Chapter 6 PREVENTION OF UNAUTHORISED OCCUPATION

1. (1) No person shall occupy or encroach upon any highway land or discharge any material through a drain on such land without obtaining prior permission, in writing, from an officer authorised by the State Government in this behalf. (2) The officer authorised under sub-section (1) may, on an application made by a person in this behalf and having regard to the safety and convenience of traffic, grant permission to such person- (i) to place a movable structure on the highway in front of any building owned by him or to make a movable structure on support of such building and over the highway, or (ii) to put up a temporary lawning or tent or other similar construction or a temporary stall or scaffolding on the highway, or (iii) to deposit or cause to be deposited, building materials, goods for sale or other articles on any highway, or (iv) to make a temporary excavation for carrying out any repairs or improvements to adjoining buildings, and such permission shall be granted subject to the conditions and on payment of the rent and other charges by issuing permit in the form as may be prescribed: Provided that no such permission shall be valid beyond a period of one month at a time from the date on which the permission has been granted unless it is renewed by such officer on an application made by such person for the renewal of the permission. (3) The permission granted under sub-section (2) shall specify therein- (i) the time up to which the permission is granted; (ii) the purpose of such permission; (iii) the portion of the highway in respect of which the permission has been granted, and shall be accompanied with a plan or sketch of such portion of the highway. (4) The person, to whom the permit has been issued under sub-section (2), shall produce the permit for inspection whenever called upon to do so by any officer of the State Government or the Authority and shall, on the expiry of the permission granted under such permit, restore the portion of the highway specified in the permit in such condition as it was immediately before the issuing of such permit and deliver the possession of such portion to the officer who issued such permit. (5) The officer issuing the permit under sub-section (2) shall maintain a complete record of all such permits issued, and shall also ensure in every case at the expiration of the period up to which the permission under a permit is granted under that sub-section that the possession of the portion of the highway in respect of which such permission was granted has been delivered to such officer. (6) Where an officer authorised by the State Government in this behalf is of the opinion that it is necessary in the interest of traffic safety or convenience to cancel any permit issued under sub-section (2), it may, after recording the reasons in writing for doing so, cancel such permit and, thereupon, the person to whom the permission was granted shall, within the period specified by an order made by such officer restore the portion of the highway specified in the permit in such condition as it was immediately before the issuing of such permit and deliver the possession of such portion to such officer and in case such person fails to deliver such possession within such period, he shall be deemed to be in unauthorised occupation of highway land for the purposes of this section and section 43.

The State Government or an officer authorised by the State Government in this behalf may, having regard to the safety and convenience of traffic and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed and on payment of prescribed rent or other charges, grant lease or licence of highway land to a person for temporary use: Provided that no such lease shall be valid for more than five years at a time from the date on which such lease has been granted unless renewed by the State Government or such officer.

