NUISANCES [Cap. 562

OrdinancesNos.l5of 1862,

61 of 1939,3 of 1946,

57 of 1946.

CHAPTER 562

NUISANCES

AN ORDINANCE TO PROVIDE FOR THE BETTER PRESERVATION OF PUBLIC HEALTH ANDTHE SUPPRESSION OF NUISANCES.

Short title.

Certain actsmade offences.

Keeping ahouse, &c.,filthy state.

Having fouland offensivedrains.

Keeping anaccumulationof dung, &c.

1. This Ordinance may be cited as theNuisances Ordinance.

*2. Whosoever shall commit any of thefollowing offences shall be liable to a finenot exceeding fifty rupees ;

(1) Whosoever, being the owner oroccupier of any house, building, orland in or near any road, street, orpublic thoroughfa re , w h e t h e rtenantable or otherwise, shall keepor suffer the same to be in a filthyand u n w h o l e s o m e s ta te , orovergrown with rank and noisomevegetation, so as to be a nuisance toor injurious to the health of anyperson.

(2) Whosoever shall have in or upon anyhouse building, or land occupied byhim any foul or offensive ditch,gutter, drain, privy, cesspool, orother receptacle.

(3) Whosoever, being the occupier of ahouse, building, or land in or nearany road, street, or publicthoroughfare, shall keep or allow tobe kept for more than twenty-fourhours, otherwise than in someproper receptacle any accumulationof dung, offal, filth, refuse, or othernoxious or offensive matter, orsuffer such receptacle to be in afilthy or noxious state, or neglect toemploy proper means to remove thefilth therefrom and to cleanse andpurify the same.

Keeping cattle,goats, swine,&c.

Allowinghouse, &c.. tobe in a stateruinous orlikely to fall.

Suffering wasteor stagnantwater toremain, &c.

Castinganimals, dirt,&c., in streams.

[1st January, 1863.]

Whosoever shall keep in or upon anyhouse, building, or land occupiedby him any cattle, goat, swine, orother animal, so as to be a nuisanceto or injurious to the health of anyperson.

(4)

(5) Whosoever, being the owner of ahouse, building, or wall, shall allowthe same to be in a ruinous state, orin any way dangerous to theinhabitants of such house orbuilding, or to the neighbouringhouses or buildings, or to theoccupiers thereof or to passengers.

(6) Whosoever shall suffer any waste orstagnant water or other matter toremain in any place within thepremises occupied by him, or shallallow the contents of any privy orcesspool to overflow or soaktherefrom.

(7) Whosoever shall throw, put. or cast,or cause to enter in any stream,tank, reservoir, well, cistern,conduit or aqueduct, any deadanimal, or any dirt, rubbish, filth,or other noisome or offensivematter or thing, or shall cause orsuffer to run, drain, or be broughtthereinto any unwholesome oroffensive liquid, matter, or thing, orflowing from any house or buildingor from any ground occupied byhim, or shall do anything wherebyany such water shall be in anydegree fouled or corrupted.

(8) Whosoever shall keep in any market,shop, building, stall, or place usedfor the sale of butchers' meat,

Exposingfor saleunwholesomemeal, &c.

* Primary Court has exclusive jurisdiction under section 33 of the Judicature Act read with GazetteExtraordinary No. 43/4 of 1979-07-02.

XVII/265

Cap.562] NUISANCES

poultry, fish, fruit, or vegetable, orexpose or shall allow to be exposedfor sale in any place or way anyanimal, carcase, meat, poultry,game, flesh, fish, fruit, or vegetablewhich is unfit for the food of man.

(9) Whosoever shall sell or offer orexpose for sale as food or drink forman any article which has beenrendered or has become noxious orunfit for such use, knowing orhaving reason to believe the same tobe noxious or unfit lor such use.

(10) W h o s o e v e r s h a l l k e e p a n ymanufactory or place of businessf r o m w h i c h o f f e n s i v e orunwholesome smells arise, withouta licence for that purpose, asprovided in section 5.

