(1) Any person aggrieved by an order of the competent authority under 1[sub-section (2) or sub-section (2-A) of section 52] or section 53 may, within one month from the date of the confirmation of the order under section 52, or the date of the service of the notice under section 53, as the case may be, prefer an appeal to the appellate authority:
Provided that the appellate authority may entertain the appeal after the expiry of the said period of one month if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from filing the appeal in time.
(2) On receipt of an appeal under sub-section (1), the appellate authority, may after calling for a report from the competent authority and giving the aggrieved person a reasonable opportunity of being heard, pass such order as it thinks fit and such order of the appellate authority shall be final.
1. Substituted by the Act No. 18 of 1971, S.3.
(3) Where an appeal is preferred under sub-section (1), the appellate authority may stay the enforcement of the order of the competent authority for such period and on such conditions as it thinks fit.
1[(4) For the purposes of this Chapter, the Appellate Authority shall be the District Judge within whose jurisdiction such premises are situated.]
56. Procedure and powers of competent authority and appellate authority - (1) The competent authority and appellate authority shall follow such procedure as may be prescribed, and subject thereto, the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), shall so far as they are not inconsistent with this Act or the rules or orders made thereunder, apply to all proceedings before the competent authority and the appellate authority.
(2) In proceedings under this Chapter, the competent authority shall have the same power as are vested in a Civil Court when trying a suit, and the appellate authority shall have the same powers as are vested in a Civil Court when hearing an appeal, under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908).
(3) The competent authority and appellate authority shall be deemed to be a Civil Court for a purpose of sections 480 and 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898) and any proceeding before the competent authority and the appellate authority shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (45 of 1860).
57. Bar of Jurisdiction of Civil Courts - Save as provided in section 55, no order made by the competent authority or the appellate authority, in exercise of any power conferred by or under this Chapter shall be called in question in any Court and no injunction shall be granted by any Court or other authority in respect of any action taken or to be taken in pursuance of any power conferred by or under this Chapter.
CHAPTER – VII FINANCE ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT
58. Board’s Fund - (1) The Board shall have its own fund, 2[The fund shall be vested and deemed to have always vested in the State. The fund shall be operated by the Board based on or according to the directions given by the State from time to time. All receipts into the said Fund and all payments from the said Fund shall be received and made, and be so deemed to have been received and made by the Board on behalf of the State.]
(2) The Board may accept grants, subventions, donations and gifts from 3[any Government] or a local authority or any individual or body, whether incorporated or not, for all or any of the purposes of this Act.
(3) The Government shall, every year, make a grant to the Board of a sum equivalent to the administrative expenses of the Board.
(4) All moneys received by or on behalf of the Board by virtue of this Act, all proceeds of land or any other kind of property sold by the Board, all rents, betterment charges and all interest, profits and other moneys accruing to the
1. Substituted by the Act No. 33 of 2018, S.5.
2. Substituted by the Act No. 33 of 2018, S.6.
3. Substituted by the Act No. 33 of 2018, S.6.
Board shall constitute the fund of the Board 1[and to pay any deficit in the Fund.]
(5) Except as otherwise directed by the Government all moneys and receipts, specified in the foregoing provisions and forming part of the fund of the Board shall be deposited in the 2[State Bank] or in any scheduled Bank or invested in such securities as may be approved by the Government.
(6) Such account shall be operated upon by such Officers as may be authorised by the Board.
(7) 3[xxxxx] 4[59. Application of the fund - All property, Fund and all other assets held by the Board on behalf of the State shall be applied by the Board for the purpose of this Act and in accordance with the provisions of this Act.]
60. Expenditure in case of urgency - (1) Where in the opinion of the Board circumstances of extreme urgency have arisen it shall be lawful for the Board to make for the purpose of this Act in any year, expenditure not exceeding rupees ten thousand, notwithstanding the fact that such expenditure has not been included in its annual programme or supplementary programme sanctioned by the Government or the variation of the programme made under section 29;
(2) Where any sum is expended under circumstances of extreme urgency as provided in sub-section (1), a report thereof indicating the source from which it is proposed to meet the expenditure shall be made by the Board as soon as practicable to the Government.
