Chapter IX MISCELLANEOUS

Reports. The Board shall, before such date and in such form and at such intervals as may be prescribed, submit to the State Government a report on such matters as may be prescribed, and the State Government shall cause such report to be published in the Official Gazette. Every such report which shall include cases where the opinion of the Public Service Commission has not been accepted under the second proviso to sub-section (4) of section 10, shall be laid before each House of the State Legislature, as soon as may be, after it is published.

The Board shall also submit to the State Government such statistics, returns, particulars or statements in regard to any proposed or existing housing schemes, land development schemes or labour housing schemes at such times and in such form and manner as may be prescribed or as the State Government may from time to time direct.

The Housing Commissioner shall furnish to the State Government such reports and returns at such intervals as the State Government may by order direct.

Power of Board to require returns, reports, production of documents, etc. (1) The Board may require the Housing Commissioner to furnish it with,— (a) any return, statement, estimate, statistics or other information regarding any matter pertaining to the administration of this Act; (b) a report on any such matter; and (c) a copy of any document in his charge. (2) The Housing Commissioner shall comply with every requisition without unreasonable delay.

Power of entry. The Housing Commissioner or any person either generally or specially authorised by him or the Board in this behalf may, with or without assistants or workmen, enter into or upon any land, in order,— (a) to make any inspection, survey measurement, valuation inquiry; (b) to take levels; (c) to dig or bore into the sub-soil; (d) to set boundaries and intended lines of work; (e) to make such levels, boundaries and lines of works and cutting trenches; or (f) to do any other thing; whenever it is necessary to do so, for any of the purposes of this Act or any rules made or scheme sanctioned thereunder: Provided that,— (i) no such entry shall be made between sunset and sunrise; (ii) no dwelling house and no public building which is used as a dwelling place, shall be so entered, except with the consent of the occupier thereof, and without giving the said occupier at least twenty-four hours’ previous written notice of the intention to make such entry; (iii) sufficient notice shall in every instance be given, even when any premises may otherwise be entered without notice, to enable the inmates of any apartment occupied by women to remove themselves to some part of the premises where their privacy will not be disturbed; (iv) due regard shall always be had, so far as may be compatible with the exigencies of the purposes for which the entry is made, to the social and religious usages of the occupants of the premises entered.

No person shall commence any suit against the Board, Housing Commissioner, Chief Engineer, Secretary or against any officer or servant of the Board or any person acting under the orders of the Board, for anything done or purporting to be done in pursuance of this Act, without giving to the Board, Housing Commissioner, Chief Engineer, Secretary officer or servant or person concerned two months’ previous notice in writing of the intended suit and of the cause thereof, nor after six months from the date of the act complained of.

The Board shall triennially have a valuation of its assets and liabilities made by a valuer appointed with the approval of the State Government: Provided that it shall be open to the State Government to direct a valuation to be made at any time it may consider necessary.

(1) The State Government may, by notification and subject to the condition of previous publication, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act. (2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may be made for all or any of the following purposes, namely:— (a) the allowances of the Chairman and other members and remuneration and conditions of service under section 6; (b) the manner and form in which contracts shall be entered into under section 15; (c) the form of annual housing programme, and land development programme budget and schedule of staff of officers and servants, particulars of housing schemes or land development schemes and other particulars to be contained in the programme under section 19; (d) the form of notice under section 35; (e) the rate of interest under section 36; (f) other matters to be decided by the Tribunal under section 41; (g) the forms of notice under sections 45 and 46 and any other manner in which they may be served; (h) the procedure to be followed in taking possession of any Board premises under section 45; (i) the manner in which damages under section 46 may be assessed; (j) the manner in which appeals may be preferred under section 48 and the procedure to be followed in such appeals; (k) the conditions subject to which the Board may borrow any sum under section 54; (l) the manner of preparation, maintenance and publication of accounts under section 55; (m) the date before which, the form in which, the interval at which and the matters on which reports shall be submitted under section 69; (n) the time at which and the form and manner in which statistics, returns, particulars and statements shall be submitted under section 70; (o) the manner in which the Board shall be superseded and reconstituted under section 86; (p) specifying the bye-laws contravention of any of which shall be an offence; and (q) any other matter which is to be or may be prescribed under this Act.

Every rule made under this Act and every notification issued under section 88 shall be laid as soon as may be after it is made or issued, before each House of the State Legislature while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session in which it is so laid or the session immediately following, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or notification or both Houses agree that the rule or notification should not be made or issued, the notification or the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so however that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything done under that rule or notification.

The Board may from time to time with the previous sanction of the State Government, by notification, make regulations consistent with this Act and with any rules made under this Act,—

Not withstanding anything contained in this Act or land development scheme sanctioned under this Act, the Board may, subject to such restrictions, conditions and after limitation as may be prescribed, make bulk allotment with prior approval of the Government by sale, lease or otherwise of sites developed, houses or flats constructed by it or belonging to it or vested in it or acquired by it for the purpose of any development scheme,- (i) to the State Government; or (ii) to the Central Government; or (iii) to any corporation, body or organization owned or controlled by the central Government or State Government.

