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1The Cantonments Act, 1924

( ACT NO. II OF 1924 )

এই আইন ক্যান্টনমেন্ট আইন, ২০১৮ (২০১৮ সনের ২৭ নং আইন) দ্বারা রহিত করা হইয়াছে।

Chapter XI

CONTROL OVER BUILDINGS, STREETS, BOUNDARIES, TREES, ETC.

Buildings

Sanction for building
2[178A. No person shall erect or re-erect a building on any land in a cantonment, except with the previous sanction of the Board, nor otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter and of the rules and bye-laws made under this Act relating to the erection and re-erection of buildings.]
Notice of new buildings
179.(1) Whoever intends to erect or re-erect any building in a cantonment shall apply for sanction by giving notice in writing of his intention to the Board.
 
 
(2) For the purposes of this Act, a person shall be deemed to erect or re-erect a building who-
 
 
(a) makes any material alteration or enlargement of any building, or
 
 
(b) converts into a place for human habitation any building not originally constructed for that purpose, or
 
 
(c) converts into more than one place for human habitation a building originally constructed as one such place, or
 
 
(d) converts two or more places of human habitation into a greater number of such places, or
 
 
(e) converts into a stable, cattle-shed or cowhouse any building originally constructed for human habitation, or
 
 
(f) makes any alteration which there is reason to believe is likely to affect prejudicially the stability or safety of any building or the condition of any building in respect of drainage, sanitation or hygiene, or
 
 
(g) makes any alteration to any building which increases or diminishes the height of, or area covered by, or the cubic capacity of, the building, or which reduces the cubic capacity of any room in the building below the minimum prescribed by any bye-law made under this Act.
Conditions of valid notice
180. (1) A person giving the notice required by section 179 shall specify the purpose for which it is intended to use the building to which such notice relates.
 
 
(2) No notice shall be valid until the information required under sub-section (1) and any further information and plans which may be required under bye-laws made under this Act have been furnished to the satisfaction of the Board along with the notice.
Power of Board to sanction or refuse
181. (1) The Board may either refuse to sanction the erection or re-erection, as the case may be, of the building, or may sanction it either absolutely or subject to such directions as it thinks fit to make in writing in respect of all or any of the following matters, namely:-
 
 
(a) the free passage or way to be left in front of the building;
 
 
(b) the space to be left about the building to secure free circulation of air and facilitate scavenging and the prevention of fire;
 
 
(c) the ventilation of the building, the minimum cubic area of the rooms and the number and height of the storeys of which the building may consist;
 
 
(d) the provision and position of drains, latrines, urinals, cesspools or other receptacles for filth;
 
 
(e) the level and width of the foundation, the level of the lowest floor and the stability of the structure;
 
 
(f) the line of frontage with neighbouring buildings if the building abuts on a street;
 
 
(g) the means to be provided for egress from the building in case of fire;
 
 
(h) the materials and method of construction to be used for external and party wall for rooms, floors, fireplaces and chimneys;
 
 
(i) the height and slope of the roof above the uppermost floor upon which human beings are to live or cooking operations are to be carried on; and
 
 
(j) any other matter affecting the ventilation and sanitation of the buildings;
 
 
and the person erecting or re-erecting the building shall obey all such written directions in every particular.
 
 
(2) The Board may refuse to sanction the erection or re-erection of any building, either on grounds sufficient in the opinion of the Board affecting the particular building, or in pursuance of a general scheme sanctioned by the Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command, restricting the erection or re-erection of buildings within specified limits for the prevention of over-crowding or in the interests of persons residing within such limits or for any other public purpose.
 
 
(3) The Board, before sanctioning the erection or re-erection of a building on land which is under the management of the Military Estates Officer, shall refer the application to the Military Estates Officer for ascertaining whether there is any objection on the part of Government to such erection or re-erection; and the Military Estates Officer shall return the application together with his report thereon to the Board within thirty days after it has been received by him.
 
 
(4) The Board may refuse to sanction the erection or re-erection of any building-
 
 
(a) when the land on which it is proposed to erect or re-erect the building is held on a lease from the Government, if the erection or re-erection constitutes a breach of the terms of the lease, or
 
 
(b) when the land on which it is proposed to erect or re-erect the building is not held on a lease from the Government, if the right to build on such land is in dispute between the person applying for sanction and the Government.
 
