Keywords : Dangerous Disease, Holding, House-Drain, House-Gully, Market, Municipal Area, Municipal Drain, Municipal Market, Municipal Slaughter House, Municipality, Nuisance, Offensive Matter, Private Drain, Private Street, Public Building, Public Street, Sewage
THE TRIPURA MUNICIPAL ACT, 1994 An Act to reorganise Municipality in urban and town areas of Tripura and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Whereas it is expedient and necessary to replace the present statute relating to Municipality by one which is in conformity with the purpose, substance and direction of the Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act, 1992 which came into force on the 1st June, 1993, in general, and, in perticular, to endow the municipalities with functions and powers so as to enable them to functions as vibrant institutions of local self Government with greater participation of people in managing their own affairs besides realisation of economic and social justice. Be it enacted by the Tripura Legislative Assembly in the Forty-fifth Year of the Republic of India, as follows :- PART I CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY 1. ( 1) This Act may be called the Tripura Municipal Act, 1994. (2) It extends to the whole of the State ofTripura except the areas under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District. (3) It shall come into force on such date as may be appointed by the State Government by Notification in the Official Gazette and different dates may be appointed for different provisions or for different areas. 2. In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant to the subject or the context- · (1) “Bridge” includes a culvert ; 571 (2) “Building” means a structure cnstructed by any materials for any purpose and includes the foundation, plinth, wall, floor, roof, chimnlys, fixed platform, verandah, balcony, cornice, projection or part of a building or anything affixed thereto but does not include 1 [ ————–J tent, samiana or tarpaulin shelter ; (3) “Building line” means the line up to which the main wall of a building abutting on a street or a projected public street may lawfully extend ; ( 4) “Carriage” means any wheeled vehicle, with springs or other appliances acting as spring, which is used for the conveyance of human beings or goods, and includes a jinrickshaw, a van-rickshaw and a cycle rickshaw, but does not include a motor vehicle or a bicycle or a tricycle or a perambulator or other form of vehicle designed for the conveyance of small children ; (5) “Cart” means any cart, hackery or wheeled vehicle with or without springs, which is not a carriage or a motor vehicle as defined in this section, and includes a handcart, a bicycle or a rickshaw, but does not include a trail or of a motor vehicle, a perambulaltor or other form of vehicle designed for the conveyance of small children; (6) “Chairperson” or “Vice-Chaiperson” means Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson of Municipal Council or a Nagar Commitee; (7) “Dairy” includes any firm, cattleshed cow-house, milk store, milk shop or other place from which milk is supplied for sale or stored manifacture and sale of milk products ; (8) “District” means a Revenue District ; (9) “Dangerous disease” means cholera, plague, small fox, diptheria, tuberculosis, leprosy, influenza, encaphalities and includes any other epidemic, or infectious disease which the State Government may declare to be a dangerous disease ; (I 0) “District Council” means Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council. I. Deleied by The Tripura Municipal (Amendmenl) ACI, 2000, w.e.f 6-10-2000. 572 • .. t• .. ,. ‘i fj ‘• •i -.. : l I -! ( 11) “State Election Commission” means the State Panchayat Election Commission referred to in Section 176 of the Tripura Panchayats Act, 1 <-)93 : ( 12) “First General Election” means the General Election held for the first time for constituting a Municipality after commencement of this Act; ( 13) “General Election” means the election which may be held for constitution of a Municipality; ( 14) “Holding” means land held on title or agreement and surrounded by one set of boundaries ; Provided that where two or more adjoining holdings form part and parcel of the site or premises of a dwelling house, manufactory, warehouse or place of trade or business, such holdings shall be deemed to be one holding for the purpose of this Act. ( 15) “House-drain” means any drain of one or more premises used for the drainage of such premises ; ( 16) “House-gully” means a passage or strip of land constructed, set apart or utilised for the purpose of affording access to a privy, urinal, cesspool or other receptacle for filthy or polluted matter to Municipal employees or to persons employed in the cleansing thereof orin the removal of such matter therefrom ; (17) ”Market” includes any place, by whatever name called, where persons assemble for the sale and purchase of various articles declared and licenced by the Municipality as a market; ( 