Chapter I Chapter I

(1) This Act may be called the Goa Public Health Act, 1985. (2) It extends to the whole of the Union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu. (3) It shall come into force at once.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— (1) “building” includes,— (a) a house, out-house, stable, latrine, godown, shed, but-wall (other than a boundary wall not exceeding 2.5 metres in height) and any other such structure, whether built with bricks, wood, mud, metal or any other material whatsoever; (b) a structure on wheel or simply resting on the ground without foundations; and (c) a ship, vessel, boat, tent, van and any other such structures used for human habitation; (2) “cattle” includes elephants, camels, mules, asses, horses, cows, buffaloes, bulls, bullocks, sheep, goats, dogs and pigs and the young ones of these species; (3) “Collector” means the Collector of Goa, the Collector of Daman and the Civil Administrator, Diu and includes an Additional Collector; (3A) “Competent authority” includes,— (a) the Chief Medical Officer (National Malaria Eradication Programme); (b) Health Officer I/c and Medical Officer I/c of Community Health Centre/ /Upgraded Primary Health Centre/Primary Health Centre/Urban Health Centres of the concerned jurisdiction, under supervision of Chief Medical Officer (National Malaria Eradication Programme); (4) “Director” means the Director of Health Services, Government of Goa, Daman and Diu; (5) “drain” means a house-drain or a drain of any other description and includes a sewer, tunnel, culvert, ditch, channel or any other device for carrying off sullage, sewage, offensive matter, polluted water, rain water or subsoil water; (6) “drug” means any substance used as medicine whether for internal or external use, or any substance used in the composition or preparation of such medicine; (7) “dwelling house” means a building constructed, used or adapted to be used, wholly or principally, for human habitation or in connection therewith; (8) “factory” means any premises including the precincts thereof wherein any industrial, manufacturing or trade process is carried on with the aid of steam, water, oil, gas, electrical or any other form of power which is mechanically transmitted and is not generated by human or animal agency; (9) “filth” means,— (a) nightsoil and other contents of latrines, cesspools and drains; (b) dung and the refuse of useless; or (c) putrid and putrifying substances; (10) “food” means any article used as food or drink for human consumption other than drugs, and includes:— (a) any article which ordinarily enters into, or is used in the composition or preparation of, human food; (b) any flavouring matter or condiments; and (c) any other article, which the Government may, having regard to its use, nature, substance or quality, declare, by notification in the Official Gazette, as food. (11) “Government” means the Government of the Union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu; (12) “Health Officer” means the Health Officer or Medical Officer in charge of Primary Health Centre or Urban Health Centre or any other officer of Health Services appointed by the Government under section 8; (13) “house drain” means any drain actually used, or intended to be used for the drainage of one or more premises; (14) “hut” means any building which is constructed principally of wood, mud leaves, grass, thatch or metallic sheets, and includes any temporary structure of whatever size or any small building of whatever material made, which the local authority may declare to be a hut for the purposes of this Act; (15) “infectious disease” means an infectious disease as defined in section 47 and includes notified diseases as defined in section 57; (15A) “injurious food” means that food which upon consumption may cause or is likely to cause injury or is likely to be injurious or has the capacity or tendency to be injurious and cause any harm, damage, injury to the human body or its cells or tissues or any part thereof, and includes all that injurious food which the Government may, having regard to the circumstances, as also its effect use, nature, substance or quality, declare, by notification in the Official Gazette, as injurious food for the purposes of Chapter IXA of this Act; (16) “latrine” includes privy, water-closet and urinal, whether public or private, or whether open or flushout; (17) “local area” means the area within the jurisdiction of a local authority; (18) “local authority” means,— (a) in any municipal area, the Municipal Council concerned; (b) in any other area, the Village Panchayat concerned. (19) “lodging house” means a hotel, a boarding house, a choultry, dharmashala or rest-house not maintained by the Government or a local authority, or any place where casual visitors are received and provided with sleeping accommodation, with or without food, on payment but does not include— (a) a students’ hostel under public or recognized control, or (b) retiring rooms and rest-houses provided by a railway administration and normally used by passengers or railway servants or