61. Subventions and loans to the Board - (1) The Government may from time to time make subventions to the Board for the purposes of this Act on such terms and conditions not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act as the Government may determine.
(2) The Government may from time to time, advance loans to the Board on such terms and conditions not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act as the Government may determine.
62. Power of Board to borrow - (1) The Board may from time to time, with the previous sanction of the Government and subject to the provisions of this Act and to such conditions as may be prescribed in this behalf, borrow any sum required for the purposes of this Act.
(2) The rules made by the Government for the purposes of this section may empower the Board to borrow by the issue of debentures 5[and to enter into financial arrangements with banks and other financial institutions including the Life Insurance Corporation of India.]
(3) All debentures issued by the Board, shall be in such form as the Board with the sanction of the Government may, from time to time, determine.
1. Substituted by the Act No. 33 of 2018, S.6.
2. Substituted by the Act No. 33 of 2018, S.6.
3. Omitted by the Act No.33 of 2018, S,6.
4. Substituted by the Act No. 33 of 2018, S.7.
5. Substituted by the Act No. 15 of 1962, S.20.
(4) Every debenture, shall be signed by the Chairman and one other member of the Board.
(5) Loans borrowed and debentures issued under this section may be guaranteed by the Government as to the repayment of principal and the payment of interest at such rate as may be fixed by the Government.
63. Accounts and Audit - (1) The Board shall cause to be maintained proper books of accounts and such other books as the rules under this Act may require and shall prepare in accordance with such rules and annual statement of accounts.
(2) The Board shall cause its accounts to be audited annually by such person as the Government may direct.
(3) As soon as the accounts of the Board have been audited, the Board shall send a copy thereof together with a copy of the report of the auditor thereon to the Government and shall cause the accounts to be published in the prescribed manner and place copies thereof on sale at a reasonable price. 1[The audited accounts shall be laid before each house of the State Legislature as soon as may be after they are received by State Government.]
(4) The Board shall comply with such directions as the Government may after perusal of the report of the auditor think fit to issue.
64. Concurrent and special audits of accounts - (1) Not withstanding anything contained in Section 63, the Government may order that there shall be concurrent audit of the accounts of the Board by such person as it thinks fit. The Government may also direct a special audit to be made by a Chartered Accountant appointed by it of the accounts of the Board relating to any particular transaction or a class or series of transaction or to a particular period. 2[The audited accounts shall be laid before each house of the State Legislature as soon as may be after they are received by State Government.]
(2) When an order is made under sub-section (1), the Board shall present or cause to be presented for audit such accounts and shall furnish to the person appointed under subsection (1) such information as the said person may require for the purpose of audit.
CHAPTER VIII MISCELLANEOUS
65. Reports - The Board shall, before such date and in such form and at such interval as may be prescribed, submit to the Government a report on such matters as may be prescribed, and the Government shall cause report to be published in the 3[Andhra Pradesh Gazette]. Every such report, shall be laid before the Legislative Assembly as soon as may be after it is published.
66. Other statements and returns - The Board shall also submit to the Government such statistics returns, particulars or statements in regard to any proposed or existing housing schemes at such times and in such form and manner as may be prescribed or as the Government may from time to time direct.
