Functions & Duties Of the Board
Duties of Board
It shall be the duty of every Board, so far as the funds at its disposal permit, to make reasonable provision within the cantonment for—
(i) lighting streets and other public places;
(ii) watering streets and other public places;
(iii) cleansing streets, public places and drains, abating nuisances and removing noxious vegetation;
(iv) regulating offensive, dangerous or obnoxious trades, callings and practices;
(v) removing, on the ground of public safety, health or convenience, undesirable obstructions and projections in streets and other public places;
(vi) securing or removing dangerous buildings and places;
(vii) acquiring, maintaining, changing and regulating places for the disposal of the dead;
(viii) constructing, altering and maintaining streets, culverts, bridges, causeways, markets, slaughter-houses, latrines, privies, urinals, drains, drainage works and sewerage works and regulating their use;
(ix) planting and maintaining trees on roadsides and other public places;
(x) providing or arranging for a sufficient supply of potable water, where such supply does not exist, guarding from pollution water used for human consumption, and preventing polluted water from being so used;
(xi) registering births and deaths;
(xii) preventing and checking spread of dangerous diseases; establishing and maintaining a system of public vaccination and inoculation for the said objective;
(xiii) establishing and maintaining or supporting public hospitals, maternity and child welfare centers and dispensaries, and providing public medical relief;
(xiv) establishing and maintaining or assisting primary schools;
(xv) rendering assistance in extinguishing fires, and protecting light and property when fires occur;
(xvi) maintaining and developing the value of property vested in, or entrusted to, the management of the Board;
(xvii) establishing and maintaining civil defence services;
(xviii) preparing and implementing town planning schemes;
(xix) preparing and implementing plans for economic development and social justice;
(xx) naming and numbering of streets and premises;
(xxi) according or refusing permission to erect or re-erect building;
(xxii) organising, promoting or supporting cultural and sports activities;
(xxiii) celebrating Independence Day and Republic Day and incurring expenditure thereon;
(xxiv) fulfilling any other obligation imposed upon it by or under this Act or any other law for the time being in force.
Power to manage property
A Board may, subject to any conditions imposed by the Central Government, manage any property entrusted to its management by the Central Government on such terms as to the sharing of rents and profits accruing from such property as may be determined by rule made under section 346.
Discretionary functions of Board
A Board may, within the cantonment, make provision for—
(i) laying out in areas, whether previously built upon or not, new streets, and acquiring land for that purpose and for the construction of buildings, and compounds of buildings, to abut on such streets;
(ii) constructing, establishing or maintaining public parks, gardens, offices, dairies, bathing or washing places, drinking fountains, tanks, wells and other works of public utility;
(iii) reclaiming unhealthy localities;
(iv) furthering educational objects by measures other than the establishment and maintenance of primary schools;
(v) setting up or supporting higher schools, colleges and vocational, professional and special education;
(vi) constructing, and maintaining works and structures, including rainwater harvesting, for providing supply of water for public and private purposes;
(vii) constituting, maintaining and managing supply and distribution of electricity, including by exploiting non-conventional energy sources, to public and private premises; p Sec. 64] The Cantonments Act, 2006 33
(viii) taking a census and granting rewards for information which may tend to secure the correct registration of vital statistics;
(ix) making a survey;
(x) giving relief on the occurrence of local epidemics, floods, famines or other natural calamities by the establishment or maintenance of relief work or otherwise;
(xi) securing or assisting to secure suitable places for the carrying on of any offensive dangerous or obnoxious trade, calling or occupation;
(xii) establishing and maintaining a farm or other place for the disposal of sewage;
(xiii) constructing, subsidising or guaranteeing tramways or other means of locomotion, and electric lighting or electric power work;
(xiv) establishing and maintaining cattle pounds;
(xv) arranging for civic reception with prior approval of the Officer Commanding the Station;
(xvi) providing housing accommodation for any class of inhabitants;
(xvii) conservation and maintenance of ancient and historical monuments, archaeological sites and remains or place of public importance in the cantonment.
(xviii) developing land resources under the management of the Board;
(xix) preparing and implementing group housing schemes;
(xx) establishing and undertaking remunerative projects;
(xxi) developing small-scale and cottage industries;
(xxii) developing expertise in different areas of urban governance and local self-government to and able to provide consultancy to other Municipal and Development Authorities;
(xxiii) adopting any measure, other than a measure specified in section 62 or in the foregoing provisions of this section likely to promote the safety, health or convenience of the inhabitants of the cantonment;
(xxiv) establishing and maintaining or supporting libraries, museums, art galleries, botanical or zoological collections;
(xxv) establishing and maintaining or supporting stadia, gymnasia, akharas and places for sports and games; (xxvi) establishing theatres and cinemas;
(xxvii) organising and managing fairs and exhibitions;
(xxviii) constructing and maintaining:—
(a) rest-houses;
(b) poor-houses;
(c) infirmaries;
(d) children's home;
(e) houses for deaf and dumb and for disabled and handicapped children;
(f) shelters for destitute and disabled persons;
(g) asylums for persons of unsound mind;
(h) old age homes;
(i) working women's hostels;
(xxix) establishing and managing chemical or bacteriological laboratories for the examination or analysis of water, food and drugs for the detection of diseases or research connected with the public health or medical relief;
(xxx) providing relief to destitute and disabled persons;
(xxxi) establishing and maintaining veterinary hospitals;
(xxxii) constructing and maintaining warehouses and godowns;
(xxxiii) constructing and managing garages, sheds and stands for vehicles and cattle sheds;
(xxxiv) constructing and managing community halls and convention halls;
(xxxv) holding seminars, workshops, public debates, and similar activities particularly on issues and rules and regulations of civic importance; Explanation—For the purposes of clause(xvii)—
(a) "conservation" means the supervision, management and maintenance of a place to retain its historical, architectural, aesthetic or cultural significance or of environment and includes the protection, improvement, preservation, restoration, reconstruction and adoption or a combination of more than one of these activities, and the use of such place in a way that ensures the social as well as economic benefits;
(b) "ancient and historical monuments, archaeological sites and remains or place of public importance" including buildings, artifacts, structures, areas, or precincts of historical or aesthetical or educational or scientific or cultural or environmental significance, and those natural features of environment significance or scenic beauty, as may be declared by the Board.
(2) A Board may, either within or outside the cantonment, make provision for the doing of anything on which expenditure is declared by the Central Government, or by the Board with the sanction of the Central Government, to be an appropriate charge on the cantonment fund or the cantonment development fund.
Power of expenditure of educational, health and other purposes outside the cantonment
A Board may make provision subject to availability of funds for—
(i) educational objects in a cantonment;
(ii) the objectives of public health and medical care;
(iii) works relating to water-supply, drainage and lighting;
(iv) the preservation, improvement and up-gradation of environment, outside the cantonment, if it is satisfied that the interests of the residents of the cantonment will be served thereby.