Chapter IX
WATER-SUPPLY, DRAINAGE AND SEWAGE COLLECTION
Water-supply
186. Maintenance of water-supply.
186. Maintenance of water-supply.—(1) In every cantonment where a sufficient supply of potable water for domestic use does not exist, the Board shall provide or arrange for the provision of such a supply.
(2) The Board shall, as far as possible, make adequate provision that such supply shall be continuous throughout the year, and that the water shall be at all times fit for human consumption.
(3) It shall be the duty of every Board to practise and propagate the scientific methods of water harvesting including harvesting of rain water for use and make arrangement for recharging the sources of ground water including underground aquifers and to preserve rivers, streams, springs and other natural sources of water within and in the vicinity of the cantonment.
187. Terms of water-supply.
187. Terms of water-supply.—In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the following words and expression in relation to water supply shall have the respective meanings given below, namely:—
(1) “communication pipe” means,—
(a) where the premises supplied with water abut on the part of the street in which the main is laid, and the service pipe enters those premises otherwise than through the outer wall of a building abutting on the street and has a stopcock placed in those premises and as near to the boundary of that street as is reasonably practicable, so much of the service pipe as lies between the main and that stopcock;
(b) in any other case, so much of the service pipe as lies between the main and the boundary of the street in which the main is laid, and includes the ferrule at the junction of the service pipe with the main, and also,—
(i) where the communication pipe ends at in a stopcock, that stopcock, and
(ii) any stopcock fitted on the communication pipe between the end thereof and the main.
(2) “main” means a pipe laid by the Board for the purpose of giving a general supply of water as distinct from a supply to individual consumers and includes any apparatus used in connection with such a pipe.
(3) “service pipe” means so much of any pipe for supplying water from a main to any premises as is subject to water pressure from that main, or would be so subject but for the closing of some tap.
(4) “supply pipe” means so much of any service pipe as is not a communication pipe.
(5) “trunk main” means a main constructed for the purpose of conveying water from a source of supply to a filter or reservoir or from one filter or reservoir to another filter or reservoir, or for the purpose of conveying water in bulk from one part of the limits of supply to another part of those limits, or for the purpose of giving or taking a supply of water in bulk.
(6) “water fittings” includes pipes (other than mains), taps, cocks, valves, ferrules, meters, cisterns, baths and other similar apparatus used in connection with the supply and use of water.
188. Board to carry out survey and formulate proposals.
188. Board to carry out survey and formulate proposals.—(1) The Board may, when so required,—
(a) carry out a survey of the existing consumption of and demand for water supplies in cantonment and of the water resources in or likely to be made available in the cantonment;
(b) prepare an estimate of the future water supply requirements of the cantonment;
(c) carry out a survey of the existing quantity of sewage collection;
(d) formulate proposals as to—
(i) the existing or future water supply requirements of the cantonment;
(ii) the existing or future sewage collection requirement in cantonment including proposals for the manner in which and the place or places at which sewage should be carried, collected and treated.
(2) If the Board is of the opinion that the works and other properties for the time being vested in the Board, are inadequate for the purpose of sufficient supply of water or for the purpose of efficient collection of sewage under this Act it may take steps in accordance with the provisions of this Act for the construction of additional works, whether within cantonment or outside the cantonment with the approval of the Principal Director and for the acquisition of additional properties for such works.
189. Control over sources of public water-supply.
189. Control over sources of public water-supply.—(1) The Board may, with the previous sanction of the Central Government, by public notice, declare any lake, stream, spring, well, tank, reservoir or other source, whether within or without the limits of the cantonment other than a source of water-supply under the control and in use of the Military Engineer Services or the Public Works Department from which water is or may be made available for the use of the public in the cantonment to be source of public water-supply.
(2) Every such source shall be under the control of the Board and it shall be the duty of the Board to preserve and maintain such source.
