Loading act…

Section 577 of The Assam Municipal (Amendment) Act, 2004 — In the principal Act, in section 728, for the words "The Municipal Board or the Town Committee", the words "The Municipal Corporation, Municipal Council or the Town Committee" shall be substituted

Bare section text

Official Legislative Text

Amendment of section 729 Amendment of section 729.— In the principal Act, in section 729, for sub-section (1), the following shall be substituted, namely:—

(1)Whoever, in contravention of the provisions of this Act or the rules or regulations or bye-laws made thereunder, or of any notice, direction or order issued under this Act, fails to comply with the same, shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, and in the case of a continuing contravention, with an additional fine which may extend to five hundred rupees for every day during which such contravention continues after conviction for the first such contravention:

Educational Study Layer

Summary

It replaces the terms the Municipal Board or the Town Committee with the terms the Municipal Corporation, Municipal Council or the Town Committee.
It updates the legal terminology to include municipal corporations and municipal councils alongside town committees.
This change ensures that provisions originally applying to municipal boards now apply to municipal corporations and councils.

Practical examples

1In the city of Guwahati, the local administration is governed by a Municipal Corporation rather than a Municipal Board. Under the old version of section 728 of the Act, certain rules only explicitly mentioned the Municipal Board or Town Committee, leaving the Municipal Corporation in a legal grey area. With the enactment of Section 577 of this Act, the Guwahati Municipal Corporation can now directly exercise the powers laid down in section 728 of the Act, such as passing specific local resolutions, because the words have been substituted.

2A newly formed Municipal Council in Tezpur wants to issue an official notice under section 728 of the Act. Previously, the law only referred to a Municipal Board or a Town Committee, which caused confusion as Tezpur was recently upgraded to a Municipal Council. Section 577 of this Act applies here to replace the old wording, legally enabling the Tezpur Municipal Council to issue this notice as a recognized body under section 728 of the Act.

Practice Quiz

Q1.Under Section 577 of this Act, if the city of Jorhat recently upgraded its local body from a Municipal Board to a Municipal Council, and the council wants to execute a regulatory action under section 728 of the Act, is this action legally valid?

Q2.Under Section 577 of this Act, if an administrator in Silchar is reviewing section 728 of the Act and notices that the term "Municipal Board" is used in an older printed edition, how should this term be read now?

Q3.Under Section 577 of this Act, if a Town Committee wants to know if they have lost their authority under section 728 of the Act due to the new amendment, what is the status of Town Committees?

Q4.Under Section 577 of this Act, which of the following terms is removed from section 728 of the principal Act?

576PreviousSection 576 In the principal Act, in section 727, for the words "The Municipal Board or the Town Committee", the words "The Municipal Corporation, Municipal Council or the Town Committee" shall be substituted.578NextSection 578 Provided that where the contravention relates to unauthorised construction, the fine shall be as determined by the Board or the Corporation, as the case may be, based on the area of construction.