)
any return, statement, estimates, statistics or other information
regarding any matter under the control of any municipal authority; (b)
a report on any such matter; or (c)
a copy of any document in his charge or under his control. (1)
The State Government may depute an officer not below the rank of
Secretary to the State Government to make an inspection, enquiry or examination
of any department, office, officer, service, work, or thing under the control
of any Corporation authority and to report to it the result of such inspection,
enquiry or examination. (2)
Any officer so deputed may, for the purpose of making such
inspection, enquiry or examination, inspect the condition of any part of the
City, question any official of the Corporation and may require the Commissioner
? (a)
to produce any record, correspondence, plan or other document
which is in his possession or under his control or which is recorded or filed
in his office or in the office of any officer or servant of the Corporation, or (b)
to furnish any report, return, plan, estimate, statement, account,
or statistics, file, confidential reports or service record of any official. (3)
Every requisition made under this section shall be complied with
by the Commissioner without delay. (4)
Any such officer appointed by the State Government, upon
inspection, enquiry or examination, as the case may be, submit his report to
the State Government. If the Commissioner fails within
such period as may have been fixed by the State Government to furnish a
document called for under section 372, or if on receipt of any document
furnished under section 372 or of any report submitted under section 373, or of
any information which appears to the State Government to require action under
this section, the State Government is of opinion that-- (a)
any of the duties imposed by or under this Act or by any other law
for the time being in force has not been performed or has been performed in an
imperfect, inefficient or unsuitable manner; or (b)
the Corporation, the Standing Committee, the Commissioner or any
other officer or servant of the Corporation has failed to take such measures in
any matter as appear to the State Government to be required by the
circumstances of the case; or (c)
adequate financial provision has not yet been made for the
performance of any such duty or the taking of any such measure; the State
Government may, by written order direct the Corporation, the Standing
Committee, the Commissioner, or any other officer or servant of the Corporation
within a period specified in the order? (d)
to make arrangements to the satisfaction of the State Government
for the proper performance of the duties referred to in clause (a) or to take
such measures as may be specified by the State Government in connection with
any matter referred to in clause (b), or to make financial provision to the
satisfaction of the State Government for the performance of any such duty or
for the taking of any such measure, as the case may be, or (e)
to show cause to the satisfaction of the State Government against
the making of such arrangements, the taking of such measures or the making of
such provisions, as the case may be. If the Commissioner fails
within such period as may have been fixed by the State Government to furnish a
document called for under section 372, or if on receipt of any document
furnished under section 372 or of any report submitted under section 373, or of
any information which appears to the State Government to require action under
this section, the State Government is of opinion that-- (a)
any of the duties imposed by or under this Act or by any other law
for the time being in force has not been performed or has been performed in an
imperfect, inefficient or unsuitable manner; or (b)
the Corporation, the Standing Committee, the Commissioner or any
other officer or servant of the Corporation has failed to take such measures in
any matter as appear to the State Government to be required by the
circumstances of the case; or (c)
adequate financial provision has not yet been made for the
performance of any such duty or the taking of any such measure; the State
Government may, by written order direct the Corporation, the Standing
Committee, the Commissioner, or any other officer or servant of the Corporation
within a period specified in the order? (d)
to make arrangements to the satisfaction of the State Government
for the proper performance of the duties referred to in clause (a) or to take
such measures as may be specified by the State Government in connection with
any matter referred to in clause (b), or to make financial provision to the
satisfaction of the State Government for the performance of any such duty or
for the taking of any such measure, as the case may be, or (e)
to show cause to the satisfaction of the State Government against
the making of such arrangements, the taking of such measures or the making of
such provisions, as the case may be. Notwithstanding anything
contained in this Act, if in the opinion of the State Government any officer or
servant of the Corporation is negligent in the discharge of his duties, the
Corporation shall, on the requirement of the State Government, suspend, fine or
otherwise punish him, and if in the opinion of the State Government he is unfit
for his employment, the Corporation shall dismiss him. If, in the opinion of the
State Government, the number of persons employed by the Corporation as officers
or servants, or whom the Corporation may propose to employ as such, or the
remuneration assigned by the Corporation to those persons or any of them, is
excessive, the Corporation shall, on the requirement of the State Government, reduce
the number of those persons or the remuneration as the case may be. (1)
If the State Government is of opinion that the execution of any
resolution or order of the Corporation or of any other authority or officer
subordinate thereto or the doing of any act which is about to be done or is
being done or is purported to be done by or on behalf of the Corporation, is
not in conformity with law or with the rules or bye-laws made thereunder, or is
likely to lead to a breach of the peace or to cause injury or annoyance to the
public or to any class or body of persons, or is likely to cause waste of or
damage to Municipal funds, the State Government may, by order in writing,
suspend the execution of such resolution or order or prohibit the doing of any
such act. (2)
A copy of such order of the State Government shall be sent to the
Corporation by the Government. (3)
On receipt of a copy of the order as aforesaid, the Corporation
may, if it is of opinion that the resolution, order or act is not in
contravention or excess of the powers conferred by any law for the time being
in force, or the execution of the resolution or the doing of the act is not
likely to cause waste of or damage to Municipal funds, make a representation to
the State Government against the said order, so however in the inter regnum,
comply with any such prohibitory orders issued under sub-section (1) herein. (4)
The State Government may, after considering the said
representation, either cancel, modify, vary, or confirm the order passed by it
under sub-section (1) or take such other action in respect of the matter as may
in the opinion of the State Government be just or expedient having regard to
all the circumstances of the case. (1)
If at any time upon representations made, or on its own motion, or
pursuant to a report received or otherwise, it appears to the State Government
that the Corporation is not competent to perform, or persistently makes default
in the performance of the duties imposed on it by or under this Act or any
other law for the time being in force, or exceeds or abuses its powers, or that
the Corporation and its activities are being run in a manner prejudicial to the
provisions of this Act, or in cases of non-compliance with any directions
issued under this Act by the State Government, the State Government may, after
having given an opportunity to the Corporation to show cause why the
Corporation should not be dissolved and after considering representation, if
any, submitted by the Corporation within the time specified by the State
Government, by an order published, with reasons therefor, in the Official
Gazette, dissolve the Corporation. (2)
Notwithstanding anything contained in sections 17 and 22, all
Councillors shall vacate their office from the date mentioned in any order
under sub-section (1). (1)
When the Corporation is dissolved under section 379 or under the
proviso to article 243-F of the Constitution of India the following
consequences shall ensue (a)
all members of the Corporation shall, from the date of the
notification, vacate their office; (b)
