CITY OF BOMBAY MUNICIPAL ACT, 1888

S.1 Short title and extent

(1) This Act may be cited as the City of Bombay Municipal Act, 1888.

S.2

It extends to the areas within the boundaries described in the First Schedule to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 (66 of 1957).

S.3 Definitions of terms

In this Act, unless there be something repugnant in the subject or context,-

• (z) "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, smelling or hearing, or which is or may be dangerous to life or injurious to health or property;

S.381 Filling in of pools, etc., which are nuisance.

(1) (i) For the purposes of this section, a nuisance shall include-

• (a) any pool, ditch, tank, well, pond, quarry-hole, drain, watercourse or any collection of water; or
• (b) any cistern or other receptacle for water or any article or thing capable of collecting rain water during the monsoon season whether within or outside a building; or
• (c) any land on which water accumulates or is likely to accumulate; or
• (d) any premises or any part of any premises occupied, or unoccupied, or under construction, reconstruction or demolition; which in the opinion of the President of the Municipal Committee is, or is likely to become a breeding place of mosquitoes or which is, in any other respect, a nuisance as denned in clause (z) of section 3.

(ii) The President of the municipal committee may, by notice in writing, require the person by whose act, default or sufferance, a nuisance arises, exists or continues, or is likely to arise, and the owner, lessee and occupier of the land, building or premises on which the nuisance arises, exists or continues or is likely to arise or any one or more of such person, owner, lessee, and occupier, to remove, discontinue or abate the nuisance by taking such measures and by executing such work in such manner and within such period of time as the President of the municipal committee shall prescribe in such notice.

(iii) The President of the municipal committee may also by any notice under clause (ii) or by another notice, served on such person, owner, lessee and occupier, or on any one or more of them, require them, or any one or more of them, to take all steps requisite or necessary to prevent a recurrence of the nuisance and may, if he thinks it desirable specify any work to be executed or measures to be carried out for that purpose, and may serve any such further notice notwithstanding that the nuisance may have been abated or removed if he considers that it is likely to recur:

Provided that if at any time within four months from the date of service of any such notice, the nuisance recurs through the failure of the person or persons upon whom such notice has been served to comply with the requirements contained in such notice, such person or persons shall be liable without any further notice to the penalties provided in this Act for offences under this section.

(iv) Where the nuisance arises or exists or is likely to arise or recur in connection with the construction, reconstruction or demolition of any premises, or any part of any premises, the President of the municipal committee may in addition to serving any notice on any one or more of the persons mentioned in clause (ii) serve any such notice on any architect, contractor or other person employed to carry out such work of construction, reconstruction, or demolition and also on any sub-contractor employed by such, contractor, person and sub-contractor.

(2) If any person who, by a requisition made under sub-section (1), is required to fill up, cover over or drain off a well, delivers to the President of the municipal committee, within the time prescribed for compliance therewith, written objections to such requisition, the President of the municipal committee shall report such objections to the Chief Commissioner, Delhi and shall make further inquiry into the case, and he shall not institute any prosecution under section 517 for failure to comply with such requisition except with the approval of the Chief Commissioner, Delhi, but the President of the municipal committee may nevertheless, if he deems the execution of the work called for by such requisition to be of urgent importance, proceed in accordance with section 489 and, pending the Chief Commissioner's disposal of the question whether the said well shall be permanently filled up, covered over or otherwise dealt with may cause such well to be securely covered over, so as to prevent the ingress of mosquitoes, and in every such case the President of the municipal committee shall determine with the approval of the Chief Commissioner, Delhi whether the expenses of any work already done as aforesaid shall be paid by such person, or by the President of the municipal committee out of the funds placed at the disposal of such President by Government or shall be shared, and, if so, in what proportions.

S.381-A Permission for new well etc.

(1) No new well, tank, pond, cistern or fountain shall be dug or constructed without the previous permission in writing of the President of the municipal committee.

