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Dhaka Electricity Supply Department Act, 1990

An Act made to establish the Dhaka Electricity Supply Department

Whereas it is expedient to establish, for the purpose of properly managing the supply of electricity in the Ilaka of greater Dhaka, the Dhaka Electricity Supply Department;

Therefore the following Act is hereby made:-

1. Short title and application.- (1) This Act may be called Dhaka Electricity Supply Department Act, 1990.
(2) It shall be applicable in the area of greater Dhaka.

2. Definitions.- Unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, in this Act-

a) "Department" means the Dhaka Electricity Supply Department;
b) "Chairman" means Chairman of the Department;
c) "Area of greater Dhaka" means Dhaka, Narayanaganja, Munsiganja, Manikaganja, Gajipura and the whole urban area of the Narasinha Zilas and the industrial area and any area in the vicinity which the Government has, by announcement in the official Gazette, declared lying within the said areas;
d) "Board" means the Bangladesh Power Board established by the Bangladesh Water and Power Development Boards Order, 1972 (P.O. No.59 of 1972);
e) "industrial area" means any industrial area which the Government has, for the purpose of this Act, determined by announcement in the official Gazette;
f) "member" means member of the Department.

4. Functions of the Department.- The Department shall have the following functions, namely:-

a) selling and supplying of electricity in the area of greater Dhaka, and supervision and extension of the electricity supplying system;
b) accomplishing of such works as may improve the supply of electricity to customers and devising and, after approval of the Government, realising of technical designs and plans in this behalf;
c) planning, improving and supervising, after prior approval of the Government, of 132 KW lines in the area of greater Dhaka, or of lines of less KW starting from subcenters, or of the supplying of electricity to subcenters;
d) performing of any other functions connected with, and supplementary, to the above-mentioned functions.

6. Meeting of the Department.- (1) Subject to the other provisions of this section, the Department may regulate the way of proceeding of its meetings.
(2) The date, time and place of the meeting of the Department shall be determined by the Chairman.
(3) The meeting of the Department shall form a quorum if no less than two members come together.
(4) The meetings of the Department shall be presided over by the Chairman and, in the case of his absense, by a member chosen by the Chairman.
(5) No act or proceeding of the Department shall be invalid merely on the ground of a vacancy in the post of a member or any defect in the constitution of the Department.

7. Relation of the Board to the Department.- (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other Act, the Department shall be supplied with electricity from the Board as a bulk purchaser.
(2) The Department shall buy electricity from the Board at the price, and if necessary, to the amount, determined by the Government and it shall sell it to the customers at the price determined by the Government.

8. Department is licencee.- The Department shall be deemed a licencee under the Electricity Act, 1910 (LX of 1910) and it shall have all the powers and accomplish all the duties of a licencee under that Act.

9. Fund.- (1) The Department shall have a fund called Dhaka Electricity Supply Department Fund.
(2) To that fund shall be credited the following sums, namely:-

a) grants made by the Government;
b) loans obtained from the Government;
c) grants given by local authorities;
d) loans taken, or grants received from any source whatsoever;
e) money earned by the selling of electricity;
f) funds received from any other source.

10. Power to take loans.- The Department may, if required by the performance of its functions and after prior approval of the Government, borrow funds from internal or external sources.

11. Annual budget report.- The Department shall every year, before the expiry of the term determined by the Government, send an annual budget statement of the following financial year to the Government and in this statement shall be mentioned which amount of money the Department may require from the Government.

12. Maintenance and auditing of accounts.- (1) The Department shall maintain proper accounts and it shall prepare an annual statement of the accounts.
(2) The Controller and Auditor General of Bangladesh, hereinafter called Auditor General, shall audit the accounts of the Department annualy and send a copy of the audit report to the Government and Department, respectively.
(3) The Auditor General or any other person authorised by him in this behalf may, for the purpose of auditing accounts in accordance with subsection (2), investigate all the records, credentials, money, in cash or deposited with a bank, securities, stocks or other kinds of assets of the Department and he may examine the Chairman, any member, or any officer or employee of the Department.

