Chapter VI FUNCTIONS OF MUNICIPALITIES.

Duties of municipalities. It shall be the duty of every Municipality to make reasonable and adequate provision for the following matters within the limits of the municipal borough, namely :- A. In the sphere of public works- (a) naming streets and numbering of premises: (b) giving immediate relief to persons rendered destitute by such natural calamity as floods, fire or earthquake, within the municipal borough. B. In the sphere of education- establishing and maintaining primary schools. C. In the sphere of public health and sanitation- (a) regulating or abatting offensive or dangerous trades or practices; (b) securing or removing dangerous buildings or places and reclaiming unhealthy localities; (c) obtaining a supply or an additional supply of water, proper and sufficient for preventing danger to the health of the inhabitants from the insufficiency or unwholesomeness of the existing supply, when such supply or additional supply can be obtained at a reasonable cost; (d) public vaccination; (e) watering public streets and places; (f) cleansing public streets, places and sewers, and all spaces, not being private property, which are open to the enjoyment of the public, whether such places are vested in the municipality or not; removing noxious vegetation; and abating all public nuisances; (g) introducing and maintaining the system of water-closet so as to despense with the removal of night-soil by carrying the same in a receptacle, cart or other means; (h) disposing of night soil and rubbish and, if so required by the State Government, preparation of compost manure from such night soil and rubbish; (i) providing special medical aid accommodation for the sick in time of dangerous disease: and taking such measures as may be required to prevent the outbreak, or to suppress and prevent the recurrence, of such diseases: (j) establishing and maintaining public hospitals, dispensaries and family planning centres and providing public medical relief; (k) acquiring and maintaining, changing and regulating places for the disposal of the dead, and disposal of unclaimed dead bodies and carcasses of dead animals; (l) constructing, altering and maintaining public latrines and urinals. D. In the sphere of development- (a) constructing, altering and maintaining public streets, culverts, municipal boundary marks, markets, slaughter-houses privies, drains, sewers, drainage-works, sewerage works, baths, washing places, drinking fountains, tanks, wells, dams and the like; (b) suitable accommodation for calves, cows, or buffaloes required within the municipal borough for the supply of animal lymph; (c) printing such annual reports of the municipal administration of the borough as may be required by general or special orders of the State Government; (d) paying the salary and the contingent expenditure on account of such police or guards as may be required by the municipality for the purposes of this Act or for the protection of any municipal property; (e) improving agriculture by suitable measures including crop protection and crop experiments. E. In the sphere of town planning- devising town planning within the limits of the borough according to the law relating to town planning for the time being in force. F. In the sphere of administration- (a) lighting public streets, places and building; (e) watering public streets and places; (f) cleansing public streets, places and sewers, and all spaces, not being private property, which are open to the enjoyment of the public, whether such places are vested in the municipality or not; removing noxious vegetation; and abating all public nuisances; (g) introducing and maintaining the system of water-closet so as to despense with the removal of night-soil by carrying the same in a receptacle, cart or other means; (h) disposing of night soil and rubbish and, if so required by the State Government, preparation of compost manure from such night soil and rubbish; (i) providing special medical aid accommodation for the sick in time of dangerous disease: and taking such measures as may be required to prevent the outbreak, or to suppress and prevent the recurrence, of such diseases: (j) establishing and maintaining public hospitals, dispensaries and family planning centres and providing public medical relief; (k) acquiring and maintaining, changing and regulating places for the disposal of the dead, and disposal of unclaimed dead bodies and carcasses of dead animals; (l) constructing, altering and maintaining public latrines and urinals. D. In the sphere of development- (a) constructing, altering and maintaining public streets, culverts, municipal boundary marks, markets, slaughter-houses privies, drains, sewers, drainage-works, sewerage works, baths, washing places, drinking fountains, tanks, wells, dams and the like; (b) suitable accommodation for calves, cows, or buffaloes required within the municipal borough for the supply of animal lymph; (c) printing such annual reports of the municipal administration of the borough as may be required by general or special orders of the State Government; (d) paying the salary and the contingent expenditure on account of such police or guards as may be required by the municipality for the purposes of this Act or for the protection of any municipal property; (e) improving agriculture by suitable measures including crop protection and crop experiments. E. In the sphere of town planning- devising town planning within the limits of the borough according to the law relating to town planning for the time being in force. F. In the sphere of administration- (a) lighting public streets, places and building; (b) extinguishing fires, and protecting life and property when tires occur; (c) removing obstructions and projections in public streets or places and in spaces, not being private property, which are open to the enjoyment of the public, whether such spaces vest in the municipality or in Government; (d) erecting substantial boundary marks of such description and in such positions as shall be approved by the Collector, defining the limits or any alteration in the limits of the municipal borough; (e) registering births, marriages and deaths.

Provision for anti-rabic treatment of indigent persons. Every municipality shall, out of the municipal property and fund, make payments, at such rates and subject to such conditions as the State Government from time to time by general or special order determines, for the maintenance and treatment in any institution which the State Government declares by notification to be suitable for such purpose either within or without the municipal borough, and for other necessary expenses, of persons undergoing anti-rabic treatment as indigent persons according to the rules applicable to such institution : Provided that the municipality shall not be liable under this section for the maintenance, treatment and other necessary expenses of any person undergoing anti-rabic treatment as an indigent person in any such institution as aforesaid, unless such person, previous to his admission thereto, has been resident in the municipal borough for atleast one year.

