Chapter XVI CONTROL.

(1) The Director, Collector or any officer of Government authorized by the State Government by a general or special order shall have powers-

(a) to enter on and inspect, or cause to be entered on and inspected, any immovable property occupied by any municipality or any institution under its control or management or any work in progress under it or under its direction;

(b) to call for or inspect any extract from any municipality's or any committee's proceedings and any book or documents in the possession of or under the control of a municipality.

(2) The Collector shall have power-

(a) to call for any return, statement, account, report or record which he may think fit to require such municipality to furnish;

(b) to require a municipality to take into its consideration any objection which appears to him to exist to the doing of anything which is about to be done or is being done by or on behalf of such municipality or any information which he is able to furnish and which appears to him to necessitate the doing of a certain thing by the municipality, and to make a written reply to him within a reasonable time stating its reasons for not desisting from doing, or for not doing, such thing.

(3) The Collector may delegate any power exercisable by him under this section to any Deputy or Assistant Collector subordinate to him.

Powers of Collector to suspend execution of orders, etc. of municipalities. (1) If, in the opinion of the Collector, the execution of any order or resolution of a municipality, or the doing of anything which is about to be done or is being done by or on behalf of a municipality, is causing or is likely to cause injury or annoyance to the public or to lead to a breach of the peace or is unlawful, he may by order in writing under his signature suspend the execution or prohibit the doing thereof and where the execution of any work in pursuance of the order or resolution of the municipality is already commenced or completed direct the municipality to restore the position in which it was before the commencement of the work.

(2) When the Collector makes any order under this section he shall forthwith forward to the municipality affected thereby a copy of the order with a statement of the reasons for making it and also submit a report to the State Government alongwith copies of such order and statement.

(3) Against the order made by the Collector under sub-section (1) the municipality may prefer an appeal to the State Government within thirty days from the date on which it receives a copy of the order. The State Government may on such appeal being preferred rescind the order or may revise or modify or confirm the order or direct that the order shall continue to be in force, with or without modification, permanently or for such period as it may specify:

Provided that the order shall not be revised, modified or confirmed by the State Government without giving the municipality reasonable opportunity of showing cause against the order.

Extraordinary powers of Collector in case of emergency. (1) In cases of emergency the Collector may provide for the execution of any work, or the doing of any act, which may be executed or done by or on behalf of a municipality and the immediate execution or doing of which is, in his opinion, necessary for the health or safety of the public; and may direct that the reasonable expense of executing the work or doing the act, with a reasonable remuneration to the person appointed to execute or do it, shall be forthwith paid by the municipality.

(2) If the expense and remuneration are not so paid, the Collector may make an order directing any person, who for the time being has custody of any moneys on behalf of the municipality, as its officer, treasurer, banker or otherwise, to pay such expense and remuneration from such moneys as he may have in his hands or may from time to time receive, and such person shall be bound to obey such order.

(3) The provisions of sub-sections (2) and (3) of section 258 shall apply, so far as may be, to any order made under this section.

Power of Director to prevent extravagance in the employment of establishment. If in the opinion of the Director the number of persons who are employed by a municipality as officers or servants, or whom a municipality proposes to employ or the remuneration assigned by the municipality to those persons or to any particular person is excessive the municipality shall, on the requirement of the Director reduce the number of the said persons or the remuneration of the said person or persons:

Provided that the municipality may appeal against any such requirement to the State Government whose decision shall be conclusive.

(1) The State Government may after giving the municipality an opportunity of being heard order an inquiry to be held by any officer appointed by it in this behalf into any matters concerning the municipal administration of any municipal borough or any matters with respect to which its sanction, approval or consent is required under this Act.

(2) The officer holding such inquiry shall for the purposes thereof have the powers which are vested in a Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 in respect of the following matters: —

(a) discovery and inspection,

(b) enforcing the attendance of witnesses, and requiring the deposits of their expenses,

(c) compelling the production of documents,

(d) examining witnesses on oath,

(e) granting adjournments,

(f) reception of evidence taken on affidavit, and

(g) issuing commission for the examination of witnesses;

and may summon and examine suo motu any person whose evidence appears to him to be material; and shall be deemed to be Civil Court within the meaning of sections 480 and 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898.

Explanation. — For the purpose of enforcing the attendance of witnesses the local limits of such officer's jurisdiction shall be the limits of the State of Gujarat.

(3) The reasonable expenses incurred by any person in attending to give evidence may be allowed by the officer holding the inquiry to such person and shall be deemed to be part of the costs.

(4) Costs shall be in the discretion of the State Government and the State Government shall have full power to determine by and to whom and to what extent such costs are to be paid, and to allow interest on costs at a rate not exceeding 6 percent per annum; and such costs and interest shall be leviable as an arrear of land revenue.

(1) When the State Government is informed, on complaint made or otherwise, that default, has been made in the performance of any duty imposed on a municipality by or under this Act or by or under an enactment for the time being in force, the State Government, if satisfied after due inquiry that the alleged defult has been made, may direct the Director to fix a period for the performance of that duty.

