Section 17 in The Maharashtra Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1960
17. Preservation of amenities of protected monuments.
(1)If the State Government is of opinion that for the purpose of preserving the reasonable amenities of any protected monument, it is necessary so to do, the State Government may, subject to the provisions of this section, by notification in the Official Gazette, in respect of any area comprising or adjacent, to the site of such monument specified in such notification (hereinafter referred to as "the controlled area")-(a)prohibit or restrict the construction, erection or execution of buildings, structures and other works above ground within the controlled area, or the alteration or extension of any such buildings, structures, or works in such manner as materially to affect their external appearance;(b)prescribe the position, height, size, design, materials, colour and screening and otherwise regulate the external appearance of buildings, structures and other works above ground within the controlled area;(c)require any local authority-(i)to construct any approach road to any protected monument, or(ii)to demolish any public convenience vesting in it, that is to say a latrine, urinal, dustbin, rubbish dump and the like, located close to or in the vicinity of any protected monument;(d)prohibit or restrict the felling of trees within the controlled area;(e)otherwise restrict the user of land within the controlled area to such extent as is necessary for the purpose of preserving the reasonable amenities of the protected monument;(f)provide for such matters as appear to the State Government to be incidental to or consequential on the foregoing provisions of this section, or to be necessary for giving effect to those provisions.(2)Not less than forty-five days before issuing a notification under subsection (1), the State Government shall cause to be published in the Official Gazette, in the controlled area, and in the village and at the headquarters of the taluka or mahal of the district in which the controlled area is situated, a notification stating that it proposes to issue a notification in terms of sub-section (1), together with a notice requiring all persons affected by such notification, who wish to make any objections to the issuing of such a notification, to submit their objections in writing to the State Government or appear before any officer duly authorised in that behalf to hear objection on behalf of the State Government, within one month of the publication of the notification in the Official Gazette, or within fifteen days from the date of the publication of the notification in the controlled area, whichever period expires later.(3)If on the expiration of the time allowed by sub-section (2) for the filing of objections, no objection has been made, the State Government shall proceed at once to issue the notification under sub-section (1). If any such objection has been made, the State Government may, after all the objections have been considered or heard, as the case may be, either-(a)abandon the proposal to issue the notification under sub-section (1); or(b)issue the notification under sub-section (1) with such modifications (if any), as it thinks fit.(4)In considering the objections, the decision of the State Government on the question of issuing the notification under sub-section (1) shall be final, and conclusive.(5)Nothing contained in any notification under sub-section (1) shall affect any building, structure or other work above ground or any alteration or extension thereof, if it was constructed, erected, or executed before the date when notice of intention to issue such a notification was given under sub section (2), and for the purpose of this provision a building, structure, or other work and any alteration or extension thereof shall be deemed to have been constructed, erected or executed before that date-(a)if its construction, erection or execution was begun before that date, or(b)if, and so far as, its construction, erection or execution was necessary for the purpose of performing a contract made before that date.(6)Any person whose property is injuriously affected by the coming into force of a notification under sub-section (1) shall, subject to the provisions of section 29, be entitled to obtain compensation in respect thereof from the State Government.