190. Power to require maintenance or closing of private source of public drinking water-supply.
190. Power to require maintenance or closing of private source of public drinking water-supply.—The Chief Executive Officer may, by notice in writing, require the owner or any person having the control of any source of public water-supply which is used for drinking purposes—
(a) to keep the same in good order and to clear it from time to time of silt, refuse and decaying vegetation; or
(b) to protect the same from contamination in such manner as the Chief Executive Officer may direct; or
(c) if the water therein is proved to the satisfaction of the Chief Executive Officer to be unfit for drinking purposes, to take such measures as may be specified in the notice to prevent the public from having access to or using such water:
Provided that, in the case of a well, such person as aforesaid may, instead of complying with the notice, signify in writing his desire to be relieved of all responsibility for the proper maintenance of the well and his readiness to place it under the control and supervision of the Board for the use of the public, and, if he does so, he shall not be bound to carry out the requisition, and the Board shall undertake the control and supervision of the well.
191. Supply of water.
191. Supply of water.—(1) Subject to the guidelines made by the Board in this regard, the Chief Executive Officer may permit the owner, lessee or occupier of any building or land to connect the building or land with a source of public water-supply by means of communication pipes of such size and description as may be specified for the purpose of obtaining water for domestic use.
(2) The occupier of every building so connected with the water-supply shall be entitled to have for domestic use, in return for the water tax, if any, such quantity of water as the Chief Executive Officer may determine.
(3) All water supplied in excess of the quantity to which such supply is limited under sub-section (2) and, in a cantonment in which a water tax is not imposed, all water supplied under this section, shall be paid for at such rate as the Board may fix keeping in view its financial viability.
(4) The supply of water for domestic use shall not be deemed to include any supply for—
(a) animals or for washing vehicles where such animals or vehicles are kept for sale or hire;
(b) any trade, manufacture or business;
(c) fountains, swimming baths or any ornamental or mechanical purpose;
(d) gardens or for purposes of irrigation;
(e) making or watering roads or paths; or
(f) building purposes.
192. Power to require water-supply to be taken.
192. Power to require water-supply to be taken.—If it appears to the Chief Executive Officer that any building or land in the cantonment is without a proper supply of potable water, the Chief Executive Officer may, by notice in writing, require the owner, lessee or occupier of the building or land to obtain from a source of public water-supply such quantity of water, as is, adequate to the requirements of the persons usually occupying or employed upon the building or land, and to provide communication pipes of the prescribed size and description, and to take all necessary steps for the above purposes.
193. Supply of water under agreement.
193. Supply of water under agreement.—(1) Subject to the guidelines made by the Board in this regard, the Chief Executive Officer may, by agreement, supply, from any source of public water-supply, the owner, lessee or occupier of any building or land in the cantonment with any water for any purpose, other than a domestic purpose, on such terms and conditions, consistent with this Act and the rules and by-laws made thereunder, as may be agreed upon between the Chief Executive Officer and such owner, lessee or occupier.
(2) The Chief Executive Officer may withdraw such supply or curtail the quantity thereof at any time if it should appear necessary to do so for the purpose of maintaining sufficient supply of water for domestic use by inhabitants of the cantonment.
194. Board not liable for failure of supply.
194. Board not liable for failure of supply.—Notwithstanding any obligation imposed on Boards under this Act, a Board shall not be liable to any forfeiture, penalty or damages for failure to supply water or for curtailing the quantity thereof if the failure or curtailment, as the case may be, arises from accident or from drought or other avoidable cause unless, in the case of an agreement for the supply of water under Section 193, the Board has made express provision for forfeiture, penalty or damages in the event of such failure or curtailment.