(1) The Board may make bye-laws, not inconsistent with this Act and the rules and regulations, which may be necessary or expedient for the purpose of carrying out its duties and functions under this Act. (2) No bye-law made by the Board shall come into force until it has been confirmed by the State Government with or without modification. (3) All bye-laws made under this section shall be published in the official gazette.

Penalty for contravention of bye-laws. Whoever contravenes a bye-law made under section 77 the contravention of which is prescribed as an offence shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees or with both.

Penalty for obstructing, etc. If any person,- (a) obstructs any person with whom the Board has entered into a contract, in the performance or execution by such person of his duty or of anything which he is empowered or required to do under this Act, or (b) removes any mark set up for the purpose of indicating any level or direction necessary to the execution of works authorised under this Act, he shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees or with both.

Authority for prosecution. Unless otherwise provided, no court shall take cognisance of any offence punishable under this Act except on the complaint of, or upon information received from, the Board or some person authorised by the Board by general or special order in this behalf.

Certain persons to be public servants. The competent authority and all members, officers and servants of the Board shall be deemed, when acting or purporting to act in pursuance of any of the provisions of this Act, to be public servants within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code.

Protection of action taken under this Act. No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against any person for anything which is in good faith done or purported to be done under this Act.

For the removal of doubt, it is hereby declared that the Karnataka Rent Control Act, 1961,- (a) shall not apply to any house belonging to or vesting in the Board under or for the purposes of this Act; (b) shall not apply as against the Board to any tenancies or other like relationship created by the Board in respect of such house, but (c) shall apply to any house let to the Board.

The State Government may give the Board such directions as in its opinion are necessary or expedient for carrying out the purposes of this Act, and it shall be the duty of the Board to comply with such directions.

Omitted. None

(1) If the State Government is satisfied that the Board has made default in performing any duty imposed on it by or under this Act, it may fix a period for the performance of that duty. (2) If in the opinion of the State Government, the Board fails or neglects to perform such duty within the period so fixed for its performance, it shall be lawful for the State Government, notwithstanding anything contained in section 6, to supersede and reconstitute the Board in the prescribed manner. (3) After the supersession of the Board and until it is reconstituted, the powers, duties and functions of the Board under this Act shall be carried on by the State Government or by such officer or officers as the State Government may appoint for this purpose.

(1) The State Government may, by notification, declare that with effect from such date as may be specified in the notification, the Board shall be dissolved: Provided that no such declaration shall be made by the State Government unless a resolution to that effect has been moved in and passed by both Houses of the State Legislature. (2) With effect from the date specified in the notification under sub-section (1),- (a) all properties, funds, and dues which are vested in and realisable by the Board shall vest in and be realisable by the State Government; (b) all liabilities enforceable against the Board shall be enforceable against the State Government to the extent of the properties, funds and dues vested in and realised by the State Government. (3) Nothing in this section shall affect the liability of the State Government in respect of loans or debentures guaranteed under sub-section (5) of section 54.

(1) The State Government shall have general administrative control and supervision over all the activities and affairs of the Board. (2) The State Government may call for the records of any proceedings of the Board, the Housing Commissioner or any officer subordinate to the Board, for the purpose of satisfying itself as to the correctness, legality or propriety of such proceedings and may pass such order with respect thereto as it thinks fit.

Removal of difficulties. (1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, in consequence of the transition to the said provisions from the provisions of the Acts in force immediately before the commencement of this Act, the State Government may, by notification, make such provisions as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for removing the difficulty. (2) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act (otherwise than in relation to the transition from the provisions of the Acts in force before the commencement of this Act), the State Government may, by notification, make such provisions, not inconsistent with the purposes of this Act, as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for removing the difficulty.

Repeal and savings. From the date of establishment of the Board under this Act,- (a) the Mysore Housing Board Act, 1955 (Mysore Act XX of 1955); the Mysore Labour Housing Act, 1949 (Mysore Act XXVIII of 1949); the Hyderabad Housing Board Act, 1956 (Hyderabad Act XLVI of 1956); and the Bombay Housing Board Act, 1948 (Bombay Act LXIX of 1948) shall stand repealed; (b) the properties, rights and liabilities of the Mysore Housing Board established under the Mysore Housing Board Act, 1955, shall vest in the Board and the moneys at the credit of the Board’s fund constituted under the said Act, and the moneys at the credit of the Mysore labour Housing Fund constituted under the Mysore Labour Housing Act, 1949, shall stand transferred to the Housing Board Fund constituted under this Act; and (c) subject to the provisions of the preceding clause, the provisions of sections 6 and 24 of the Karnataka General Clauses Act, 1899 (Karnataka Act III of 1899), shall be applicable in respect of the repeal of the Acts specified in clause (a).