13. Officers and employees of the Department.- The Department may appoint such number of officers, advisors, counsellors and other employees as it requires to perform its functions properly and the conditions of their employment shall be determined by regulations:
Provided that, without the prior approval of the Government, the Department may not create a post for any officer or other employee.

14. Recovery of outstanding claims.- Unrealized amounts due to the Department for the supply of electricity shall be recovered as public demands.

15. Transfer of land to the Department.- If any piece of land is required by the Department in order to perform its functions, it shall be considered required for the public interest and shall be requisitioned or transferred in accordance with the provisions of the Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Ordinance, 1982 (II of 1982).

16. Power to enter etc. .- (1) The Chairman or any member or any officer or employee authorized generally or in particular in this behalf by the Chairman may, if required to prepare or realize any plan of the Department,-

a) enter and survey any property;
b) inspect any property or anything therein;
c) measure and set out the boundaries and prepare a plan of the property and the intended line of work proposed to be made thereon;
d) mark in any property the level, borders or line by erecting signs or digging holes and clear, if required for this purpose, any part of any standing crop, of herbs or of woods;
e) in any property set up posts for power lines by digging up holes or excavating the soil, or draw lines or lay cables for the supply of electricity:

17. Report.- (1) The Department shall send every year before the thirtieth June a report to the Government, together with the account books of the procedings of the preceeding year.
(2) The Government may, if necessary, at any time call for reports and statements from the Department on any subject regarding the Department and the Department shall be bound to furnish those reports and statements to the Government.

18. Delegation of powers.- The Department may, by general or special order, if it thinks necessary so to do and subject to the conditions determined by it, delegate its powers to its Chairman or any of its members or any of its officers.

19. Protection of actions taken in good faith.- If as a result of any action taken in good faith under this Act any damage has been, or is likely to have been, caused to any person, no suit nor any other legal proceeding shall be instituted or submitted at any civil or criminal court against the Department or its Chairman or any of its members, officers or employees.

20. Chairman and members to be deemed public servants.- The Chairman and the members shall be deemed public servants in the sense in which this term has been used in section 21 of the Penal Code Act (Act XLV of 1860).

21. Directions of the Government.- The Government may, if it thinks necessary so to do for the proper performance of the functions under this Act, from time to time pass general or special directions to the Department and the Department shall discharge its functions in accordance with such directions.

22. Power to make rules.- The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, make rules for the purposes of this Act.

23. Power to make regulations.- The Department may, with the previous approval of the Government by notification in the official Gazette, make regulations for the purposes of this Act, provided that such regulations are not inconsistent with any rule made under this Ordinance or section 22.

24. Transfer of the Board's property.- (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other Act for the time being in force, immediately after the establishment of the Department under this Act,

a) the power lines, electricity posts and sub-centers established to supply the customers of the regfion of greater Dhaka with electricity from 132 KW electricity supply lines shall be transferred to the Department;
b) all electricity customers of the Board in the region of greater Dhaka shall be deemed customers of the Department and all the claims the Board may have against those customers shall be deemed claims of the Department;
c) all the unrealized liabilities of the Board for the arrangement, maintenance and improvement of electricity supply to the customers in the region of greater Dhaka shall be deemed liabilities of the Department;
d) any suit regarding the supply of electricity to the customers of the region of greater Dhaka filed by or against the Board shall be deemed a case instituted by or against the Department;
e) the employments of the officers and employees of the Board who are employed in any such works as are connected with the supply of electricity to the customers of the region of greater Dhaka shall be transferred to the Department and they shall be officers and employees of the Department, and shall, untill changed by the Department, be employed in the Department on the same conditions they had on the Board before the transfer:
Provided that, if any of the abovementioned officers and employees expresses, in written form and within six months after the date of the establishment of the Department, his wish to be employed under the Board instead under the Department, his employment shall not be transferred to the Department, and it shall be deemed to have not been transferred to the Department at any time.

26. Repeals and savings.- (1) The Dhaka Electricity Supply Department Ordinance  (Ordinance No.6, 1990) is herewith repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding this repeal, anything done or action taken under the repealed Ordinance shall be deemed done or taken under this Act.