Chapter XIII Chapter XIII

Municipal control over drainage. (1) All drains, sewers, privies, water closets, house-gullies, gutter and cesspools within the municipal area shall be under the survey and control of the Council. (2) All covered drains, sewers and cesspools, whether public or private, shall be provided by the Council or other persons to whom they severally belong with proper traps, coverings or other means of ventilation; and the Chief Officer may by written notice call upon the owner of any such covered drains, sewers and cesspools to make provision accordingly.

Power of making and repairing drains. (1) It shall be lawful for a Council for any drainage purposes to carry any drain, conduit, tunnel, culvert, pipe or watercourse through, across or under any street or any place laid out as or intended for a street, or under any cellar or vault which may be under any street, and, after giving reasonable notice in writing to the owner or occupier, into, through or under any land whatsoever within the municipal area. (2) The Council, or any person acting under its authority, may construct a new drain in the place of an existing drain in any land wherein any drain vested in the Council has been already constructed, or repair or alter any drain vested in the Council. (3) The Council may also erect upon any premises or land or affix to the outside of any building or structure or to any tree, any such shaft or pipe as it may deem necessary for the proper ventilation of the municipal drains, and such shaft or pipe shall be carried to a height of not less than six feet above the highest part of the adjacent house and erected so as not to cause any nuisance or inconvenience to the occupants of the building to which such shaft or pipe has been affixed or of any other building in the neighbourhood or to the public. (4) In exercise of any power under sub-sections (1), (2) and (3), no unnecessary damage shall be done, and compensation, which shall, in case of dispute, be ascertained and determined in the manner provided in section 315 shall be paid by the Council to any person who sustains damage by the exercise of such power. (5) The Council may discontinue, close up or destroy any municipal drain which has, in the opinion of the Council, become useless or unnecessary or prohibit the use of any such drain either entirely or for the purpose of foul water drainage or for the purpose of surface drainage: Provided that, if by reason of anything done under this section any person is deprived of the lawful use of any drains, the Council shall, as soon as may be, provide for his use some other drain as effectual as the one which has been discontinued, closed up or destroyed or the use of which has been prohibited.

Power to require sufficient drainage of houses. (1) If any building or land be at any time undrained, or not drained to the satisfaction of the Chief Officer, the Chief Officer, subject to the control of the Council, may by written notice call upon the owner to construct or lay from such building or land a drain or pipe of such size and materials, at such level, and with such fall as he may think necessary for the drainage of such building or land into— (a) some drain or sewer, if there be a suitable, drain or sewer within fifty metres of any part of such building or land; or (b) a covered cesspool to be provided by such owner and approved by the Chief Officer. (2) The Chief Officer may, subject to the control of the Council, by written notice require any courtyard, alley or passage between two or more buildings to be paved by the owners of such buildings with such materials and in such manner as he may direct. (2A) Notwithstanding anything contained in any of the provisions of this Act, it shall be obligatory on the part of the owner of any building to connect such building to the sewage in the area where underground sewage system exists, failing which, the Chief Officer may, by a written notice, direct the owner of such building to connect the building to the underground sewage within such period as specified in the notice. (3) Whoever fails to comply with the notice issued by the Chief Officer under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) or sub-section (2A), as the case may be, shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees and in case of a continuing offence with a further fine which may extend to one hundred rupees for every day after the first during which such offence continues.

New building not to be erected without drains. (1) It shall not be lawful to construct or reconstruct any building, or to occupy or permit occupation of any building newly constructed or reconstructed, unless and until— (a) a drain is constructed of such size, materials and description, at such level and with such fall, as may be required by the bye-laws or if no bye-laws have been framed by the Council, as shall appear to the Chief Officer to be necessary for the effectual drainage of such building; (b) there have been provided for and set up in such building and in the land appurtenant thereto, all such appliances and fittings as may be required by the bye-laws; or if no bye-laws have been framed by the Council as may appear to the Chief Officer to be necessary for the purposes of gathering and receiving the drainage from, and conveying the same off, the said building and the said land, and of effectually flushing the drain of the said building and every fixture connected therewith. (2) The drain to be constructed as aforesaid shall empty into a municipal drain, or into some place set apart by the Council for the discharge of drainage, situated at a distance not exceeding fifteen metres from such building; but if there is no such drain or place within that distance, then such drain shall empty into a cess-pool provided by the owner of such building and approved by the Chief Officer.

