1THE 2[PUNJAB] NATIONAL CALAMITIES (PREVENTION AND RELIEF) ACT, 1958
(W.P. Act
XXXIII 1958)
[24 April 1958]
An Act to provide for the
maintenance and restoration of order in areas affected by certain calamities
and for the prevention and control of and relief against such calamities
Preamble.— WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the maintenance and
restoration of order in areas affected by certain calamities and for the
prevention and control of and relief against calamities;
It
is hereby enacted as follows:-
1.
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Short title, extent and
commencement.— (1) This Act may be called the
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3[Punjab] National Calamities (Prevention and Relief) Act,
1958.
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(2)
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It extends to the whole of 4[the
Punjab], except 5[the Tribal areas].
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(3)
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It shall come into force at once.
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2.
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Definitions.— In this Act unless there is anything repugnant in the
subject or
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context—
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6[(a)
“Relief Commissioner” means the person appointed as such under section 3-A;] (b) “Government” means 7[the
Provincial Government of the Punjab]; and
(c) “Prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this
Act.
8[3. Declaration of calamity affected area.— Whenever the Province or any part thereof is affected or
threatened by flood, famine, locust or any other pest, hailstorm, fire,
epidemic or any other calamity which, in the opinion of Government warrants
action under this Act, Government may, by notification, declare the whole or
any part of the Province, as the case may be, as calamity-affected area.]
9[3-A. Appointment of Relief Commissioner.— (1) Government may, by notification, appoint a Relief
Commissioner for the Province.
(2)
Government may confer on the Relief Commissioner for the whole or part of the
Province—
(i) the powers of a Magistrate of the First Class under
section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898; and
(ii) powers under such other laws as Government may consider
necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Act.]
4. Prevention and relief.— (1) Subject to the other provisions of this Act and of the
rules made thereunder, the Relief Commissioner shall, with respect to the
calamity-affected area, take such steps as he may deem necessary in order to
maintain order, prevent, check or control the calamity or reduce the extent and
severity thereof, or to provide immediate relief to the victims of the calamity
in the calamity-affected area.
(2) In particular and without
prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred by the preceding
sub-section the Relief Commissioner shall have power 10[*
* *]—
(a) to evacuate or segregate population;
(b) to requisition bulldozers, tractors, motor vehicles,
carts, carriages, boats and other means of transport by air, land or water, and
beasts of burden;
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(PREVENTION AND RELIEF) ACT, 1958
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(c)
to require the residents to declare surplus stocks of food, fodder, fire-wood,
clothing and beddings and to requisition all or any of these articles;
(d) to requisition building materials; (e) to requisition any building or
land;
(f) to demolish any building or other structure;
(g) to conscript labour;
(h) to direct any person to abstain from a certain act or to
take certain order with regard to certain property in his possession or under
his management;
and after approval of the
Government— (i)
to acquire any land; or
(j) to remit in whole or part any Government dues payable by
any person or in respect of any property affected by the calamity:
Provided
that with respect to the powers conferred by clauses (b), (c),(d),(e),(f),(g),(h)
and (i),
of this sub-section the person owning the articles, beasts of burden, building
or land which is requisitioned or acquired, or the building or other structure
which is demolished, or the person directed to abstain from any act or to take
any order with regard to any property, and the persons conscripted to work as
labourers shall be entitled to reasonable compensation as may be claimable
under any law for the time being in force, or if no such law exists as is
applicable to the case, then as prescribed by rules under this Act, and such
compensation shall be paid within one year from the day it falls due 11[:]
12[Provided further that the powers
conferred by clauses (a),
(f),
(g)
and (h)
of this sub- section shall be exercised by the Relief Commissioner only within
the area or areas declared as calamity-affected under section 3.]
(3)Subject
to the right of the owner to claim compensation, the property with regard to
which an order for requisition has been passed by the Relief Commissioner shall
forthwith vest in the Relief Commissioner, who may deal with it in such manner
as he deems proper in order to discharge his duties under this Act:
Provided
that when the purpose for which the property was requisitioned has been served
it may, at his request be returned to the owner after the compensation paid to
him has been refunded by him less the depreciation charges.
(4)The
Relief Commissioner may, in addition to any other action prescribed by or under
this Act, use or cause to be used such force as may, in his opinion, be
reasonably necessary for securing compliance with or giving effect to or
preventing any contravention of an order passed or for the effective exercise
of power exercisable under this Act.
5.Requisition of services of Government officials.— The Relief Commissioner may, for the purposes of this Act,
directly requisition the services of any employee of the Government within the
calamity-affected area, after consultation with the official superior of his
Department, as far as particable, and the person to whom the requisition is
addressed shall comply with it as if it were an order passed by the Government
or, as the case may be, by his official superior.
6.Punishment and procedure.— (1) Any person who fails to comply with an order passed by
the Relief Commissioner or any other person authorised to pass an order under
this Act or the rules thereunder
shall be deemed to have disobeyed a direction so as to be liable for punishment
under section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code, 186013.