Provision for lunatics and lepers. Every municipality shall, also out of the municipal property and fund, make payments at such rates and subject to such as the State Government from time to time by general or special order prescribes, determines, for the maintenance and treatment either in the municipal borough or at any asylum, hospital or house, whether within or without such borough, which the State Government declares by notification to be suitable for such purpose,- (a) of lunatics not being persons for whose confinement an order under Chapter XXXIV of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, is in force, and (b) of persons suffering from leprosy, resident within, or under any enactment for the time being in force removed from, the borough : Provided that the municipality shall not be liable under this section for the maintenance and treatment of any lunatic or leper in any such asylum, hospital or house as aforesaid, unless such lunatic or leper, immediately previous to his admission thereto, has been resident in the municipal borough for atleast one year : Provided further that where an application is made to the High Court or a District Court under the provisions of section 88 of the Indian Lunacy Act, 1912, no order for the payment of the cost of maintenance of the lunatic by a municipality shall be made without an opportunity being given to such municipality to show that the lunatic has an estate applicable to his maintenance or that there is a person legally bound, and having the means, to maintain him. The officer in charge of any asylum to which lunatics for whose maintenance and treatment a municipality is liable under this section are admitted shall maintain a clear account of the cost of maintenance and treatment incurred on account of each lunatic detained in the asylum and shall furnish a copy thereof to the municipality on application.

If any municipality supplies water through pipes, it shall take such steps, at such intervals, and on payment of such fees, as may be determined by a general or special order made by the State Government to ascertain the condition of the water so supplied, by inspection and analysis at a laboratory approved by the State Government in that behalf; Provided that the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette exempt any municipality from the provisions of this section.

Discretionary functions. A municipality may, at its discretion, provide, either wholly or partly, out of the municipal property and fund for the following matters within the limits of municipal borough, namely :- A. In the sphere of public works. (a) giving relief to, and establishing and maintaining relief works in time of famine or scarcity for, destitute persons within the limits of the municipal borough; (b) constructing, establishing or maintaining, public parks, gardens, libraries, museums, lunatic asylums, halls, offices, shops, markets dharmashalas, rest-houses, places of entertainment and homes for the disabled and destitute and other public buildings: (c) the construction, maintenance, management, organisation or purchase of telephone lines, or for guaranteeing the payment of interest on money expended for the construction of a telephone line subject to the previous sanction of the Development Commissioner when the line extends beyond the limits of the municipal borough; (d) the construction, purchase, organisation, maintenance, extension and management of mechanically propelled transport facilities for the conveyance of the public; (e) laying out, whether in areas previously built upon or not, new public streets and acquiring the land for that purpose, and the land required for the construction of buildings or curtilages thereof to abut on such streets; (f) planting and maintaining road-side and other trees; (g) the construction, maintenance, repairs, purchase of any works for the supply of electrical energy or gas; (h) the construction of sanitary dwellings for the poorer classes; (i) providing accommodation for all classes of servants employed by the municipality. B. In the sphere of education. (a) establishing and maintaining pre-primary schools such as balwadies, balmandirs, etc; (b) undertaking cultural activities; (c) making contribution by way of aid to pre-primary schools, secondary schools, institutions providing higher or technical education and institutions of educational societies; (d) establishing and maintaining secondary schools and institutions for higher or technical education; (e) making contribution to the funds of the local Self-government Institute; (f) undertaking measures for promotion of social and moral welfare of the population in the borough (including prohibition of consumption of intoxicants, and removal of untouchability); (g) establishing and maintaining gymnasia, playgrounds, theatres, libraries, reading rooms and other recreation centres. C. In the sphere of public health and sanitation. (a) arranging for the destruction or the detention and preservation of dogs which may be destroyed or detained under section 190 of this Act or under section 44 of the Bombay Police Act, 1951; (b) securing or assisting in the securing of suitable places for the carrying on of the offensive trades specified in sub-section (1) of section 221; (c) supplying, constructing and maintaining receptacles, fitting, pipes and other appliances whatsoever, on or for the use of private premises, for receiving and conducting the sewage thereof into sewers under the control of the municipality; (d) establishing and maintaining a farm or factory for the disposal of sewage; (e) the setting up of dairies or farms for the supply, distribution and processing of milk or milk products for the benefit of the inhabitants of the borough; (f) promoting the well-being of municipal employees or any class of municipal employees and of their dependents; D. In the sphere of development. (a) constructing, altering and maintaining residential buildings for housing houseless persons; (b) encouraging formation of Co-operative housing societies and giving assistance to those societies in construction of residential buildings; (c) undertaking manufacture of building materials and their distribution at fair prices. (d) undertaking schemes of slum clearance or re-development of any area. (e) the preparation of plans for economic development and social justice: (f) the performance of functions and the implementation of the schemes that may be entrusted by the State Government to it, including those in relation to the matters listed in the Twelfth Schedule to the Constitution of India. E. In the sphere of administration. (a) any public reception, ceremony, entertainment or exhibition within the municipal borough according to the rules made in this behalf by the State Government;

Arrangements purporting to be binding permanently or for a term of years. When a municipality has entered into any arrangement or made any promise purporting to bond it or its successors for a term of years or for an unlimited period, to continue to any educational or charitable institution a yearly contribution from the municipal property or fund, it shall be lawful for the municipality or its successors with the sanction of the State Government to cancel such arrangement or promise, or to discontinue, or to diminish such yearly contribution, provided that it shall have given atleast twelve months’ notice of its intention so to do to the manager or managers of such institution.