Powers of owners and occupiers of buildings or lands to drain into municipal drains. (1) The owner or occupier of any building or land within the municipal area shall be entitled to cause his drains to empty into a municipal drain: Provided that he first obtains the written permission of the Chief Officer and complies with such conditions as the Chief Officer may, subject to the provisions of bye-laws, if any, prescribe as to the mode in which and the superintendence under which the communications are to be made between drains not vested in the Council and drains which are so vested. (2) An appeal shall lie to the Council against any order of the Chief Officer under sub-section (1), if made within fifteen days of the receipt of such order.

Right to carry drain through land or into drain belonging to other persons. (1) If the owner or occupier of any building or land desires to connect the same with any [municipal drain]... (1) If any person is entitled to drain his premises into a municipal drain, by means of a drain to be constructed through any land, or to be connected with a drain, belonging to or occupied by or in the use of some other person, he may make a written application in that behalf to the Chief Officer. (2) Subject to the control of the Council, the Chief Officer thereupon, after giving to such other person a reasonable opportunity of stating any objection to such application, may, if no objection is raised, or if any objection which is raised is in his opinion insufficient, by an order in writing authorise the applicant to carry his drain into, through, or under the said land, or into the said drain, as the case may be, in such manner and on such conditions as to the payment of rent or compensation, and as to the respective responsibilities of the parties for maintaining, repairing, flushing, cleaning and emptying the said drains as may appear to him to be adequate and equitable. (3) Every such order shall be a sufficient authority to the person in whose favour it is made, or to any agent or other person employed by him for this purpose, after giving or tendering to the owner, occupier or user of the said land or drain the compensation or rent, if any, specified in the said order, and otherwise fulfilling as far as possible the conditions of the said order, and after giving to the said owner, occupier or user reasonable notice in writing, to enter upon the land specified in the said order with assistants and workmen at any time between sunrise and sunset and subject to the provisions of this Act, to do all such work as may be necessary— (a) for the construction or connection of the drain, as may be authorised by the said order; (b) for renewing, repairing, or altering the same as may be necessary from time to time; or (c) for discharging any responsibility attaching to him under the terms of the order as to maintaining, repairing, flushing, cleaning or emptying the said drain or any part thereof. (4) In executing any work under this section as little damage as possible shall be done and the owner or occupier of the buildings or lands 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, reinstate and make good at his own cost and with the least practicable delay the ground or any 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.

If the owner of any land into, through or under which a drain has been carried under the last preceding section, whilst such land was unbuilt upon, shall at any subsequent time desire to construct a building thereon, the Chief Officer, subject to the control of the Council, shall, if he sanctions the construction of such building, by written notice require the owner or occupier of the building or land, for the benefit of which such drain was constructed, to close, remove or divert the same, and to fill in, reinstate and make good the land in such manner as he may deem fit to be necessary, in order to admit of the construction or safe enjoyment of the proposed building.

(1) Where the Chief Officer is of opinion that any privy or cess-pool, or additional privies or cesspools, should be provided in or on any building or land, or in any municipal area in which a water-closet system has been introduced, that water-closet or additional water-closets should be provided in or on any building or land, or that water-closets should be substituted for the existing privies in such number as may be considered necessary by him, the Chief Officer, subject to the control of the Council, may by written notice call upon the owner of such building or land, to provide such privies, cesspools or water-closets or to substitute water-closets for the existing privies at such sites as he may deem proper. (2) The Chief Officer, subject to the control of the Council, may by written notice require any person or persons employing workmen or labourers exceeding twenty in number, or owning or managing any market, school or theatre or other place of public resort, to provide such privies or water-closets at such sites as he may direct and to cause the same to be kept in proper order, and to be daily cleaned. (3) The Chief Officer, subject to the control of the Council, may by written notice require the owner or occupier of any land upon which there is a privy or water-closet, to have such privy or water-closet shut out, by a sufficient roof and a wall or fence, from the view of persons passing by or resident in the neighbourhood, or to alter as he may direct any privy door or water-closet door or trap door which opens on to any street, and which he deems to be a nuisance.