all powers and duties of the Corporation, Standing Committee and
the Commissioner may, until the Corporation is reconstituted, be exercised,
performed by such Government Officer as the State Government may appoint in
that behalf, and the person so appointed shall be called the Administrator of
the City; (c)
all property vested in the Corporation shall, until the
Corporation is reconstituted, vest in such Government Officer in trust for the
purposes of this Act. (2)
The Administrator of the City shall be a Corporation sole and may
sue and be sued in the name of ?The Administrator of the City?. (3)
The Administrator of the City shall be subject to the control of
the State Government and such other Government Officer or Officers or persons
as it may direct, and shall be subject also to all other restrictions,
limitations, and conditions imposed by this Act on the Corporation, the
Standing Committee and the Commissioner. (4) The Administrator
of the City may at any time be removed by the State Government who shall also
have power to appoint another Government Officer in his place. (5)
The Administrator of the City may, if the State Government so
directs, receive payment for his services from the Municipal fund. (1) When the
Corporation is dissolved under section 379, general elections shall be held to
constitute a Corporation on such date as may be specified by the State Election
Commission: Provided that an election
to constitute the Corporation shall be completed before the expiration of a
period of six months from the date of dissolution of the Corporation. (2) The
Councillors so elected shall enter upon office as the Corporation on such day
as the State Government may appoint in this behalf, and subject to the
provisions of this Act, shall in accordance with the provisions of sub-section
(1) of section 17 retire from office five years after they have entered upon
office. (3) All debts
and obligations incurred, all contracts entered into and all matters and things
to be done by, or for, the Corporation or the Administrator of the City before
the reconstitution of the Corporation shall be deemed to have been incurred,
entered into or to be done by, or for, the Corporation as reconstituted under
this section. (4) Every
appointment, notification, notice, tax, order, scheme, licence, permission,
rule, bye-law, or form made, issued, or imposed by the Corporation under this
section and not inconsistent with this Act, shall be deemed to have been
respectively made, issued, or imposed under the provisions of this Act, and
shall unless subsequently altered, modified, cancelled, suspended, surrendered
or withdrawn, as the case may be, under this Act, remain in force for the
period, if any, for which it was so made, issued or imposed. (5)
All rates, taxes and sums of money due to the Corporation or to
the Administrator of the City when the Corporation is reconstituted under this
section, shall be deemed to be due to the Corporation. (6)
All suits or other legal proceedings, civil or criminal,
instituted by or against the Corporation or the Administrator of the City
before the reconstitution of the Corporation under this section, may be
continued by or against the Corporation as so reconstituted. (1)
The State Government may, at any time, for the purpose of
satisfying itself as to the legality or propriety of any order passed by the
Commissioner or any other officer of the Corporation in exercise of the powers
conferred by this Act, or as to the regularity of the proceedings of any
meeting of the Corporation or a Standing Committee or in any proceeding before
the officer of the Corporation, held in pursuance of the provisions of this
Act, call for and examine the record of any case pending before or disposed of
by the Commissioner, the Corporation or a Standing Committee or any such
officer, and may pass such order in reference thereto as it thinks fit: Provided that no order
shall be varied or reversed unless notice has been given to the parties
interested to appear and to be heard in support of such order. (2) The State
Government shall have powers by a general or special order, to issue directions
to the Commissioner, Corporation, Standing Committee or any officer of the
Corporation not inconsistent with this Act, and any such directions or orders,
shall be complied with by any or all authorities under this Act. (3)
The State Government may by a notification published in the
Official Gazette, direct that the Corporation Area shall stand divided into
four or more zones as the State Government deems fit and proper for the purpose
of efficient and smooth working of the Corporation, and for such purposes
and upon such division of Corporation into zones, may delegate the powers of
Standing Committee, Commissioner to any of the officials of such zones and upon
such delegation, the officials in the concerned zonal offices shall discharge
the functions, so delegated which are required to be performed by or under this
Act by such authorities. In all matters connected
with this Act, if the Corporation makes default in carrying out any order made
by the State Government or by any authority other than the Corporation in
exercise of any powers conferred by this Act or any rule made thereunder, the State
Government shall have all the powers necessary for the enforcement of such
order including by appointing, an officer of the State Government to discharge
any functions, powers or duties of any of the authorities at the cost of the
Corporation. Any officer of the
Educational, Public Works, Medical, Sanitary and other Technical Departments or
any other official, functionary or authority, whom the State Government may by
general or special order appoint in this behalf, shall be entitled to attend
any meeting of the Corporation or Standing Committee and address it on any
matter affecting the work of his department or in matters connected with the
Corporation but shall not be entitled, by means of this section to vote at such
meeting. The State Government may
make rules under this Act authorizing inspection by servant of the Government
or institutions and works which are under the management and control of the
Corporation and regulating such inspection, and until appropriate provisions
are made in this behalf, issue general or special orders for the purpose of
carrying out the provisions of this section as well as other provisions of this
Act. The Corporation may, and if
so required by the State Government shall, make bye-laws for carrying out the
provisions and intentions of this Act, and in particular and without prejudice
to the generality of the foregoing power, it may make bye-laws to regulate all
or any of the following matters, namely,-- (1)
Conduct of business,-- (a)
the time and place of committee meetings; (b)
the manner in which notice of such committee meetings may be
given; (c)
the quorum necessary for the transaction of business at any
committee meetings; (d)
the filling of vacancies on any committee other than the Standing
Committee; (e)
any other matter relating to the proceedings of the Corporation or
of the Standing Committee, the holding and regulation of meetings and the
Conduct of debate
and the mode of asking and answering of questions connected with the
Administration of this Act and the inspection of minute books and the supply of
copies of minutes to Councillors or other persons on payment of fees or
otherwise; (2)
Delegation of powers.-- the exercise by the Commissioner or any
other officer or any of the servants of the Corporation of the powers conferred
upon the Corporation by this or any other Act for the time being in force, and
the conditions and limitations subject to which such powers may be exercised; (3)
Municipal officers and servants.? (a)
the qualifications of persons to be appointed Medical Officer of
Health, Chief Engineer, or Engineer in charge of a separate department of
Corporation works, or of persons to be appointed to posts requiring scientific
or technical knowledge, and the qualifications of persons to be appointed
Corporation Officers or servants; (b)
the conditions of service of Corporation officers or servants; (c)
the procedure to be followed in dismissing or removing from office
or otherwise punishing or penalizing any Corporation officer or servant, and
the cases in which and the authorities to which an appeal may be allowed; (d)
the Corporation officers or servants from whom security may be
required and the amount and nature of the security; (e)
the grant of leave to Corporation officers and servants; (f)
leave salaries to Corporation officers and servants on leave; (g)
the remuneration of persons appointed to act for any of the said
officers or servants during their absence on leave; (h)
the period of service of Corporation officers and servants; (i)
