Chapter XVIII PUBLIC HEALTH

It shall be the duty of the Corporation, or any other agency authorized by it in this behalf, to take adequate measures on the subject of public health including inspection, supervision, regulation, and control of premises to ensure proper sanitation, prevent the spread of dangerous diseases and undertake such measures necessary to maintain the necessary standards of public health.

(1)Subject to such regulations as may be made in this behalf, the Zonal Commissioner or any other officer authorised in this behalf may, either on her own or through any other agency or officer authorized by him in this behalf – (a) cause any building or other premises to be inspected for the purpose of ascertaining the sanitary conditions thereof, (b) require the owner or the occupier of any land or building or any part thereof to cleanse it, if it appears necessary so to do for reasons of sanitation, (c) issue such order as she deems necessary for the improvement of any unsanitary premises which are likely to cause risk of disease to the inmates of such premises or to the inhabitants of the neighbourhood or are, for any reason, likely to endanger community health or safety, (d) by notice, prohibit the owner or the occupier from the use of any building, or any room in a building, which appears to him to be unfit for human habitation, as dwelling, (e) direct the filling up of any well, pool, ditch, tank, pond, pit or undrained ground, cistern, or reservoir of any waste or stagnant water, which appears to her to be, or likely to become, injurious to health or offensive to the neighbourhood, (f) by notice, require the owner or person having control over any private water course, spring, tank, well or other place the water of which is used for drinking, bathing or washing clothes to keep the same in good repair, to cleanse it in such manner to protect it from pollution, (g) by notice, direct the owner or occupier to cleanse of any building or land, which appears to her, or likely to become, which if left unattended would be injurious to public health. njurious to health or offensive to the neighbourhood. (2) Where the Zonal Commissioner or the officer authorised in this behalf, is of the opinion that there is a threat to health or safety on any land or building, he may, by notice, in writing, require the person by whose act, default or sufferance said threat arises or continues or all of the owners, lessees or occupiers of such land or building to remove or abate the same by taking such measures, in such manner, and within such period, as may be specified in the notice. (3) If immediate action is necessary, the Zonal Commissioner may himself before giving such notice or before the period of notice expires secure, take such measures, as he thinks fit to prevent the threat to health or safety, and the cost of so doing shall be recoverable from the owner or occupier of the building or land in the manner specified in the bye-laws.

(1) On notification of the Corporation of the existence of any dangerous disease in any public or private dwelling in the corporation area, the Zonal Commissioner may undertake such measures as necessary for the prevention of the dangerous disease (2) The Zonal Commissioner, or any officer authorised in this behalf, if it appears reasonable to him inspect any place in which any dangerous disease is reported or suspected to exist and take such measures as he may think fit to prevent the spread of such disease beyond such place. (3) In the event of prevalence of a dangerous disease within a corporation area, the Zonal Commissioner may, by notice, require the owner or occupier of any building or site used for the purpose of public entertainment to be closed for such period as it may deem necessary.

(1) If the Zonal Commissioner or health officer is of opinion that the cleansing or disinfecting of a building or of any part thereof, or of any article therein, which is likely to retain infection, will tend to prevent or check the spread of any dangerous disease, he may by notice, require the owner or occupier to cleanse or disinfect the same, in the manner and within the time specified in such notice. (2) The owner or occupier shall, within the time specified as aforesaid, comply with the terms of the notice. (3) If the Zonal Commissioner or health officer considers that immediate action is necessary, or that the owner or occupier is, by reason of poverty or otherwise, unable effectually to comply with his requisition, the Zonal Commissioner or health officer may himself without notice cause such buildings, or article to be cleansed or disinfected, and for this purpose may cause such article to be removed from the building or premises; and the expenses incurred by the Zonal Commissioner or health officer shall be recoverable from the said owner or occupier.

(1) The Zonal Commissioner may,- (a) provide proper places with all necessary attendants and apparatus for the disinfection of conveyances, clothing, bedding or other articles, which have been exposed to infection from any dangerous disease; and (b) cause conveyances, clothing, bedding or other articles brought for disinfection to be disinfected free of charge, or subject to such charges, as may be approved by the standing committee. (2) The Zonal Commissioner shall notify places at which conveyance, clothing, bedding or other articles which have been exposed to infection from any dangerous disease shall be washed and disinfected and no person shall wash or disinfect any such article at any place not so notified. (3) The Zonal Commissioner may direct any clothing, bedding or other article likely to retain infection from any dangerous disease to be disinfected or destroyed.

In the event of prevalence of any dangerous disease within the city, the Chief Commissioner may, with the sanction of the standing committee, by notice require the owner or occupier of any building, booth or tent used for purposes of public entertainment to close the same for such period as may be fixed by the standing committee.

No person shall, without previously disinfecting it, give, lend, let, hire, sell, transmit or otherwise dispose of, any article which he knows or has reason to know has been exposed to infection from any dangerous disease: Provided that nothing in this section shall apply to a person who transmits with proper precautions any article for the purpose of having it disinfected.

If any person knows or has been certified by the health officer or a registered medical practitioner in the service of the Government or the corporation that he is suffering from a dangerous disease he shall not engage in any occupation or carry on trade or business unless he can do so without risk of spreading the disease.

(1) No person who is suffering from any dangerous disease shall enter a public conveyance without previously notifying to the owner or driver or person in charge of such conveyance that he is so suffering. (2) No owner or driver or person in charge of a public conveyance shall be bound to convey any person suffering as aforesaid, unless and until the said person pays or tenders a sum sufficient to cover any loss and costs that may be incurred in disinfecting such conveyance. (3) A court convicting any person of contravening sub-section (1) may levy, in addition to the penalty for the offence provided in this Act, such amount as the court deems sufficient to cover the loss and costs which the owner or driver must incur for the purpose of disinfecting the conveyance. The amount so imposed shall be awarded by the court to the owner or driver of the conveyance: Provided that in a case which is subject to appeal, such amount shall not be paid to the owner or driver before the period allowed for presenting the appeal has elapsed or if an appeal is presented, before the decision of the appeal. (4) At the time of awarding compensation in any subsequent civil suit relating to the same matter, the court shall take into account any sum which the plaintiff shall have received under this section.