(11) Whosoever shall keep or deposit anycoconut husks, coir, or any othersubstance at or near such places, orin such a manner as to be anuisance to or injurious to thehealth of any person.

(12) Whosoever shall throw or put, orpermit his servants to throw or put,any earth, dirt. ashes, filth, refusefrom any garden, kitchen, or stable,or any broken glass or earthenware,or other rubbish, on any street,road, or public place or passage, orinto any sewer or drain.

3. Whosoever shall continue or suffer tocontinue any of the nuisances abovespecified after being convicted of any of theabove offences, or after notice in writingprior to any conviction from the Board ofHealth, or Urban Council or Town Council,or any of its officers, or from theMagistrate, requiring him to abate or put anend to the same, shall be liable to a furtherfine not exceeding ten rupees for each dayafter such conviction or notice. And thecourt competent to try the offender ishereby empowered to impose such furtherfine, although the aggregate thereof mayexceed in amount the jurisdiction of suchcourt.

4. Any person authorized by the Boardof Health, or Urban Council or TownCouncil, may, and he is hereby empowered,at all reasonable times, with or withoutassistants, to enter into and inspect anymarket, building, shop, stall, or place usedfor the sale of butchers' meat, poultry, fish,fruit, or vegetable, or as a slaughter-house,and to examine any animal, carcase, meat,poultry, game, flesh, fish, fruit, or vegetablewhich may be therein; and in case anyanimal, carcase, meat, poultry, game, flesh,fish, fruit, or vegetable appear to him to beintended for the food of man, and to beunfit for such food, the same may be seizedand conveyed to the nearest Magistrate;and if it appear to such Magistrate, uponthe evidence of a competent person, thatany such animal, carcase, meat, poultry,game, flesh, fish, fruit, or vegetable wasintended for the food of man and is unfit forsuch food, he shall order the same to bedestroyed, or to be so disposed of as toprevent its being exposed for sale or usedfor such food.

5. No place shall be used within thelimits of a town for the purposes of amanufactory or place of business fromwhich offensive or unwholesome smellsarise, except under a licence from theA s s i s t a n t C o m m i s s i o n e r of Loca lGovernment for the administrative region,within which such manufactory or place ofbusiness is used, who is hereby empoweredat his discretion, from time to time, to grantsuch licences, and the same, with thesanction of the Minister, to recall; and thelicence shall be on a stamp of twenty rupees,and shall be substantially of the form inthe Schedule.

6. The Board of Health for eachprovince, or Urban Council or TownCouncil, may make by-laws

(a) with respect to the removal by theowners and occupiers of houses ofdust, ashes, rubbish, f i l th , manure,dung, and soil collected, placed, orfound in or about any house, stable,cow-h o u s e , s t r e e t , or p l a c ewhatsoever, and for preventing thedeposit thereof in or by the side ofany street so as to be a nuisance toany person ;

Selling noxiousarticles asfood.

Keepingmanufactorieswithoutlicence.

Depositingcoconut husks,&c.

Throwing dirt,&c., on road,or into sewers.

Notice to theowner oroccupier toabate thenuisance.

Markets maybe visited. andunwholesomemeat seizedand destroyed.

Whatmanufactoriesmust belicensed.

Board ofHealth, &c.,may makeby-laws.

XVII/266

NUISANCES [Cap. 562

(b) for the draining, cleansing, covering,or filling up all ponds, pools, openditches, sewers, drains, and placescontaining or used for the collectionof any drainage, filth, water,matter, or thing of an offensivenature or likely to be prejudicial tohealth ;

(c) for the cleansing, purifying,ventilating, and disinfecting ofhouses, dwellings, churches, andplaces of assembly by the owners oroccupiers and persons having thecare and ordering thereof;

(d) for the preventing or mitigating anyepidemic, endemic, or contagiousdiseases, and for the speedyinterment of the dead during theprevalence of such diseases; and

(e) for all other matters as are notspecially enacted by this Ordinance,and as shall be necessary for thepreservation of the public healthand the suppression of nuisances :

Provided that no such by-laws shall berepugnant to the provisions of thisOrdinance, and the same shall not be of anyforce and effect unless and until the same besubmitted to and confirmed by the Minister,who is hereby empowered to allow, amend,or disallow the same as he may thinkproper, and published in the Gazette ;

Provided also that the said Board ofHealth or Urban Council or Town Councilmay alter or repeal any such by-laws.