the conditions under which Corporation officers and servants may
receive pensions, gratuity or compassionate allowances on retirement or
discharge and the grant of gratuities to the surviving relatives of any such
officers or servants; (j)
the conveyance allowance payable to Corporation officers; (k)
the travelling allowance of Corporation officers and servants; (l)
the determination of what Corporation officers and servants are
essential for the purpose of section 58. (4)
Provident or annuity fund.? (a)
a provident or annuity fund; (b)
compulsory subscription to such fund, whether by deduction from
pay or otherwise, by all Corporation officers and servants other than those in
the service of the State Government; (c)
contributions to such funds by the Corporation from the Municipal
fund; (d)
the times, circumstances, and conditions at or under which
payments may be made out of any funds established under the Act and the
conditions under which such payments shall discharge the fund from further
liability; (e)
the settlement by arbitration or otherwise of disputes relating to
such fund or to the payments or subscriptions thereto or to claim thereon
arising between the Corporation and other persons or between persons claiming
any share or interest therein; (5)
Manner of service of notice under section 74.-- the manner in
which notice of any enquiry or order shall be given under sub-section (1) of
section 74; (6)
Transfer of property.-- the conditions and limitations under which
immovable property vested in the Corporation may be transferred or disposed of; (7)
Publication of annual administration report and statements of
accounts.- (a)
the form and contents of the report and statement to be prepared
under section 96; (b)
the publication of the said report and statement; (c)
the submission of a copy thereof by the Commissioner to the State
Government; (8)
Contracts.? (a)
the manner in which and the persons by whom contracts may be
executed; (b)
the security to be demanded for the due performance of contracts; (c)
the submission of estimates of works before contracts are
entertained; (d)
the examination and acceptance of tenders; (e)
the kind of works which may be executed otherwise than by
contract; (9)
Signature on cheques etc.? (a)
the manner in which and the person by whom payments may be made
out of the Municipal fund or cheques drawn upon the said fund may be signed; (b)
the manner in which and the person by whom coupons attached to
debentures issued under this Act may be signed; (10)
The common seal.-- the custody of the common seal of the
Corporation and the manner in which and the person by whom the common seal may
be affixed; (11)
Preparation of budget estimates.-- the manner in which the budget
estimates shall be prepared; (12)
Tolls and cess on imports:- the classes of goods on which, and the
rate at which tolls and cess on imports may be imposed-- time and mode of
collection of taxes, cesses, etc.-- the regulation of the time and mode of
collection of any tax which may be imposed under sub-section (2) of section
104; (13)
Assessment, collection remission, refund and recovery of taxes,
cesses etc.? (a)
the date before which, and the rates at which municipal taxes to
be levied shall be determined; (b)
the assessment, collection, composition, remission, refund and
recovery of taxes and cesses and the exemptions from such taxes and cesses, and
the prevention of evasion; (c)
the date, place and manner of paying any tax or installment of tax
payable under this Act and the person to whom it shall be paid; (d)
the fees for notice of demand of any tax and for the execution of
warrants of distress and the rates to be charged for maintenance of any livestock
distrained; and the persons authorized to receive payment of any sums so
payable; (e)
the manner in which the annual values of buildings and lands shall
be determined for the purposes of assessment; (14)
?Drains.? (a)
the maintenance and improvement of existing drains; (b)
the construction of new drains; (c)
the alteration and discontinuation of drains; (d)
the flushing and cleaning of drains; (e)
the drainage of any building or land; (f)
the drainage of private streets; (g)
the construction and position of closet accommodation, water
closets, privies, urinals and similar conveniences, public or private, and
bathing and washing and the places and the prevention of nuisances arising
therefrom; (h)
the construction and maintenance of a sufficient number of some or
all of the aforesaid convenience in all buildings; (i)
similar provisions for the use of the public; (j)
the payment of the cost of agency under the authority conferred by
this Act; (15)
Public latrines and washing places.? (a)
the maintenance and regulation of urinals, closet accommodation,
water closet accommodation, water closets, bathing and washing places and
premises appurtenant thereto, belonging to the Corporation; (b)
the regulation of urinals, closet accommodation, water closets and
bathing and washing places provided for the common use of the inhabitants of
one or more buildings; (16)
Scavenging and disposal of refuse.-- the scavenging of streets and
the removal or disposal of sewage and rubbish and offensive matter from all
buildings and lands within the City; (17) Waterworks.? (a)
waterworks; (b)
the inspection of waterworks; (c)
the power to enter waterworks; (d)
the protection of waterworks from waste, injury, or contamination; (e)
fire-hydrants; (f)
boating, fishing or bathing in any waterworks; (g)
the terms and conditions of the supply of water to lands and
buildings and the provision of meters; (h)
the cutting-off private water supplies and the regulations of
water supply; (i)
the prevention of fraud in connection with water-supply or the use
of meters; (j)
the digging or construction of any new well, tank, pond, cistern
or fountain; (k)
the prevention of the pollution of water within the city; (18)
?Streets.? (a)
the maintenance and improvement of public streets; (b)
projections, obstructions or encroachments in public streets and
the issue of licences and the conditions under which they may be issued,
including the payment of rent or fees; (c)
the execution of works in or near public streets and the temporary
occupation of public streets; (d)
the naming and numbering of streets and the temporary occupation
of public streets; (e)
the cleansing of private streets and keeping them free of dusty
asphalting, tarring or other means; (f)
bill-posting and sky signs including prohibition of the same; (g)
dangerous places; (h)
the lighting of public streets; (i)
the watering of public streets; (19)
Street traffic.-- street traffic and the reduction of noise caused
by such traffic; (20)
Prohibition or restriction and regulation of use of barbed wire
etc.-- the use of barbed wire or any material likely to cause injury to persons
or animals on any land or premises abutting on any street, pathway or place
which the public are entitled to use or frequent; (21)
?Hedges.-- the removal,
trimming and cutting of trees, shrubs and hedges; (22)
?Lodging houses.? (a)
the periodical regulation of the number of persons who may occupy
a lodging house and the licences necessary for keepers of lodging houses; (b)
the inspection of lodging houses; (c)
the cleanliness and ventilation of lodging houses; (d)
the lighting of common spaces and staircases in lodging houses; (e)
the precautions to be taken in the case of any dangerous or
infectious disease breaking out in a lodging house; (f)
the general control of lodging houses; (23)
?Over crowding.-- the number
of persons who may occupy any building; (24)
Rest houses etc.-- the inspection and control of stables, camping
grounds, pounds and rest-houses; (25)
Camping on public ground.-- the encamping or picketing of animals
or the collection of parking of vehicles in any public place; or the use of
such places for the halting of animals or vehicles; (26)
Keeping of animals.? (a)
the keeping of animals in the City; (b)
the importation of animals into the City and the transport of
animals within the City. (c)
measures to be taken with stray animals or animals likely, if at
large in any street or public place, to cause annoyance or intimidation; (d)
the prevention of cruelty to animals; (e)
the disposal of carcasses of animals dying in the City; (f)
the destruction of any animals which from old age or other cause
are in a moribund or infirm state or have received such injuries or are
suffering from such dangerous disease that their recovery therefrom is
unlikely; (g)
the prevention of the sale or use as human food of the carcasses
of animals which die naturally or from disease; (h)
the prohibition of importation into, or sale or disposal or use
within, the Corporation limits of any animal or of the hide or any portion of