18) “Municipal area” means an area constituted under this Act as Larger Urban Municipal area, or a Smaller Urban Municipal area or transitional Municipal area or a part thereof ; ( 19) “Municipal drain” means a drain vested in the Municipality; (20) “Municipal market” means a market belonging to or maintained by the Municipality ; (21) “Municipal slaughter house” means a slaughter house belonging to or maintained by the Municipality; 573 (22) “Municipality” means Nagar Panchayat, a Municipal Council or a Municipal Corporation constituted under this Act ; (23) “Member” means a member of a Municipality ; (24) “Nuisance” includes any act, commission, place or thing which causes or is likely to cause injury, danger, annoyance or offence to the sense of sight, smell or hearing or disturbance to rest or sleep or which is or may be dangerous to life or injurious to health or property ; (25) “Occupier” includes any person for the time being paying or liable to pay to the owner the rent or fee in whatever manner on account of the occupation of any land or building and also includes a rent free tenant : (26) “Offensive matter” means kitchen or stable refuse, dung, dirt, putrid or putrefying substance and filth of any kind which is not included in “sewage”; (27) “Owner” includes the person for the time being receiving the rent of any land or building or of any part of any land or building, whether on his own account or as agent or trustee for any person or society or for any religious or charitable purpose, or as a receiver who would receive such rent if the land or building or any part of the land or building were let to a tenant ; (28) “Population” means the population as ascertained at the last preceding census of which the relevent figures have been published; (29) “Premises” means any land or building or part of a building or any hut or part of a hut, and includes the garden, ground and out-houses, if any appertaining thereto ; (30) “Prescribed” means presecribed by rules made by the State Government under this Act ; (31) “Private drain” means any drain which is not a Municipal drain as defined in this section ; (32) “Private street” means any street, road, lane, gully, passage or square which is not a public street as defined in this section, and include any passage securing access to three or more premises belonging to the same or different owners; 574 :l ‘!-~~~j , ~ ··; . . :’.1 . ~ J J ···_] · ” ”l· .. . j’ ·, ~ ‘ (33) “Public building” means a building constructed, used or adopted to be used- (a) as a place of public worship or as a school, college or other place of institution (not being a dwelling house so used) or as a hospital, nursing home, materinity home, factory, work house, public theatre, public cinema, public hall, public concord room, public lecture room, public library or public exhibition room or as a public place of assembly ; or (b) as a hotel, eating house, lodging house, home hostel, refuge or shelter ; or (c) for any other public purpose ; (34) “Public street” means any street, road, lane, gully, alloy, passage, pathway, square or courtyard whether a thoroughfare or not, over which the public have a right to way ; (35) “Qualifying date” in relation to the preparation or revision of each electoral roll means the first day of January of the year in which it is so prepared or revised ; (36) “Ratepayer”means a person liable to pay any rate, tax or fee under this Act ; (37) “Registered medical practitioner” means a medical practitioner registered under any law for the time being in force ; (38) “Regulations” means regulations made by a Municipality under this Act; (39) “Rubbish” means dust, ashes, broken bricks, mortar, broken glass and refuse of any kind which is not offensive matter ; ( 40) “Rules” means the rules made under this Act; 1 [ 40A. Schedule means shcedule of the Act I . fm·erted by The Tripura Municipal (Amendment) 2000, w.e.f 6. / 0.2000. 575 ··, . I ····I (41) “Service privy” means a fixed privy which is cleansed by hand daily or periodically, but does not include a movable commode; ( 42) “Sew age”means night soil and other contents of privies, urinals cesspools or drains, and includes trade effluents and discharges from manufactories of all kinds; ( 43) “Slaughter house”means any place used for the slaughter of cattle, sheep, goats, kids or pigs or hens, fowls, chicken, ducks, turkeys or any other eatable birds for the purpose of selling the flesh thereof as meat; ( 44) “State Government” means the State Government ofTripura ; (45) “Section” means a section of this Act; (46) “Street” means a public or private street; (47) “Street alignment” means the line dividing the land comprised in and forming part of a street for the adjoining land ; ( 48) “Watercourse” includes any river, stream or channel whether natural or artificial ; and ( 49) “Year” means a financial year beginning on the first day of Aptil. 576 Declaration of intention to constitute a municipal area. Publication of declaration. CHAPTER II CONSTITUTION OF MUNICIPAL AREAS. 