195. Conditions of universal application.
195. Conditions of universal application.—Notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained or contained in any agreement under Section 193, the supply of water by a Board to any building or land shall be, and shall be deemed to have been granted subject to the following conditions, namely:—
(a) the owner, lessee or occupier of any building or land in or on which water supplied by the Board is wasted by reason of the pipes, drains or other works being out of repair shall, if he has knowledge thereof, give notice of the same to such officer as the Chief Executive Officer may appoint in this behalf;
(b) the Chief Executive Officer or any other officer or employee of the Board authorised by him in writing in this behalf may enter into or on any premises supplied with water by the Board, for the purpose of examining all pipes, taps, works and fittings connected with the supply of water and of ascertaining whether there is any waste or misuse of such water;
(c) the Chief Executive Officer may, after giving notice in writing, cut off the connection between any source of public water-supply and any building or land to which water is supplied for any purpose therefrom, or turn off such supply if—
(i) the owner or occupier of the building or land neglects to pay the water tax or water rate or other charges connected with the water supply within one month from the date on which such tax or rate or charge falls due for payment;
(ii) the occupier refuses to admit the Chief Executive Officer or other authorised officer or employee of the Board into the building or land for the purpose of making any examination or inquiry authorised by clause (b) or prevents the making of such examination or inquiry;
(iii) the occupier wilfully or negligently misuses or causes waste of water;
(iv) the occupier wilfully or negligently injures or damages his meter or any pipe or tap conveying water from the water works;
(v) any pipes, taps, works or fittings connected with the supply of water to the building or land are found, on examination by any other officer or employee of the Board authorised by the Chief Executive Officer in writing in this behalf, to be out of repair to such an extent as to cause waste of water;
(d) the expense of cutting off the connection or of turning off the water in any case referred to in clause (c) shall be paid by the owner or occupier of the building or land;
(e) no action taken under or in pursuance of clause (c) shall relieve any person from any penalty or liability which he may otherwise have incurred.
196. Supply to persons outside cantonment.
196. Supply to persons outside cantonment.—A Board may allow any person not residing within the limits of the cantonment to take or be supplied with water for any purpose from any source of public water supply on such terms as it may prescribe, and may at any time withdraw or curtail such supply.
197. Penalty.
197. Penalty.—Whoever—
(a) uses for other than domestic purposes any water supplied by a Board for domestic use; or
(b) where water is supplied by agreement with a Board for a specified purpose, uses that water for any other purposes shall be punishable with fine which may extend to two thousand five hundred rupees, and in addition, the Board shall be entitled to recover from him the cost of the water misused.
Water, drainage and other connections
198. Power of Board to lay wires, connections, etc.
198. Power of Board to lay wires, connections, etc.—A Board may carry any cable, wire, pipe, drain, sewer or channel of any kind,—
(a) for the purpose of carrying out, establishing or maintaining any system of water-supply, lighting, drainage or sewerage, through, across, under or over any road or street, or any place laid out or intended as a road or street, or, after giving reasonable notice in writing to the owner or occupier, into, through, across, under or over any land or building, or up side of any building, situated within the cantonment; or
(b) for the purpose of supplying water or of the introduction or distribution of outflow of water or for the removal or outflow of sewage, after giving reasonable notice in writing to the owner or occupier, into, through, across, under or over any land or building, or up side of any building, situated outside the cantonment and may at all times do all acts and things which may be necessary or expedient for repairing or maintaining any such cable, wire, pipe, drain, sewer or channel in an effective state for the purpose for which the same may be used or is intended to be used:
Provided that no nuisance shall be caused in excess of what is reasonably necessary for the proper execution of the work:
Provided further that compensation shall be payable to the owner or occupier for any damage sustained by him which is directly occasioned by the carrying out of any such operation.
199. Wires, etc., laid above surface of ground.
199. Wires, etc., laid above surface of ground.—In the case of any cable, wire, pipe, drain, sewer or channel being laid or carried above the surface of any land or through, over or up side of any building, such cable, wire, pipe, drain, sewer or channel shall be so laid or carried as to interfere as little as possible with the rights of the owner or occupier to the due enjoyment of such land or building, and compensation shall be payable by the Board in respect of any substantial interference with the right to any such enjoyment.
200. Connection with main not to be made without permission.
200. Connection with main not to be made without permission.—No person shall, for any purpose whatsoever, without the permission of the Board at any time make or cause to be made any connection or communication with any cable, wire, pipe, drain, sewer or channel constructed or maintained by, or vested in, a Board.