the carcass of any animal dying or slaughtered on account of, or suffering
from, any contagious or infectious disease; (27)
Wash-houses.-- public wash houses and the exercise of their
calling by washermen at places other than those appointed or approved by the
Commissioner; (28)
Dangerous and offensive trades and factories.? (a)
the articles to be included in the description contained in clause
(a) of section 219. (b)
the prohibition or regulation by licence or otherwise of the
storage or keeping of such articles; (c)
the trades, manufacturers, industries, or operations to be
included in the description contained in clause (c) of section 219. (d)
the prohibition or regulation by licence or otherwise of the
exercise of such trades, manufacturers, industries, or operations; (e)
the supervision and sanitary regulation of factories and
workshops; (29)
Exemption of articles and trade operations.-- the articles or
quantity thereof and the trade operations connected with trade which may be
exempted; (30)
Standard of water used in aerated waters etc.-- the standard of
water or other ingredients to be used in the manufacture or preparation of
aerated water or of cordials; (31)
Labels and inscription.-- the form or kind of label to be attached
to packages containing articles of food or drink or drugs or any mixture
thereof and the inscription on the label of such particulars, directions,
statement, information or words as may be specified; (32)
?Nuisances.? (a)
the discharge of smoke, steam, dust, fumes or noxious vapours; (b)
the use of whistles, trumpets and noise-producing instruments
operated by any mechanical means; (c)
the prevention of other nuisances; (33)
Advertisement.-- the exhibition of advertisements, and hoardings
and similar structures used for the purpose of advertising; (34)
Management of municipal markets, etc. and the supervision of the
manufacture, storage and sale of food.? (a)
the sale of the flesh of any four-footed animal not slaughtered in
a Corporation limits of the flesh of any such animal outside these limits; (b)
the sale of meat; (c)
the sanitary conditions of municipal slaughter houses; (d)
the sanitary conditions of municipal markets; (e)
the destruction of diseased animals; (f)
the manufacture for sale and the sale of articles of food and
drink or drugs either by licence or otherwise; (g)
the qualifications of persons who may compound, mix, prepare,
dispense or sell any drugs and the certificates or permissions necessary; (h)
the hours and manner of importation into, or of transport within,
the City or any articles of food and drink or drugs, by licence for such
importation, transport or otherwise; (i)
the places at which articles of food and drink or drugs shall be
produced for inspection prior to importation, transport or exposure for sale; (j)
the places in which articles of food and drink or drugs may or may
not be manufactured, kept, sold or exposed for sale; (k)
the notice-boards to be exhibited by the vendors and labels to be
affixed by them to adulterated articles of food and drink of drugs exposed for
sale and the particulars which such notice-boards and labels shall contain; (l)
the importation or transport within the City of any articles of
food or drink produced under such conditions as will make them or are likely to
make them injurious to the health of persons consuming them; (m)
the supervision and sanitary condition of bakeries, places where
sweets are manufactured, public eating houses, stalls, aerated water and ice
factories and dairies, stables, and buildings or enclosures where animals are
kept, whether or not the animals therein are kept for profit; (n)
the exposure of goods for sale on streets and the levying of fees
from persons setting up stalls or otherwise selling or exposing goods for sale
on the streets; (o)
the regulation of the manner in which food grains whether intended
for the sale or for private consumption, may be stored. (p)
the precautions to be taken for protection milch-cattle, milk and
milk products against infection or contamination; (q)
the giving of notice of the outbreak of any contagious disease
among animals and prescribing precautions to be taken for preventing the spread
of any such disease; (r)
the hawking of articles of food and drink; (35)
Private markets.? (a)
the construction and structural and architectural features of
private markets; (b)
the drainage, water supply, ventilation, lighting, sanitary
conditions and regulation of private markets; (c)
the prevention of cruelty, nuisance, obstruction and overcrowding
in; or in the approaches to, or in the passage or, private markets; (d)
the supervision of private markets; (e)
the appointment and dismissal of superintendents of private
markets; (f)
the days on which and the hours during which any private market
may be held; (g)
the prevention of undesirable or diseased persons from entering
private markets; (h)
the prohibition of all persons from selling in a private market in
respect of which a licence has been refused, cancelled or suspended; (36)
Pawnbrokers.-- licences to pawn brokers, the conditions for such
licences and the determination, by public auction or otherwise, of the amount
to be paid for such licences; (37)
Registration of births and deaths etc.-- the registration of all
births, deaths and marriages which take place within the City; the taking of a
census and the verification of deaths and causes of deaths; (38)
Licensing of theatres, etc.? (a)
safety, sanitation and internal arrangement of theatres or other
places of public entertainment or resort and the control and inspection thereof,
in order to ensure the safety, health and convenience of persons employed in,
or visiting, attending or resorting to the same; (b)
the licensing of such entertainments; (39)
Construction of buildings.? (a)
the information and plans to be submitted with applications for
the approval of sites for buildings and for permission to erect or re-erect any
building; (b)
the period within which sanction for erection or re-erection of a
building must be granted or refused; (c)
the appointment of a person to supervise the work of erection or
re-erection of building or of any specified class or classes of buildings and
his disqualifications; (d)
the grant of a completion certificate for newly erected or
re-erected buildings and the cases in which, and the persons by whom such certificates
shall be granted; (e)
the height of buildings; (f)
the level and width of the foundation, the level of the lowest
floor or plinth and the stability of the structure; (g)
the number and height above the ground, or above the next lower
storey, of the storeys of which any building may consist; (h)
the height and slope of the roof above the uppermost floor upon
which human beings are to live or cooking operations are to be carried on and
the provision of chimneys for cooking operations; (i)
the space to be left about any building to secure the free
circulation of air and to facilitate scavenging and to prevent fire and the
minimum width of streets in front of the buildings; (j)
the ventilation and drainage of buildings and the minimum
dimensions of doors and windows; (k)
the means and appliances to be provided and maintained for egress
from buildings and protection of life in case of fire; (l)
the material to be used and the method of construction to be
adopted for any building or class of buildings and the provision of impervious
floors and damppro of courses for walls; (m)
the position, materials and methods of construction of
fire-places, smoke-escapes, chimneys, staircases, water-closet accommodation
and drains in buildings; (n)
the parts or portions of building sites on which no building shall
be erected; (o)
the paving of any passage between two buildings sites on which no
building shall be erected; (p)
the restriction and the use of inflammable materials in buildings; (q)
the precautions to be taken for the purpose of preventing danger
or injury to the public or to persons employed in erecting a building and of
securing the stability of the various parts of the building and of the
buildings and other property in the vicinity thereof, during the progress of
the building or of any demolition or excavation incidental thereto; (r)
the line of frontage where a building abuts on a street; (s)
the materials and methods of construction to be used for godowns
intended for the storage of foodgrains in excess of twenty tonnes; (t)
the minimum requirements, including dimensions of accommodation
for human beings and of accommodation for animals; (u)
the position and dimensions of projections beyond the outer face
of any external wall of a building; (v)
the height of factory chimneys and the consumption of smoke; (40)
?Removal or improvement of