 
(5) If the Board decides to refuse to sanction the erection or re-erection of the building, it shall communicate in writing the reasons for such refusal to the person by whom notice was given.
 
 
(6) Where the Board neglects or omits, for one month after the receipt of a valid notice, to make and to deliver to the person who has given the notice any order of any nature specified in this section, and such person thereafter by a written communication sent by registered post to the Board calls the attention of the Board to the neglect or omission, then, if such neglect to omission continues for a further period of fifteen days from the date of such communication the Board shall be deemed to have given sanction to the erection or re-erection, as the case may be, unconditionally:
 
 
Provided that, in any case to which the provisions of sub-section (3) apply, the period of one month herein specified shall be reckoned from the date on which the Board has received the report referred to in that sub-section.
Compensation
182.(1) No compensation shall be claimable by any person for any damage or loss which he may sustain in consequence of the refusal of the Board of sanction to the erection of any building or in respect of any direction issued by it under sub-section (1) of section 181.
 
 
(2) The Board shall make compensation to the owner of any building for any actual damage or loss sustained by him in consequence of the prohibition of there-erection of any building or of its requiring any land belonging to him to be added to the street:
 
 
Provided that the Board shall not be liable to make any compensation in respect of the prohibition of the re-erection of any building which for a period of three years or more immediately preceding such refusal has not been in existence or has been unfit for human habitation.
Lapse of sanction
183. Every sanction for the erection or re-erection of a building given or deemed to have been given by the Board as hereinbefore provided shall be available for one year from the date on which it is given, and, if the building so sanctioned is not begun by the person who has obtained the sanction or some one lawfully claiming under him within that period, it shall not thereafter be begun unless the Board on application made therefor has allowed an extension of that period.
Period for completion of building
3[183A. A Board, when sanctioning the erection or re-erection of a building as hereinbefore provided, shall specify areasonable period after the work has commenced within which the erection or re-erection is to be completed, and, if the erection or re-erection is not completed within the period so fixed, it shall not be continued thereafter without fresh sanction obtained in the manner hereinbefore provided, unless the Board on application made therefor has allowed an extension of that period:
 
 
Provided that not more than such extensions shall be allowed by the Board in any case.]
Illegal erection and re-erection
184. Whoever begins, continues or completes the erection or re-erection of a building-
 
 
(a) without having given a valid notice as required by sections 179 and 180, or before the building has been sanctioned or is deemed to have been sanctioned, or
 
 
(b) without complying with any direction made under sub-section (1) of section 181, or
 
 
(c) when sanction has been refused, or has ceased to be available, or has been suspended by the Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command, under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 52,
 
 
shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five hundred Taka.
Power to stop erection or re-erection or to demolish
185.(1) A Board may, at any time, by notice in writing, direct the owner, lessee or occupier of any land in the cantonment to stop the erection or re-erection of a building in any case in which the Board considers that such erection or re-erection is an offence under section 184, and may in any such case or in any other case in which the Board considers that the erection or re-erection of a building is an offence under section 184, within twelve months of the completion of such erection or re-erection in like manner direct the alteration or demolition, as it thinks necessary, of the building, or any part thereof, so erected or re-erected:
 
 
Provided that the Board may, instead of requiring the alteration or demolition of any such building or part thereof, accept by way of composition such sum as it thinks reasonable:
 
 
Provided further that the Board shall not, without the previous concurrence of the Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command, accept any sum by way of composition under the foregoing proviso in respect of any building on land which is not under the management of the Board.
 
 
(2) A Board shall by notice in writing direct the owner, lessee or occupier of any land in the cantonment to stop the erection or re-erection of a building in any case in which the order under section 181 sanctioning the erection or re-erection has been suspended by the Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command, under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 52, and shall in any such case in like manner direct the demolition or alteration, as the case may be, of the building or any part thereof so erected or re-erected where the Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command, thereafter directs that the order of the Board sanctioning the erection or re-erection of the building shall not be carried into effect or shall be carried into effect with modifications specified by him:
 
 
Provided that the Board shall pay to the owner of the building compensation for any loss actually incurred by him in consequence of the demolition or alteration of any building which has been erected or re-erected prior to the date on which the order of the Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command, has been communicated to him.
Power to make bye-laws
186. A Board may make bye-laws prescribing-
 
 
(a) the manner in which notice of the intention to erect or re-erect a building in the cantonment shall be given to the Board and the information and plans to be furnished with the notice;
 
