Chapter XIII Chapter XIII

197. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Orissa Grama Panchayats Act, 1948 or the Orissa Municipal Act, 1950, the Anchal Sasan, subject to the prescribed rules, may— (a) construct roads, bridges and causeways as inter-Panchayat means of communication and repair and maintain such roads, bridges and causeways; (b) control the construction of bridges, roads and causeways by Grama Panchayats, Municipalities and Notified Area Councils in the Anchal so as to rationalise the communication in the Anchal.

198. The Anchal Sasan shall— (a) repair and maintain all roads, bridges and causeways that may be transferred to it by the State Government on its constitution or in the event of any Local authority becoming defunct in the Anchal ; (b) construct, repair and maintain all roads, bridges and causeways for which the Anchal Sasan may be made responsible by an order of the State Government; (c) control and maintain such ferry-ghats and ferries on the routes in the charge of the Anchal Sasan or as may be transferred to it by the State Government for such purpose.

199. The Anchal Sasan may by prior notice served in the prescribed manner divert, abandon or permanently close any road which is under the control and administration of or is vested in the Anchal Sasan: Provided that the State Government may on their own motion or on the application of any person aggrieved by the order of the Anchal Sasan under this section cancel or modify any such order.

(1) If any tree or any branch of a tree standing on land adjoining a public road appears to the Anchal Executive Officer to be likely to fall and thereby endanger any person using or any structure on such road, the Anchal Executive Officer may by notice require the owner of the said tree to secure, lop or cut down the said tree or the branch thereof, as the case may be, so as to prevent any danger therefrom. (2) If immediate action is deemed necessary, the Anchal Executive Officer shall himself before giving such notice or before the period of such notice expires, cause to secure, lop or cut down the said tree or branch, as the case may be, or fence off a part of the public road and take such other temporary measures as he thinks fit to prevent danger and the cost of so doing shall be recoverable from the owner of the tree in the prescribed manner.

(1) The Anchal Executive Officer may by notice require the owner or occupier of any premises, whoever be responsible, to remove or alter any projection, encroachment, or obstruction situated against or in front of such premises and in or over any public road. (2) If the owner or occupier of the premises proves to the satisfaction of the Anchal Executive Officer that such projection, encroachment or obstruction has existed for a period sufficient under the Law of Limitation to give any person a prescriptive right thereto, or that it was erected or made with the permission or licence of any Local authority duly empowered in that behalf and that the period, if any, for which the permission or licence is valid has not expired, the Anchal Executive Officer shall refer the case to the Anchal Sabha which may require that the order of the Anchal Executive Officer shall be carried out subject to such reasonable compensation as may be given to all persons who suffer damage by such removal or alteration of the same.

If in the opinion of the Anchal Executive Officer the working of any quarry or the removal of stone, earth or other materials from any place is dangerous to the persons residing therein or resorting to the neighbourhood thereof, or creates or is likely to create a nuisance or is likely to damage any public road or other immovable property, the Anchal Executive Officer may require the owner or person having control of the said quarry or place to discontinue the working of the same or discontinue removing stone, earth or other materials from such place or to take such order with such quarry or place as is necessary for the purpose of preventing danger or avoiding the nuisance arising or likely to arise therefrom.

No person shall fell, remove, destroy, lop or strip bark or leaves or otherwise damage any tree growing on any road or land vested in or belonging to the Anchal Sasan except with the permission of the Anchal Executive Officer and on such conditions as he may impose.

(1) If any person without previous sanction of the Anchal Sabha, occupies any land vested in or belonging to an Anchal Sasan he shall be bound to pay in respect of such unauthorised occupation such sum as may be demanded by the Anchal Sasan by way of penalty and the said sum maybe recovered in the prescribed manner. (2) The Anchal Executive Officer may by notice require any person on whom a penalty has been or may be imposed under sub-section (1) to vacate such land to remove any building or other construction or anything deposited on it. (3) If any damage to property of the Anchal Sasan has been caused by any person occupying any land for which he is liable to pay penalty under sub-section (1), he shall be liable to pay compensation to the Anchal Sasan for such damage in addition to and irrespective of any penalty that may be imposed on or recovered from him and the amount of such compensation shall in case of dispute be determined and recovered in the prescribed manner. (4) Any action taken under this section shall be in addition to and not in lieu of action and penalties provided in any other law for the time being in force.

Where by reason of extraordinary traffic or excessive weight of traffic on any road belonging to or vesting in the Anchal Sasan, the Anchal Sasan has to incur extraordinary expenses more than the average expenses of repairing roads in the neighbourhood, the Anchal Sasan may, with the sanction of the State Government and subject to such limits as may be imposed, recover from any person by or in consequences of whose requirements or orders such extraordinary traffic or such weight of traffic has been conducted the amount to cover such expenses and no suit or proceeding shall lie to any Civil Court against the order of the Anchal Sasan in this behalf: Provided that any person from whom expenses are or may be recoverable under this section may enter into an agreement with the Anchal Sasan for the payment to it of an amount by way of compensation in respect of such weight of traffic and thereupon the person so paying shall not be subject to any proceedings under this section.

The Anchal Sasan may grant annual leases of any toll-bar established under section 212.

The following vehicles shall be exempted from payment of tolls at any toll-bar established under section 212, namely:— (a) vehicles used for the conveyance of police and other public servants and Anchal Sasan servants or for the transport of property belonging to, or in the custody of, such servants, when such servants are travelling on duty ; (b) conservancy carts and other vehicles belonging to the Anchal Sasan ; and (c) any other class of vehicle that may be exempted by order of the Anchal Sabha.

The State Government may by rules provide for—(a) levy of water-rate for the use of water for purpose of irrigation from any souree or work of irrigation belonging to or transferred to the Anchal Sasan and the rate or rates at which it shall be charged ;(b) levy of benefit charges for protection by drainage schemes ;(c) the authorities to whom appeals or vevisions may be preferred against the order of the Anchal Sasan assessing or altering the water-rate ;(d) the procedure to be followed for assessing penalty for taking water without application and the procedure for applying for and getting remission of water-rate for failure of water-supply ;(e) the appeal or revision from the order of the Anchal Sasan authorities imposing penalty or giving remission of water-rate or restricting the command in the area having compulsory water-rate.

(1) Whenever—(a) there is apprehension of danger or damage to any irrigation source or work or any protective embankment in the Anchal by flood or inundation and such danger and damage oan be prevented ; or(b) a breach has occurred and that such breach can in the opinion of the Anchal Sasan be repaired and inundation caused by it can be stopped by immediate employment of a large number of persons ; it shall be lawful for the Anchal Executive Officer, or any other officer of the Anchal Sasan duly empowered by the Anchal Executive Officer in this behalf, and any member of the Ancvhal Sabha, to require the service of all able-bodied adult male persons who reside in the village where the irrigation gource or protection work is situated or who are benefited by such irrigation source ot work or embankment, to cooperate in the work necessary for preventing the danger or damage or repairing the breach as the case may be. (2) Every able-bodied adult person whose labour or services are requisitioned under sub-section (1) shall be required to perform such unskilled labour in connection with the prevention of danger or breach or repair as shall be required of him. Any person who fails to render labour as herein provided shall be lable to a penalty which may extend to ten rupees. (3) The Anchal Executive Officer or any other officer of the Anchal Sasan or any wember thereof may either personally or through persons duly authorised in this behalf supervise the work and adopt such safety measures as they may deem fit. (4) Every person whose labour or services are requisitioned under this section shall be paid for the labour or services rendered by him at such rate or rates as may be deemed reasonable by the Anchal Sasan and the amounts so spent shall be a charge on the Anchal Fund.