Powers to provide amenity or carry out development at cost of owner in the event of his default and to levy cess in certain cases

Powers to provide amenity or carry out development at cost of owner in the event of his default and to levy cess in certain cases.

1. (1) If the Local Development Authority, after holding a local inquiry or upon report from any of its officers or other information in its possession, is satisfied that any amenity in relation to any land in local development area has not been provided which in the opinion of the Local Development Authority ought to have been or ought to be provided or that any development of the land for which permission, approval or sanction has been obtained under this Chapter or under any law in force before the coming into force of this chapter has not been carried out, it may, after according the owner of the land or the person providing or responsible for providing the amenity a reasonable opportunity to show cause, by order require him to provide the amenity or carry out the development within such time as may be specified in the order.
2. (2) If any amenity is not provided or any such development is not carried out within the time specified in the order, then the Local Development Authority may itself provide the amenity or carry out the development or have it provided or carried out through such agency as it deems fit: Provided that before taking any action under this sub-section, the Local Development Authority shall afford a reasonable opportunity to the owner of the land or to the person providing or responsible for providing the amenity to show cause as to why such action should not be taken.
3. (3) All expenses incurred by the Local Development Authority or the agency employed by it in providing the amenity or carrying out the development together with interest at such rate as the State Government may by order fix from the date when a demand for the expenses is made until payment may be recovered by the Local Development Authority from the owner or the person providing or responsible for providing the amenity as arrears of land revenue.
4. (4) Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing sub-sections where the Local Development Authority on the written representation by so many of the owners of any land in a development area as may represent not less than one half of the area, of that land, is satisfied that any amenity in relation to such land has not been provided which in the opinion of the Local Development Authority ought to have been or ought to be provided, or that any development of that land for which permission, approval or sanction has been obtained under this chapter or under any law in force before the commencement of this Chapter has not been carried out, it may itself provide the amenity or carry out the development or have it provided or carried out through such agency as it deems fit, and recover the expenses by levy of cess from all the owners of the said land: Provided that if the owners making the said representation contend that the amenity had been agreed to be provided or the development had been agreed to be carried out by a colonizer or cooperative housing society through or from whom the land was acquired by them, they shall file with the Local Development Authority a copy of such agreement or of the deed of transfer or of the bye-laws of the society incorporating such agreement, and no action shall be taken by the Local Development Authority under this sub-section unless notice has been given to the colonizer or the society, as the case may be, to show-cause why such action should not be taken: Provided further that where the Local Development Authority is satisfied that the coloniser or the society has become defunct or is not traceable, no notice under the preceding proviso need be issued.
5. (5) The cess referred to in sub-section
6. (4) shall be equivalent to the expenses incurred by the Local Development Authority or the agency employed by it in providing the amenity or carrying out the development, together with interest at such rate as the State Government may by order fix, from the date of completion of the work until payment, and shall be assessed and levied on all the owners of the land in proportion to the respective areas of land owned by them.
7. (6) The said cess shall be payable in such number of instalments, and each instalment shall be payable at such time and in such manner, as the Local Development Authority may fix, and arrear of cess shall be recoverable as arrears of land revenue.
8. (7) The expenses incurred by the Local Development Authority or the agency employed by it under this section shall be certified by the Local Development Authority, and such certificate, as also the assessment of the cess, if any, under sub-section
9. (5) shall be final.
10. (8) If under any agreement between the owners of the land, the colonizer or the society referred to in sub-section
11. (4) the responsibility for providing the amenity or carrying out the development rested with such colonizer or society, the cess payable under that sub-section by the owners shall be recoverable by them from the colonizer or the society, as the case may be.