201. Power to prescribe ferrules and to establish meters, etc.
201. Power to prescribe ferrules and to establish meters, etc.—The Chief Executive Officer may prescribe the size of the ferrules to be used for the supply of gas, if any, and may establish meters or other appliances for the purpose of measuring the quantity of any water or gas or testing the quality thereof supplied to any premises by the Board.
202. Power of inspection.
202. Power of inspection.—The ferrules, communication pipes, connections, meters, stand pipes and all fittings thereon or connected therewith leading from water mains or from pipes, drains, sewers or channels into any house or land, to which water or gas is supplied by a Board, and the pipes, fittings, and works inside any such house or within the limits of any such land, shall in all cases be installed or executed subject to the inspection and to the satisfaction of the Chief Executive Officer.
203. Power to fix rates and charges.
203. Power to fix rates and charges.—A Board may fix the charges to be made for the establishment by them or through their agency or communications from, and connections with, mains, or pipes for the supply of water, or gas, or for meters or other appliances for measuring the quantity, or testing the quantity thereof supplied, and may levy such charges accordingly.
Application of this chapter to Government water-supplies
204. Government power-supply.
204. Government power-supply.—(1) Where in any cantonment there is a water-supply (other than a public water-supply under the control of the Board) under the control of the Military Engineer Services or the Public Works Department, the Officer of the Military Engineer Services or of the Public Works Department, as the case may be, in charge of such water-supply (hereafter in this chapter referred to as the Officer) may publish in the cantonment in such manner as he thinks fit a notice declaring any lake, stream, spring, well, tank, reservoir or other source, whether within or without the limits of the cantonment other than a source of public water-supply and the officer may, for the purpose of keeping any such source in good order or of protecting it from contamination or from use, require the Board to exercise any power conferred upon it by Section 190.
(2) In the case of any water-supply such as is referred to in sub-section (1), the following provisions of this chapter, namely, the provisions of Sections 191, 193, 194, 195, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202 and 203 shall, as far as may be, be applicable in respect of the supply of water to the cantonment, and for the purpose of such application references to the Board shall be construed as references to the Officer, and references to the Chief Executive Officer or other officer or employee of the Board shall be construed as references to such person as may be authorised in this behalf by the Officer.
(3) The provisions of Section 193 shall be applicable in respect of the supply of water by agreement to the Board by the Officer for use for any purpose other than a domestic purpose in like manner as they are applicable to such supply to the owner, lessee or occupier of any building or land in the cantonment.
(4) In order to preserve the underground water level, the Board may make regulations for the digging or use of bore wells in the cantonment.
205. Water supply for domestic consumption.
205. Water supply for domestic consumption.—(1) Where it appears to the Chief Executive Officer that any dwelling house in the cantonment is without supply of water for domestic consumption and that such a supply can be given from mains which is not more than one hundred feet distance from any part of such dwelling house, the Chief Executive Officer may by notice require the owner to obtain supply and to execute all such works as may be necessary for this purpose.
(2) It shall not be lawful for the owner of any premises which may be constructed or reconstructed, to occupy it or cause or permit it to be occupied until he has obtained a certificate from the Chief Executive Officer that there is provided within, or within a reasonable distance of, the house supply of wholesome water as appears to the Chief Executive Officer to be sufficient for domestic consumption and use of the inmates of the House.
206. Recovery of charges.
206. Recovery of charges.—In any case in which the provisions of Section 204 apply and in which the Board is not receiving a bulk supply of water under Section 207, the water-tax, if any, imposed in the cantonment and all other rates arising out of the supply of water which may be imposed under the provisions of this chapter as applied by Section 204 shall be recovered by the Board, and all monies so recovered, or such proportion thereof as the Central Government may in each case determine, shall be paid by the Board to the Officer.
207. Supply of water from Government water-supply to the Board.
207. Supply of water from Government water-supply to the Board.—(1) Where in any cantonment there is a water-supply such as is referred to in sub-section (1) of Section 204, the Board may, and so long as the Board is unable to provide a water-supply of its own, it shall receive from the Military Engineer Services or the Public Works Department, as the case may be, at such point or points as may be agreed upon between the Board and the Military Engineer Services or Public Works Department, a supply of water adequate to the requirements for domestic use of all persons in the cantonment other than entitled consumers.
