Village Councils Law (No. 6 of 1964)

Sri Lanka Consolidated Acts

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Village Councils Law (No. 6 of 1964) - Sect 63

Power to make by-laws. [ 4, 60 of 1938.] [ 17.60 of 1961.]

42.

(1) Every Village Council shall have power to make from time to time such by-laws, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, as may be authorized or required by this Ordinance, or may appear to the Council to be necessary for the purposes of the exercise of its powers and the discharge of its duties under this Ordinance, and to amend, vary or rescind any by-law so made.

(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred by subsection (1), a Council may make by-laws for or in respect of all or any of the following purposes : -

(i) Meetings and procedure, including-

(a) the intervals at which ordinary meetings are to be convened ;

(b) special meetings ;

(d) conduct of meeting.

(ii) Officers and servants, including-

(a) the creation of posts or offices ;

(b) appointments to posts or offices in the service of the Council, not being scheduled posts within the meaning of the Local Government Service Ordinance ;

(bb) the qualifications necessary for appointments to posts or offices referred to in sub-paragraph (b) ;

(c) the payment of salaries, allowances and remuneration to officers and servants of the Council who are not members of the Local Government Service;

(cc) the provision of pensions or gratuities to the widows, children, next of kin or dependants of deceased officers or servants ;

(d) the establishment and regulation of a provident fund for the benefit of the officers and servants referred to in sub-paragraph (c) ;

(e) the grant of leave of absence to officers and servants referred to in sub-paragraph (c).

(iii) * Taxation of land, including-

(a) the fixing, for the purposes of the assessment tax on property, of the percentage or rate to be deducted from the annual value for the probable annual average cost of insurance, repairs maintenance and upkeep ;

(b) the form of the returns, statements or information that may be called for the purposes of any tax, and the manner in which they are to be called for by the Chairman and furnished by the inhabitants.

(iv) Loans, including-

(a) the form and manner of execution of securities ;

(b) the arrangements for liquidation ;

(d) the conditions of any loan and the appropriation of the sums advanced.

(v) Land and property, including-

(a) the provision, regulation, and management of Ambalam and madams, open spaces, and places for public recreation ;

(b) the care of waste or public land ;

(d) the care, regulation, and provision of common pasture grounds, and the levy of fees for the use of the same; Application modified in such areas as may be specified in an Order under Section 2 of the Rating and Valuation Ordinance. See Section 76 thereof.

(e) the putting up and preservation of boundaries and of fences of lands, whether private or public ;

(f) the authorization of entry upon private lands for the purpose of the prevention of damage to, or the repairing or remedying defects in, any wires or apparatus or the supports thereof maintained for the purpose of any public service.

(vi) Roads and paths, including-

(a) the improvement, alignment, level, width, and construction of new roads and paths in the area ;

(b) the cleaning, watering; and lighting of roads and paths ;

(c) the use of, and regulation of traffic in roads and paths, including the limitation of the weight and speed of vehicles, and the prevention or restriction of the use of vehicles upon any bridge, road, or path, or in any place where such use may be attended with danger to the public, or may be likely to damage such bridge, road, or path ;

(d) the regulation of processions and assemblages and of the performance of music on roads or paths ;

(e) the prevention, abatement, supervision, and regulation of obstructions, encroachments, projections and other interferences with roads and paths ;

(f) the erection of hoardings and other temporary structures, and charging of fees for the use of hoardings erected by the Council;

(g) the protection of the public against dangers resulting from building and other operations in or about roads and paths.

(vii) Buildings, building operations, and works, including-

(a) the definition of areas to which the by-laws under this heading are to apply ;

(b) the regulation of the material of new buildings with a view to securing stability, the prevention of fire, and purposes of health ;

(c) the space to be left about any building or block of buildings to facilitate and secure free circulation of air and to facilitate scavenging ;

(d) the dimensions of doors and windows, the level of the floor, the height of the roof, general ventilation, and drainage ;

(e) the number and nature of latrines ;

(f) foundation and stability of structure ;

(g) the line of building frontage.

(viii) Public health and amenities, including-

(a) drainage ;

(b) conservancy and scavenging, and the charging of fees therefor ;

(c) the inspection, regulation, maintenance, and cleansing of drains, privies, cesspits, ash-pits, and sanitary conveniences and appliances ;

(d) the regulation and management of public sanitary conveniences;

(e) the regulation, supervision, inspection, and control of lodging-houses and tenement buildings ;

(f) the abatement of nuisances ;

(g) the seizure, forfeiture, removal, and destruction of unwholesome articles of food or drink, and the prevention of the sale or exposure for sale thereof ;

(h) the regulation, supervision, inspection and control of bakeries, eating houses, and restaurants, and tea and coffee boutiques ;

(i) the regulation, supervision, inspection, and control of dairies, and the sale of milk ;

(j) the sale of provisions, including the inspection, regulation, and control of shops and places (other than markets) used for the sale of meat, poultry, fish, fruit, vegetables, or other perishable articles of food for human consumption, and the licensing of shops and places used for the sale of fresh meat, fresh fish, or live animals ;

(k) the regulation, supervision, inspection, and control of trades deemed to be offensive or dangerous by the Council;

(I) the regulation of the dimensions and use of kraals in public lakes, rivers, lagoons, and estuaries for soaking coir husks, and the charging of fees for the use of such kraals ;

(m) the regulation, supervision, inspection, control and licensing of breweries and aerated water manufactories ;

(n) the compelling of owners and occupiers in the village area to keep their lands free of undergrowth and rubbish, and their dwelling compounds in clean and sanitary condition ;

(o) the prevention of malaria and the destruction of mosquitoes and disease-bearing insects ;

(p) the draining, cleansing, covering, or filling up of ponds, pools, open ditches, sewers, drains and places containing or used for the collection of any drainage, filth, water, matter, or thing of an offensive nature or likely to be prejudicial to health ;

(q) the cleansing, purifying, ventilating, and disinfecting of houses, dwellings, and places of assembly or worship by the owners or occupiers and persons having the care and ordering thereof ;

(r) the prevention or mitigation of epidemic, endemic, or contagious diseases, and the speedy interment of the dead during the prevalence of such diseases ;

(s) washing and bathing, including the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of public bathing-places and places for washing animals and clothes ;

(t) all such other purposes as are not specially provided for by this Ordinance, and may be necessary for the preservation of the public health and the suppression of nuisances.