7. All courts and Magistrates shall takejudicial notice of such by-laws when thesame shall have been confirmed andpublished as aforesaid.

8. The Board of Health, or UrbanCouncil or Town Council, shall cause shortparticulars of the several offences for whichany penalty is imposed by this Ordinance,or of a n y b y - l a w made u n d e r t h i sOrdinance, and of the amount of every such

penalty, to be printed in the Sinhala, Tamiland English languages and copies thereof tobe circulated so as to secure due publicity tothe same.

*9. Any breach of by-laws so made asaforesaid shall be deemed an offence, andthe person guilty thereof shall, onconviction, be liable to a fine not exceedingtwenty rupees, and in the case of acontinuing offence a further fine notexceeding the sum of five rupees for eachday after conviction for the original offence,or after written notice from the Board ofHealth, Urban Council or Town Council, orany officer thereof in its name, or from theMagistrate,* calling upon him to remove thesame ; and the court competent to try theoffender is hereby empowered to imposesuch further fine, although the aggregatethereof may exceed in amount thejurisdiction of such court.

10. Nothing in this Ordinance shall beconstrued to render lawful any act oromission on the part of any person which is,or but for this Ordinance would be,otherwise deemed to be a nuisance, or toexempt any person guilty of such nuisancefrom prosecution or action in respectthereof.

11. Where any notice is required by thisOrdinance to be given to the owner oroccupier of any building or land, suchnotice addressed to the owner or occupier,as the case may require, may be served onthe occupier of such building or land, or leftwith some adult member or servant of hisfamily, or, if the notice cannot be so served,or if there be no occupier, may be put up onsome conspicuous part of such building orland, and it shall not be necessary in anysuch notice to name the occupier or theowner.

12. If at any time it shall appear to theBoard of Health, Urban Council, TownCouncil, or to the Magistrate that anuisance ought to be abated, or any work orthing required by this Ordinance or by anyby-taw to be performed or done, such Boardor Council or Magistrate may give notice to

Othernuisances notaffected by thisOrdinance.

Service ofnotices.

Board ofHealth. UrbanCouncil, TownCouncil, orMagistratemay abatenuisances.

Breach ofby-laws madean offence.

By-laws to betaken judicialnotice of.

Shortparticulars ofoffences andpenalties to bepublished.

* Primary Court has exclusive Jurisdiction under section 33 of the Judicature Act read with GazetteExtraordinary No. 43/4 of 1979-07-02.

XVII/267

Cap.562] NUISANCES

the owner or occupier, as the case may be,requiring him to get such nuisance abated,or such work or thing performed or done,within such time as the Board of Health,Urban Council, or Town Council shall deemreasonable; and if after such notice defaultis made in the removal of the nuisance orthe performance of such work, or in thedoing of such thing, the Board of Health,Urban Council, Town Council, orMagistrate, whether any penalty is or is notprovided for such default, may cause suchnuisance to be removed or work to beperformed or such thing to be done. and theexpense thereby incurred, if not paid by theowner or occupier, or any person on hisbehalf, shall, when notified to theMagistrate's Court by the person entrustedwith the performance of such work or thedoing of such thing, and proved to bereasonable by the evidence of two or morecompetent persons, be recovered as anyordinary fine imposed by the court.

13. Whenever default is made by theowner of any land in the execution of anywork required to be executed by him, theoccupier of such land may cause such workto be executed, and the cost thereof shall bepaid to him by the owner.

