ESTATE ROADS

1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Estate Roads Ordinance.

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3. On receipt of such application the Director of Works shall, by publication in two consecutive numbers of the Gazette and by such other means as he may think necessary, give notice of his intention to define the limits of the district, the estates in which will-if the proposal for the construction of such estate road under the provisions of this Ordinance be assented to by the proprietors of two-thirds of the acreage in such district-be assessed for the construction and maintenance of such road. In such notice the Director of Works shall appoint the time and place at which he will take evidence, if necessary, and receive and consider objections, and after making such inquiry as he may deem requisite, and considering any such objection, shall proceed to define the limits of such district; or if need be, shall adjourn such meeting as or at any adjourned meeting often as he considers necessary to any day or days to be fixed by him, when he shall upon such adjourned meeting define the limits of such district. And it shall be competent to the Director of Works from time to time, if occasion arise, to alter and vary such limits so as to Include such estates as may have been newly opened or may have been inadvertently or otherwise excluded, or if he considers just, to exclude any estate which may have been erroneously included :

Provided, however, that the Director of Works shall, by publication in two consecutive numbers of the Gazette and by such other means as he may think necessary, give notice of his intention to alter and vary the limits of any district, and shall in such notice appoint the time and place for hearing objections, if any, in the same manner as is herein provided for in the case of the original definition of a district; and the limits so altered shall thereupon be the limits of such district as if they had been originally defined, and the estates included within such limits, altered as aforesaid, shall become bound and be liable to be assessed for the upkeep and repair of such estate roads as if they had been orginally included within such district.

4. It shall be competent to the Director of Works to call upon the proprietor or resident manager of any estate included within such limits so altered as aforesaid to pay the sum which he would have been liable to pay had such estate been originally assessed for construction of such road as well as such sums as may be assessed for the repair and upkeep of such road from such time as such estate began to use such road, and in default of payment of any such sum the same shall be recovered in manner hereinafter provided for the recovery of sums assessed :

Provided that the proprietor of any estate or part of an estate formed out of land purchased from the State after such estate road shall have been constructed shall be liable to pay only such sum as may be assessed for the repair and upkeep of such road.

5. Upon the limits of the district being defined as aforesaid, the Director of Works shall transmit to the proprietor (or, in case of his absence from Sri Lanka, to the resident manager or superintendent, or if there be no resident manager or superintendent, to the agent, if any, in Sri Lanka, of the proprietor) of every estate within the limits of such district, so defined as aforesaid, a requisition calling upon him to declare in writing within such time as shall be therein specified, whether he desires that the provisions of this Ordinance should be extended to such district for the purpose of the construction therein of an estate road. Such requisition shall be in the form A in the Schedule or as near thereto as may be. If there be no known agent, the Director of Works shall cause such requisition to be affixed to some conspicuous part of the estate, and published in two consecutive numbers of the Gazette. If no answer be received at the office of the Director of Works within the time limited by such requisition, the person to whom the same was forwarded shall be deemed to have assented to the proposal referred to therein.

6. If it shall appear to the Director of Works from the replies to such requisition or otherwise, that the proprietors of at least two-thirds of the acreage in any such district are desirous that the provisions of this Ordinance should extend and be applied to the said district for the purpose of constructing therein an estate road, he shall forthwith forward the application to the Minister, together with his report as to the necessity for the said road and as to the direction and terminus which he recommends as best adapted for the general convenience of the district, and thereupon it shall be lawful for the Minister to approve of the construction of such road.

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8. As soon as the amounts to be paid as compensation to the several proprietors of the lands taken over for the construction of the proposed road have been finally determined as prescribed in section 7, the Director of Works shall forward to the Minister a report setting out the total net amount to be paid for compensation, together with the estimated cost of the construction of such road. And upon receipt thereof it shall be lawful for the Minister, if to him it shall appear expedient, to sanction the construction of such road : and upon the publication of such sanction in the /. the proprietors of all the estates within the limits of such district, so defined as aforesaid, shall become and be severally bound and liable for their contribution in accordance with the rates to be determined by an assessment as hereinafter provided.

9. Upon the publication of the Minister’s sanction, and notice thereof being, communicated to him, the Director of Works shall, by notice in two consecutive numbers of the Gazette and such other means of publication as he may think necessary, convene at some suitable place a general meeting of the proprietors or resident managers of the estates therein to elect a local committee, which shall consist of not less than two nor more than five members, to perform the duties imposed upon such committee by this Ordinance. The general meeting so convened for the election of such committee shall consist of such number of proprietors or resident managers within the district as shall represent not less than one-third of the acreage.

