Himachal pradesh act 012 of 1991 : Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 1991

Section 1. Short title and commencement

1. Short title and commencement.- (1) This Act may be called the Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 1991.

(2) Section 18 of this Act shall come into force on the 1st day of April, 1991, and the remaining provisions of this Act shall come into force on Such date as the State Government may, by notification¹ in the Official Gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act.

Section 2. Amendment of section 3

2. Amendment of section 3.- In section 3 of the Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act, 1968 (19 of 1970) (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), in sub-section (1),-

(a) for clause (j), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:-

"(j) "Director" means the Director of Panchayati Raj appointed under this Act and includes any other officer specially appointed by the Government to perform the functions of the Director under this Act;"

(b) in clause (s), the sign and words", or co-opted" shall be deleted;

(c) in clause (kk), the word "and" occurring at the end shall be deleted; and

(d) in clause (ll), for the sign "." occurring at the end, the sign "" shall be substituted and thereafter, the following clauses (mm) and (nn) shall be added, namely;-

"(mm) "scheduled tribe" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (25) of article 366 of the Constitution of India; and

(nn) "Secretary" means the Secretary of a Gram Panchayats appointed under section 15 of this Act, by whatever name called."

Section 3. Amendment or section 6

3. Amendment or section 6.- In section 6 of the principal Act, in sub-section (3),-

(a) for the existing proviso, the following shall be substituted, namely:-

"Provided that for a meeting adjourned for want of quorum, at-least one-tenth of the total number of its members shall be required for holding the adjourned meeting:" and

(b) after the existing proviso so substituted, the following new proviso shall be added, namely:-

"Provided further that in case even in the adjourned meeting at least one-tenth of the total number of members are not present, the Sub-Divisional Officer shall take decision on the items of agenda in the prescribed manner and his decision shall be final."

Section 4. Amendment of section 9

4. Amendment of section 9.- In section 9 of the principal Act,-

(a) in sub-section (1), the existing second, third and fourth provisos shall be deleted and the following new provisos and Explanations shall be added, namely:-

"Provided further that twenty five per cent seats of the total number of Panches, other than Pradhan and Up-Pradhan, shall be reserved in every Gram Panchayat for members of the scheduled castes who shall be elected in the prescribed manner:

Provided further that more than one seat shall not be reserved for the members of the scheduled castes where their population is less than ten per cent of the total population in that Gram Sabha:

Provided further that in every Gram Panchayat, twenty five per cent of total number of seats of Panches, other than Pradhan and Up-Pradhan, shall be reserved for women, including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the scheduled castes, in the prescribed manner:

Provided further that in case there is,-

(a) no scheduled caste population; or

(b) no eligible person belonging to scheduled castes to be elected as a panch of the Gram Panchayat;

no seats shall be reserved for the scheduled caster:

Provided-further that in non-tribal areas where there is scheduled tribes population in a Gram Sabha, seats of, Ranches, other than Pradbah and Up-Pradhan shall be reserved for such members of the scheduled tribes within the reservation provided for the members of the scheduled castes and the determination of seats to be reserved amongst the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes shall be in proportion to their population in that Gram Sabha;

Explanation-I.-The expression "non-tribal area" for the purpose of this proviso shall mean the areas of the State of Himachal Pradesh other than the areas comprised in the Districts of Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti and the blocks of Pangi and Bharmaur of the Chamba district.

Explanation-II.-For the purpose of this sub-section, the percentage of ??? shall be calculated to the nearest multiple of one by ignoring less than one-naif and counting one-half or move as one, for determining the reservation of seats for the members of the scheduled castes and women."

(b) for sub-action (3), the following shall be substituted, namely:-

"(3) Every elected primary member of the Panchayat Samiti representing the constituency from which he has been elected shall be the associate-member of the Grain Panchayats which constitute such a constituency and such an associate-member shall not be entitled to vote at but shall have the right to speak in and otherwise take part in the proceedings of any meeting of the Groin Panchayat or its Committees."

(c) after sub-section (4), the following new sub-section (4-A) shall be inserted, namely:-

(4-A) If a person is elected to more than one seat for office he shall resign from all other seats or offices except one of his choice by writing under his hand addressed to the Deputy Commissioner, in the prescribed manner."

(d) in clause (???) of sub-section (5), the words "or had not paid the Arrears of Sabha Fund or Samiti Fund" shall the inserted after the words "Panchayat Samiti" but before the sign.

Section 5. Amendment of section 10

5. Amendment of section 10.- In section 10 of the principal Act, in the first proviso to sub-section (2), the sign and the words "but not beyond a total period-of two years" shall be deleted.