 
(b) the type or description of buildings which may or may not, and the purpose for which a building may or may not, be erected or re-erected in the cantonment or any part thereof;
 
 
(c) the minimum cubic capacity of any room or rooms in a building which is to be erected or re-erected;
 
 
(d) the fees payable on provision by the Board of plans or specifications of the type of buildings which may be erected in the cantonment or any part thereof;
 
 
(e) the circumstances in which a mosque, temple or church or other sacred building may be erected or re-erected; and
 
 
(f) with reference to the erection or re-erection of buildings, or of any class of building, all or any of the following matters, namely:-
 
 
(i) the line of frontage where the building abuts on a street;
 
 
(ii) the space to be left about the building to secure free circulation of air and facilities for scavenging and for the prevention of fire;
 
 
(iii) the materials and method of construction to be used for external and party-walls, roofs and floors;
 
 
(iv) the position, the material and the method of construction of fireplaces, chimneys, drains, latrines, privies, urinals and cesspools;
 
 
(v) height and slope of the roof above the uppermost floor upon which human beings are to live or cooking operating are to be carried on;
 
 
(vi) the level and width of the foundation, the level of the lowest floor and the stability of the structure;
 
 
(vii) the number and height of the storeys of which the building may consist;
 
 
(viii) the means to be provided for egress from the building in case of fire;
 
 
(ix) the safeguarding of wells from pollution; or
 
 
(x) the materials and method of construction to be used for godowns intended for the storage of foodgrains in excess of fifty maunds in order to render them rat proof.
Projections and obstructions
187.(1) No owner or occupier of any building in a cantonment shall, without the permission in writing of the Board, add to or place against or in front of the building any projection or structure overhanging projecting into, or encroaching on, any street or any drain, sewer or aqueduct therein.
 
 
(2) The Board may, by notice in writing, require the owner or occupier of any such building to alter or remove any such projection or encroachment as aforesaid:
 
 
Provided that, in the case of any projection or encroachment lawfully in existence at the commencement of this Act, the Board shall make compensation for any damage caused by the removal or alteration.
 
 
(3) The Board may, by order in writing, give permission to the owners or occupiers of buildings in any particular street to put up open verandahs, balconies or rooms projecting from any upper storey thereof to an extent beyond the line of the plinth or basement wall at such height from the level ground or street as may be specified in the order.
Unauthorised buildings over drains, etc.
188. A Board may, by notice in writing, require any person who has, without its permission in writing, newly erected or re-erected any structure over any public sewer, drain, culvert, water-course or water-pipe in the cantonment to pull down or otherwise deal with the same as it thinks fit.
Drainage and sewer connections
189.(1) A Board may, by notice in writing, require the owner or lessee of any building or land in any street, at his own expense and in such manner as the Board thinks fit, to put up and keep in good condition proper troughs and pipes for receiving and carrying rain water from the building or land and for discharging the same or to establish and maintain any other connection or communication between such building or land and any drain or sewer.
 
 
(2) For the purpose of efficiently draining any building or land in the cantonment, the Board may, by notice in writing, require the owner or lessee of the building or land-
 
 
(a) to pave, with such materials and in such manner as it thinks fit, any courtyard, alley or passage between two or more buildings, or
 
 
(b) to keep any such paving in proper repair.
Power to attach brackets for lamps
190. A Board may attach to the outside of any building, or to any tree in the cantonment, brackets for lamps in such manner as not to occasion injury thereto or inconvenience.

Streets

Temporary occupation of street, land, etc.
191. A Board may, by order in writing, permit the temporary occupation of any street, or of any land vested in the Board, for the purpose of depositing any building materials or making any temporary excavation therein or erection thereon, subject to such conditions as it may prescribe for the safety or convenience of the public, and may charge a fee for such permission and may in its discretion withdraw such permission.
Closing and opening of streets
192. (1) A Board shall not permanently close any street or open any new street or without the previous sanction of the Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command.
 
