RMIW Act 16Chapter III · Construction and Maintenance

Section 16 · Powers of Officer-in-charge

(1)

The Officer-in-charge mid any officer to whom he is subordinate, shall have the following powers namely :-

(a)

at any time after the expiration of three months from the date of the notification under section 12, to enter on any land, remove any obstructions, close any channels and do any other thing necessary for the use or application of the water of any river or stream following in a natural channel or of any lake or other natural collection of still water;

(b)

to prohibit by order in writing any person from doing anything which in his opinion diminishes, or is likely to diminish the efficiency of the work;

(c)

to require by order in writing any owner or occupier of land within the benefited area to take or permit such action in respect of any property therein belonging to him or in his possession, as may appear necessary for the preservation or maintenance of the work or may appear" to be necessary for the purpose of increasing or extending within the benefited area, by means of distributaries or otherwise, the benefit of the work;

(d)

to enter or authorise any other person to enter upon any land for the purpose of constructing or maintaining the work, or of preventing or remedying the effect of any accident to the same, or of inspecting or regulating the sue of the water supplied, or of measuring lands irrigated by the work or chargeable with any water rate or other sum, or of doing any other thing necessary for the proper regulation and management of the work:

(e)

to require in cases of urgency any owner or occupier of land receiving benefit from the work to assist in procuring at market rates such labour, as may be necessary for the preservation or maintenance of the work:

(f)

to do or prevent being done anything in respect of which an order has been issued by him under clauses (b) and (c), provided that the person so ordered has failed to obey the order within the time specified in the order, and provided also that no action shall be taken under this clause in respect of an order issued under clause (c) until such order has become final under section 17:

(g)

to issue an order in writing to the persons using any watercourse to construct suitable bridges, culverts or other works for the passage of the water of such water-course across any public road, canal or drainage channel in use before the said water- course was made or to repair any such works, and on the failure of the person to whom the order has been issued to comply within a reasonable time, himself to take the required action at the cost of such person which shall be recoverable under section 28.

(2)

The power conferred by clause (c) of sub-section (1), shall include the power to order the transfer by one person to another, on the payment of compensation to be determined in the mariner described in section 42, of a water-course or of any land or right in land required for the construction of a water-course.

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