(ix) Itinerant vendors, including-

(a) the supervision or control of itinerant vendors ;

(b) the issue of licences for the purpose of such supervision or control, and the conditions to be attached to such licences ;

(d) the regulation or prohibition of the sale of any specified article or the sale of articles in any specified place or area.

(x) Animals, including-

(a) the housing and penning of cattle, horses, sheep, goats, and pigs;

(b) stray cattle, goats, and pigs, including the fixing, levying, and recovery of charges for the occupation of pounds, and the cost of the keep of the animals impounded ;

(c) the control of epidemic diseases among animals, the maintenance and regulation of quarantine stations for animals, and the levying of fees for the occupation thereof;

(d) the regulation and control of the collection and sale of the dung of cattle, horses,. sheep, and goats, and the removal of such dung from any place within the village area to any place outside such area ;

(e) the protection and preservation of game and wild birds ;

(f) the destruction of stray dogs;

(g) the prevention of cruelty to animals (including the restriction of the exposure for sale of live animals in any manner which in the opinion of the Council is likely to cause unnecessary pain or suffering) ;

(h) the regulation and supervision of cattle sheds, galas, and halting places and the control of the location thereof;

(i) the disposal of the bodies of dead animals.

(xi) Village or private markets and fairs, including-

(a) their establishment, maintenance and improvement ;

(b) their regulation, supervision, inspection, and control, including the regulation of the prices of articles sold therein;

(d) the control of traffic, and the preservation of order within them and in their immediate vicinity ;

(e) the provision, inspection, and control of latrines, slaughterhouses, water supply, and lighting on the premises of markets ;

(f) the allotment of stalls, stands, seats or spaces ;

(g) the inspection of food and seizure of unwholesome articles of food ;

(h) the prohibition of the introduction or sale of any article or articles of food in cases where, in the opinion of the Council, there exists good reason for such prohibition ;

(i) the absolute prohibition, or the restriction by means of special licences, of the sale of any article, and the charging of fees for such special licences ;

(g) the inspection of food and seizure of unwholesome articles of food ;

(h) the prohibition of the introduction or sale of any article or articles of food in cases where, in the opinion of the Council, there exists good reason for such prohibition ;

(i) the absolute prohibition, or the restriction by means of special licences, of the sale of any article, and the charging of fees for such special licences ;

(j) the provision of security against fires ;

(k) the temporary closing of any market or fair;

(l) the due performance of their duties by market keepers and other employees ;

(m) the fixing and recovery of fees or rents for the use of the premises of a village market or any part thereof, or of the buildings thereon, and for the leasing of the right to collect any such fees or rents ;

(n) the declaration of a market area for each village market, and the licensing, restriction, or prohibition of private markets or of the sale of market commodities within such area in any place other than the village market;

(o) the licensing of private markets or fairs, the conditions of the licence, and the fees payable in respect thereof;

(p) the standards to be observed in respect of accommodation, drainage, roads, air spaces, equipment, and sanitary requirements in private markets or fairs ;

(q) the renovation, alteration, enlargements and improvement of existing buildings, and the erection of new buildings after notice to the Council and in accordance with plans to be approved by the Council, in or about the premises of private markets or fairs.

(xii) Water supply, including-

(a) the regulation, protection and maintenance of communal wells, spouts, springs or other watering places for the supply of water for domestic purposes ;

(b) the regulation and maintenance of watering places of any kind set apart by the Council for bathing or for the washing of animals, clothes and other articles ;

(c) the regulation of the construction and maintenance of private wells in such manner as may be necessary to safeguard the public health and safety;

(d) the regulation, control, protection and maintenance of the supply of water from any waterworks established or maintained by the Council.

	(xiii) Public services, including all matters necessary for their establishment, maintenance, working, and supply, for the imposition and recovery of charges in connexion therewith, and for their protection against damage and against competition.

	(xiv) The measure or dimension of bread, and the regulation of its manufacture and quality.

	(xv) The regulation of weights and measures.

	(xvi) The prevention of accidents connected with toddy drawing and for the periodical inspection of the ropes and other appliances used for that purpose.

	(xvii) The prevention of accidents caused by the setting of spring guns and traps.

	(xviii) The fencing of wells and pits.

	(xix) The prevention of gambling and cock-fighting and of cart-racing on public paths or roads.

	(xx) The prevention of disorderly conduct, of loitering in public paths or roads or public places, and of the use of abusive language.

	(xxi) The prevention of the sale to boys under sixteen years of age or to females, of any description of spirits or other intoxicating liquor or toddy drawn from any species of palm or the fermented juice of the sugar cane.

(xxi)

(a) The regulation, supervision, inspection and control of hair dressing saloons and barbers' shops.

(b) The regulation, supervision, inspection and control of billiard saloons.

(d) The licensing of persons and brokers.

(e) The licensing of persons carrying on the business of money lending.

	(xxii) All other purposes, whether of the same nature as those above enumerated or otherwise, which, in the opinion of the Council, may be necessary for the protection or promotion of the local public interests, conveniences, and amenities.

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