Chapter XVII Chapter XVII

For the purpose of this Chapter, the expression “dangerous disease” means any of the following diseases, namely:— (i) Anthrax; (ii) Cerebrospinal fever; (iii) Chicken-pox; (iv) Cholera; (v) Diphtheria; (vi) Enteric group of fevers; (vii) Erysipelas; (viii) Influenzal Pneumonia—acute influenza; (ix) Leprosy; (x) Measles; (xi) Plague; (xii) Polioniyelities; (xiii) Rabies; (xiv) Relapsing fever; (xv) Scarlet fever; (xvi) Small-pox; (xvii) Tuberculosis of lungs and intestines; (xviii) Typhus; (xix) Yellow fever; (xx) Continuous pyrexia of unknown origin of more than four days’ duration; (xxi) Any other disease which the Government may, from time to time, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare to be a dangerous disease.

In any municipal area in which the Council has provided suitable conveyance for the free carriage of persons suffering from any dangerous diseases, it shall be lawful for the Council by public notice to prohibit the conveyance of such persons in all or any public conveyances, and to direct that any conveyance that may, at any time, be used for conveying any such person, be immediately disinfected.

Restrictions on persons suffering from dangerous diseases. (1) No person suffering from any dangerous disease shall wilfully expose himself, and no person in charge of any person suffering from a dangerous disease shall expose such person, without proper precautions against spreading the said disease, in any street or in any school or factory, or in any inn, dharmashala, theatre, hotel, market, or other place of public resort. (2) No person suffering from any dangerous disease shall— (a) make or offer for sale any article of food or drink for human consumption or any medicine or drug; or (b) wilfully touch any such article, medicine or drug when exposed for sale by others; or (c) take any part in the business of washing or carrying clothes. (3) No person on whom an order has been served in this behalf by the Chief Officer shall remove to another place, or transfer to another person, except for the purpose of disinfection, any article which the person prohibited knows or has reason to believe has been exposed to infection of any kind whatsoever from any dangerous disease.

(1) In the event of a municipal area being threatened or visited at any time by the outbreak of any dangerous disease, the Council shall take measures for the prevention, treatment and control of the disease, including isolation of persons suffering from such disease and for investigating the causes of the prevalence or the outbreak of the disease. (2) The Collector may, by notification published in the Official Gazette and locally in such other manner as he deems fit, declare that a municipal area is visited or is threatened by the outbreak of a dangerous disease and thereupon the Collector may, by an order, require the Council to take such measures for the prevention, treatment, and control of such disease and within such period as may be specified in the order and it shall be the duty of the Council to comply with any order issued by the Collector. (3) If the Council fails to comply with any order issued by the Collector under sub-section (2), the Collector may appoint any person to take such other steps as may be necessary to give effect to the order and all the expenses, incurred by the person so appointed or by the Collector shall, be borne by the Council.

Information to be given to Chief Officer or Health Officer about incidence of dangerous diseases. It shall be the duty of— (i) every medical practitioner who, in the course of his practice, becomes cognizant of a case or a suspected case of a dangerous disease in any house or place other than a public hospital; (ii) the medical officer in charge of any hospital or dispensary at which any person suffering from or suspected to be suffering from any dangerous disease is treated or brought for treatment; (iii) the manager of a factory or the headmaster of a school, or the keeper of a lodging house who knows or has reason to believe that any person in any premises under his management or control is suffering from or has died of any dangerous disease; (iv) any head of the house-hold who knows or has reason to believe that any person residing with him is suffering from a dangerous disease; to give information of the same with the least practicable delay to the Chief Officer or the Health Officer of the Council.

Power of entry into places where cases of dangerous diseases suspected. The Chief Officer, the Health Officer or any person duly authorised by the Chief Officer or the Health Officer may, at any time, by day or night, enter with or without assistants into or upon any place in which a case of a dangerous disease is reported or suspected to exist, after giving such notice as may appear to him reasonable and without any notice in the case of factories, work-shops, workplaces, offices, business places and the like, for the purposes of inspection, investigation and adoption of such measures as he may consider necessary to prevent the spread of the disease, including the removal of an infected person to any hospital or place at which persons suffering from the said disease are received for medical treatment, and to prohibit the person so removed from leaving such hospital or place without the permission of the officer or person under whose orders he was removed or of the officer in charge of such hospital or place: Provided that, where the Collector has made a declaration under sub-section (2) of section 234, it shall be lawful for the Chief Officer, the Health Officer or any authorised person to enter any place in which a case of dangerous disease is reported or suspected to exist without notice.

