Section 251 in The Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats And Industrial Townships Act, 1965
251. Special powers in respect of overcrowding area.
(1)If the Council is of opinion that risk of disease has arisen or is likely to arise either to any occupier in, or to any inhabitant in the neighbourhood of, any part the municipal area by reason of any of the following defects, namely:-(a)the manner in which either buildings or blocks of buildings, already existing or projected therein, are or are likely to become, crowded together; or(b)the impracticability of cleansing any such buildings or blocks of buildings, already existing or projected; or(c)the want of drainage or scavenging, or the difficulty of arranging therein for the drainage or scavenging of any such buildings or blocks as aforesaid; or(d)the narrowness closeness, bad arrangement or bad condition of the streets or buildings or group of buildings;the Council may, if any of its powers are not withdrawn under the last preceding section, exercise the following powers namely :-(i)power when any building or block already existing or in course of erection, by reason of any defect specified in clauses (a), (b), (c) or (d), has given or is in the opinion of the Council likely to give rise to such risk as aforesaid, to require by a written notice, to be fixed upon some conspicuous part of such building or block and addressed, as the Council deems fit, either to the owners thereof or to the owners of the land on which such building or block is erected or is in course of erection that the persons so addressed shall, within such reasonable time as shall be specified in the notice, either pull down or remove such building or block, or execute such works or take such action in connection therewith as the Council deems necessary to prevent such risk;(ii)power by municipal or other agency to pull down or remove such building or block, or to execute such works or to take such action as aforesaid, if the persons addressed in the said notice neglect so to do within the time specified therein(2)When, in pursuance of any notice under sub-section (1), any building has been pulled down, the Council shall, unless such building has been erected contrary to any provision of this Act or of any bye-law in force thereunder, pay to such owner or occupier as may have sustained damage thereby, reasonable compensation, the amount of which shall, in case of dispute, be ascertained or determined in the manner provided in section 330.(3)Whoever commits a breach of any notice given or of any condition imposed by the Council in exercise of any power under this section shall, on conviction, be punished with fine which may extend to [five thousand rupees] [These words substituted for the words 'five hundred rupees' by Maharashtra 1 of 2011, Section 31, (w.e.f. 14-1-2011).].