(2) Nothing in sub-section (1) shall
debar a competent authority from taking disciplinary action against an employee
of the Government who has failed to obey a lawful order passed under this Act
or the rules thereunder.
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(3) Every offence punishable under
this Act shall, within the meaning of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 189814,
be cognizable and may be tried in accordance with the procedure prescribed by
that Code for summary trials.
7. Delegation of powers.— 15 [(1)
The Relief Commissioner may in areas declared as calamity-affected under
section 3, by an order in writing, direct that all or any of his powers under
this Act, shall in relation to such matters, and subject to such conditions, if
any, as may be specified in the order, also be exercised by such officer, not
below the rank of a Gazetted Officer, as may be specified in the order.]
(2) The Relief Commissioner and the
officers to whom all or any of his powers have been delegated under sub-section
(1) shall be public servants within the meaning of section 21 of the Pakistan
Penal Code, 186016.
8. Revision.— (1) Any order passed under this Act by the Relief
Commissioner, shall be subject to revision by the Government, and the Relief
Commissioner shall give effect to the orders of the Government made in
revision.
17[Provided that no order in revision
shall be passed without giving to the party to be affected thereby an
opportunity of being heard.]
(2) The Government shall, by rules,
prescribe the class of cases and the manner in which and the time within which
orders made under this Act shall be liable to revision by the Government.
9.Power to give effect to order.— If in any case it is not possible to serve an order under
this Act on any person without defeating the object of the order or if the
person to whom the order is addressed fails to comply with it, the Relief
Commissioner may, after recording the reason for doing so, give effect to the
order and for that purpose may take such steps or pass such order with regard
to any property as he considers necessary.
10.Bar to action.— No
order made under this Act shall be called in question in any court and no civil
or criminal proceeding shall be instituted against any person for anything done
or purported to have been done, or intended to be done in good faith under this
Act or against any person for any loss or damage caused to, or in respect of
any property whereof possession has been taken or which has otherwise been
dealt with under this Act.
11.Rules.— (1) The Government shall, as soon as may be, make rules for
the
purpose of carrying into effect the
provisions of this Act.
(2)
In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the power conferred by
sub-section (1), the Government may, by rules, provide for all or any of the
following matters, namely:-
(a) the procedure to be adopted in giving alarm of an
impending calamity;
(b) the method of securing information with regard to flood or
any other impending calamity;
(c) the measures and precautions to be taken to avert any such
calamity;
(d) the procedure to be followed for survey of places of
safety and the entry into any such place for the purpose of such survey after a
proper notice;
(e) the method of assessment and payment of compensation on
account of requisition and acquisition of property under this Act; and
(f)
the procedure with regard to revisions against an order passed under this Act
and the period during which such revisions can be presented.
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(PREVENTION AND RELIEF) ACT, 1958
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(3) The rules made under this Act
shall be laid on the table of the Provincial Assembly during the session of the
Assembly next following and may be rescinded or modified by a resolution of the
Assembly.
12. Repeal.— The Punjab National Calamities (Prevention and Relief) Act,
195118, 19[the Khairpur National Calamities (Prevention and Relief)
Act, 1954] and the West Pakistan National Calamities (Prevention and Relief)
Ordinance, 195620, are hereby repealed.
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1 For Statement of Objects and Reasons see Gazette of
West Pakistan (Extraordinary), dated 15th January, 1957, p.49.
This Act was passed by the West
Pakistan Assembly on 3rd April, 1958: assented to by the Governor of West
Pakistan on 19th April, 1958; and, published in the West Pakistan Gazette
(Extraordinary), dated 24th April, 1958, pp.711-716.
2Substituted
by the Punjab Laws (Adaptation) Order, 1974 (Pb. A.O. 1 of 1974), for “West
Pakistan”.
3Ibid.
4Ibid.
5Substituted by the West Pakistan National Calamities
(Prevention and Relief) (Amendment) Act, 1964 (X of 1964), for “Federal Capital
and Special Areas”.
6Substituted ibid.
7Substituted, for “Government of West Pakistan”, by the
Punjab Laws (Adapttion) Order, 1974 (Pb. A.O. 1 of 1974).
8Substituted by the West Pakistan
National Calamities (Prevention and Relief) (Amendment) Act, 1964 (X of 1964).
9Inserted
ibid.
10The
words, “within the calamity affected area”, deleted ibid.
11The full-stop was subs. by colon, and
new proviso added by the West Pakistan National Calamities (Prevention and
Relief) (Amendment) Act, 1964 (X of 1964).
12Ibid.
13XLV
of 1860.
14V
of 1898.
15Substituted by the West Pakistan National Calamities
(Prevention and Relief) (Amendment) Act, 1964 (X of 1964).
16XLV
of 1860.
17Added by the Punjab National Calamities (Prevention and
Relief) (Amendment) Ordinance, 1985 (XV of 1985).
18Pb.
III of 1952.
19Added by the West Pakistan National Calamities (Prevention
and Relief) (Amendment) Ordinance, 1959 (XLVII of 1959).
20W.P.
Ord. XI of 1956.
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