insanitary building.? (a)
The removal or improvement of insanitary buildings and buildings
in a ruinous or dangerous condition. (b)
the marking of vacant uninhabitable buildings; (c)
the cleansing lime-washing, painting or repair of such building; (d)
the exercise of compulsion upon the owners or occupiers to take
such order with abandoned, unoccupied buildings or lands as the Commissioner
may be directed; (e)
the excavation of earth, stone or other materials from any place; (41)
Assessment of compensation under section 267.-- The assessment of
compensation by the Corporation under section 267; (42)
Passenger-lifts.? (a)
The construction, maintenance and working of passenger-lifts, and
all machinery and apparatus pertaining thereto; (b)
the construction, maintenance, fencing and lighting of shafts,
landings, hatches and gates connected with passenger-lifts; (c)
the entry upon, and inspection of any premises containing a
passenger-lift by such persons as the Commissioner may authorize in this
behalf; (d)
the prohibition of the use of any lift where any bye-law made
under this sub-section has not been complied with: Provided that such bye-laws
shall not affect any provisions of the Factories Act, 1948, or of the Indian
Electricity Act, 1910, or any other law or any rules framed thereunder; Explanation.-- A lift
actually used as a lift by passenger-lift notwithstanding that it may not have
been constructed for that purpose and that its use as a passenger-lift is not
authorized by the owner or occupier; (43)
Precautions in demolition of buildings.? (a)
The precautions to be taken for the prevention of danger or injury
to the public during, and to persons engaged in, the demolition of buildings or
parts of a building and for the protection of other parts of the same building
and of other buildings in the vicinity thereof; (b)
the notice to be given by any person intending to demolish a
building or part of a building to the Commissioner together with particulars of
the proposed demolition and of the precautions to be taken during the progress
of the work; (c)
the prohibition of the commencement of demolition within a
prescribed period except with the permission of the Commissioner; (d)
the prohibition of the commencement or continuance of the
demolition until all precautions have been and are being taken in accordance
with the rules and with any directions and requisitions in writing which the
Commissioner may issue to the person in charge of the work, or to the person
who submitted the notice, if any, required under the rules; (44)
Improvement of insanitary lands.? (a)
The prohibition of accumulation of water in any pool, ditch, tank,
well, pond, quarry, hole drain, water-course, cistern or other receptacle; (b)
the prohibition of cultivation, use of manure or irrigation
injurious to health; (c)
the paving and draining of cattle-stands; (d)
the adoption of measures generally to tender insanitary lands
sanitary; (45)
Holding of fairs, etc.-- The holding of fairs and industrial
exhibitions in the City; (46)
Protection of property of the Corporation from injury; (47)
Protection against fire.-- the stacking of inflammable materials
and of the lighting of fires in any specific portion of the City; (48)
Charges for services by municipal authorities.-- The charge for
services rendered by any municipal authority; (49)
Appointment of agents by owners of lands not resident in the
city.-- The appointment by owners of buildings or lands in the city, who are not
residents in the City, or persons residing within or near the City to act as
their agents for all or any of the purposes of the Act or any rule or bye-law
made thereunder; (50)
Mode of performance of acts not otherwise provided for.-- The
person by whom and the time, place and manner at or in which anything
prescribed under this Act, shall be done, where no express provision has been
made therefore; (51)
Inspection of municipal records.-- The cases in which inspection
and copies of municipal records may be granted, and the procedure and the fees
for the grant of such inspection of copies; (52)
Licences and notices.-- The form of licences and notices issued
under this Act and the authority entitled to sign or issue them; (53)
Burial and burning grounds.-- The disposal of the dead; the
control, use and management of burial and burning grounds, the maintenance of
all such places in good order and in a safe and sanitary condition, and the
prevention of encroachments thereon; (54)
?Vehicles or animals plying
for hire.? (a)
Vehicles or animals kept for plying for hire within the limits of
the Corporation, the issue of licences to proprietors or drivers of such
vehicles or animals, the prescription of types and specification of vehicles to
be licenced and the fixing of fees payable for such licences and the conditions
on which they may be granted or revoked; (b)
the rates which may be demanded for the hire of any carriage,
cart, motor vehicles or other conveyance or animals hired to carry loads or
persons, and restriction of the loads which may be carried by any animal or
carriage, cart or other conveyance plying for hire, within the limits of the
Corporation: Provided that no bye-laws
made under clause (a) or (b) shall apply to any Vehicle to which the Motor
Vehicles Act, 1989, applies in any area where that Act is in force: Provided further that the
operation of any bye-law made under the provisions of clause (a) or (b) or of
any rules made under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1989, may, with the sanction of
the State Government, be extended to:-- (c)
any railway station; (d)
?the whole or any part of
any street so far as such street is situated within ten miles of the limits of
the Corporation; (e)
the whole or any part of any street leading from the limits of the
Corporation to the limits of any municipality, notified area, or cantonment, if
the distance between the limits of the Corporation and the boundaries of these
authorities does not exceed fifty miles, and the Corporation and the
authorities concerned each consent to the extension of such bye-laws or rules; (55)
Poor houses.? (a)
The maintenance of poor-houses by the Corporation or by private
persons or institutions; (b)
the requirements to be satisfied before a poor-house managed by a
private person or institution is approved by the Corporation; (c)
the compulsion of able-bodied beggars to work; (d)
the nature of the work which may be required of beggars and the
kind of food to be supplied to them; (e)
the authority by which exemption from the obligation to work may
be granted in a poor-house on the ground of ill-health or debility; (f)
the inspection of poor-house by authorities to be prescribed in
the bye-laws; (56)
Preventing of use of false or incorrect weights, etc.-- The
preventing of use in any market of false or incorrect weights, scales or
measures; (57)
Printing and sales of bye-laws and exhibitions thereof in suitable
places.- The printing and sale of bye-laws and rules made under this Act and
provision for the exhibition thereof in suitable places. (1)
In making a bye-law under section 386, the Corporation may provide
that a breach or any abatement of a breach of it shall be punishable. (a)
with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees and in the case
of a continuing breach, with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees for
each day during which the breach continues after conviction for the first
breach, or (b)
with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees for every day
during which the breach continues after receipt of written notice from the
Commissioner to discontinue the breach. (2)
In lieu of or in addition to such fine, the Magistrate may require
the offender to remedy the mischief so far as is in his power. The power to make bye-laws
under this Act is subject to the condition of the bye-laws being made after
previous publication, and to the following further conditions, namely.-- (a)
a draft of the bye-laws shall be published for such time and in
such manner as the State Government may prescribe in this behalf; (b)
for not less than twenty one days during such period a printed
copy of such draft shall be kept at the municipal office for public inspection,
and every person shall be permitted at any reasonable time to peruse the same,
free of charge; and (c)
printed copies of such draft shall be obtainable by any person
requiring the same, on payment of such fee not exceeding fifty rupees for each
copy, as may be prescribed by the Corporation. 1.
No bye-law made by the Corporation under this Act shall have any
validity until it is approved by the State Government. 2.
Before sanctioning any such bye-law, the State Government may
modify, vary, amend, delete or add to it. 3.