10. At such general meeting it shall be lawful for the proprietors, or their representatives present thereat, to elect the persons who are to act as members of the local committee. The Director of Works, if present, or. if he be absent, such proprietor or resident manager as the meeting shall elect, shall act as chairman at such meeting, and it shall be lawful for the meeting, if need be, to adjourn such meeting to any other time or place. All questions and resolutions shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the proprietors or their representatives as aforesaid. In case of equality of votes the chairman shall have a casting vote in addition to his own vote. And if any question shall arise at such meeting as to the right of any person to vote thereat, or the mode of proceeding for the election of persons to serve as members of the local committee, the chairman shall determine the same, and his decision shall be final and conclusive. The minutes of such meeting shall be transmitted by the chairman to the Director of Works, with the names of the persons elected as members of the local committee, and the Director of Works shall cause such names to be published in the Gazette.

11. The persons elected to act as members of the local committee shall hold office for two years, and shall be eligible for re-election at the end of that term. In case of any member resigning, dying, or leaving Sri Lanka, or becoming incapable to act, the other members for the time being, or in the event of the committee consisting of only two members, the remaining member, may elect another proprietor or resident manager to serve for the remainder of the term for which the member so resigning, dying, or leaving Sri Lanka, or becoming incapable to act, was elected.

12. At the expiration of every two years from the appointment of the first local committee the Director of Works shall convene, in manner provided in section 9, a meeting of proprietors or resident managers for the election of a new local committee. At such meeting the Director of Works, if present, or, if he be absent, such proprietor or resident manager as the meeting shall elect, shall act as chairman, and in all other respects the proceedings at such meeting shall be governed by the provisions of section 10.

13. The local committee so elected, or in the event of such committee consisting of only two members, the Director of Works, shall appoint one of the members as chairman, who shall hold office during the said term of two years; and in case of any vacancy the local committee shall elect, or in the event of such committee consisting of only two members, the Director of Works shall appoint, another member to act as chairman. And it shall be the duty of the chairman so appointed to convene, by notice in two consecutive numbers of the Gazette and by such other means as he may deem necessary, a meeting of the members whenever required by the Government or by the Director of Works appointing the time and place for such meeting; the chairman, or, if he be absent, such other member of the local committee as the meeting shall elect, shall preside at every such meeting, and shall duly record the proceedings of such meeting and forward the same to the Director of Works.

14. All acts whatsoever authorized or required to be done by any local committee may and shall be done by the majority of. members of such committee present at any meeting convened as aforesaid or at any adjournment of such meeting, two of them to form a quorum:

Provided that when the votes of the members present shall be equally divided, the chairman shall, beside his vote as a member, have a casting vote.

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16. The local committee shall, so soon thereafter as it may be required so to do by the Director of Works, convene, by notice in two consecutive numbers of the Gazette and by such other means as they may deem necessary, a meeting of the proprietors or resident managers of the estates within the district at some specified time and place within such district, and the local committee shall thereat or at any adjourned meeting, after hearing objections, if any, and taking evidence, if necessary, determine, and make report to the Director of Works, on-

Provided, however, that the sections into which the road is divided for construction assessment shall in no case exceed half a mile in length, that the sections into which the road is divided for upkeep assessment shall in no case exceed one mile in length, and that an estate using any portion of a section shall be assessed for the whole of such section.

17. On receipt of such report the Director of Works shall cause a notice to be published in two consecutive numbers of the Gazette and made public by such other means as he may think necessary, appointing time and place for hearing objections, and after hearing such objections, if any, the Director of Works shall adopt, alter, modify, or confirm such report, and shall proceed to assess the proportion due by each estate by dividing by the total number of acres of the estates which, in his opinion, are interested in and will use each section (subject to the exception in section 18 specified) the sum of money equal to the total estimated cost of the construction of such sections of the proposed estate road, less any sum that may be voted by Parliament to be paid out of the Consolidated Fund in respect of such proposed road, and thus apportioning the amount due upon and for each acre, and the rate so assessed by the Director of Works shall (subject to the appeal hereinafter provided) be binding and conclusive on all proprietors of estates in such district. And the Director of Works shall thereupon transmit to the proprietor of each estate (or, in case of his absence from Sri Lanka, to the resident manager or superintendent, or, if there be no resident manager or superintendent, to the agent, if any, in Sri Lanka, of the proprietor) a requisition calling upon him to pay to the chairman of the local committee, within such time as shall be therein specified, the amount of the contribution due by him. The requisition under this section shall be in the form B in the Schedule or as near thereto as may be. If there be no known agent, the Director of Works shall cause the requisition to be affixed in some conspicuous part of the estate. The Director of Works shall also cause a notice to be published in two consecutive numbers of the Gazette and made public by such other means as he may think necessary, specifying the estates which will have to contribute towards the construction of the proposed road, the sum at which each estate is assessed, and the time within which, the instalments by which, and the dates upon which, the several contributions are to be paid to the chairman of the local committee.