14. Whenever the occupier of any landshall be put to any expense or pay anymoney for anything required under thisOrdinance which is payable by the owner,being the defaulter, such occupier shall beentitled to deduct from the rent payable byhim to his landlord so much as is so paid byor recovered from him in respect of anysuch expenses, and he shall have a right toretain possession of such house until suchexpenses are paid or tendered to him.

15. If the occupier of any land preventthe owner thereof from carrying into effectany of the provisions of this Ordinance afternotice of his intention so to do has beengiven by the owner to such occupier, anyMagistrate, upon proof thereof, may makean order in writing requiring such occupierto permit the owner to execute ail suchworks as may be necessary for carrying intoeffect the provisions of this Ordinance ; andif after the expiration of eight days from thedate of the order such occupier refuse topermit such owner to execute such works,

Power to enterinto lands.

Obstruction ofBoard ofHealth, &c., orMagistrate, ortheir officers.

such occupier shall, for every day duringwhich he so continues to refuse, be liable toa fine not exceeding twenty rupees; andevery such owner during the continuance ofsuch refusal shall be discharged from anypenalties to which he might otherwise havebecome liable by reason of his default inexecuting such works.

16. The Board of Health, UrbanCouncil, Town Council, or Magistrate shall,for the purposes of this Ordinance, havepower by themselves or their officers toenter at all reasonable hours in the day-timeinto and upon any land, for the purpose ofinspecting the same or removing anynuisance or executing any work authorisedby this Ordinance, without being liable toany legal proceedings or molestationwhatever on account of such entry, or ofanything done in any part of the land inpursuance of this Ordinance.

17. Whoever at any time shall obstructor molest the Board of Health, UrbanCouncil, Town Council, or Magistrate, orany of their officers or workmen, or. anyperson employed by them in theperformance and execution of their duty, orof anything which they are respectivelyempowered or required to do by virtue or inconsequence of this Ordinance, shall beguilty of an offence, and liable onconviction to a fine not exceeding fiftyrupees.

18. The Magistrate by whom any fine isimposed by virtue of this Ordinance mayaward any portion not exceeding one-halfthereof to the informer.

19. No person shall be liable to any finefor any offence committed under thisOrdinance unless the complaint respectingsuch offence shall have been made before aMagistrate within three months next afterthe commission of such offence.

20. It shall be the duty of all officers ofthe police force, and of all grama sevaniladharis, police and peace officersgenerally, to aid and assist in the preventionof all offences against this Ordinance withintheir respective jurisdiction ; and any officeror grama seva niladhari who beingcognizant of any such offence, whetherupon his own view or upon the information

Informer'sshare.

Limitation ofprosecutions.

Occupier mayexecute worksin default ofowner.

Occupierexecutingworks forowner maydeduct hisexpenses fromthe rent.

Course ifoccupierobstructowner.

Police officerto assist.

XV11/268

NUISANCES [Cap.562

of others, shall fail to make complaintthereof before the duly constitutedauthority, or shall fail to act promptly andvigorously thereupon, shall be guilty of anoffence, and be liable on conviction thereofto a fine not exceeding fifty rupees.

21. In construing this Ordinance theterms " Board of Health", " UrbanC o u n c i l " , "Town Counc i l " , and

" Magistrate " shall be respectively held tomean the Board of Health of the province,the Urban Council or Town Council of thearea, or the Magistrate of the division,within which the nuisance exists, or anywork or thing has to be performed or done,and the term " administrative region " shallmean an administrative region defined byOrder made under section 2 of the LocalGovernment (Administrative Regions)Ordinance.

Interpretation.

A. B.. of

SCHEDULE

is hereby empowered to keep a manufactory or place of business for . . [Section 5.]at

(Date.)

C.D..

Assistant Commissioner of Local Governmentfor the administrative region . . . . . . . . . . . . .

XVII/269