Tamil nadu act 018 of 1958 : Tamil Nadu District Development Council Act, 1958

Section 1. Short title, extent and commencement

1. Short title, extent and commencement.- (1) This Act may be called the "¹[Tamil Nadu] District Development Councils Act, 1958."

(2) It extends to the whole of the ³[State of Tamil Nadu]."

(3) It shall come into force on such date^* as the Government may, by notification, appoint.

Section 2. Definitions

2. Definitions.- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-

(1) "district" means the revenue district referred to in sub-section (1) of section 3 or the local area constituted into a district under sub-section (2) of that section as altered by the notifications, if any, issued under sub-section (3) of the same section;

(2) "Government" means the State Government;

(3) "panchayat" and "panchayat union council" have the meanings assigned to them under the law for the time being in force relating to their constitution;

(4) a person is deemed to have his "residence" or to "reside" in any house if he sometimes uses any portion thereof as a sleeping apartment, and a person is not deemed to cease to reside in any such house merely because he is absent from it or has elsewhere another dwelling in which he resides, if he is at liberty to return to such house at any time and has not abandoned his intention of returning;

(5) "revenue district" means any local area which for the purposes of revenue administration is under the charge of a District Collector;

(6) "year" means the finanical year.

Section 3. District

3. District.- (1) ??? as otherwise provided in this section, every local area which on the date of the commencement of this Act is a revenue district shall be deemed to be a district for the purposes of this Act,

(2) The Government may, in special circumstances, by notification, declare any compact local area in a revenue district or in more than one revenue district, to be a district for the Purposes of this Act and specify the name of the district.

(3) The Government may, by notification,-

(i) exclude from any district any local area comprised therein; or

(ii) include in any district any local area contigus to it; or

(iii) cancel or modify a notification issued under sub-section (2); or

(iv) alter the name of any district

(4) Before issuing a notification under sub-section (2) or sub-section (3), the Government shall give the District Development Council or District Development Councils which will be affected by the issue of such notification a reasonable opportunity for showing cause against the proposal and consider the explanations and objections, if any, of such District Development Council or District Development Councils.

(5) Every notification issued under sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) shall contain a statement of the reasons therefor.

Section 4. Establishment of District Development Councils

4. Establishment of District Development Councils.- (1) The Government may, by notification and with effect from such date as may be specified therein, cause to be established for any district a District Development Council consisting of the following members, namely

(a) The District Collector, ex-officio;

¹(b)(i) elected Members of the House of the People and elected Members of the State Legislative Assembly, chosen to represent a constituency which consists of, or comprises, or relates to, the district or any portion thereof or who reside in the district.

(ii) elected Members of the Council of States representing the State of Tamil Nadu and elected Members of the State Legislative Council, and,

(iii) nominated Members of Parliament of this State and of the State Legislature, who have intimated their desire to serve as a Member of the District Development Council under sub-section (3);]

(c) all chairmen of panchayat union councils in the district and until a panchayat union council is constituted for any local area in the district, a person chosen in the prescribed manner by the presidents of panchavats in, that area:

Provided that no person shall be so chosen unless his name appears in the electoral roll for any of the panchayats in the area;

(d) all chairmen of municipal councils in the district;

(e) presidents of Co-operative Central Banks in the district;.

(f) such Gazetted Officers of the Government connected with planning awl execution of development schemes in the district as are nominated by the Government.

If the district comprises of parts of two or more revenue districts, the Government may, by notification, declare which officer shall be considered to be the District Collector in respect of that district for the purposes of this Act.

(2) The District Collector referred to in sub-section (1) shall be the Chairman of the District Development Council.

¹[(3)(a)(i) No elected Member of the House of the People and no elected Member of the State Legislative Assembly, shall be a member of more than one District Development Council.

(ii) An elected Member of the House of the People or an elected Member of the State Legislative Assembly chosen to represent a constituency which consists of, or comprises, or relates to, a district or any portion thereof other than a district in which he has his residence shall decided to the District Development Council in which he desires to serve as a Member and intimate his decision to the District Collector concerned in such form and within such period as may be prescribed.

(b)(i) No elected member of the council of States and no member elected to the State Legislative Council by/the members of the Legislative Assembly shall be a member of the District Development Councils in more than one district; and such elected member of the Council of States or of the State Legislative Council, as the case may be, shall decide as to the District Development Councils of any one district in which he desires to serve as a member and intimate his decision to the District Collector concerned in such form and within such period as may be prescribed.

(ii) Any member elected to the State Legislative Council by the electorates mentioned in sub-clause (a) (b) or (c) of clause (3) of Article 171 of the Constitution shall be a member of every District Development Council in the districts ??? the territorial constituency concerned.

