26. Consent of highway authority required to do certain acts on highway.
(1)Any person or authority or agency intending to construct, place, maintain or carry any cable, wire, pipe, drain, sewer or channel of any kind through, across, along, under, in or over any highway, shall obtain prior consent in writing of the highway authority.(2)The authority competent to give consent under sub-section (1) shall be the highway authority and it shall ensure that as far as possible any such construction is carried out along the extreme edge of the right of way and may impose such conditions as it may consider necessary and levy such charges, as it may deem fit, for any land forming part of the highway occupied by, or applied to, the proposed work.(3)Where any person constructs or carries out any work in contravention of sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), the highway authority may arrange for the removal of such work and restoration of the highway to its former condition, in accordance with the provisions of section 15 as if the work constitutes an encroachment on the highway and such expense as the highway authority may incur for this purpose, together with fifteen per cent overhead charges thereon, shall, without prejudice to any other action that may be taken against such person under this Act, be recovered from him in such manner as may be prescribed.
