(1) As from the date of establishment of the Authority, (hereinafter in this Chapter referred to as, ” the appointed day”),--
(a) (i) all properties and assets (including water works, buildings laboratories, stores, vehicles, furniture and other furnishing), all the existing water supply and sewerage services, sewage works and sewerage farms including, as the case may be all plants, machineries water works, pumping stations, filter beds, water mains and public sewers in, along, over or under any public street and all buildings, lands and other works, materials, stores and things appertaining thereto ; and
(ii) so much of the sub-soil appertaining to the said water mains and sewers as may be necessary for the purpose of enlarging, deepening or otherwise repairing or maintaining any such water mains and sewers or any pipes and other appliances and fittings connected with such water supply and sewerage services and sewage works and sewage farms which immediately before the appointed day were vested in the Government for the purposes of the Public Health Engineering Department, shall vest in and stand transferred to the Authority;
(b) (i) all the water supply and sewerage services, sewerage works and sewage farms including all the plants, machineries, pumping stations, distribution lines and public sewers in, along, over or under any public street and all buildings, lands and other works, materials, stores and things appertaining thereto; and
(ii) so much of the sub-soil appertaining to the said distribution lines and sewers as may be necessary for the purpose of enlarging, deepening or otherwise repairing or maintaining any such distribution lines and sewers or any pipes and other appliances and fittings connected with such water supply and sewerage services and sewerage works vested in any local body and in respect of which maintenance of sewerage services and sewerage works, management and distribution of water supply or collection of charges which immediately before the appointed day were attended to by the Public Health Engineering Department, shall vest in and stand transferred to the Authority;
(c) all the rights, liabilities and obligations of the Government or the local body as the case may be whether arising out of any contract or otherwise pertaining to the said department including the right to recover arrears of water tax and sewage tax, water charges, meter
CHAPTER III Vesting of properties, Assets Liabilities and Obligations and Transfer of Employees hire and of any cost or fees relating to water supply and sewerage services shall be the rights, liabilities and obligations of the Authority and
(d) all the assets, rights, liabilities and obligations of the Kerala State Rural Development Board constituted under the Kerala State Rural Development Board Act., 1971 (15 of 1971), in so far as they pertain to execution of water supply and sewerage schemes in the panchayat areas including the right to recover arrears of annual installments from panchayats towards expenditure on water supply and sewerage schemes under section 13 of the said Act, shall be the assets, rights, liabilities and obligations of the Authority.
(2) The properties assets, rights, liabilities and obligations referred to in subsection (1) shall be valued in such manner as the Government may determine.
(3) All suits and other legal proceedings instituted or defended or which might but for the vesting and transfer under sub-section (1) have been instituted or defended by or against the Government or the local body or the Rural Development Board, as the case may be, may be continued or instituted or defended by or against the Authority.
(17) Decision of Government on the vesting of property to be final.--Where any doubt or dispute arises as to whether any property or asset has vested in the Authority under section 16 or any rights, liabilities or obligations have become the rights, liabilities and obligations of the Authority under that section, such doubt or dispute shall be referred to the Government whose decision thereon shall be final.
(18) .Vesting of existing water supp/y and sewerage services under local bodies.—(1) As from the date following the expiry of a period of three years from the appointed day or such further period as may be specified by the Government in this behalf by notification in the Gazette,--
(a) all the water supply and sewerage services, sewerage works and sewerage farms including all the plants, machineries, pumping stations, distribution lines and public sewers in, along, over or under any public street and all buildings, lands and other works, materials, stores and things appertaining thereto ;
(b) So much of the sub-soil appertaining to the said distribution lines and sewers as may be necessary for the purpose of enlarging deepening or otherwise repairing or maintaining any such distribution lines and sewers or any pipes and other appliances and fittings connected with such water supply and sewerage services and sewerage works; and
(c) all rights, liabilities and obligations including the right to recover arrears of water charges, meter hire and of any cost or fees relating to water supply and sewerage services, which immediately before the above mentioned date vested in any local body shall vest in and stand transferred to the Authority.
(2) The properties, assets, rights, liabilities and obligations referred to in sub-section (1) shall be valued in such manner as the Government may determine.
(3) Where any doubt or dispute arises as to whether any property or asset has vested in the Authority or any right, liability or obligation has become the right, liability or obligation of the Authority under this section, such doubt or dispute shall be referred to the Government whose decisions thereon shall be final and binding on the Authority and the local body concerned.
1[18A. Power of Government to retransfer certain Water Supply and Sewerage Services.
—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, on a request by a resolution passed in this behalf, by the local body which has its own electricity distribution system, the Government may, if they consider it necessary so to do, by notification in the Gazette declare that the water supply and sewerage services and other items mentioned in clauses (a) and (b) of sub section (1) of section 18, which had been vested in the Authority under the said section shall, on and from the date specified in the notification, revest in and stand retransferred to such local body, subject to such terms and conditions as may be mentioned therein and thereupon the local body shall exercise all powers and perform all functions relating thereto.
• All rights, liabilities and obligations relating to the water supply and sewerage services revested under sub-section (1), including the right to recover arrears of water charges, meter hire and of any cost or fees which were due to the Authority immediately before such revesting, shall vest in and stand transferred to the local body.
• Where any doubt or dispute arises as to whether any property or asset has revested in such local body under sub section (1) or any right, liability or obligation has become the right, liability or obligation of the local body under this section, such doubt or dispute shall be referred to the Government whose decision thereon shall be final and binding on the Authority and the local body concerned.
(4) The Authority shall lend the services of such number of employees as may be necessary, to do the work in connection with the water supply or sewerage services or sewerage works revested in the local body under sub-section (1) and the salary, allowances, and contributions, if any, due to such employees shall be paid by the local body".
2[(5) The Authority shall render necessary technical services to the local bodies for planning, execution and running of water supply and sewerage schemes in the manner prescribed by Government.
(6) Every local body is free to start their own water supply and sewerage scheme either individually or as groups of local bodies and to fix their own user charges as may be prescribed.]
1. Inserted by Act 6 of 1993.
2. Inserted by Act 16 of 2000.