This ordinance may be called the Punjab Development Of Cities Act, 1976

It shall extend to the whole of the Province of the Punjab.

It shall apply to such city or cities as the Government may by notification, specify from time to time.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires: -

“Agency” means an agency established by the Authority to perform one or more of its functions under this Act;

“Area” means the whole or any part of the city;

“Authority” means the Development Authority created under Section 4 of this Act.

“Chairman” means the Chairman of the Authority;

“City” means an area declared by the Government to be a city for the purpose of this Act;

“Controlled Area” means an area notified as such by the Authority;

“Government” means the Government of the Punjab;

“Government Agency” includes: -

a division, department, bureau, section, commission, board, office, or unit of the Government.

a Municipal Committee or a Municipal Corporation; and

a development or any other public Authority, company or corporation (whether autonomous or semi-autonomous) owned or controlled by Government or a Municipal body;

“Land” includes earth, water and air, above below or on the surface and any improvements in the structure customarily regarded as land and benefits arising out of land and things attached to earth or permanently fastened to earth;

“Member” means a member of the Authority and includes its Chairman;

“Person” include an individual, company, firm, cooperative society or association of individuals whether incorporated or not; and

“Prescribed” means prescribed by rules or regulations.

For the purpose of this Act, the government may, by notification, declare any area to be a city.

The Government may, at any time, extend, curtail or otherwise alter the limits of a city.

The Government may, by notification, establish an Authority for the city to which this Act has been applied.

The Authority shall be known by the name as may be specified by the Government.

The Authority shall be a body corporate, having perpetual succession and a common seal with powers, subject to the provisions of this Act, to acquire, hold and transfer property both moveable and immoveable, and may, by its name sue or be sued.

The Authority shall consist of-

Tehsil Nazim of the Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) in which maximum area falling within the jurisdiction of the Authority is located.

Member/Chairman

Tehsil Municipal Officers of TMAs whose areas fall within the jurisdiction of the Authority.

Member

Director General of the Authority.

Member

Representative of the Planning and Development Board Punjab.

Member

Representative of the Finance Department.

Member

Representative of the Housing, Urban Development and Public Health Engineering Department.

Member

Representative of the Local Government & Rural Development Department.

Member

Representative of the District Government concerned.

Member

Managing Director of the Water & Sanitation Agency (WASA) concerned.

Member

The membership of the Authority may be altered, increased or decreased by the Tehsil Municipal Administration, in which maximum area falling within the jurisdiction of the Authority is located with the approval of Government, and

No Act or proceedings of the Authority shall be invalid merely by reason of any vacancy in, or defect in, the constitution of the Authority.

No person shall be, or shall continue to be a member who-

is or, at any time, has been convinced of an offence involved moral turpitude; or

is or, at any time, has been adjudicated insolvent; or

is found to be a lunatic or of unsound mind; or

is a minor; or

has a financial interest in any scheme r a conflicting interest, directly or indirectly, between his interests as a member and his private interests, and has failed to disclose such interest in writing to the Government.

The Authority shall meet at such place and at such time and shall observe such rules of procedure in regard to transaction of business at its meetings as may be prescribed.

The Chairman shall preside over the meetings of the Authority, and in his absence any other member of the Authority, elected by the members present, shall preside over the meeting.

Subject to the provisions of this Act and any rules framed there under, the Authority may exercise such powers and take such measures as may be necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of the foregoing sub-section, the Authority may: -

Initiate and maintain a continuous process of comprehensive development planning for the area with the objective of preparing a development plan;

Periodically update such a Development Plan and coordinate its implementation by the Authority or Government Agencies within the area;

Develop, operate and maintain water supply, sewerage and drainage a system within the area;

Prepare Annual Development Programme for the area, ensure compliance of the Annual Development Programme with priorities established in the Development Plan after its preparation and evaluate performance under the Annual Development Programme at the end of each year;

Establishment, maintain and periodically revise as necessary, planning controls and building regulations for the area to: -

Provide appropriate urban design and protect public safety; and

Ensure compliance with the Development Plan after its preparation.

