Chapter I PRELIMINARY

1. SHORT TITLE, EXTENT AND COMMENCEMENT.—

1. (1) This Act may be called the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994.
2. (2) It extends to the whole of the State of Kerala.
3. (3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 30th day of May, 1994.

2. DEFINITIONS.— In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

• (1) "Article" means an Article of the Constitution of India;
• (3) "building line" means a line which is at the rear of the street alignment and to which the main wall of a building abutting on a street may lawfully extend and beyond which no portion of the building may extend except as provided in the building rules;
• (4) "candidate" means a person who has been duly nominated or claimed to have been duly nominated as a candidate of any election;
• (5) "casual vacancy" means a vacancy occurring otherwise than by efflux of time;
• (6) "Chairperson" in relation to a Town Panchayat or a Municipal Council means the Chairman of that Town Panchayat or Municipal Council and in relation to a Municipal Corporation, the Mayor of that Municipal Corporation;
• (6A) "Deputy Chairperson" in relation to a Town Panchayat or a Municipal Council means the Vice- Chairman of that Town Panchayat or Municipal Council and in relation to a Municipal Corporation, the Deputy Mayor of that Municipal Corporation;]
• (7) "Collector" means the Collector of the district;
• (8) "committee" means a Standing Committee
• (1) 2 [x x] or a Steering Committee
• (9) "Council" means the Council of a Town Panchayat, a Municipal Council or a Municipal Corporation;
• (10) "Company" means a company as defined in section 3 of the Companies Act,
• (1956) (Central Act 1 of 1956) and includes, a foreign company within the meaning of section 591 of that Act, a cooperative society registered or deemed to be registered under the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, 1969 (21 of 1969) and a firm or association carrying on business is situated in the State whether incorporated or not and whether its principal place of business is situated in State or not.
• (1999) ,w.e.f.24- 3-1999.
• (11) ."Corrupt practice" means any of the practices specified in section 144;
• (12) ."Dangerous disease" means a disease specified in the Ninth Schedule or any disease included in the said schedule by Government, from time to time, by notification in the Gazette;
• (13) ."District Election Officer" means an officer designated or nominated by the State Election Commission
• (14) ."Election" means an election to fill any vacancy in any of the wards of any Municipality;
• (15) ."Elector" in relation to any ward (by whatever name known) means a person whose name is included in the voters list, for the time being in force, in respect of that ward and who is not subject to any of the disqualifications referred to in section 74;
• (16) ."Electoral right" means the right of a person either to stand or not to stand as a candidate or to withdraw or not to withdraw his candidature or to vote in an election;
• (17) ."Electoral Registration Officer" means an officer designated or nominated by the State Election Commission to discharge the functions of the Electoral Registration Officer under this Act;
• (18) ."Filth" includes sewage, excreta, dung, putrid and purifying substances and all other substances causing danger to public health, if not removed;
• (19) ."hut" means any building which is constructed principally of wood, mud, leaves, grass or thatch and includes any temporary structure of whatever size of any small building of whatever material made which the Municipality may declare to be a hut for the purposes of this Act;
• (20) ."latrine" means a place set apart for defecating or urinating or both and includes a closet of the dry or water borne type and urinal;
• (21) .
• (3) [(2l) "Local Authority" or "Local Self Government Institution" means a Municipality constituted under Section 4 or a Panchayat constituted under the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 (13 of
• (1994)) ;]
• (22) .(22) "lodging house" means a hotel, a boarding house, a choultry, dharmasala or rest house not maintained by the Government or a local authority, or any place where casual visitors are received and provided with sleeping accommodation, with or without food, on payment, but does not include— (a)student's hostel under public control or recognised control; or (b)retiring rooms and rest-houses provided by a railway administration and normally used by passengers or railway employees or both; or (c)retiring rooms or rest houses provided by the airport authority and normally used by passengers or cabin crew or both; or (d)rooms situated within the compound of any place of worship and used by devotees for taking rest;
• (23) "market" means any place set apart or ordinarily or periodically used for the assembling of persons for the sale or purchase of grain, fruit, vegetables, meat fish or other perishable articles of food or for the sale or purchase of live-stock or poultry, or of any agricultural or industrial produce or any raw or manufactured products or any other articles or commodity necessary for the convenience of life, provided that a single shop or group of shops, not being more than six in number, shall not be deemed to be a market;
• (24) "nuisance" includes any act, omission, place or thing which causes or is likely to cause injury, danger, annoyance, disturbance or harassment to the sense of sight, smell, hearing or to rest or sleep or which is, or may be, dangerous to life or injurious to health or property;
• (25) "Occupier" includes— (a)any person who, for the time being, is paying or is liable to pay to the owner the rent or any portion of the rent of the land or building in respect of which such rent is paid or is payable; (b)any owner in occupation of or otherwise using his land or building; (c)a rent free tenant of any land or building; (d)a licensee in occupation of any land or building ; and (e)any person who is liable to pay the owner damages for the use or occupation of any land or building;
