(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, nothing in this Act shall affect-
(a) the rights of any local authority to make any excavation for the purpose of laying, making, altering, repairing or renewing any sewer, drain, water course or other work ; or
(b) the rights of any authority appointed under any law for the time being in force for gas or water, electricity, railways, tramways or trolley vehicles to erect any support or make any excavation for the purpose of laying, making, altering, repairing or renewing any main, pipe, sluice, weir, electric line, duct, drain or other apparatus ; or
(c) any land belonging to a railway administration or belonging to or used by a person holding a licence or sanction for the generation, transformation or distribution of electricity under the Indian Electricity Act,: 1910, when such land is held or used by the railway administration or such person, as the case may be, for the purpose of its railway or for generation, transformation or distribution of electricity, except in so far as they may consent thereto ; or
(d) any land within the limits of a cantonment or a port declared by or under any law made by Parliament or existing law to be a major port;
(e) any land within the jurisdiction of a local authority under the administrative control of the Central Government:
Provided that-
(i) any restrictions in force under section 9 as to construction, formation or laying out of means of access to, or from, any Savings.
road, shall without any such consent as aforesaid, extend to any such land as is specified in clause (c) in so far as the restrictions relate to means of access over or under such land to, or from, land other than land so specified ; and
(ii) any consent required for the purposes of this section shall not be unreasonably withheld and the question whether or not the consent so required is unreasonable withheld shall be determined by the State Government and the decision of the State Government on the question shall be final.
(2) Nothing in this Act shall affect any powers and duties of the telegraph authority under the provisions of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.
Explanation.- For the purpose of this section the Bombay Housing Board constituted under the Bombay Housing Board Act, 1948, shall be deemed to be a local authority.
73. Save as provided in section 72, the provisions of this Act or rules made thereunder in regard to any matter dealt with thereby shall prevail over the provisions of any other law made by the State Legislature or any law which the State Legislature is competent to make or to amend, in so far as such law is inconsistent with the said provisions or rules, and such law to the extent of such inconsistency shall cease to apply or shall not apply to any such matter.
74. for the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that nothing in this Act shall apply to highways which are or have been declared by or under any law made by Parliament to be national highways:
Provided that if any highway is declared to be a national highway by or under any law made by Parliament, it shall be lawful for the State Government to fix or not to fix the building and control lines for different portions of the said highway under section 7 and thereafter the provisions of this Act in so far as they apply to the restrictions on buildings between the highway boundary and the building line or between the building line and the control line and other provisions relating to such building and control lines shall, mutatis mutandis, apply.
1. For Statement of Objects and Reasons, see Bombay Government Gazette, 1954, Part V, page 330.
XIII of 1885.
Bom. LXIV of 1948.
Provisions of this Act or rules to prevail over inconsistent provisions in other laws.
Building and control lines along national highways.