(c) No nominated Member of Parliament of this State and no nominated Member of the State Legislature shall be a Member of the District Development Councils of more than one district; and the nominated Member of Parliament of this State or of the State Legislature shall decide as to the District Development Councils of any one district in which he desires to serve as a Member and intimate his decision to the District Collector concerned in such form and within such period as may be prescribed.]

(4) Where a person ceases to be a Member of Parament or a Member of the State Legislature or the chairman of a panchayat union Council or President of a Co-operative; Central Bank or the chairman of a municipal council in the district ¹[or Chairman of the Tamil Nadu State Bhoodan Yagna Board or the President of a Town panchayat, ??? official of any of the authorities; referred to in sub-section (4-A)] he shall cease to be a member of the ²[District Development Council or District Development Councils] from the date on which he ceases to be such member or chairman or president ³[or official].

⁴[(4-A). In addition to the members referred in sub-section (1), the Government may, by notification nominate-

(i) The Chairman of the Tamil Nadu State Bhoodan Yagna Board constituted under section 3 of the Tamil Nadu Bhoodan Yagna Act, 1958 (Tamil Nadu Act XV of 1958)

(ii) any official of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board or any other Board or Committee constituted under any law for the timing in force, as a member of one or more ??? Development Councils as may be specified in such notification.

(4-B) In addition to the members referred to in sub-sections (1) and (4-A), the Collector shall by notification nominate before the commencement of each year a President of a Town Panchayat in the district by rotation, as a member of the District Development Council and the member so nominated shall enter upon office on the commencement of the year].

Section 5. Functions of District Development Councils

5. Functions of District Development Councils.- (1) The District Development Council shall advise the Government on all matters concerning the activities of panchayats, panchayat union councils and municipal councils in the district, as well as on all matters relating to the development of the economic resources of the district a the services maintained therein for promoting the culture and welfare of the inhabitants of the district.

(2) In particular, it shall be the duty of the District Development Council to perform the following functions, namely:-

(a) Advising the Government on all matters relating to the services maintained by and all development schemes undertaken by all local authorities in the district as; well as those agencies in the district, which are under the administrative control of the Government in, the following department, namely:-

(i) Food and Agriculture,

(ii) Industries, Labour and Co-operation,

(iii) Public Works, and

(iv) Health, Education and Local Administration;

(b) watching the progress of the measures undertaken by the Government, local authorities and departmental agencies in respect of the services and development schemes aforesaid.

???

(i) classification of markets as panchayat markets and panchayat union markets and fixing rates of contribution payable by one authority to the other;

(ii) Classification of fairs and festivals as panchayat fairs, panchayat festivals and panchayat union fairs and panchayat union festivals;

(iii) classification ??? public roads (other than roads classified by the Government as National Highways, State Highways and major district roads) as panchayat union roads and village roads;

(d) advising the Government on all matters relating to development of road transport.

Section 6. Meetings of District Development Councils

¹6. Meetings of District Development Councils.- (1) The District Development Council may meet as often as may be necessary and shall, subject to the provisions of sub-sections (2) and (3), observe such rules of procedure in regard to transaction of business at its meetings, (including the quorum at meetings) as may be prescribed by the Government under this Act, provided that not more than three months shall elapse between one meeting of the District Development Council and another.

(2) The Chairman of the District Development Council or in his absence any member nominated by him in that behalf shall preside at a meeting of the District Development Council.

(3) All questions at a meeting of the District Development Council shall be decided by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting and in the case of an equality of votes, the Chairman of the District Development Council, or in his absence the person presiding, shall have a second or casting vote:

Provided that a member of the District Development Council who is an Officer of the Government shall have a right to take part in the discussions, but shall not have a right to vote at a meeting of the Council, and shall not be a member of the Council for any other purpose.

Section 7. Vacancy in District Development Council etc. not to invalidate acts or proceedings

7. Vacancy in District Development Council etc. not to invalidate acts or proceedings.- No act or proceeding of the District Development Council shall be deemed to be invalid by reason only of the existence of any vacancy in the District Development Council or any defect in the nomination of a member thereto ¹[or on the ground only that more than three months have elapsed between one meeting of the District Development Council and another].

Section 8. Appointment of Standing Committees

8. Appointment of Standing Committees.- (1)(a) For the purpose of assisting the District Development Council in exercising such of its powers, discharging such of its duties and performing such of its functions as may be specified by the Government, a District Development Council may, and if so required by the Government shall, constitute standing committees for dealing with-

(i) Food and Agriculture,

(ii) Industries and Labour,

(iii) Public Works,

(iv) Education,

(v) Health and Welfare including Prohibition.