Chief Officer or Health Officer may direct owner or occupier to take certain precautionary measures and in default, carry out the same. The Chief Officer or the Health Officer or any other municipal officer duly authorised by the Chief Officer or the Health Officer in this behalf may by written notice— (a) require the owner or the occupier of any building or part of a building in which a case of a dangerous disease occurs, to get such building cleaned, white-washed or disinfected or get any article in such building cleansed or disinfected to the satisfaction of the officer issuing such notice; (b) prohibit the letting of or the providing of accommodation in any hotel, in, dharmashala, or sarai in which a person has, or in which there is reason to believe that a person has been suffering from a dangerous disease, unless and until the person desiring so to let or provide accommodation shall have had the building, or part thereof, cleansed, white-washed or disinfected or any article therein cleansed or disinfected to the satisfaction of the officer issuing such notice: Provided that — (i) if, in the opinion of the Chief Officer, or the Health Officer, or such authorised officer, the owner or occupier is too poor to pay for the cost of disinfecting, cleansing or whitewashing, he may direct such disinfecting, cleansing or white-washing to be done at the cost of the municipal fund; (ii) when a declaration has been made by the Collector under sub-section (2) of section 234, the Chief Officer, the Health Officer or such authorised officer may at any time get such disinfecting, cleansing or white-washing done without notice by the municipal staff at the cost of the municipal fund.

(1) If the Council is of the opinion that the water in any well, tank or other place is likely, if used for the purpose of drinking, bathing, washing or for any other purpose, to endanger health or cause the spread of any dangerous disease, the Council may— (i) require the owner or the person in charge of such well, tank or other place by a written notice to take such measures as may be necessary to prevent danger to public health or prevent the spread of any dangerous disease; (ii) by public notice, prohibit the removal or use of the said water for any such purpose and may take such steps as may be necessary to prevent any person from removing or using water from such well, tank, or other place: Provided that, when a declaration under sub-section (2) of section 234 has been made by the Collector, it shall be lawful for the Chief Officer or the Health Officer to take action under this sub-section and report the action taken to the Council for approval. (2) No person shall remove or use the water from any well, tank or other place in respect of which any such public notice has been issued.

Additional powers of Council on threatened outbreak of dangerous disease. If a declaration is made by the Collector under sub-section (2) of section 234, the Council shall have power— (a) to order with the previous permission of an Executive Magistrate, the evacuation of an infected building used as a dwelling or of any part thereof, or of any building so used adjacent to such building by the person or persons residing, whether habitually or temporarily, therein provided that accommodation for all persons affected by the order is available or is provided elsewhere; (b) to order with the previous permission of an Executive Magistrate, the destruction of any insanitary shed or hut in which there is or has been a case of a dangerous disease or which is likely to spread any dangerous disease; (c) to prohibit either generally or by special order in any individual case, assemblages consisting of any number of persons exceeding fifty, in any place whether public or private, or in any circumstances, or for any purpose, if in the opinion, recorded in writing, of the Health Officer of the Council or of the Civil Surgeon, such assemblages in such place or in such circumstances, or for such purpose, would be likely to become a means of spreading the disease or of rendering it more virulent; (d) to direct the examination by a medical officer of persons and if necessary, the disinfection of the clothing, bedding or other articles suspected of being infected, belonging to persons either arriving from places outside the municipal area or residing in any building adjacent to any infected building, and to direct that any such person shall give his name and address and present himself daily for a medical examination at such times and places as may be prescribed, for a period not exceeding ten days.