(1) The owner, driver or person in charge of any public conveyance in which any person suffering from a dangerous disease has been carried, shall forthwith disinfect the conveyance or cause it to be disinfected. (2) No such conveyance shall be used until the health officer or some person authorised by him in this behalf has granted a certificate stating that it may be used without causing risk of infection.

(1) No person shall let or sub-let or for that purpose allow any person to enter a building or any part of a building in which he knows or has reason to know that a person has been suffering from a dangerous disease until the health officer has granted a certificate that such building may be re-occupied. (2) For the purpose of sub-section (1), the keeper of a hotel or lodging house shall be deemed to let the same or part of the same to any person accommodated therein.

No person being the parent or having the care of charge of a minor who is or has been suffering form a dangerous disease or has been exposed to infection there from shall, after a notice from the health officer that the minor is not to be sent to school or college, permit such minor to attend school or college without having procured from the health officer a certificate (which shall be granted free of charge on application) that in his opinion such minor may attend without undue risk of communicating such disease to others.

(1) No person who is suffering from an infectious disease shall take any book or use or cause any book to be taken for his use from or in any public or circulating library. (2) A person shall not permit any book which has been taken from a public or circulating library, and is under his control, to be used by any person whom he knows to be suffering from an infectious disease. (3) A person shall not return to any public or circulating library any book which he knows to have been exposed to infection from any infectious disease, or permit any such book which is under his control to be so returned, but shall give notice to the Chief Commissioner that the book has been so exposed to infection and the Chief Commissioner shall cause the book to be disinfected and returned to the library, or to be destroyed. (4) The Chief Commissioner shall pay to the proprietor of the concerned library the value of any book destroyed. Explanation.- For the purposes of this section the Commissioner shall from time to time notify what diseases are to be deemed infectious.

If the health officer certifies that the water in any well, tank or other place within the limits of the city is likely, if used for drinking, to endanger or cause the spread of any dangerous disease, the Chief Commissioner may, by public notice, prohibit the removal or use of such water for drinking and domestic purposes during a specified period.

The corporation shall enforce vaccination throughout the city in such manner as may be prescribed and it may enforce vaccination throughout the city or in any part thereof, in respect of such person, to such extent and in such manner as may be prescribed.

Where an inmate of any dwelling place within the city is suffering from dangerous disease, the head of the family to which the inmate belongs and, on his default, the occupier or person in charge of such place, shall inform the Chief Commissioner, the health officer or the sanitary inspector of the division with the least practicable delay.

No person who has a dangerous disease shall enter the city from the date notified by the Chief Commissioner without a certificate from a medical practitioner of such class as the Chief Commissioner may authorise stating that such person is no longer likely to produce dangerous disease by contact or near approach.

If in the opinion of the Chief Commissioner, the working of any quarry, or the removal of stone, earth or other materials from any place is dangerous to persons residing in or having legal access to the neighbourhood thereof or creates or is likely to create a nuisance, the Chief Commissioner, may, with the approval of the standing committee, by notice, require the owner or person having control of the said quarry or place to discontinue working the same or to discontinue removing stone, earth or other material from such place or to take such order with such quarry or place, as he shall deem necessary for the purpose of preventing danger or of abating the nuisance arising or likely to arise therefrom.

(1) If in the opinion of the Chief Commissioner,- (a) any pool, ditch, tank, well, pond, bog, swamp, quarry-hole, drain, cess-pool, pit, water-course or any collection of water; or (b) any land on which water may at any time accumulate, is or is likely to become a breeding-place of mosquitoes or in any other respect a nuisance, the Chief Commissioner may, by notice, require the owner or person having control thereof to fill up, cover, weed, stock with weed, stock with larvicidal fish, treat with kerosene oil, or drain off the same in such manner and with such materials as the Chief Commissioner shall direct or to take such order with the same for removing or abating the nuisance as the Chief Commissioner shall direct. (2) If a person on whom a requisition is made under sub section (1) to fill up, cover over, or drain off a well, delivers to the Chief Commissioner, within the time fixed for compliance therewith written objections to such requisition the Chief Commissioner shall report such objections to the standing committee and shall make further inquiry into the case, and he shall not institute any prosecution for failure to comply with such requisition except with the approval of the standing committee, but the Chief Commissioner may nevertheless, if he deems the execution of the work called for by such requisition to be of urgent importance, proceed in accordance with section 356 and pending the standing committee's disposal of the question whether the said well shall be permanently filled up, covered over or otherwise dealt with, may cause such well to be securely covered over, so as to prevent the ingress of mosquitoes and in every such case the Chief Commissioner shall determine with the approval of the standing committee, whether the expenses of any work already done as aforesaid shall be paid by the owner or by the Chief Commissioner out of the corporation fund or shall be shared and if so, in what proportions. (3) On the report of the health officer that the cultivation of any specified crop, or the use of any specified manure or the irrigation of land in any place within the limits of the city is injurious to the public health, the corporation may, with the previous sanction of the Government by public notice, regulate or prohibit the cultivation, use of manure or irrigation so reported to be injurious: Provided that when such cultivation or irrigation has been practised during the five years preceding the date of such public notice with such continuity as the ordinary course of husbandry admits of, compensation shall be paid from the corporation fund to all persons interested for any damage caused to them by such prohibition.