both; (20) “magistrate” means a Magistrate as construed under section 3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974); (20-A) “migrant labourer” means any person from a State other than the State of Goa, employed in or in connection with the work of any establishment, to do any skilled or semi-skilled or unskilled, manual, supervisory, technical or clerical work, for hire or reward, whether in terms of employment, express or implied, by or through a contractor, in relation to such establishment; (21) “notification” means a notification published in the Official Gazette; (22) “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 disturbance to rest or sleep or which is or may be dangerous to life or injurious to the health or property of the public or the people in general who dwell or occupy property in the vicinity or persons who may have occasion to use any public right; and also includes any water collection in which, in the opinion of the Health Officer, mosquitoes breed or are likely to breed, unless such collection of water has been treated effectively to prevent such breeding; (23) “occupier” include,— (a) any person for the time being paying or liable to pay to the owner, the rent or any portion of the rent of the land or building or part of the same in respect of which the word is used or damages on account of the occupation of such land, building, or part; and (b) a rent-free occupant; (24) “offensive matter” includes,— (a) filth as defined in clause (9); and (b) sewage as defined in clause (31); (c) dirt, house sweepings, spittings, including chewed betel and tobacco, kitchen or stable refuse, broken glass or pottery, debris, and waste paper; (25) “offensive trade” means any trade in which the substance dealt with are, or likely to become, a nuisance; (26) “owner” includes the person for the time being receiving or entitled to receive, whether on his own account or as agent, trustee, guardian, manager or receiver for another person or estate or for any religious or charitable purposes, the rent or profits of the property in connection with which the word is used; (27) “panchayat” means a Village Panchayat constituted under the Goa, Daman and Diu Village Panchayat Regulations, 1962 (9 of 1972); (28) “prescribed” means prescribed by the Government by rules made under this Act; (29) “private street” means any street, road, square, court, alley, lane, passage or riding-path which is not a public street, but does not include a pathway made by the owner of premises on his own land to secure access to, or the convenient use of, such premises; (30) “public street” means any street, road, square, court, alley, lane, passage or riding-path, whether a thoroughfare or not, over which the public have a right of way, and includes,— (a) the roadway over any public bridge or causeway; (b) the footway attached to any such street, public bridge or causeway; and (c) the drains attached to any such street, public bridge or causeway and the land whether covered or not by any pavement, veranda, or other structure which lies on either side of the roadway upto the boundaries of the adjacent property whether that property is private property or property belonging to the Central Government or the Government; (30A) “sale” with its grammatical variation and cognate expression, means the sale of any article of injurious food, whether for cash or on credit or by way of exchange and whether by wholesale or retail, including free samples for human consumption or use, and includes an agreement for sale, an offer for sale, the exhibition for sale or having in possession for sale of any such article, and includes also an attempt to sell any such injurious article; (30B) “sanitary convenience” means latrine, toilet and facility for taking bath; (31) “sewage” means nightsoil and other contents of latrines, cesspools or drains and includes trade effluents and discharges from manufactories of all kinds; (32) “street” means a public or private street; (33) “urban local area” means the area within the jurisdiction of an urban local authority; (34) “urban local authority” means a Municipal Council constituted under the Goa, Daman and Diu Municipalities Act, 1968 (7 of 1969) and includes any panchayat notified by the Government as an urban local authority for the purposes of this Act; (35) “venereal disease” means syphilis, gonorrhoea, soft-chancre, venereal granuloma or lymphogranuloma; (36) “water-course” includes any river, stream or channel, whether natural or artificial, other than a drain; (37) “workplace” means any premises including the precincts thereof (not being a factory or a workshop) wherein is carried on any industrial, manufacturing or trade process, at which not less than five persons are employed for wages or any other remuneration; (38) “workshop” means any premises including the precincts thereof (not being a factory) wherein any article or part of an article is made, repaired, altered, ornamented, finished or otherwise adapted for use on a commercial basis and not less than five persons are employed for that purpose for wages or any other remuneration.