The Punjab New Capital (Periphery) Control Act, 1952

THE PUNJAB NEW CAPITAL (PERIPHERY) CONTROL ACT, 1952

(1) This Act may be called the Punjab New Capital (Periphery) Control Act, 1952. (2) It extends to such part of the area in the State of Haryana as is adjacent to and within a distance of ten miles on all sides from the outer boundary of the land acquired for the Capital of the State at Chandigarh as it existed immediately before the 1st November, 1966. (3) It shall come into force at once.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— (1) “agriculture” includes horticulture, dairy farming, poultry farming and planting and upkeep of orchard ; (2) “building” has the same meaning as is assigned to it in clause (2) of section 3 of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911, (Act III of 1911) ; (3) “Director” means the Director, Town and Country Planning Department, Haryana and includes any person for the time being appointed by the State Government, by notification in the official Gazette, to perform all or any functions of the Director, under this Act ; (4) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner and Secretary to Government, Haryana, Town and Country Planning Department ; (4A) “Local authority” means the Municipal Committe, Municipal Council or Municipal Corporation ; (5) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act ; (6) “road” means a metalled or unmetalled road, whether a throughfare or not, accessible to the public and maintained by the State Government or by a local authority ; and (7) the expression “to erect or re-erect any building” has the same meaning as is assigned to it in clause (5) of section 3 of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911 (Act No. 3 of 1911).

(1) The State Government may by notification in the Official Gazette declare the whole or any part of the area to which this Act extends to be a controlled area for the purposes of this Act. (2) [Omitted by Haryana Act 38 of 1971.]

(1) The Director shall within three months of the declaration under sub-section (1) of section 3 deposit at his office and at such other places as he considers necessary, plans showing the area declared to be a “controlled area” for the purposes of this Act, signifying therein the nature of the restrictions applicable to the controlled area. (2) The plans so deposited shall be in the form prescribed and shall be available for inspection by the public free of charge at all reasonable times.

Except as provided hereinafter, no person shall erect or re-erect any building or make or extend any excavation, or lay out any means of access to a road, in the controlled area save in accordance with the plans and restrictions and with the previous permission of the Director in writing.

(1) Every person desiring to obtain the permission referred to in section 5 shall make an application in writing to the Director in such form and containing such information in respect of the building, excavattion or means of access to which the application relates as may be prescribed. (2) On receipt of such application the Director after making such enquiry as he considers necessary, shall by order in writing, either— (a) grant the permission, subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified in the order ; or (b) refuse to grant permission. (3) When the Director grants permission subject to conditions or refuses to grant permission under sub-section (2), the conditions imposed or the grounds of refusal shall be such as are reasonable having regard to the circumstances of each case and the interest of the general public. (4) The Director shall not refuse permission to the erection or re-erection of a building, if such building is required for purposes subservient to agriculture not shall the permission to erect or re-erect any such building be made subject to any conditions other than those which may be necessary to ensure that the building will be used solely for agricultural purposes. (5) The Director shall not refuse permission to the erection or re-erection of a building which was in existence on the date on which the notification under sub-section (1) of section 3 was made, nor shall he impose any conditions in respect of such erection or re-erection unless he is satisfied that there is a probability that the building will be used for a purpose or is designed in a manner other than that for which it was used or designed on the date on which the said declaration was made. (6) If at the expiration of a period of three months after an application under sub-section (1) has been made to the Director, no order in writing has been passed by the Director permission shall, without prejudice to the restriction signified in the plans under section 4 be deemed to have been given without the imposition of any conditions. (7) The Director shall maintain a register as may be prescribed with sufficient particulars of all cases in which permission is given or deemed to have been given or refused by him under this section, and the said register shall be available for inspection without charge by all persons interested and such persons shall be entitled to take extracts therefrom.

Any person aggrieved or affected by an order of the Director under sub-section (2) of section 6 granting permission subject to conditions or refusing permission or orders passed under sub-section (2) of section 12 may, within a period of sixty days from the date of such order prefer an appeal to the Commissioner and Secretary to Government, Haryana, Town and Country Planning Department, whose orders shall be final.