The State Government may cancel or revoke its approval of any such
bye-law, and thereupon the bye-laws shall cease to have effect: Provided in case of any
addition of any provision in the bye-law, or any such modification, while
exercising its power of approval by the State Government, the procedure
prescribed in the preceding section of previous publication shall not apply. All bye-laws and rules made
and sanctioned under this Act or bye-laws cancelled under sub-section (3) of
section 389 shall be published in the Gazette and shall thereupon have effect
as if enacted in this Act. (1) The State
Government may frame forms for any proceeding of the Corporation and may after
previous publication make rules for the purpose of carrying into effect the
provisions of this Act? Provided that no rules in
respect of any matter relating to the preparation of electoral rolls and
conduct of elections shall be made without consultation with the State Election
Commissioner: Provided further such rules
may provide for charging of fees for any of the purposes of this Act. (2)
In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the
foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matter,
namely: (a)
the manner of delegation of powers conferred on the officers or
authorities of the Corporation to any other officer of the Corporation or the
State Government; (b)
the manner in which, the conditions under which, and the authority
by which, claims to, or objection against, registration may be made and
decided; (c)
the nomination of candidates and objections to such nomination; (d)
the date and time of elections, the mode of recording votes, the
management, the management of contested elections, and the procedure in case of
equality of votes or in the event of one Councillor being elected to represent
more than one ward or interest; (e)
the holding of elections to fill casual vacancies; (f)
the division of electorate into wards or communities and the
allocation of Councillors thereto; (g)
the preparation publication and sale of copies of the municipal
electoral roll; (h)
any other matter relating to representation and election for which
it may be expedient to provide; (i)
the qualifications requisite in the case of persons appointed by a
municipal authority to offices requiring professional skill; (j)
the procedure to be observed for the employment, punishment,
suspension or removal of the officers and servants of the corporation and
appeal from orders of punishment or removal; (k)
the extent of general supervision and control to be exercised by
the commissioner over servants of the State placed at the disposal of the
corporation under section 61; (l)
the conditions of the service in regard to the leave, provident
fund, and pension admissible to the person transferred in pursuance of section
52 in respect of the period of service rendered by him before such transfer and
the extent of the liability of the local authorities concerned with the
transfer; (m)
the conditions on which property may be acquired by the
corporation or on which property vested in the corporation may be transferred
by sale, mortgage, lease, exchange or otherwise; (n)
the authority on which money may be paid from the municipal fund,
and the management and regulation of provident funds; (o)
the preparation of plans and estimates for work partly or wholly
to be constructed at the expense of the corporation and for the preparation,
and periodical revision of maps and registers made under section 77 and for the
authorities by which and the conditions subject to which such plans, estimates,
maps and registers are to be prepared and sanctioned; (p)
the regulation of contracts with electrical supply companies for
the supply of electrical energy; (q)
the preparation of estimates of income and expenditure of the
corporation and as to the persons by whom, and the conditions subject to which
such estimates may be sanctioned; (r)
the manner of making applications for permission to borrow money;
the enquiries to be made in relation to loans and the manner of conducting such
enquiries; the inspection of any works carried out by means of loans; and the
utilization of unexpended balances of loans etc.; (s)
the manner in which accounts are to be kept by the corporation;
the conditions on which such accounts are to be open to inspection by
inhabitants paying any tax under this act, the manner in which such accounts
are to be audited and published and the power of auditors in respect of
disallowance and surcharge; (t)
the assessment and collection of and the compounding for revision
or limiting refunds or taxes imposed under this act, and preventing evasion of
the same; and for fixing the fee, payable for notices of demands; (u)
the conditions on which the corporation may receive animals or
articles into a bonded warehouse and the agreement to be signed by the traders
and others wishing to deposit animals or articles therein; (v)
the returns, statements and reports to be submitted by the
corporation; (w)
the division of the Corporation Area into various zones as
directed by the State Government. (x)
the language in which business shall be transacted, proceedings
recorded and notices issued; (y)
the publication of notices; (z)
generally for the municipal authorities and public officers in
carrying out the purposes of this act; (aa)
?the same purposes as those
for which the corporation may make bye-laws under the provision of section 386; (bb)
any other matters incidental or ancillary to the matter in respect
of which the State Government is empowered to make rules. (3)
Rules under clauses (a) to (j) of sub-section (2) may among other
matters provide? (a)
for the authority by whom the electoral roll shall be prepared and
the particulars to be contained in the roll; (b) for the
form and manner in which and the condition on which nomination may be made, and
for the security of nominations; (c) for the
appointment of returning officer of each ward and for his powers and duties; (d) for the
appointment of polling stations for each ward; (e) for the
appointment of officers to preside at polling stations, and for the duties of
such officers; (f) for the
checking of voters by reference to the electoral roll; (g) for the
manner in which votes are to be given and in the particular for the case of
illiterate voters, or voters under physical or other disability; (h) for the
procedure to be followed in respect of tender of votes by persons representing
themselves to be electors after other persons have voted as such electors; (i) for the
scrutiny of votes; (j) for the
safe custody of ballot papers and other election papers, for the period for
which such paper shall be preserved, and for the inspection and production of
such papers; (k)
for the definition of the practices at elections held under the
provision of this act which are deemed to be corrupt; (l)
for the procedure to be followed by the district court in
enquiries relating to application presented under section 399, the liability of
witnesses to answer questions, the evidence to be recorded, the powers to be
exercised including power to indemnify witnesses against civil or criminal
proceedings and the enforcement of orders made in such enquiries; (m)
for rendering incapable of municipal office either permanently or
for a term of years any person who may have been proved guilty as aforesaid of
a corrupt practice or of conniving at or abetting the same; (n)
for provision of other matters incidental or ancillary to the
preparation, revision, publication and regular maintenance of the roll and for
the conduct of elections. (4)
in making rules under clauses (d) and (i), and clauses (t) and (u)
of sub-section (2), the State Government may direct that a breach of any
provision thereof shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five
hundred rupees. (5)
Notwithstanding any thing hereinbefore contained the State
Government shall not make rules under laws (z-2) of sub-section (2) for the
corporation unless the corporation has been required by the State Government to
make bye-laws under section 386 and has failed to make any such bye-laws, or
having made them has failed to obtain their confirmation by the State
Government as required by sub-section (1) of 389 within nine months of the date
of the order of the State Government under clauses (z-2) of sub-section (2)
shall have effect as if they were, and shall be deemed for all purposes to be
bye-laws made by the corporation. (1)
Whoever? (a)
contravenes any of the provisions of this Act or of the rules made
thereunder mentioned in the first column of the following table, or (b)
fails to comply with any direction lawfully given to him or any
requisition lawfully made upon him under any of the said provisions or rules,
shall be punishable with a fine which may extend to the amount mentioned in the
third column of the said table. (2)
Whoever after having been convicted of any offence under clause
(a) or (b) of sub-section (1), continues to commit such offence shall be
punished for each day after the first during which he continues so to offend,
with fine which may extend to the amount mentioned in the fourth column of the
said table. Explanation.-- The entries
in the second column of the following table headed ?subject? are not intended
as definitions of the offences described in the provisions mentioned in the
first column, or even as abstracts of those provisions, but are inserted merely
as references to the subject-matter thereof. TABLE Section sub-section or clause Subject Maximum Fine which may be Imposed Daily fine which may be imposed when
the offence is a continuing one (1) (2) (3) (4) Section 175 New buildings not to be erected
without drains Twenty-five thousand rupees Five hundred rupees Section 175, sub- section (1) Owner of land to allow others to
carry drains through the land Five hundred rupees do Section 176 Owner of drain to allow use thereof
or joint ownership, therein to others do Five hundred rupees Section 178 Resistance to order of the
Commissioner regarding use of joint ownership of a drain do do Section 179 Resistance to Commissioner draining
premises in combination do do Section 180 Resistance to the Commissioner
constructing drains or failure to maintain and keep in repair portion of a
drain vesting in an owner do do Section 181 Resistance to the Commissioner
affixing shafts or pipes for ventilation of drains do do Section 217 Establishment, etc., of factory,
etc., without permission of the Commissioner Twenty-five thousand rupees do Section 219 Storing dangerous or offensive
articles or carrying on dangerous or offensive trades Ten thousand rupees do Section 225, sub- section (1) Keeping open a private market without
permission Five thousand rupees Two hundred and fifty rupees Section 225, sub- section (2) Establishment, removal, re-opening,
