Amendment status not verified — confirm the current text below against the official source.
(1) The Authority may, on being satisfied that a user or a licensee has failed to comply with any of the conditions of authorisation, permit or license or such user or licensee has failed to comply with any of the provisions of the Act or the rules or regulation made thereunder, at any time, by order in writing, direct any person or agency (hereafter in this section referred to as ‘investigating authority’) specified in the order to investigate the affairs of any user or licensee and to report to the Authority on any investigation made by such investigating authority : Provided that the investigating authority may, wherever necessary, employ any auditor or any other person for the purpose of assisting him in any investigation under this section. (2) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in section 235 of the Companies Act, 1958, the investigating authority may, at anytime, and shall, on being directed so to do by the Authority, cause an inspection to be made, by one or more of its officers, of any user or licensee and his books of account and the investigating authority shall supply to the user or licensee, as the case may be, a copy of his report on such inspection. (3) It shall be the duty of every manager, managing director or other officers of the user or licensee, as the case may be, to produce before the investigating authority directed to make the investigation under sub-section (1) or inspection under sub-section (2), all such books of account, registers and other documents in his custody or power and to furnish him with any statement and information relating to the affairs of the user or licensee as the said investigating authority may require of him within such time as it may specify. (4) Any investigating authority, directed to make an investigation under sub-section (1), or inspection under sub-section (2), may examine on oath any manager, managing director or other officer of the user or licensee, as the case may be, in relation to his business and may administer oath accordingly. (5) The investigating authority shall, if it has been directed by the Authority to cause an inspection to be made, and may, in any other case, report to the Authority on any inspection made under this section. (6) On receipt of any report under sub-section (1), or sub-section (5), the Authority may, after giving such opportunity to the user or licensee, as the case may be, to make a representation in connection with the report as in the opinion of the Authority seems reasonable, by order in writing–– (a) require the user or the licensee to take such action in respect of any matter arising out of the report as the Authority may think fit ; or (b) cancel the authorisation, permit or license for use of water ; or (c) direct the user or licensee to stop use the water. (7) The Authority may, after giving reasonable notice to the user or licensee, publish the report submitted by the investigating authority under subsection (5) or such portion thereof as may appear to it to be necessary. (8) The Authority may specify the minimum information to be maintained by the user or the licensee in their books, the manner in which such information shall be maintained, the checks and other verifications to be adopted by user or licensee in that connection and all other matters incidental thereto as are, in its opinion, necessary to enable the investigating authority to discharge satisfactorily its functions under this section. Explanation:––For purposes of this section, the expression ‘user’ and the expression ‘licensee’ shall include all its subsidiaries formed for the purpose of carrying on the business requiring usage of water or the distribution, or trading, of water. (9) All expenses of, and incidental to, any investigation made under this section shall be defrayed by the user or the licensee, as the case may be, and shall have priority over the debts due from the user or the licensee and shall be recoverable as an arrear of land revenue.