Power to require owners to keep drains, etc. in proper order; or to demolish or close a privy or cess-pool. (1) All drains, privies, water-closets, house-gullies, gutters and cesspools and drainage works of every description within a municipal area shall, unless constructed at the cost of the Council, be altered, repaired and kept in proper order at the cost and charge of the owners of the lands or buildings to which they belong, or for the use of which they have been constructed or continued; and the Chief Officer, subject to the control of the Council, may by written notice require any such owner to alter, repair, and put the same in good order in such manner as he may think fit. (2) It shall be the duty of every such owner of land or building to get such drains, privies, water-closets, house-gullies, gutters and cesspools cleansed either by the municipal agency or such other agency as the Chief Officer may approve and at such intervals as the Chief Officer may require. (3) Subject to the control of the Council, the Chief Officer may by written notice require the owner to demolish or close any privy or cesspool, whether constructed before or after the appointed day, which in the opinion of the Chief Officer is a nuisance, or is so constructed as to be inaccessible for the purpose of scavenging or incapable of being properly cleaned or kept in good order.

Power to close private drains and cess--pools. When any building or land within municipal area has a drain communicating with any cesspool or a municipal drain or any other place set apart for the discharge of drainage, the Chief Officer, if he considers that such drain, though it may be sufficient for the drainage of such building or land and though it may be otherwise unobjectionable, is not adapted to the general drainage of the locality, may, subject to the control of the Council, close such drain and such cesspool, or municipal drain, whether they are or are not on land vested in the Council, on providing a drain or drains or cesspool equally effectual for the drainage of such building or land, and the Chief Officer may, subject as aforesaid, do any work necessary for the purpose.

Encroachment on municipal drains. (1) No person shall, without the written consent of the Chief Officer,— (i) make or cause to be made any drain into or out from any of the drains vested in the Council; or (ii) construct a building over any drain, culvert or gutter vested in the Council. (2) The Chief Officer may, by written notice, require any person— (i) to demolish, alter, remake, or otherwise deal with any drain constructed in contravention of sub-section (1), as he may think fit; or (ii) to pull down or otherwise deal with any building or part thereof constructed in contravention of sub-section (1) as he may think fit. (3) Any person who contravenes any provision of sub-section (1) shall, on conviction, be punished with fine which may extend to Rs. 5,000.

Power in respect of drains, etc. unauthorisedly constructed, rebuilt or unstopped. (1) If any drain, privy, water-closet, house-gully or cess-pool on any land within a municipal area, is constructed, rebuilt or unstopped either without the consent or contrary to the orders, directions or bye-laws, of the Council or contrary to the provisions of any enactment in force at the time when it was so constructed, rebuilt or unstopped, the Chief Officer, subject to the control of the Council, may, by written notice, require such drain, privy, water-closet, house-gully or cess-pool to be demolished, amended, or altered as it may deem fit. (2) Any person who fails to comply with any notice issued by the Chief Officer under sub-section (1), shall, on conviction, be punished with fine which may extend to Rs. 5,000.

Inspection of drains, etc. (1) The Chief Officer, after due notice to the occupier, may inspect any drain, privy, water-closet, house-gully, gutter or cess-pool; and for that purpose, at any time between sunrise and sunset may enter upon any lands or buildings with assistants and workmen, and cause the ground or any other structure to be opened or broken where he or they may think fit, doing as little damage as may be. (2) The expense of such inspection and of causing the ground or the structure to be closed or repaired and made good as before shall be borne by the Council, unless the drain, privy, water-closet, house-gully, gutter or cesspool is found to be in bad order or

Council may execute certain works without option to person concerned of executing the same. (1) The Council may, if it thinks fit, cause any work, the execution of which may be ordered by or on behalf of the Council under any of the foregoing provisions of this Chapter, to be executed by municipal or other agency under its own orders, without first of all giving the person by whom the same would otherwise have to be executed the option of doing the same. (2) The expenses of any work so done shall be paid by the person aforesaid, unless the Council shall, by a general or special order or resolution, sanction the execution of such work at the charge of the municipal fund.

Any pipes, fittings, receptacles, or other appliances for or connected with the drainage of any private building or land shall, if supplied, constructed or erected at the expense of the Council, be deemed to be municipal property, unless the Council shall have transferred its interest therein to the owner of such building or land.