3. Whenever the Governor is satisfied that any smaller or larger urban area or a transitional area, that is to say, an area in transition from a rural area to an urban area– (i) contains a population of not less than five lakhs in such larger urban area or not less than fifty thousand in such smaller urban area or less than fifty thousand in such transitional area ; (ii) has a density of population of not less than five hundred inhabitants per square kilometere of area; (iii) has an occupational pattern in which more than one half of the adult population are chiefly engaged in pursuit other than agriculture, and if such area is constituted a Municipal area the revenue generated for local administration and other municipal income are likely to be adequate for discharge of municipal functions under this Act, be may, by notification declare the intention to constitute such areas as larger urban Municipal area, or, as the case may be, a smaller urban Municipal area or a transitional Municipal area; Provided that nowithstanding anything contained herein the Governor may by public notification especify a larger urban area, a smaller urban area or a transitional area having regard to the population, density of population of the area, revenue generated for local administration, percentage of employment in non-agricultural activities, the economic importance of the area and such other factors as he may deem fit. 4. ( 1) The notification about the consitution of a Municipal area shall be published in the Official Gazette and in at least two leading newspapers, one of which shall be in vernacular intelligible to the inhabitants of the local area concerned. (2) A copy of he notification shall also be pasted up in a conspicuous place in the office of the District Magistrate and in such other public places as the State Government may direct. 577 . •; : I u . I _j . I ·I :I i ···1 (3) A public proclamation about the constitution of a Municipal area shall be made either by beating of drum throughout the local area. concerned or through any other publicity media. 5. Any inhabitant of the larger or a smaller urban area or the transitional Consideration area in respect of which the notification has been published under section 4 of objection. may, if he objects anything contained in the notification, shall submit his objection in w1iting to the State Government within one month from the date of publication in the Official Gazette, and the State Government shall take his objection into consideration. 6. On expiry of one month from the date of publication of the notification Constitution of in the Official Gazette and after consideration of all or any of the objections municipal area. which may be submitted, the State Government may, by notification, constitute such area notified under Section 3 or a part of it as larger urban Municipal area, or as the case may be, a smaller urban Municipal area or trasitional Municiapal area. 7. After consultation with the Municipality concerned (if it has already Power to abolish been established) the State Government may, by similar notification, and or alter the f 11 · h d 1 ‘d d f · · f M · · I limits of a o owmg t e same proce ure aJ own or constitUtiOn o umc1pa . . 1 c. mumc1pa area. area– (a) withdraw any Municipal area from the operation of this Act; or (b) exclude from a Municipal area any local ~rea comprised therein and defined in the notification; or (c) exclude within a Municipal area contiguous to the same and defined in the notification ; or (d) divide any Municipal area into two or more Municipal areas ; or (e) unite two or more Municipal areas so as to form one Municipal area ; or (f) revise the boundary of two or more contiguous Municipal area; or 578 . j ‘.: Power to include certain dwelling house manufactory, etc. within a pat·ticular municipal area. Power to exempt municipal area from opet·ation of any provision of the Act. (g) re-define the boundaties or limits of a Municipal area; or 1[———————————————————————–l 8. Where a dwelling house, manufactory, warehouse, or place of industry or business is situated within the limits of two or more adjacent Municipal areas, the State Government may, notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, by notification, declare within which of those Municipal areas such dwelling house, manufactory, warehouses, or place of industry or business shall be deemed to be included for purpose of this Act. 9. ( 1) The State Government may, by notification and for reasons to be recorded in writing, exempt any Municipal area or Municipal areas from the operation of any of t~e provisions of this Act and thereupon the said provisions shall not apply to such Municipal area or Municipal areas until such provisions are applied thereto by subsequent notification. (2) While the exemption, as aforesaid, remains in force, the State Government may make mles with respect to any matter within the purview of this Act for the Municipal area or Municipal areas so exempted.