(2) Any supply of water received under sub-section (1) shall be a bulk supply, and the Board shall make such payments to the Military Engineer Services or Public Works Department for all water so received as may be agreed upon between the Board and the Military Engineer Services or Public Works Department, or, in default of such agreement, as may be determined by the Central Government to be reasonable having regard to the actual cost of supplying the water in the cantonment and the rate charge for water in any adjacent municipality:
Provided that, notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the Board shall not charge for the supply to persons in the cantonment of water received by the Board under this section a rate calculated to produce more than the sum of the payments made to the Military Engineer Services or Public Works Department for water received and the actual cost of the supply thereof by the Board to consumers.
(3) If any dispute arises between the Board and the Military Engineer Services or Public Works Department regarding the rate and amount of water adequate to the requirements of persons in the cantonment other than entitled consumers, the disputes shall be referred to the Central Government whose decision shall be final.
208. Functions of the Board in relation to distribution of bulk supply.
208. Functions of the Board in relation to distribution of bulk supply.—Where under the provisions of sub-section (1) of Section 207 a bulk supply of water is received by the Board, the Board shall be solely responsible for the supply of water of all persons in the cantonment other than entitled consumers; and the provisions of this Act shall apply as if such bulk supply were a source of public water-supply under the control of the Board and as if the communications from and connections with such bulk supply for the purpose of supplying water to such persons were a system of water-supply established and maintained by the Board.
209. Special provisions concerning drainage and sewage.
209. Special provisions concerning drainage and sewage.—(1) All public drains, all drains in, along side or under any public street, except those vesting in the Military Engineer Services or any Department of the Central Government or a State Government or any autonomous body under the Central Government or a State Government and all sewage collection works, whether constructed out of the cantonment fund or otherwise and all works, material and things appertaining thereto, which are situated in the cantonment shall vest in the Board.
(2) All public and other drains, which are vested in the Board are hereafter in this Act referred to as cantonment drains.
(3) For the purposes of enlarging, deepening or otherwise repairing or maintaining any such drain or sewage collection work so much of the sub-soil appertaining thereto as may be necessary for the said purpose shall be deemed also to vest in the Board.
(4) All drains and ventilation shafts, pipes and all appliances and fittings connected with drainage works constructed, erected or set up out of the cantonment fund in or upon premises not belonging to the Board whether—
(a) before or after the commencement of this Act; and
(b) for the use of the owner or occupier of such premises or not, shall unless the Board has otherwise determined, or does at any time otherwise determine, vest and be deemed always to have vested in the Board.
210. Construction of and control of drains and sewage collection and disposal works.
210. Construction of and control of drains and sewage collection and disposal works.—(1) All cantonment drains, all sewage collection and all works, materials and things appertaining thereto shall be under the control of the Board.
(2) The Chief Executive Officer shall maintain and keep in repair all cantonment drains and sewage collection and sewage disposal works when authorised by the Board.
(3) The Board shall construct as many new drains and sewage collection and sewage disposal works as may from time to time be necessary for effectual drainage and sewage collection.
(4) The Board shall ensure that the sewage effluents are treated in accordance with the norms laid down under the relevant laws relating to pollution before it is dispersed into a river, stream, lake or open land.
211. Certain matters not to be passed into cantonments drains.
211. Certain matters not to be passed into cantonments drains.—No person shall throw, empty or turn into any cantonment drain or into any drain communicating with a cantonment drain—
(a) any matter likely to injure the drain or to interfere with the free flow of its contents, or to affect prejudicially the treatment and disposal of its contents; or
(b) any chemical, refuse or waste stream, or any liquid of a temperature higher than forty-five degrees contigrade, being refuse or stream which, or liquid which when so heated is, either alone or in combination with the contents of the drain be dangerous, or the cause of a nuisance, or prejudicial to health; or
(c) any dangerous petroleum.
Explanation.—In this section, the expression “dangerous petroleum” has the same meaning as in the Petroleum Act, 1934 (30 of 1934).
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