18. If by reason of any estate, or any portion not less than half of the entire extent thereof, being obviously unfit for cultivation, or having been cultivated and abandoned, or from any other cause, it shall seem to the Director of Works right to exempt such estate or portion thereof from the assessment, it shall be lawful for the Director of Works to do so, and to proceed in his assessment as if there was no such land in the district:

Provided that to entitle a proprietor to such exemption he or some person representing him shall claim the same at the time and place appointed by the Director of Works for hearing objections of proprietors or of agents to estates included within the limits of the district, as provided by section 17, and shall at his own cost and expense satisfy the Director of Works, by such proof as he shall call for, that he is entitled to such exemption;

Provided further that should the proprietor of any such estate or portion thereof, or any person claiming under him, bring such estate or portion thereof into cultivation afterwards, and use the road for the purposes of, or with a view to, such cultivation, it shall be competent for the Director of Works to call upon such proprietor or person to pay the sum which he would have been liable to pay had such estate or portion thereof not been exempted from the original assessment, together with any sums which shall have become due for upkeep and repair since such estate began to use such road, and in default of his paying the same to proceed to recover such sum in the manner herein provided for the recovery of sums assessed;

Provided further that should the proprietor of any estate who had claimed and obtained exemption upon the ground of such road not being the proper outlet or other cause, or any person on his behalf, use such road, it shall be competent for the Director of Works to include such estate within the limits of the district from which it had been excluded by reason of such claim, and to call upon such proprietor, or any person claiming on his behalf, to pay any amount not exceeding double the sum which he would have been liable to pay had such estate not been exempted from the original assessment, and also any sum not exceeding double the amount of all rates and assessments for the upkeep and repair of such road subsequent to the time when such estate began to use such road, and in default of his paying the same to proceed to recover such sum in the manner herein provided for the recovery of sums assessed.

19. Moneys recovered under section 18, and moneys recovered from estates added to a district as altered under the provisions of section 4, shall-

20. All moneys paid to the chairman 01 the local committee shall be vested in and applied by the local committee for the purposes for which the same were requisitioned, and all contracts and agreements relating to the construction, upkeep, or repair of roads shall be signed by the chairman and one other member of the local committee.

21. If, after any road shall have been commenced under the provisions of this Ordinance, the estimate originally made shall prove insufficient for properly constructing and surfacing the same, the estates in the district (including any which may have been opened since the original assessment) shall become and be held liable for the further sum or sums required to complete the road. And the Director of Works shall proceed, once or oftener, if necessary, to assess the proportion due by the estates in each section of the road, to make up such further cost, and to take the further proceedings prescribed for the original assessment of the proportion due by each estate under section 17. And the rate or rates assessed by the Director of Works shall, subject to the appeal hereinafter provided, be binding and conclusive on all proprietors of estates in the districts, and shall be recovered as prescribed herein, and applied to the completion of the said road.

22. Whenever it shall be found necessary at any time to repair or improve any road constructed under the provisions of this Ordinance, the estates in the district (including any which may have been opened since the original assessment) shall become and be held liable for the sum or sums required for making the necessary repairs and improvements, less such sum or sums as may be voted by Parliament towards the cost of the repair and improvement of such road. And the Director of Works shall proceed to assess the proportion due by the estates in each section of the road, and shall take the further proceedings prescribed for the original assessment of the proportion due by each estate under section 17. And the rate or rates so assessed by the Director of Works shall, subject to the appeal hereinafter provided, be binding and conclusive on all proprietors of estates in the district, and shall be recovered as prescribed herein, and applied for the purpose of repairing the said road :