 
(2) A Board may, by public notice, temporarily close any street or any part of a street for repair or for the purpose of carrying out any work connected with drainage, water-supply or lighting or any other work which it is by or under this Act required or permitted to carry out:
 
 
Provided that where, owing to any works or repairs or from any other cause, the condition of any street or of any water-works, drain, culvert or premises vested in the Board, is such as to be likely to cause danger to the public, the Board shall-
 
 
(a) take all reasonable means for the protection of the adjacent buildings and land and provide reasonable means of access thereto;
 
 
(b) cause sufficient barriers or fences to be erected for the security of life and property, and cause such barriers or fences to be sufficiently lighted from sunset to sunrise.
Names of streets and numbers of buildings
193.(1) A Board may cause a name to be given to any street and to be affixed on any building in the cantonment in such place as it thinks fit, and may also cause a number to be affixed to any such building.
 
 
(2) Whoever destroys, pulls down, defaces or alters any such name or number or puts up any name or number differing from that put up by the order of the Board shall be punishable with fine which may extend to twenty Taka.
 
 
(3) When a number has been affixed to any building under sub-section (1), the owner of the building shall maintain the number in order, and shall replace it if removed or defaced, and if he fails to do so the Board may by notice in writing require him to replace it.

Boundaries and Trees

Boundary walls, hedges and fences
194.(1) No boundary wall, hedge or fence of any material or description shall be erected in a cantonment without the permission in writing of the Board.
 
 
(2) A Board may, by notice in writing, require the owner or lessee of any land in the cantonment-
 
 
(a) to remove from the land any boundary wall, hedge or fence which is, in its opinion unsuitable, unsightly or otherwise objectionable; or
 
 
(b) to construct on the land sufficient boundary walls, hedges or fences of such material, description or dimensions as may be specified in the notice; or
 
 
(c) to maintain the boundary walls, hedges or fences of such lands in good order:
 
 
Provided that, in the case of any such boundary wall, hedge or fence which was erected with the consent or under the orders of the Board, or which was in existence at the commencement of this Act, the Board shall make compensation for any damage caused by the removal thereof.
 
 
(3) The Board may, by notice in writing, require the owner, lessee or occupier of any such land to cut or trim any hedge on the land in such manner and within such time as may be specified in the notice.
Felling, lopping and trimming of trees
195.(1) Where, in the opinion of a Board, the felling of any tree of mature growth standing in a private enclosure in the cantonment is necessary for any reason, the Board may, by notice in writing, require the owner, lessee or occupier of the land to fell the tree within such time as may be specified in the notice.
 
 
(2) A Board may-
 
 
(a) cause to be lopped or trimmed any tree standing on land in the cantonment which belongs to the Government: or
 
 
(b) by public notice require all owners, lessees or occupiers of land in the cantonment, or by notice in writing require the owner, lessee or occupier of any such land, to lop or trim, in such manner as may be specified in the notice, all or any trees standing on such land or to remove any dead trees from such land.
Digging of public land
196. Whoever, without the permission in writing of the Board, digs up the surface of any open space in the cantonment, which is not private property, shall be punishable with fine which may extend to twenty Taka, and, in the case of a continuing offence, with an additional fine which may extend to five Taka for every day after the first during which the offence continues.
Improper use of land
197.(1) If, in the opinion of a Board, the working of a quarry in the cantonment, or the removal of stone, earth or other material from the soil in any place in the cantonment, is dangerous to persons residing in or frequenting the neighbourhood of such quarry or place, or creates, or is likely to create, a nuisance, the Board may, by notice in writing, prohibit the owner, lessee or occupier of such quarry or place or the person responsible for such working or removal, from continuing or permitting the working of such quarry or the moving of such material, or require him to take such steps in the matter as the Board may direct for the purpose of preventing danger or abating the nuisance arising or likely to arise therefrom.
 
 
(2) If, in any case referred to in sub-section (1), the Board is of opinion that such a course is necessary in order to prevent imminent danger, it may, by order in writing, require a proper hoarding or fence to be put up for the protection of passers-by.
 
 

  • 1
    Throughout this Act, except otherwise provided, the words "Bangladesh", Government", "Penal Code" and "Taka" were substituted, for the words "Pakistan", "Central Government", "Pakistan Penal Code" and "rupee" or "rupees" respectively by the Bangladesh Laws (Revision And Declaration) Act, 1973 (Act No. VIII of 1973), section 3 and 2nd Schedule
  • 2
    Section 178A was inserted by section 45 of the Cantonment (Amendment) Act, 1936 (Act No. XXIV of 1936)
  • 3
    Section 183A was inserted by section 49 of the Cantonment (Amendment) Act, 1936 (Act No. XXIV of 1936)
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