A person whose application has been refused or whose application has been granted subject to conditions, under sub-section (2) of section 6 shall be entitled to claim compensation within three months of the order of the Director under section 7, if any, as the case may be, for any injury, loss or damage actually suffered on account of the order, in the manner hereinafter provided.

(1) An application for compensation shall lie to an arbitrator appointed by the State Government in this behalf. (2) Such arbitrator shall be a person who is or has been a District Judge or an Additional District Judge, and he shall have all the powers of an arbitrator under the Indian Arbitration Act, 1940, and the provisions of the said Act shall, so far as may be, apply in relation to proceedings before him. (3) In computing the compensation to be awarded regard shall not be had to any consideration for advantages to be gained or improvements to be made in any land or building in the controlled area, with reference to their development or intended development in the future, or to increase in value as a result of the development of the capital of the State at Chandigarh.

Nothing in this Act shall affect the power of Government or any other authority to acquire land or to impose restrictions upon the use and development of land comprised in the controlled area under any other law for the time being in force, or to permit the settlement of a claim arising out of the exercise of powers under this Act by mutual agreement.

(1) No land within a controlled area shall, except with the permission of the State Government and on payment of such conversion charges as may be prescribed by the State Government from time to time be used for purposes other than those for which it was used on the date of notification under sub-section (1) of section 3, and no such land shall be used for the purposes of a charcoal-kiln, pottery-kiln, lime-kiln, brick-field or brick-kiln or for quarrying stone, bajri or kankar, or manufacturing surkhi, or stone-crushing, or for other similar extraction or ancillary operations except under and in accordance with the conditions of a licence to be obtained from the Director on payment of such fees and on such conditions as may be prescribed or as may be specified in the order. (2) The renewal of such licence may be made after three years on payment of such fees as may be prescribed. (3) No person shall be entitled to claim compensation for any injury, damage or loss caused or alleged to have been caused by the refusal to issue or renew a licence, except in cases where such kiln was in existence at the time of the notification under sub-section (1) of section 3 and in which case an application shall lie to the arbitrator within three months of the order of refusal in the manner provided in section 9.

It shall be the duty of every officer— (i) to commuicate without delay to the Director or any other officer authorized in writing by him, in this behalf, any information which he receives of a design to commit or of the commission of any offence against this Act or any rules or regulations made thereunder; and (ii) to assist the Director or any other officer authorized in writing by him, in this behalf, in the lawful exercise of any power vested in the Director or any other officer authorized in writing by him, in this behalf, under this Act or any rule or regulation made thereunder.

No prosecution for any offence punishable under this Act shall be instituted except with the previous sanction of the Director or any officer authorized by him in this behalf.

No court inferior to that of a Judicial Magistrate of the first class shall be competent to try any offence punishable under this Act.

No civil court shall have jurisdiction to entertain or decide any question relating to matters falling under this Act or the rules framed thereunder.

No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against any person for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act.

Nothing in this Act shall apply to— (a) any building erected or re-erected for bonafide personal residential purposes and not above the height of eleven meters or for purposes subservient to agriculture in the abadi area of any village as defined in the revenue records and the area adjacent to the abadi area of any village which the Government identifies for village expansion through a notification, published in the Official Gazette, specifically to this effect subject to the condition that this area shall not exceed sixty percent of the existing village abadi area : Provided that no such building shall be used for commercial purposes ; (b) the erection or re-erection of a place of worship or a tomb or cenotaph or of a wall enclosing a graveyard, place of worship, cenotaph or samadhi on land which is, at the time of the notification under sub-section (1) of section 3 occupied by or for the purposes of such place of worship, tomb, samadhi, cenotaph or graveyeard ; (c) excavations (including wells) or other operations made in the ordinary course of agriculture ; (d) the construction of an unmetalled road intended to give access to land solely for agricultural purposes ; (e) any area falling within the limits of local authority.