(2) If that duty is not performed within the period so fixed, the Director may appoint some person to perform it, and may direct that the expense of performing it, with a reasonable remuneration to the person appointed to perform it, shall be forthwith paid by the municipality.

(3) If the expense and remuneration are not so paid, the Director may make an order directing the bank in which any moneys of the municipality are deposited or the person in charge of the Government Treasury or of any other place of security in which the moneys of the municipality are deposited to pay such expense and remuneration from such moneys as may be standing to the credit of the municipality in such bank or may be in the hands of such person or as may from time time be received from or on behalf of the municipality by way of deposit by such bank or person; and such bank or person shall be bound to obey such order. Every payment made pursuant to such order shall be a sufficient discharge to such bank or person from all liability to the municipality in respect of any sum or sums so paid by it or him out of the moneys of the municipality so deposited with such bank or person.

(1) Power of State Government to dissolve or supersede municipality in case of incompetency, default, or abuse of power. (2) Consequences of dissolution. (3) Constitution of municipality after dissolution. (4) [Deleted.] (1) If, in the opinion of the State Government, a municipality is not competent to perform, or deliberately makes default in the performance of the duties imposed on it by or under this Act, or otherwise by law or exceeds or abuses its powers, the State Government may, after giving the municipality an opportunity to render an explanation, by an order published, with the reasons therefore, in the Official Gazette declare the municipality to be incompetent or in default, or to have exceeded or abused its powers, as the case may be, and may dissolve such municipality * * * * *.

(2) When the municipality is so dissolved * * * * *, the following consequences shall ensue : -

(a) all councillors of the municipality shall * * * * in the case of dissolution as from the date specified in the order of dissolution, vacate their offices as such councillors ;

(b) all powers and duties of the municipality shall, during the period of dissolution * * * * be exercised and performed by such officer as the Director from time to time appoints in this behalf;

(3) (a) An election to constitute a municipality shall be completed before the expiration of a period of six months from the date of its dissolution:

Provided that where the remainder of the period for which the dissolved municipality would have continued is less than six months, it shall not be necessary to hold any election under this clause for constituting the municipality for such period;

(b) A municipality constituted upon the dissolution of municipality before the expiration of its duration shall continue only for the reminder of the period for which the dissolved municipality would have continued had it not been so dissolved.

Explanation.-If for any reason the number of vacancies in a municipality exceeds two-thirds of the total number of seats the municipality shall be deemed to be not competent to perform the duties imposed on it by or under this Act.

In all matters, connected with this Act, the State Government, and Collectors shall, respectively, have and exercise the same authority and control over Collectors and their subordinates as in matters of general and revenue administration.

Notified areas. For the purpose of this Chapter, notified area means an urban area or part thereof specified to be an industrial township area under the proviso to clause (1) of article 243 Q of the Constitution of India.

Power of State Government to impose taxation and regulate expenditure of the proceeds thereof. (1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, -

(a) apply or adapt to any notified area the provisions of any section of this Act, or part of any such section, or of any rules in force or which can be imposed in any municipal borough under the provisions, of this Act, subject to such restrictions and modifications, if any, as it may think fit;

(b) impose in any such area any tax, which might be imposed therein under the provisions of this Act if the said area were a municipal borough;

(c) appoint a person or a committee for the purposes of the assessment and recovery of any tax imposed under clause (b), and in order to arrange for the due expenditure of the proceeds of such taxes, and for the preparation and maintenance of proper accounts, and generally for enforcing the provisions of any section or rules applied or adapted under clause (a).

(2) The proceeds of any tax levied in any notified area under this section shall be expended only in such manner in which, if the notified area were a municipal borough, the municipal fund thereof might be expended.

For the purposes of any section of this Act which may be applied to a notified area, the person or committee appointed for such area under section 264B shall be deemed to be a Municipality under this Act, and the area shall be deemed to be a municipal borough.

Vesting, recovery and application of property, rights and liabilities of persons or committees appointed for areas ceasing to be notified area. (1) When any area ceases to be a notified area, the property (including arrears of taxes) and rights which, prior to such cessation, vested in the persons or committee appointed for such area under clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 264B shall, subject to all charges and liabilities effecting the same, vest in the municipality, if any, constituted for such area or within the limits of which such area is included or if there be no such municipality, in the State Government.

(2) Any arrears of taxes vesting in a municipality under sub-section (1) shall be recoverable under the provisions of this Act as if the taxes were imposed and recovered under this Act:

Provided that steps to recover such arrears of taxes shall be initiated within a period of three years from the date on which they so vest in the municipality.

(3) Where any property and rights vest in the State Government under subsection (1) the proceeds thereof shall, after satisfying all charges and liabilities affecting the same be applied for the benefit of the inhabitants of the said area in such manner as the State Government may think fit.