1. (1) When, as a result of the periodical inspection of highway land or otherwise, the officer authorised by the State Government in this behalf is satisfied that any unauthorised occupation or encroachment has taken place on highway land, such officer shall serve a notice on the person causing or responsible for such unauthorised occupation or encroachment requiring him to remove such unauthorised occupation or encroachment and to restore such highway land in its original condition as before the unauthorised occupation or encroachment within the period specified in the notice. (2) The notice under sub-section (1) shall specify therein the highway land in respect of which such notice is issued, the period within which the unauthorised occupation on such land is required to be removed, the place and time of hearing any representation, if any, which the person to whom the notice is addressed may make within the time specified in the notice and that failure to comply with such notice shall render the person specified in the notice liable to penalty, and summary eviction from the highway land in respect of which such notice is issued, under sub-section (5). (3) The service of the notice under sub-section (1) shall be made by delivering a copy thereof to the person to whom such notice is addressed or to his agent or other person on his behalf or by registered post addressed to the person to whom such notice is addressed and an acknowledgment purporting to be signed by such person or his agent or other person on his behalf or an endorsement by a postal employee that such person or his agent or such other person on his behalf has refused to take delivery may be deemed to be prima facie proof of service. (4) Where the service of the notice is not made in the manner provided under sub-section (3), the contents of the notice shall be advertised in a State level newspaper for the knowledge of the person to whom the notice is addressed and such advertisement shall be deemed to be the service of such notice on such person. (5) Where the service of notice under sub-section (1) has been made under sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) and the unauthorised occupation on the highway land in respect of which such notice is served has not been removed within the time specified in the notice for such purpose and no reasonable cause has been shown before the officer authorised by the State Government in this behalf for not so removing unauthorised occupation, such officer shall cause such unauthorised occupation to be removed at the expense of the State Government, and impose penalty on the person to whom the notice is addressed which shall be two thousand rupees per square meter of the land so unauthorisedly occupied and where the penalty so imposed is less than the cost of such land, the penalty may be extended equal to such cost. (6) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, the officer authorised by the State Government in this behalf shall have power without issuing any notice under this section to remove the unauthorised occupation on the highway land, if such unauthorised occupation is in the nature of- (a)exposing any goods or article- (i) in open air; or (ii)through temporary stall, kiosk, booth or any other shop of temporary nature, (b) construction or erection, whether temporary or permanent, or (c) trespass or other unauthorised occupation which can be removed easily without use of any machine or other similar device, and in removing such occupation, such officer may take assistance of the police, if necessary, to remove such occupation by use of the reasonable force necessary for such removal. (7) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, if the officer authorised by the State Government in this behalf is of the opinion that any unauthorised occupation on the highway land is of such a nature that the immediate removal of which is necessary in the interest of- (a) the safety of traffic on the highway; or (b) the safety of any structure forming part of the highway, and no notice can be served on the person responsible for such unauthorised occupation under this section without undue delay owing to his absence or for any other reason, such officer may have such unauthorised occupation removed in the manner specified in sub-section (6). (8) An officer authorised by the State Government in this behalf shall, for the purposes of this section or section 43, as the case may be, have the same powers as are vested in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Central Act No. 5 of 1908),while trying a suit, in respect of the following matters, namely:- (a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath; (b) requiring the discovery and production of documents; (c) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses; and (d) any other matter which may be prescribed, and any proceeding before such officer shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193 and 228, and for the purpose of section 196, of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Central Act No. 45 of 1860) and such officer shall be deemed to be a civil court for the purposes of section 195 and Chapter XXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973(Central Act No. 2 of 1974).

1. (1) Where an officer authorised by the State Government in this behalf has removed any unauthorised occupation or made any construction including alteration of construction in respect of any unauthorised occupation or repaired any damage under sub-section (2) of section 37, the expenditure incurred in such removal or repair together with fifteen per cent of additional charges or any fine imposed under this Act shall be recoverable in the manner hereinafter provided in this section. (2) The officer authorised by the State Government in this behalf shall serve a copy of the bill in the prescribed form indicating therein the expenditure, additional charges or fine recoverable under sub-section (1) on the person from whom such expenditure, additional charges or fine is recoverable and the provisions of section 42 relating to the service of notice shall apply for the service of copy of the bill under this sub-section as if for the word “notice” the word “bill” has been substituted in that section. (3) A copy of the bill referred to in sub-section (2) shall be accompanied with a certificate issued by the officer authorised by the State Government in this behalf and the amount indicated in the bill shall be the conclusive proof that such amount is the expenditure actually incurred for all or any of the purposes referred to in sub-section (1) as indicated in the bill. (4) Where the officer authorised by the State Government in this behalf has removed any unauthorised occupation or made any construction including alteration of construction in respect of any unauthorised occupation or repair any damage under sub-section (2) of section 37, the material, if any, recovered as a result of such removal, construction, alteration or repair shall be retained in possession of the State Government or such officer till the payment of the bill in respect thereof served under sub-section (2) and on payment of such bill such material shall be returned to the person entitled for the material, but in case of the failure of such payment within the time specified for the payment in the bill, the material may be sold by auction by the State Government or such officer and after deduction of the amount payable under the bill from the proceeds of the auction, the balance, if any, shall be returned to the person entitled therefore. (5) In case where the proceeds of the auction under sub-section (4) is less than the amount recoverable under the bill referred to in that sub-section, the difference between such proceeds and the amount so recoverable or where no such auction has been made, the amount recoverable under the bill shall, in case of failure of the payment within the time specified in the bill, be recoverable as the arrears of land revenue.