Provided also that the cost of erecting labourers’ lines sanctioned by the local committee and necessary for the labourers engaged in repairing or improving any road as aforesaid shall be borne by the estates in the district (including any which may have been opened since the original assessment), and the proportion due by such estates for the cost thereof shall be assessed by the Director of Works as aforesaid ;

Provided further, that when the Director of Works is satisfied that a portion of any estate not being less than one-quarter of its total area is unfit for cultivation, such portion shall not be taken into account in assessing the contribution towards the cost of repairs and improvements to which such estate is liable under this section,

23. If any proprietor or resident manager shall be in default in the payment of any money payable by him under this Ordinance, it shall be lawful for the Director of Works to order proceedings to be taken for the recovery of the same. When the Director of Works shall order proceedings for the recovery of the sum for which any estate shall have been assessed, or any instalment thereof, it shall be lawful for the Director of Works, or any person authorized by writing under his hand, to seize and to sell at his discretion, once or oftener, all the crops, livestock, and implements found on such estate, or any other movable property whatsoever belonging to the proprietor, until the full amount due by such estate (including all interest, costs, and charges payable under sections 25, 26 and 27) shall be recovered. If there be no crop, livestock, and implements on such estate, or other movable property belonging to the proprietor of the estate in default as aforesaid, or if there shall not be sufficient to realize the sum due by such estate, it shall be lawful for the Director of Works, or other person as aforesaid, to cause the timber on the said estate to be cut, or the materials of the buildings erected thereon to be removed, and unless the sum due shall be sooner paid, with the interest, costs, and charges as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the Director of Works or any person as aforesaid to sell the property so seized by public auction at any time after thirty days from the date of seizure.

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25. If any proprietor shall neglect or refuse to pay, when the same shall become due, his proportion of the money due by proprietors for the construction, completion, or repair of roads under this Ordinance, he shall be liable to pay interest at the rate of nine per centum per annum from the time fixed for such payment, and such interest shall, with the principal and other costs and charges due, be recovered from him in manner prescribed for the recovery of sums assessed.

26. It shall be lawful for the person making the seizure to place and keep a person in possession of the property so seized as aforesaid pending such sale. Any movable property so seized as aforesaid may be removed for safe custody, pending the sale thereof, to such place as the person directing the seizure may think fit.

27. It shall be lawful for the Director of Works, or any person authorized by him as aforesaid, to demand, take, and receive from the person by whom money may be due as assessment, or from the owner or any joint owner of any property which may be lawfully seized for such non-payment as aforesaid, the cost of seizure, removal, custody, and sale of any property sold under sections 23 and 24.

28. In the event of a sale of property seized the Director of Works at whose instance such seizure was made shall, after deducting the amount due by the defaulter, and also all costs and charges due (which said costs and charges the Director of Works is hereby authorized to retain), restore the overplays arising from such sale, if any there be, to the owner or joint owner of the property sold.

29. If property be sold for non-payment as aforesaid, a transfer in form C in the Schedule, or as near thereto as may be, signed by the Director of Works, shall be sufficient to vest the right, title, and interest of the defaulting proprietor in the purchaser, any law or custom to the contrary notwithstanding. Such transfer shall be liable to stamp duty as a conveyance, and to any registration or other charges authorized by law, such duty and charges being payable by the purchaser.

30. Any Director of Works who shall cause property to be seized and sold as aforesaid shall, in the execution of the authority entrusted to him by this Ordinance, be civilly responsible in damages to any person who shall be aggrieved by reason of any irregularity of proceeding or abuse of authority on the part of the Director of Works as aforesaid, or on the part of any person specially authorized by him as aforesaid ;

Provided, however, that no action for such damages shall be brought against the Director of Works or any of his officers after the expiration of three months from the time when the cause of action shall have arisen.

31. The Director of Works shall keep a register of the names of the proprietors and agents (if any) for the time being of all estates in districts defined under this Ordinance, and upon any estate being transferred to a new proprietor or upon the agents of the estate being changed, it shall be the duty of the Director of Works to record such transfer or change in the said register:

Provided always that the duty of notifying every such transfer or change shall lie on the transferee and the agents of the estate, and until such transfer or change, as the case may be, shall have been notified to the Director of Works by the proprietor or agents of the estate, all notices to be sent under this Ordinance by the Director of Works to the proprietor or agents of the estate shall be deemed duly sent if sent to the late proprietor or agents, as the case may be.