1. Added by the Act No. 33 of 2018, S.8.
2. Added by the Act No. 33 of 2018, S.9.
3. Substituted by Act No.15 of 1962. S,23.
67. Power of entry - The 1[Vice-Chairman and Housing Commissioner] or any of the person either generally or specially authorised by the 1[Vice-Chairman and Housing Commissioner] in this behalf may, with or without assistants or workmen, enter in to or upon any land, in order –
(a) to make any inspection, survey, measurement, valuation or inquiry;
(b) to take levels;
(c) to dig or bore into the sub-soil;
(d) to set boundaries and intended lines of works;
(e) to make such level, boundaries and lines of works and cut trenches; or
(f) to do any other things;
Whenever it is necessary to do so, for any of the purposes of this Act os any rules made or scheme sanctioned thereunder;
Provided as follows:-
(i) No such entry shall be made between sunset and sunrise;
(ii) No dwelling house and no public building, which is used as a dwelling place, shall be so entered except with the consent of the occupier thereof, and without giving the said occupier at least ‘twenty-four hours’ previous written notice of the intention to make such entry;
(iii) sufficient notice shall in every instance be given even when any premises may otherwise be entered without notice, to enable the inmates of any apartment appropriated to female to remove themselves to some part of the premises where their privacy will not be disturbed;
(iv) Due regard shall always be had, as far as may be compatible with the exigencies of the purposes for which the entry is made, to the social and religious usages of the occupants of the premises entered.
68. Notice of suit against Board - No person shall commence any suit against the Board or against any Officer or servant of the Board or any person acting under the orders of the Board, for anything done or purporting to be done in pursuance of this Act, without giving to the Board, officer or servant or person two month’s previous notice in writing of the intended suit and of the cause thereof, nor after six months from the date of the act complained of.
69. Triennial valuation of assets and liabilities of the Board - The Board shall triennially have a valuation of its assets and liabilities made by a valuer appointed by the Government:
Provided that it shall be open to the Government to direct a valuation to be made at any time it may consider necessary.
1. Substituted by the Act No. 4 of 1984, S.11.
70. Power to make Rules - (1) The Government may, by notification in the 1[Andhra Pradesh Gazette] and subject to the condition of previous publication, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power such rules may be made for all or any of the following purposes, namely:-
(a) The allowances of members 2[and remuneration and conditions of service of the Chairman] under section 7;
(b) the manner and form in which contracts shall be entered into under section 15;
(c) the form of annual housing programme, budget and schedule of staff of officers and servants, particulars of housing schemes and other particulars to be contained in the programme under section 24;
(d) the other manner of publication of the draft the programme under section 25;
(e) the form of notice under section 42;
(f) the rate of interest under section 43;
(g) the other matters to be decided by the Tribunal under section 48;
(h) the procedure to be followed by the Tribunal under section 50;
(i) the forms of notices under sections 52 and 53 and any other manner in which they may be served;
(j) the manner in which damages under section 53 may be assessed;
(k) the manner in which attachment and sale of movable property shall be made under section 53;
(l) the procedure to be followed by the competent authority and the appellate authority in proceedings under Chapter VI;
(m) the conditions subject to which the Board may borrow any sum under section 62;
(n) the manner of preparation, maintenance and publication of accounts under section 63;
(o) the date before which, the form in which, the interval at which and the matters on which reports shall be submitted under section 65;
(p) the time at which and the form and manner in which statistics, returns, particulars and statements shall be submitted under section 66;
1. Substituted by the Act No 15 of 1962, S.23.
2. Inserted by the Act No. 4 of 1984, S.12.
(q) the manner in which the Board shall be superseded reconstituted under section 81; and
(r) any other matter which has to be or may be prescribed under this Act.
1[(3) Every rule made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of the State Legislature while it is in session for a total period of fourteen days which may be comprised in one session or in two successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session in which it is so laid or the session immediately following, both the Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both the Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so however that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.]
71. Regulations - The Board may from time to time, with the previous sanction of the Government, make regulations consistent with this Act and with any rules made under this Act –
(a) for the management and use of buildings constructed under any housing schemes;
(b) the principles and procedure to be followed in allotment of tenements and premises;
(c) for regulating the Board’s procedure and the disposal of its business.
72. Power to make bye-laws - (1) The Board may make bye-laws, not inconsistent with this Act, which may be necessary or expedient for the purpose of carrying out its duties and functions under this Act.
(2) A bye-law made under this section may provide that a contravention thereof shall be an offence.
(3) No bye-law made by the Board shall come into force until it has been confirmed by the Government with or without modification.
(4) All bye-laws made under this section shall be published in the 2[Andhra Pradesh Gazette].
73. Penalty for contravention of bye-laws - Whoever contravenes a bye-law made under section 72 shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees or with both.