re-establishment or enlarging of private market without permission Ten thousand rupees One thousand rupees Section 226 Selling animals, meat, etc., outside
market without a licence One thousand rupees One hundred rupees Section 228, sub- section (3) Slaughter of animals without
permission outside municipal slaughterhouses do -- Section 230 Sale of diseased or unwholesome
animal or article intended for human food Ten thousand rupees for first offence
and twenty thousand rupees for any subsequent offence One hundred rupees Section 231 Keeping adulterants in place where
butter, ghee, etc., are manufactured One thousand rupees -- Section 232 Sale, etc., of notified article which
is not of prescribed standard of purity Ten thousand rupees for first offence
and twenty thousand rupees for any subsequent offence -- Section 233 Sale, etc. of substitutes One thousand rupees for first offence
and five thousand rupees for any subsequent offence -- Section 238, sub- section (3) Removing, interfering or tampering
with animal, food, drink, drugs, etc. seized and left in custody. Two thousand rupees -- Section 243 Failure to give information of
existence of dangerous disease Five hundred rupees -- Section 255 Erection or re-erection of a building
in contravention of a town-planning scheme One lakh rupees One thousand rupees Section 256 Prohibition of erection or
re-erection of buildings without permission of the commissioner Ten thousand rupees One thousand rupees Section 263, sub-section (1) Notice to be given to the
commissioner of completion of building One thousand rupees -- Section 263, sub-section (4) Prohibition of occupation of new or
re-erected building without permission of the commissioner One thousand rupees -- Section 271, sub-section (3) Entering into or remaining in a
building which has been declared unfit for human habitation Five thousand rupees -- Section 272, sub-section (1) Requisition to remove or repair
buildings in ruinous or dangerous state Ten thousand rupees Five hundred rupees Section 272, sub-section (3) Entering into or remaining in a
ruinous or dangerous building from which occupants have been removed. Ten thousand rupees Five hundred rupees Section 275, sub-section (2) Erection or re-erection of building
on inaccessible sites Ten thousand rupees One thousand rupees Section 281, sub-section (1) Laying a tramway or railway on a
public street Ten thousand rupees One thousand rupees Section 282, sub-section (1) Prohibition of projections upon
streets etc. Two thousand rupees Fifty rupees Section 282, sub-section (1) Requisition to remove the same Two thousand rupees Fifty rupees Section 288 Requisition to alter ground floor
doors, etc., opening on roads, or streets, etc. Five hundred rupees -- Section 289 Requisition to remove projections
upon streets, etc. Two thousand rupees One hundred rupees Section 292, sub-section (1) Laying out of private street
otherwise than in accordance with the permission of the Commissioner Ten thousand rupees One thousand rupees Section 300 Regulation of posters depicting
scenes from film etc. One thousand rupees One hundred rupees Whoever contravenes any
provisions of sections 209, 210, 265, 357, 395 or 396 or of any order made
thereunder, or fails to comply with any lawful direction or requisition under
any of the said provisions, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend
to one month or with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees or with both. Whenever the terms or any
one of the terms of a notice are not complied with, the commissioner may after
six hours notice, by his officer, cause the terms or term to be complied with. Any person who wilfully
obstructs any Corporation authority, or any Corporation officer or servant, or
any person authorized by any Corporation authority in the exercise of powers
conferred by this Act or any rules or bye-laws made thereunder shall be
punished with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees. If any councillor,
Corporation officer, or servant knowingly acquires, directly or indirectly, by
himself or a partner or employer or employee, any share or interest in any
contract or employment with by, or on behalf of, the Corporation, not being a
share or interest permissible under sub-section (3) of section 52, for an
officer or servant of the Corporation to have without being thereby
disqualified from employment of the Corporation, he shall be punished with
simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine or
with both. Any essential officer or
servant contravening any of the provisions of section 56 shall be punishable
with imprisonment which may extend to six months or with fine or with both. Whoever disobeys any lawful
direction or prohibition given by an authority of the Corporation by a public
notice or any written notice lawfully issued by it under the provision this
act, or fails to comply with the condition subject to which any permission was
given to him by an authority of the Corporation under the said provision,
shall, if the disobedience or omission is not an offence punishable under any
other section, be punishable with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees,
and in case of continuing breach, with a further fine which may extend to one
thousand rupees for every day after the first during which the breach
continues: Provided that when the
notice fixes a time within which a certain act is to be done and no time is
specified in this Act, it shall rest with the magistrate trying an offence
under this section to determine whether the time so fixed was reasonable for
purpose of compliance with the notice. (1)
If the qualification of any person declared to be elected for
being councillor is disputed, or if the validity or any election is questioned,
whether by reason of the improper rejection by the State Election Commissioner
of a nomination or of the improper reception or refusal of a vote, or for any
other cause, any person enrolled in the municipal election roll may, at any
time within fifteen days from date on which election of a councillor is
notified under section 16, apply to the District Court. If the application is
for a declaration that any particular candidate shall be deemed to have been
elected, the applicant shall make parties to his application or candidates who
although not declare elected, had contested the election from the same ward. (2)
If the District Court, after making such inquiry as it deem
necessary, finds that the election was a valid election and that the person
whose election is objected to is not qualified, it shall confirm the declared
result of the election. If it finds that the person whose election is objected
to is disqualified for being a Councillor, it shall declare such person?s
election null and void. If it finds that the election is not valid election, it
shall set it aside. In either case it shall direct that the candidate, if any,
in whose favour next highest number of valid votes is recorded after the said
person or after all the persons who were returned as elected at the said
election, and against whose election no cause of objection is found, shall be
deemed to have been elected. (3)
The district Court?s order shall be conclusive. (4)
Every election not called in question in accordance with the
foregoing provisions shall be deemed to have been to all intents a good and
valid election. (1)
Until such time as the elections are conducted or held, for
constituting the Corporation and electing the Councillors thereof as per provisions
of this Act, the first Corporation, immediately upon publication of this Act in
the Official Gazette, shall be constituted as under: (a)
All Councillors of the erstwhile Panaji Municipal Council,
representing areas, mentioned in Schedule I hereof shall become the first
Councillors of the newly constituted Corporation under this Act. (b)
All members of Village Panchayats, including sarpanch or deputy
sarpanch relating to Panchayat areas mentioned in Schedule I, shall become the
first Councillors of the newly constituted Corporation under this Act. (c)
Such officials of the State Government representing the
departments of health, public works department, police department, town and country
planning department and such other department or bodies, or statutory
committees or such other officials, in all not exceeding fifteen in number
nominated by the State Government to be the first Councillors of the newly
constituted Corporation under this Act, ex-officio. (d)
Such other persons who in the opinion of the State Government, on
account of their outstanding contribution to the capital City or their
performance in the field of art, literature, science, environment,
architecture, engineering, law, education or social work, deserve to be
appointed to the Corporation, be appointed by the State Government, but not
exceeding seven in number, as first Councillors of the newly constituted
Corporation under this Act. (2)
The State Government shall by a notification, constitute a
panchayat area, in respect of those areas, which were hitherto part of Panaji
Municipal Council, and are not included in Schedule I herein, under the Goa
Panchayat Raj Act and appoint such Councillors, whose areas or wards represented
by them, have become panchayat areas, as panchas for such newly constituted
panchayat bodies. (3)
The Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson of the hitherto Panaji
Municipal Council, shall become the Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively of the
Corporation. (4)
The transitory provisions made hereinbefore, shall continue
without any change until the elections are held within a period of one year or
on such date as may be specified by the Government for constituting the
Corporation in accordance with the provisions of this Act. (5)
The provisions of this part as well as other provisions of this
Act, making transitory provisions, forming panchayat areas or assimilating
panchayat areas into Corporation, shall have effect notwithstanding anything to
the contrary provided in either the Goa Municipalities Act, the Goa Panchayat
Raj Act or any other law for the time being in force. If any difficulty arises in
giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the State Government, as occasion
requires, by order do anything, which appears to it to be necessary in or for
the purposes of removing the difficulty: Provided that no order
shall be made under this section after the expiry of two years from the date of
publication of this Act in the Official Gazette. The provisions of this Act
shall have effect notwithstanding anything said or provided in the Goa
Municipalities Act, 1968, Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1993 or any other law, order,
decree, judgement of any court, notification, rule, regulation, bye-laws. SCHEDULE (See Section 61) 1.
