Chapter I PRELIMINARY

1. (1) This Act may be called the Madras Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Act, 1978.
2. (2) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification, appoint; and different dates may be appointed for different areas and for different provisions of this Act.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,

1. (a) "authorised authority" in relation to any power to be exercised or function to be performed under any provision of this Act means any committee, director, officer or other employee of the Board to whom such power or function has been delegated under section 22;
2. (b) "Board" means the Madras Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board established under section 3 ;
3. (c) "director" means the director of the Board and includes its Chairman and Managing Director;
4. (d) "drain" includes a tunnel, pipe, ditch, gutter or channel or any cistern, flush-tank, septic tank, cess pool, or other device for carryingoff ortreatingor disposing sewage, sullage, offensive matter, polluted water, waste water or sub-soil water, and also includes eny culvert, ventilator, shaft or pipe or other appliances or fittings connected with such drain, and any ejector, compressed air mains, sealed sewage mains and special machinery or apparatus for raising, collecting, expelling or removing sewage, sullage or offensive matter from any place; but does not include a rain or storm water drain or a water table construc- ted by the side ofthe road kerb or a chute leading from such water table to a side drain exclusively meant to drain away rain water on the road;
5. (e) " existing authority " includes-
   • (i) a local authority having jurisdiction over tbe Madras Metropolltan Area.or part thereof ; and
   • (ii) the Government ;
6. (f) " local authority " means-
   • (i) the Municipal Corporation of Madras ; or
   • (ii) a municipal council, constituted under the Tamil Nadu District Municipalities Act, 1920 (Tamil Nadu Act V of 1920) or a panchayat union council or a panchayat constituted under the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1958 (Tamil Nadu Act XXXV of 1958), or
   • (iii) a township committee constituted under the Tamil Nadu District Municipalities Act, 1920 (Tamil Nadu Act V of 1920) or the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1958 (Tamil Nadu Act XXXV of 1958) or under any other law for the time being in force, or
   • (iv) the Tamil Nadu State Housing Board con- stituted under section 3 of the Tamil Nadu State Housing Board Act, 1961 (Tamil Nadu Act 17 of 1961) (herein- after referred to as the Tamil Nadu State Housing Board), or
   • (v) the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board constituted under section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board Act, 1970 (TamilNadu Act 4 of 1971) (hereinafter referred to as the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board), or
   • (vi) the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board establishyd under section 34 of the Tamil Nadu Slum Areas (Improvement and Clearance) Act, 1971 (Tamil Nadu Act 11 of 197 1) (hereinafter referred to as the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board), or
   • (vii) the Madras Metropolitan Development Authority established under section 9-A of the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971 (Tamil Nadu Act 35 of 1972), (hereinafter referred to as the Madras Metropolitan Development Authority) ;
7. (g) " Government " means the State Government ;
8. (h) " Madras Metropolitan Area " means the Madras Metropolitan Planning Area as defined in clause (23-a) of section 2 of the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971 (Tamil Nadu Act 35 of 1972) ;
   • (i) " notified date " in relation to any local authority means the date notified under sub-section

1. (1) of section 26 in respect of that local authority ;
   • (j) " occupier " includes,-
     • (i) any person for the time being paying or liable to pay to the owner, the rent or any portion of the rent of land or building or part of the same in respect of which the word is used or damages on account of the occupation of such land, or building or part thereof ; and
     • (ii) a rent free occupant ;
   • (k) " owner " includes-
   • (a) the person for the time being receiving or entitled to receive, whether on his own account or as agent, trustee, guardian, manager or receiver or for any religious or charitable purpose, the rents or profits of the property in connection with which the word is used.
   • (b) the person for the time being in charge of the animal in connection with which the word 1s used ;
2. (1) " prescribed " means prescribed by regulations made by the Board ;
   • (m) " regulations " means regulations made under this Act ;
   • (n) " sewage " means night-soil and other contents of water closets, latrines, privies, cess'pools or drains, and polluted water from shafts, kitchens, bathrooms, stables, cattle sheds and other like places, and includes trade effluent ;
   • (o) " sewer " means any device for carrying off sewage, sullage, offensive matter, polluted water, waste water, or sub-soil water, and includes a drain ;
   • (p) '' sewerage " means a system of sewers for collection, treatment or disposal of sewage and includes sewerage works ;
   • (q) " sewerage works " includes any sewer channel, duct, collection or treatment or disposal units, pumping station, engine, mobile collecting unit, and other machinery and any adjacent land not being private property and any land, building or other things for collection or treatment or disposal of sewage ;
   • (r) "trade effluent" includes any liquid gaseous or solid substance which is wholly or in part produced or discharged from any premises used for carrying on any trade or industry including agriculture and horticulture but does not include domestic sewage ; " Tribunal " means Tribunal constituted under section 70 and having jurisdiction ;
   • (t) " water supply" means a system of providing water to, a community for meeting its requirement for drinking and other domestic uses, industrial, recreationa1 and other public uses except for purposes of irrigation and generation of hydel power ;
   • (u) . " water works" includes any source of water supply like stream, lake, spring, river or canal, well, reservoir, cistern and tank, dug well, bore well, dug-cum- bore well, tube well, filter points and infiltration galleries, any channel, duct, whether covered or open, desalination plants, treatment units, sluice supply main, culvert, bridge, engine, water tank hydrants, stand-pipe or post, conduit and machinery and any adjacent land not being private property and any land, building or other things for supply- ing water or for protecting source of water suppIy or for treatment of water :
     • (v) " ye@ " means the ihancial year.