• (26) "owner" includes- (a) a person who for the time being is receiving or is entitled to receive the amount of lease or the rent of any land or building whether on his own account or on account of himself and others or as an agent, trustee, guardian or receiver for any other person or who should so receive the amount of lease or the rent or be entitled to receive it if the land or building or part thereof were let to a lessee or a tenant on lease or rent; (b)the person for the time being in charge of the animal, vessel or vehicle in connection with which the word is used;
• (27) "Political Party" means a political party registered under section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (Central Act 43 of 1951);
• (28) "polling station" means any place appointed for holding election to a Municipality;
• (29) "place of public entertainment" means any place, enclosure, building, tent, booth or other erection, whether permanent or temporary where music, singing, dancing, drama or any diversion or game or the means of carrying on the same is provided and to which the public are admitted, and includes a race course, circus, theatre, music hall, billiard room, bagatelle- room, gymnasium and fencing school;
• (30) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
• (31) "private market" means any market other than a public market;
• (32) "private street" means any street, road, square, court, alley, passage or riding path which is not a public street, but does not include a path or way made by the owner of premises on his own land to secure access to or the convenient use of such premises;
• (33) "public market" means any market owned, constructed, repaired or maintained by a Municipality;
• (34) "public street" means any street, road, square, court, alley, passage or riding path over which the public have a right of way, whether a thoroughfare or not, and includes- (a)the roadway over any public bridge or causeway; (b)the footway attached to any such street, public bridge or causeway; and (c) the drains attached to any such street, public bridge or causeway and the land whether covered or not by any pavement, verandah, or other structure, which lies on either side of the roadway upto the boundaries of the adjacent property, whether that property is private property or property belonging to the Government;
• (35) "public holiday" means a day which is declared as a holiday by the Government;
• (36) "Public water courses, springs, wells and tanks and bunds" include water courses, springs, wells, tanks and bunds used by the public to such an extent as to give a prescriptive right to such use;
• (37) "qualified medical practitioner" means a medical practitioner having prescribed qualifications;
• (38) "reconstruction" of a building includes- (a)the re-erection wholly or partially of a building after more than one half of its cubical contents has been taken down, or burnt down, or has fallen down, whether at one time or not; (b)the re-erection wholly or partially of any building of which an outer wall has been taken down or burnt down or has fallen down to or within three metres or less of the ground adjoining the lowest storey of the building and of any frame-work of building which has so far been taken down or burnt down or has fallen down as to leave only the framework of the lowest storey; (c)the conversion into a dwelling house or a place of public worship of any building not originally constructed for human habitation or for public worship, as the case may be, or the conversion into more than one dwelling house of a building originally constructed as one dwelling house only or the conversion of a dwelling house into a factory or other industrial establishments; (d)the re-conversion into a dwelling house or a place of public worship or a factory of any building which has been discontinued as, or appropriated for any purpose other than, a dwelling house or place of public worship or a factory, as the case may be;
• (39) "residence" or "reside" a person shall be deemed to have his 'residence' or to 'reside' in any house or hut if he sometimes uses as of right any portion thereof as a sleeping apartment and a person is not deemed to cease to reside in any such house or hut merely because he is absent from it or has elsewhere another dwelling in which he resides if he is at liberty to return thereto at any time and has not abandoned his intention of returning;
• (40) "rubbish" means dust, ash, broken bricks, mortar, broken glass, and refuse of any kind which is not filth;
• (41) "sanitation worker" means a person employed in collecting or removing filth or in cleaning drains, latrines or slaughter houses;
• (42) "Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes" shall have the same meaning as in the Constitution of India;
• (43) "Secretary" means the Secretary of a Municipality;
• (44) "State" means the State of Kerala;
• (45) "State Election Commission" means the State Election Commission appointed under Article 243 K;
• (46) "street alignment" means a line dividing the lands comprised in forming part of a street from the adjoining land;
• (47) "vehicle" shall have the same meaning as in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (Central Act 59 of
• (1988)) ;
• (48) "vessel" includes any motor boat, steam launch, steam or motor tug or barge;
• (49) "ward" means a ward of a Municipality for the purpose of election of Councillors;
• (4) [(49A) "Ward Committee" means the Ward Committee constituted under Section 42; (49B) "Ward Sabha" means the Ward Sabha constituted under Section 42A;]
• (50) "water course" includes any river, stream, channel or lake whether natural or artificial;
• (52) "year" means the financial year.

INTERPRETATION.— Words and expressions used but not defined in this Act and defined in Part IX A of the Constitution of India shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in that part.