(2) If any such work is begun or completed without such permission, the President of the municipal committee may either-

• (a) by written notice require the owner of other person who has done such work to fill up or demolish such work in such manner as the President of the municipal committee shall prescribe, or
• (b) grant written permission to retain such work, but such permission shall not exempt such owner from proceedings for contravening the provisions of sub-section, (1).

S.471 Certain offences punishable with fine.

Whoever-

• (a) contravenes any provisions of any of the sections, sub-sections or clauses mentioned in the first column of the following table, or of any regulation made thereunder; or
• (b) fails to comply with any requisition lawfully made upon him under any of the said sections, sub-sections or clauses,

shall be punished, for each such offence, with fine which may extend to the amount mentioned in that behalf in the third column of the said table.

Explanation.-The entries in the second column of the said table headed "Subject" are not intended as definitions of the offences described in the sections, sub-sections and clauses mentioned in the first column, or even as abstracts of those sections, subsections and clauses, but are inserted merely as references to the subjects, of the sections, sub-sections and clauses, the numbers of which are given in the first column.

S.472 Continuing offences.

Whoever, after having been convicted of-

• (a) contravening any provision of any of the sections, sub-sections or clauses mentioned in the first column of the following table, or of any regulation made thereunder, or,
• (b) failing to comply with any requisition lawfully made upon him under any of the said sections, sub-sections or clauses,

continued to contravene the said provision or to neglect to comply with the said requisition, or fails to remove or rectify any work or thing done in contravention of the said provision, as the case may be, shall be punished, for each day that he continues so to offend, with fine which may extend to the amount mentioned in that behalf in the third column of the said table.

Explanation.-The entries in the second column of the said table headed "Subject" are riot intended as definitions of the offences described in the sections, sub-sections and clauses mentioned in the first column, or even as abstracts of those sections, sub-sections and clauses, but are inserted merely as references to the subject of the sections, sub-sections and clauses, the numbers of which are given in the first column.

S.489 Works, etc. which any person is required to execute may in certain cases be executed by the President of the Municipal committee at such person's cost.

(1) When any requisition or order is made, by written notice, by the President of a municipal committee or by any municipal officer empowered in this behalf, under any section, sub-section or clause of this Act mentioned in sub-section (2), a reasonable period shall be prescribed in such notice for carrying such requisition or order into effect, and if, within the period so prescribed, such requisition or order or any portion of such requisition or order is not complied with, the President of the Municipal Committee may take such measures or cause such work to be executed or such thing to be done as shall, in his opinion, be necessary for giving due effect to the requisition or order so made, and, unless it is in this Act otherwise expressly provided, the expenses thereof shall be paid by the person or by any one of the person to whom such requisition or order was addressed.

(2) The sections, sub-sections and clauses of this Act referred to in sub-section (1) are the following, namely:-

• Section 381,
• Section 381A, sub-section (2).

(3) The President of the Municipal Committee may take any measure, execute any work or cause any thing to be done under this section, whether or not the person who has failed to comply with the requisition or order is liable to punishment or has been prosecuted or sentenced to any punishment for such failure.

S.491 Expenses recoverable under this Act to be payable on demand; and if not paid on demand may be recovered as an arrear of property tax.

(1) Whenever under this Act, or any regulation or by-law made under this Act, the expenses of any work executed or of any measure taken or thing done by or under the order of the President of the Municipal Committee or of any municipal officer empowered in this behalf are payable by any person, the same shall be payable on demand.

(2) If not paid on demand, the said expenses shall be recoverable by the President by any of the methods provided in the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911 (Punjab Act 3 of 1911) as in force in the Union territory of Delhi for the recovery of money recoverable by a Committee.

S.517 Provisions respecting institution etc., of civil and criminal actions and obtaining legal advice.

(1) The President of the municipal committee may-

• (a) take, or withdraw from, proceedings against any person who is charged with-
  • (i) any offence against this Act;
  • (ii) any offence which effects or is likely to affect any property or interest of the municipal committee or the due administration of this Act;
  • (iii) committing any nuisance whatsoever;
• (b) compound any offence against this Act, which under the law at the time in force may legally be compounded.