Section 6. Amendment of section 11

6. Amendment of section 11.- In section 11 of the principal Act,-

(a) after the words "shall be ejected" but before words "in such manner", the words "within one year" shall be inserted; and

(b) for the sign "." occurring at the end, the sign ":" shall be substituted and thereafter the following proviso shall be added, namely:-

"Provided that the vacancy thus occurring may not be filled up if the unexpired term less than one year."

Section 7. Amendment of section 56

7. Amendment of section 56.- In section 56 of the principal Act, for the words "may at any time" the words and signs "shall, within a period of one year from the date of supersession of the Gram Panchayat," shall be substituted.

Section 8. Amendment of section 61

8. Amendment of section 61.- In section 61 of the principal Act, in sub-sections (1) and (3), for the word "may" occurring after the word "Government", the word "shall" shall be substituted.

Section 9. Substitution of section 63

9. Substitution of section 63.- For section 63 of the principal Act, the following section shall be substituted, namely:-

"63. Constitution of Panchayat Samitis.-(1) The Panchayat Samiti shall consist of the following members:-

(a) primary members to be elected by secret ballot and by direct vote, in the manner prescribed, by the members of Gram Sabha as provided hereunder;-

(i) one member from every two contiguous Gram Sabhas, elected by their members from amongst themselves subject to minimum of ten members:

Provided that in a block in which the total number of Gram Sabhas is not divisible by two, one member shall be elected from the Gram Sabha having highest population in the block irrespective of the fact whether the Gram Sabha is contiguous with other Gram Sabha or not:

Provided further that in a block where number of Gram Sabhas is less than twenty, the number of members to be elected shall be determined on the basis of population without splitting the Gram Sabha as a unit in the prescribed manner;

(ii) seats shall be reserved for the scheduled caste and women in every block in the manner as laid down in the Schedule-IV annexed to this Act:

Provided that in non-tribal areas where there is scheduled tribe population in constituency, seals shall be reserved for such members of the scheduled tribes within the reservation provided for the members of the scheduled castes and the determination of seats to be reserved amongst the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes shall be in proportion of their population in that constituency:

Provided further that Government may rotate the seats for the scheduled castes and women in every election in the manner prescribed;

Explanation-I.-The expression "non-tribal area" for the purpose of this clause shall mean the areas of the State of Himachal Pradesh other than the areas comprised in the Districts of Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti and the Blocks of Pangi and Bharmaur of the Chamba district;

(b) Associate member (s).-Every elected member of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly representing the constituency of the which the Block as a whole or any part thereof forms part shall be associate member;

(c) ex-officio member.-The Sub-Divisional Officer having jurisdiction in the Block shall be ex-officio member:

Provided that an associate member or an ex-officio member shall not be entitled to vote at, but shall have the right to speak in and otherwise take part in the proceedings of any meeting of the Panchayat Samiti or its Committees.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the election of primary members of Panchayat Samiti and Grain Panchayat shall be held simultaneously in the prescribed manner:

Provided that if a person is elected to more than one office or scat of Panch, Pradhan and Up-Pradhan of a Gram Panchayat; and of Chairman or Vice-Chairman of a Panchayat Simiti, he shall vacate all offices or seals but one of his choice by declaring his intention in writing in his hand in the manner prescribed to the prescribed authority."

Section 10. Amendment of section 64

10. Amendment of section 64.- In section 64 of the principal Act, in clause (1) for the sign "." occurring at the end, the sign and word "or" shall be substituted and thereafter the following new sub-clause (m) shall be added, namely:-

"(m) has not paid the arrears of any tax imposed by the Gram Panchayat or the Panchayat Samiti or the arrears of Sabha Fund or Samiti Fund."

Section 11. Amendment of Section 66

11. Amendment of Section 66.- In section 66 of the principal Act,-

(a) the words "or co-opted" occurring after the word "primary" but before the word "members" shall be deleted, and for the word "co-opted" occurring after the word "a member" but before the words "to fill", the word "elected" shall be substituted.

(b) in the proviso, the words and sign "at a time, but not beyond a total period of two years" shall he deleted.

Section 12. Deletion of section 67

12. Deletion of section 67.- The existing section 67 of the principal Act along with its heading shall be deleted.

Section 13. Amendment of section 68

13. Amendment of section 68.- In lection 68 of the principal Act,-

(a) in the existing heading for the wards "Notification of election etc. And oath of allegiance", the words "Oath or affirmation of allegiance" shall be substituted;

(b) sub-section (1) shall be deleted;

(c) in sub-section (4), the words "co-option or" occurring after the word "whose" but before the words "election has been" shall be deleted; and the words "co-option as a member or for" occurring after the words "eligible for" but before the words "election as the Chairman" shall be deleted; and

(d) the existing sub-sections (2), (3) and (4) shall be re-numbered respectively as sub-sections (1), (2) and (3).

Section 14. Amendment of section 69

14. Amendment of section 69.- In section 69 of the principal Act in sub-section (1), for the word "co-opted", the word "primary" shall be substituted.