Relief of the poor, unemployment other than industrial
unemployment. 2.
Charities and charitable institutions, charitable and religious
endowments. 3.
Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act, 1890. 4.
Protection of wild birds and animals. 5.
Relief on account of floods, earthquakes, etc. 6.
Jubilee and memorial funds. 7.
Intoxication liquors and narcotic drugs, opium, dangerous drugs. 8.
Poisons. 9.
Agriculture, including agricultural education and research,
protection against pests and prevention of plant diseases. 10.
Marketing of agricultural produce. 11.
Arboriculture. 12.
Sericulture. 13.
Gardens. 14.
Veterinary, including improvement of live-stock and prevention of
animal diseases. 15.
Prevention of the extension from one until to another of
infectious diseases affecting animals or plants. 16.
Markets established under the Berar Cotton and Grain Markets law,
the Central Provinces and Berar Cotton and Grain Markets Law, the Central Act,
1932, and the Central Provinces and Berar Agricultural Produce Market Act,
1935. 17.
Fisheries. 18.
State forests, including afforestment, disforestment, forest rates
and grazing. 19.
Land improvement and agricultural loans. 20.
Colonization. 21.
Collection of land revenue and rents. 22.
Collection of local cesses and other sums recoverable as land
revenue. 23.
Malguzari and zamindari forest and other forests not under
management of forest department. 24.
Scarcity and famine relief and relief of agricultural indebtness. 25.
Fuel and fodder reserves. 26.
Floods. 27.
Moneylending and moneylenders. 28.
Pounds and prevention of cattle trespass. 29.
Burials and burial grounds. 30.
Central Provinces and Berar Slaughter of Animals Act, 1915. 31.
Hospitals and dispensaries excluding epidemic and travelling
dispensaries. 32.
Lunacy and mental deficiency including places for the reception of
treatment of lunatics and mental deficient. 33.
Sanitary laws and regulations. 34.
Appointment, qualifications and duties of health officials and
welfare workers. 35.
Public health laboratories. 36.
Conservancy (scavenging and cleaning). 37.
Drainage. 38.
Sewage disposal and purification. 39.
Sanitary conveniences. 40.
Lighting and ventilation of houses and buildings. 41.
Housing. 42.
New streets and buildings. 43.
Factories and workshops. 44.
Offensive trades and nuisances, including smoke nuisances. 45.
Pig-sties and keeping of animals. 46.
Sanitation of fairs and labours camps. 47.
River pollution prevention. 48.
Disposal of the dead. 49.
Water-supply. 50.
Food supply including (a) purity of food, (b) 31[Central Provinces
and Berar Prevention of Adulteration Act, 1919] and (c) milk and dairies. 51.
Infectious and contagious diseases, and diseases caused by animal
parasites. 52.
Prevention of epidemics. 53.
Epidemic and travelling dispensaries, including those specially
appointed for aborigines and rural uplift. 54.
Vaccination. 55.
Registration of births and deaths. 56.
Welfare work. 57.
Social hygiene. 58.
Agricultural statistics and prices. 59.
Elections to the State and Central Legislature. 60.
Education. 61.
Libraries. 62.
Technical and industrial education. 63.
Public works including State buildings, roads, bridges and ferries
managed by the Public Works Department. 64.
Tools. 65.
Planning of post-war development, liaison with other Government
departments with reference to schemes of post-war development. 66.
Resettlement and re-employment of servicemen, Civil Pioneers and
labour employed in war industries including State and District Soldiers Boards. 67.
Welfare of labour. 68.
Unemployment insurance. 69.
Industrial unemployment. 70.
Co-operative societies. 71.
Rural Development; 72.
village uplift including welfare activities in backward areas,
and 73.
?cottage and small-scale
industries. 74.
Rehabilitation of refugees. SCHEDULE I Areas comprised within the
City of Panaji Corporation are as follows: 1.
The whole of Panaji Municipal Area as on the date of the
enforcement of this Act excluding: (a)
Survey Nos. 1 to 7 of Durgawadi Revenue Village. (b)
Survey Nos. 1 to 295 of Taleigao Revenue Village but including: (c)
Survey Nos. 122, 123, 124, 125, 126 and 127. (d)
Area on the Southern side of the road Durgawadi to
Panaji?Taleigao, comprising part of Surveys Nos. 128, 130, 131 and 132 as shown
in the map annexed. 2.
(a) Entire area of Village Panchayat of Penha da Franca, part of
village Pilerne comprising of Survey Nos. 15 to 23, 31 to 35, 53 to 76, part of
Village Salvador do Mundo comprising of Survey Nos. 75, 76, 85 to 112, 135 to
147, 151 and 152, part of Village Soccoro comprising of Survey Nos. 21 to 24,
40 to 43, 354 to 357, 359 to 399, 401 and 402, part of Village Reis Magos
comprising of Survey Nos. 38, 39, 43 to 74 and 76 and Sangolda Village
Panchayat comprising of Survey Nos. 85 & 86 as shown in the map annexed. (b) Entire area of Village
Panchayat Santa Cruz, entire area of Bambolim Village but excluding area under
the Military occupation, part of village Morombi-O-Pequeno comprising of Survey
Nos. 30 to 92, 94, 96 to 137 and 140 to 143, as shown in the map annexed.
Preamble - THE CITY OF PANAJI CORPORATION ACT, 2002PREAMBLE