(b) A District Development Council may constitute additional standing committees for such purposes as the District Development Council thinks fit.

(2) Each standing committee referred to in sub-section (1) shall consist of such number of Gazetted Officers of the Government as are ??? by the Government from out of the members of the District Development Council:

Provided that it shall be open to the Government to nominate the same person to more than one standing committee.

(3) The Other members of the District Development Council shall be chosen to the standing committee in such manner as may be ???:

Provided that the same person shall not be a member of more than one standing committee:

Provided further that it shall be open to a person who has been chosen as a member of one standing committee to opt to serve as a member of another standing committee in the place of a member of such committee with the consent of such other member and for such period as may be mutually agreed upon.

(4) In addition to the members nominated under sub-section (2) or chosen under sub-section (3), the Government may appoint as a member of a standing committee any person, who in their opinion possesses special knowledge and experience in matters that may come up before the District Development Council, although he is no a member of the District Development Council, or the District Development Council may invite any such person to serve as a member of a standing committee:

Provided that the number of members so appointed by the Government shall not exceed two in respect of any standing committee.

(5) The members of a standing committee who are not members of the District Development Council shall have the right to attend the meetings of the standing committee and take part in the discussions thereat but they shall not have the right to vote at such meetings.

(6) Each standing committee shall elect its own chairman from among its members who are members of the District Development Council.

(7) The members of the standing committee nominated, chosen or appointed, as the case may be, under this section shall cease to hold office at the end of each year and the members of the standing committee for the ensuing year shall be nominated, chosen or appointed, as the case may be, before the expiry of the year but shall not enter upon office until the commencement of the ensuing year.

(8) The District Development Council shall lay down by regulations the procedure for the functioning of the standing committees.

Section 9. Staff of District Development Councils

9. Staff of District Development Councils.- Subject to such control as may be prescribed, the District Collector may, for the purpose of enabling the District Development Council to efficiently perform its functions or exercise its powers under this Act, appoint such officers as he may think fit and determine their functions.

Section 10. General powers of District Development Councils

10. General powers of District Development Councils.- For the purpose of efficiently performing its functions under this Act, every District Development Council may, within the limits of its jurisdiction-

(a) undertake such measures as it deems necessary;

(b) collect such data as it deems necessary;

(c) publish statistics or other information relating to the various aspects of the regulation or development of the activities of municipal councils, panchayat union councils and panchayats in the district;

(d) require any municipal council, panchayat union council or panchayat to furnish such information as may be required by it in relation to me measure undertaken by that municipal council, panchayat union council or panchayat for the regulation or development of its activities and such other matters as may be prescribed.

Section 11. Annual report

11. Annual report.- (1) The District Development Council shall prepare in such form and at such time each year as may be prescribed, an annual report giving a true and full account of its activities during the previous year and copies thereof shall be forwarded to the Government.

(2) The Government shall lay on the table of both Houses of the Legislature all such reports together with their comments thereon.

Section 12. Returns and Reports

12. Returns and Reports.- Every District Development Council shall furnish to the Government such returns, statistics, and other information with respect to its activities as the Government may from time to time require.

Section 13. Protection of action taken in good faith

13. Protection of action taken in good faith.- No suit or other legal proceeding shall be against any member or officer of a District Development Council or of any standing committee in respect of anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act.

Section 14. Power to make rules

14. Power to make rules.- (1) The Government may, ¹[???] make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act.

(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely

(a) the allowances of members of the District Development Council;

(b) the matters in respect of which a District Development Council may require a municipal council, panchayat union council or panchayat, to furnish information

(c) the form in which, and the time within which, the annual report of the District Development Council may be prepared and forwarded to the Government;

(d) the returns and information which District Development Council may be required to furnish to the Government;

(e) the manner of recruitment of the officers of a District Development Council and the terms and conditions of service of such officers;

(f) regulating the meetings of the District Development Council and the procedure for conducting meetings thereat;

(g) regulating the manner in which and the purposes for which, standing committees may be appointed;

(h) any other matter which has to be or may be, prescribed.

¹[(3)(a) All rules made under this Act shall be published in the Fort St. George Gazette and, unless they are expressed to come into force on a particular day, shall come into force on the day on which they are so published.

(b) All notifications issued under this Act shall, unless they are expressed to come into force on particular by, come into force on the day on which they are published.

(c) Every rule made or notification issued under this Act shall, as soon as possible after it is made or issued, be placed on the table of bath Houses of the Legislature, and if, before the expiry of the session in which it is so placed or the next session, boll. Houses agree in making any modification in any such rule or notification or both Houses agree that the rule or notification should not be made or issued, the rule or notification shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be, so however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule or notification.]