Section 15. Amendment of section 70

15. Amendment of section 70.- In section 70 of the principal Act, in sub-section (1), after the words "filled up" but before the words "in the manner", the words "within one year from the date of occurrence of a vacancy" shall be inserted.

Section 16. Amendment of section 73

16. Amendment of section 73.- In sub-section (1) of section 73 of the principal Act,-

(a) in clause (b), for the sign and word "", the sign "." shall he substituted; and

(b) clause (c) shall be deleted.

Section 17. Substitution of section 74

17. Substitution of section 74.- For section 74 of the principal Act, along with its heading, the following shall be substituted, namely:-

"74. Election of Chairman and Vive-Chairman.- (1) After the declaration of result of election of the primary members of the Panchayat Samiti in the prescribed manner, the Deputy Commissioner concerned, or any Gazetted Officer appointed by him in this behalf, shall as soon as possible but not later than one week of such declaration call under his presidentship a meeting of all the primary members for the purpose of oath or affirmation of allegiance under Section 68.

(2) Immediately after oath or affirmation of allegiance under section 68 is administered or made, the primary members of a Panchayat Samiti shall, in the prescribed manner, elect one of its members to be the Chairman and another member to be the Vice-Chairman of the Panchayat Samiti."

Section 18. Substitution of section 75

18. Substitution of section 75.- For section 75 of the principal Act, the following shall be substituted, namely:-

"75. Terms of office of Chairman and Vice-Chairman.-(1) The term of office of the Chairman and of the Vice-Chairman of a Panchayat Samiti elected in a meeting referred to in sub-section (2) of section 74 shall be five years:

Provided that if the term of the office if the primary members of a Panchayat Samiti is extended by the Government as provided in section 66, the term of the Chairman and of the Vice-Chairman may also be extended by the Government by the same period;

Provided farther that if the Government, under section 10, orders general elections to Gram Panchayats before the expiry of their prescribed term, the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman and the primary members shall also cease to hold office:

Provided further that the Chairman or the Vice-Chairman shall cease to be the Chairman or the Vice-Chairman if he ceases to be a primary member of the Panchayat Samiti, or if, by a resolution passed by a majority of the primary numbers present and voting, the Panchayat Samiti decides at a meeting convened for consideration of no confidence motion in the manner prescribed that he shall vacate office, in such a case the Panchayat Samiti shall elect a new Chairman or Vice-Chairman, as the case may be, in the same manner as prescribe under section 74, within a period of six months:

Provided further that the quorum for such a meeting shall be two-third of the total number of primary members:

Provided further that such vote of no-confidence shall not be maintainable within two years of the date of his election to such office and any subsequent vote of no-confidence shall not be maintainable within the interval of two years of the last motion of no-confidence:

Provided further that the person so elected other under this section or under section 76 or under section 77 shall hold office for the un-expired term of the person in whose place he is elected as the Chairman or the Vice-Chairman, as the case may be:

Provided further that an outgoing Chairman or Vice-Chairman shall, unless the Government otherwise directs, continue to hold office until the election of his successor is notified.

(2) An outgoing Chairman or the Vice-Chairman shall be re-eligible for election if otherwise qualified."

Section 19. Substitution of section 85

19. Substitution of section 85.- For section 85 of the principal Act along with its hending, the following shall be substituted, namely:-

"85. Disability to take part in discussion.-No Chairman, or Vice-Chairman or a member of Panchayat Samiti shall vote on, or take part in, the discussion of any question coming up for consideration at a meeting of Panchayat Samiti, if the question is one in which, apart from its general application to the public, he has any direct or indirect pecuniary interest."

Section 20. Amendment of section 186

20. Amendment of section 186.- In section 186 of the principal Act for the words "Deputy Commissioner", the words "prescribed authority" shall be substituted, and the words "and his order thereon shall be final" shall be deleted.

Section 21. Insertion of section 187-A

21. Insertion of section 187-A.- After section 137 of the principal Act, the following new section 187-A shall be inserted, namely:-

"187-A. Appeals-Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, anything aggrieved by an order made by the prescribed authority under Chapter-XIII of this Act may, within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner, appeal to such higher authority as may be prescribed, and the decision of such higher authority on such appeal shall be final and shall not be called in question in any Court."

Section 22. Addition of Schedule-IV

22. Addition of Schedule-IV.- After the existing Schedule-III appended to the principal Act, the following Schedule-IV shall be added, namely:-

"Schedule-IV

(See Section 63)

DISTRIBUTION OF SEATS OF PRIMARY MEMBERS

Note.-The term "seat(s)" denotes single-member constitunecy constituencies to be filled by primary members in a Panchayat Samiti by election and is synonymous with the term "ward(s)".