Prepare, implement and enforce schemes for environmental improvements, housing, urban renewal including slums improvement and re-development. Solid waste disposal, transportation and traffic, health and education facilities and preservation of objects or places of historical, archaeological, scientific, cultural and recreational importance;

Take any steps or adopt any measures for the ace lifting and beautification of the area;

Acquire property, both movable and immovable;

Sell, lease, exchange or otherwise dispose of any property vested in it;

Undertake any works and incur any expenditure;

Procure machinery, instruments or any other material required by it;

Enter into contracts;

Cause studies, surveys, experiments, technical researches or contribute towards the cost of any such studies surveys, experiments, technical researches made by any other Agency;

Issue interim development order for the area for which a scheme is under preparation and restrict or regulate by general or special order, any change in the use of land and alteration in building structure and installation;

Seek and obtain advice and assistance for the preparation of any scheme, or for the execution of any scheme from the Government Agency or person and such Agency or person and such Agency or personal shall give the advice and assistance sought by the Authority and judgment and the additional expenditure, if any involved in giving such advice or assistance shall be borne by the Authority; and

Establish an Agency/Agencies and entrust to it such powers and functions as it may deem fit with the approval of the Government.

The Authority may, by general or special orders, delegate to the Director General or a Committee constituted under Section 10 or a member or an officer of the Authority, any of its powers, duties or functions under this Act, subject to such conditions as it may think fit to impose.

The Authority may appoint such officers, advisors, experts, consultants and employees as it considers necessary for the efficient performance of its functions on such terms and conditions as it may deem fit.

The Authority may constitute such financial, technical and advisory committees as may be deemed necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Act and such Committees shall exercise such powers and perform such functions as may be delegated or assigned to them by the Authority.

The Director General shall be appointed by Government on such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Government.

The Director General shall be the Chief Executive of the Authority and shall-

be a whole time officer or part-time officer of the Authority; and

perform such duties as may be assigned to him and exercise such powers as may be delegated to him by the Authority.

The Authority shall, in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed, prepare schemes for the area or any part thereof and execute or have them executed in the prescribed manner.

All such schemes prepared by the Authority shall be submitted to the Government for its approval, except those schemes, the provisional estimated cost of which does not exceed such limit as may be prescribed by Rules or for which no loan or grant is required from the Government.

The Authority shall publish the sanctioning of any scheme in the official Gazette.

The publication of a sanction under sub-section (3) shall be conclusive evidence that the scheme has been duly framed and sanctioned.

No planning or development scheme shall be prepared by any person or local government as defined in the Punjab Local Government Ordinance, 2001 (XIII of 2001) or Government Agency within the area except with the concurrence of the Authority.

Any scheme prepared under this Act, may at any time, be amended, modified or abandoned by the Authority, in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed.

The Authority may require a Government Agency within whose jurisdiction any particular locality or aspect of development covered by a scheme lies: -

to execute a scheme in consultation with the Authority.

to take over and maintain any of the works and services in the area;

to provide any amenity in relation to the land which in the opinion of the Authority ought to be provided; and

to enforce regulations, on behalf of the Authority.

The expenditure incurred on the execution of any scheme or on the taking over or maintenance of any work, or the enforcement of regulations, under this section, shall be borne as may be agreed to between the Authority and the Government Agency and in the event of disagreement, as may be determined by the Government within a prescribed period.

Where the Authority is satisfied that any direction given by it under sub-section (1) of Section 14, with regard to any scheme, has not been carried out by the Government Agency, the Authority may, itself undertake any works for the execution of that scheme and the cost thereof, shall be borne as may be agreed between the Authority and the Government Agency and in the even of disagreement, as may be determined by the Government.

Where any work is undertaken by the Authority under sub-section (1), it shall be deemed to have, for the purpose of execution of such work, all the powers which may be exercised under any law for the time being in force, by the Government Agency concerned.