Chapter X MISCELLANEOUS

63. Recovery of cost of repairing damage when the offender is unascertainable. When the person causing any damage, alteration, enlargement or obstruction to any irrigation work without proper authority cannot, after such enquiry as the Deputy Commissioner may deem sufficient, be ascertained or identified, the Deputy Commissioner may, on a requisition from the Irrigation Officer, after giving not less than one month's notice to the holders and occupiers of all lands benefited thereby, and after hearing their representations, if any, recover from them, as an arrear of land revenue, in such proportion as he thinks fit, the cost of repairing such damage, or of removing such alteration, or obstruction.

64. Liability when person using water unauthorisedly cannot be found. (1) If water supplied through a field channel is used in any unauthorised manner, and if the person by whose act or neglect such use has occurred cannot be found after such enquiry as the Irrigation Officer may deem sufficient, the Irrigation Officer after giving not less than one month's notice to the holders and occupiers of all lands benefited thereby and after hearing their representations, if any, make an order for the recovery of such charges as may be prescribed for such use from such holders and occupiers in such proportion as he may find just. (2) All charges for the unauthorised use of water determined under sub-section (1) shall be recoverable as an arrear of land revenue.

65. Appeals against orders under the Act. Any person aggrieved by an order of an Irrigation Officer under section 12 or 24 may within thirty days from the date of communication of the order, prefer an appeal to the Deputy Commissioner of the district.

66. Power of revision. The Divisional Commissioner may call for and examine the records of the proceedings under this Act of a Deputy Commissioner or an Irrigation Officer or any officer subordinate to the Deputy Commissioner or the Irrigation Officer for the purpose of satisfying himself as to the correctness, legality or propriety of any decision or order passed and the regularity of the proceedings of such officer. When on examination of the records of any case, the Divisional Commissioner considers that any order or decision of such officer should be revised, such order or decision may be revised or altered and the Divisional Commissioner may pass such other orders as he may deem just.

67. Power to summon and examine witnesses. Any officer empowered under this Act to conduct any enquiry, may exercise all such powers connected with the summoning and examining of witnesses and the production of documents as are conferred on a civil court, by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and every such enquiry shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding for purposes of sections 193 and 224 of the Indian Penal Code.

68. Service of notices. Service of any notice under this Act shall be made by delivering or tendering a copy thereof signed by the officer therein mentioned. Whenever it may be practicable, the service of the notice shall be made on the person therein named. When such person cannot be found, the service may be made on any adult male member of his family residing with him; and if no such adult male member can be found, the service of the notice may be made by sending a copy of such notice by registered post to such person at his usual place of residence.

69. Bar of certain proceedings, etc. (1) No suit, prosecution or other proceeding shall lie against any officer or servant of the State Government, for any act done or purporting to be done under this Act, without the previous sanction of the State Government . (2) No officer or servant of the State Government shall be liable in respect of any such act in any civil or criminal proceeding if the act was done in good faith in the course of the execution of duties or the discharge of the functions imposed by or under this Act. (3) No suit shall be instituted against the State Government in respect of any act done unless the suit is instituted within six months from the date of the act complained of. (4) In the case of an intended suit against any officer or servant of the State Government under sub-section (1), the person intending to sue shall be bound to give the officer or servant, as the case may be, one month's notice at least of the intended suit with sufficient description of the cause of action, failing which such suit shall be dismissed. (5) Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, no civil court shall entertain any suit instituted in respect of any matter to which this Act applies.

(1) If the person committing an offence under this Act is a company, the company as well as every person in charge of, and responsible to the company for the conduct of its business at the time of the commission of the offence shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly: Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any such person liable to any punishment if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an offence under this Act has been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or that the commission of the offence is attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary, or other officer of the company, such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. Explanation.- For the purpose of this section,- (a) "company" means any body corporate and includes a firm or other association of individuals, and (b) "director" in relation to a firm means a partner in the firm.

(1) The State Government may, after previous publication, by notification, make rules for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, and such rules may be general for all irrigation works or may be special for one or more irrigation works, as may be specified in such rules. (2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may be made in respect of the following matters:- (a) the proceedings of any officer who under any provision of this Act is required or empowered to take action in any matter; (b) the amount of and charges to be made under this Act; (c) the economic use of water supplied from any irrigation work; (d) the manner in which and the officer by whom complaints, as to the inadequacy of means of crossing shall be investigated under section 10; (e) regulating the period of opening and closing of channels distributaries and sub-distributaries of irrigation works. (3) All rules made under this Act shall, subject to any modification made under sub-sectiion (4), have effect as if enacted in this Act.

72. Repeal and savings. (1) The Mysore Irrigation Act, 1932 (Mysore Act I of 1932), the Hyderabad Irrigation Act, 1357F (Hyderabad Act 24 of 1357F), the Bombay Irrigation Act, 1879 (Bombay Act 7 of 1879), the Madras Irrigation Tanks (Improvement) Act, 1949 (Madras Act XIX of 1949), and the Madras Irrigation Works (Repairs, Improvement and Construction) Act, 1943 (Madras Act XVIII of 1943), are hereby repealed: Provided that the provisions of section 6 of the Karnataka General Clauses Act, 1899 (Karnataka Act 3 of 1899), shall be applicable in respect of the said repeal and sections 8 and 24 of the said Act shall be applicable as if the said enactments had been repealed and re-enacted by this Act. (2) The Mysore Tank Panchayat Act, 1911 (Mysore Act 1 of 1911), is hereby repealed: Provided that the provisions of section 6 of the Karnataka General Clauses Act, 1899 (Karnataka Act 3 of 1899), shall be applicable in respect of the repeal of the said enactment: Provided further that the properties, rights and liabilities of a Tank Panchayat constituted under the repealed enactment shall vest in the Village Panchayat constituted under the Karnataka Village Panchayats and Local Boards Act, 1959, and having jurisdiction over the area, and the moneys at the credit of the tank fund under the control of such Tank Panchayat shall stand transferred to the Panchayat Fund of the said village Panchayat.