32. Any person aggrieved by any decision or order of the Director or Works in respect of the definition of districts under section 3, or the assessment of estates under sections 17, 21, or 22, or any decision or order made under sections 18 or 33, may apply to the Minister for relief at any time within twenty-one days after such decision or order shall have been notified to him. It shall be lawful for the Minister, upon such application, to make or direct further inquiry, and to confirm the decision or order of the Director of Works, or to alter or modify the same ;

Provided always that no such appeal as aforesaid shall lie until the person aggrieved as aforesaid shall have paid (subject to the decision of the appeal) any moneys which he may have been required to pay by the decision or order in question.

33. If costs shall be incurred in any suit, other than that provided by section 30, brought by or against the Director of Works for anything done under the provisions of this Ordinance, or if a survey be indispensable to enable the Director of Works to act, the Director of Works shall order one to be made, and such costs and the expenses of such survey shall be payable by the proprietors of the estates in the district in proportion to the acreage of such estates. And if any proprietor refuse or neglect to pay his proportion when required to do so, the Director of Works shall recover the same in the manner and subject to the provisions herein prescribed under Chapter V relating to ” Recovery of Sums Assessed “.

34. It shall be lawful for the Minister to make the grant of any sums voted by Parliament not exceeding the moiety of the estimated cost of construction, maintenance, or repair of any road constructed under the provisions of this Ordinance subject to such regulations for ensuring the due outlay and appropriation of the contribution, as well from the public funds as by the proprietors, as the Minister shall think fit from time to time to establish, either specially in each case or generally applicable to all cases:

Provided that no warrant shall be issued by the Minister in charge of the subject of Finance for the payment of any such sum of money, or of any part thereof, from the Treasury, nor shall any sum be issued from the Treasury until the amount payable by the proprietors of the estimated cost of constructing or repairing such road, or so much thereof as the Minister may think necessary, shall have been deposited with the chairman of the local committee by or on behalf of the proprietors of such estates as aforesaid.

35. In case of the absence from Sri Lanka of the proprietor of any estate, the resident manager-or, if there be no resident manager or superintendent, the agent, if any, in Sri Lanka of the proprietor-shall and may represent such proprietor and act for him in all matters and things which it may be lawful or necessary for such proprietor to do under any of the provisions of this Ordinance. If there be no known agent, notice affixed on the land and published in the Gazette shall be deemed notice to the proprietor.

36. In any case in which a road or portion of a road has been constructed, or partially constructed, or shall hereafter be constructed, by the proprietors of any estates, it shall be lawful for the proprietors for the time being of such estates to apply to the Minister that such road may be treated as a road constructed under this Ordinance, and on receipt of such application the Minister may, if he thinks fit, issue a Notification declaring that such road shall be treated as a road made under this Ordinance, and on the publication of such Notification in the Gazette the provisions of this Ordinance relating to improvement, upkeep, and repair of roads shall apply to such road as if it had been originally constructed under the provisions of this Ordinance.

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38. It shall be lawful for the Director of Works for sufficient reasons to him appearing, from time to time to amalgamate and combine any two or more districts defined under this Ordinance into one district:

Provided, however, that the Director of Works shall, by publication in two consecutive numbers of the Gazette, and by such other means as he may think necessary, give notice of his intention to amalgamate and combine such districts, and shall in such notice appoint the time and place for hearing objections, if any, in the same manner as is herein provided for in the case of the original definition of a district, and the districts so amalgamated and combined shall thereupon become one district for the purposes of this Ordinance.

39. If any question arises as to what constitutes the use of a road under this Ordinance, the decision of the Director of Works on such question shall be final.

40. Nothing contained in this Ordinance shall in any way limit the right of any person to apply for a grant to be voted by Parliament in respect of any estate road which shall hereafter be constructed by the proprietors of any estates.

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42. In the construction and for the purposes of this Ordinance- ” cost of constructing ” includes the cost of acquiring the land as well as the cost of making the road; ” estate ” means a tract of land exceeding twenty acres, cultivated or uncultivated, belonging to or held by one person or several persons and forming a separate or distinct property; estate road” includes any road not being a thoroughfare under the Thoroughfares Ordinance, or a branch road under the Branch Roads Ordinance, 1896, or a gansabhawa road; proprietor ” means the sole or any joint owner or lessee of an estate.

43. Nothing in this Ordinance contained shall be held to apply to proprietors of paddy lands or land cultivated with paddy or other grain.