Penalty for contravention of provisions relating to dangerous diseases. (1) Whoever knowingly contravenes any provision of section 232, 233, 235, 236, 237 or 238 or clause (d) of section 239, or disobeys any order or requisition made under any of the aforesaid sections, or obstructs any officer of the Council or other person acting under the authority of the Council in carrying out executively any such order shall, on conviction, be punished with, fine which may extend to Rs. 2,000, and in the case of continuing offence with further fine which may extend to Rs. 100 for every day after the first during which such contravention continues. (2) Whoever contravenes any provision of clauses (a), (b) or (c) of section 239, or disobeyes any order or requisition made under any of the aforesaid clauses, or obstructs any officer of the Council or other person acting under the authority of the Council in carrying out executively any such order shall, on conviction, be punished with fine which may extend to Rs. 5,000, and in the case of continuing offence with further fine which may extend to Rs. 100 for every day after the first during which such contravention continues.

Payment of compensation. The Council may in its discretion, give compensation to any person who sustains substantial loss or damage by reason of any action taken or required to be taken under sections 236, 237, 238 and 239, but except as allowed by the Council, no claim for compensation shall lie for any loss or damage caused by the exercise of any of the powers specified in the aforesaid section.

Diseases among animals. In the event of a municipal area being threatened or visited at any time by the outbreak of any infectious disease amongst cattle, sheep, goats or other animals, the Council shall take all such measures as it deems necessary for the purpose of preventing, meeting, mitigating or suppressing the disease or the outbreak or introduction thereof, and the provisions of sections 232 to 241, shall mutatis mutandis, apply.

Proceedings to abate over crowding of interiors of buildings. (1) Whenever the Council considers the interior of a building is so overcrowded as to be or to be likely to become dangerous or prejudicial to the health of the inhabitants of that or of any neighbouring building, the Council may cause proceedings to be taken before an Executive Magistrate for the purposes of obtaining an order to prevent such overcrowding. (2) Such Magistrate may, on the production of a certificate by a medical officer stating his opinion that the overcrowding complained of is likely to cause disease or risk of disease and after such further inquiry, if any, as may appear to such Magistrate necessary, require the owner of the building within a reasonable time, not being more than six weeks or less than ten days, to abate the number of lodgers, tenants or other inmates of the said buildings to such extent as he shall deem necessary to prescribe, or may pass such other order as he shall deem just and proper. (3) If the owner of the said building shall have let the same, the landlord of the lodgers, tenants or other actual inmates of the same shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be the owner of the building. (4) It shall be incumbent on any owner, to whom a requisition is issued under sub-section (2), forthwith to give to so many of the lodgers, tenants or other actual inmates of the said building as may be necessary to fulfil the conditions prescribed in such requisition, written notice to vacate the said building within the period specified in such requisition, and any such lodgers, tenants or inmates receiving such notice shall be bound to comply therewith. (5) Any owner who after the date specified in any requisition issued under sub-section (2) permits the overcrowding of any building in contravention of such requisition, and any person who omits to vacate any such building in accordance with the notice given to him under sub-section (4), shall, on conviction, be punished with fine which may extend to Rs. 100 for each day subsequent to the date specified in such requisition during which such overcrowding, or such omission to vacate, continues.

Withdrawal and modification of powers and orders under this chapter. (1) The Government may by notification in the Official Gazette, at any time,— (a) withdraw all or any of the powers conferred under sections 232 to 243 from any Council; (b) impose any limitations, restrictions or conditions on any Council in respect of the exercise of any such powers; or (c) cancel any order passed by a Council in the exercise of any such power. (2) Every order issued by a Council or any authority or officer subordinate to the Council in exercise of any such power as aforesaid shall, on the withdrawal of such power, cease to be in force in the municipal area, except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such order ceases to be in force. (3) The Government may by like notification at any time reconfer any such powers on a Council from which they are withdrawn under sub-section (1).

Special powers in respect of over crowding area. (1) If the Council is of opinion that risk of disease has arisen or is likely to arise either to any occupier in, or to any inhabitant in the neighbourhood of, any part of the municipal area by reason of any of the following defects, namely:— (a) the manner in which either buildings or blocks of buildings, already existing or projected therein, are, or are likely to become, crowded together; or (b) the impracticability of cleansing any such buildings or blocks of buildings, already existing or projected; or (c) the want of drainage or scavenging, or the difficulty of arranging therein for the drainage or scavenging of any such buildings or blocks as aforesaid; or (d) the narrowness, closeness, bad arrangement or bad condition of the streets or buildings or group of buildings, the Council may, if any of its powers are not withdrawn under the last preceding section, exercise the following powers, namely:—