CHENNAI: Minister for Municipal Administration KN Nehru on Friday introduced a bill in the Assembly to amend the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Act of 1978, which will decriminalise certain minor offences.
The bill also included another amendment to the Act, which makes it mandatory for the owner or occupier of any premises or a private street to get a sewer connection when there is a sewer line of the board (Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board) within 30 metres from the nearest point of the premises or the street. Section 56 of the Act has been amended to this effect.
According to the bill, owners or occupants within 30 metres of a sewer are prohibited from using other sewage disposal methods like septic tanks or sewage disposal vehicles. This was previously not part of the Act. As regards decriminalisation of minor offences, Guidance Tamil Nadu, the investment promotion agency of the state government, has recommended that minor offences under the Act may be examined for decriminalisation. The bill said the government had accepted the recommendation.
Section 77 of the Act, presently says that anyone contravening any provisions of the Act, shall be punished either with imprisonment or fine or both.
The new bill divides Section 77 into Section 77 (1) and Section 77 (2).
Contraventions of certain provisions of the Act mentioned under Section 77 (1) of the bill shall be punishable with imprisonment or fine or both.
However, for violations of a few other provisions of the Act mentioned under Section 77 (1), there shall be no imprisonment, but only penalty, which will be not exceeding Rs 5,000 for first offence and `10,000 for second and subsequent offence.
Moreover, the bill also introduced Section 77-A, which provided the power to adjudicate on penalties to the executive engineer of the jurisdictional area.
According to the bill, any person aggrieved by the adjudication order by the EE can appeal to the managing director of the board within 30 days of the receipt of the order.