*Orissa Zilla Parishad (Amendment) Act, 1997**
| [Orissa Act No. 17 of 1997] | [21st December, 1997] |
An Act further to amend the Orissa Zilla Parishad Act, 1991.
Be it enacted by the legislature of the State of Orissa in the Forty-eighth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
* For the Bill See Orissa Gazette, Extraordinary, dated the 8th December, 1997 (No. 1511).
** [Received the assent of the Governor on the 21st December, 1997, first published in an extraordinary issue of the Orissa Gazette, dated the 22nd December, 1997]
1. Short title.- This Act may be called the Orissa Zilla Parishad (Amendment) Act, 1997.
2. Amendment of Section 1.- In the Orissa Zilla Parishad Act, 1991 (Orissa Act 17 of 1991) (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), in section 1, sub-section (5) shall be omitted.
3. Amendment of Section 2.- In section 2 of the principal Act, after clause (j), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:-
‘(j-1) "Scheduled Areas" means the Scheduled Areas as referred to in clause (1) of Article 244 of the Constitution:’.
4. Amendment of Section 3.- In section 3 of the Principal Act-
(i) in sub-section (3), clause (xii) shall be omitted: and
(ii) after sub-section (5), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:-
"(6) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act of in any other law for the time being in force, in the Scheduled Areas,-
(a) no prospecting license or mining lease for minor minerals or concession for the exploitation of minor minerals by auction shall be granted under any law on or after the commencement of the Orissa Zilla Parishad (Amendment) Act, 1997, except with the prior recommendation of the Parishad]
(b) no acquisition of land for development projects and for resettling or rehabilitating persons affected by such projects shall be made under any law without prior consultation with the Parishad; and
(c) the Parishad shall plan and manage the minor water bodies.".
5. Amendment of Section 6.- In section 6 of the principal Act,-
(a) In sub-section (3), after the proviso to clause (a), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:-
"Provided further that in the Scheduled Areas, not less than one-half of the total number of seats to be filled by such direct election shall be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes;"; and
(b) after sub-section (5), the following sub-section shall be Inserted, namely;-
"(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, the Government may nominate to a Parishad in the Scheduled Areas persons belonging to such Scheduled Tribes as have no representation in the Parishad:
Provided that such nomination shall not exceed one-tenth of the total members to be elected under clause (a) of sub-section (1).".
6. Amendment of Section 8.- In section 8 of the principal Act, in sub-section (2), the following proviso shall be added to clause (a), namely:-
"Provided that in the Scheduled Areas, offices of Presidents of all the Parishads shall be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes.".