TAMIL NADU LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY TRAVELLING ALLOWANCE RULES, 1955 ²

TAMIL NADU LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY TRAVELLING ALLOWANCE RULES, 1955 ²

PREAMBLE

In exercise of the powers conferred by Sections 9, 12 and 14 of the Tamil Nadu Payment of Salaries Act, 1951 (Tamil Nadu Act XX of 1951), and in supersession of the ²Tamil Nadu Legislature Travelling Allowance Rules, 1955 the Governor of Tamil Nadu hereby makes the following rules:-

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1. (a) These rules may be called the Tamil Nadu ²Legislative Assembly Travelling Allowance Rules, 1955.

(b) These rules shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1st April 1955.

(c) In these rules unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context-

(i) 'Act' means the Tamil Nadu Payment of Salaries Act, 1951 (Tamil Nadu Act XX of 1951);

(ii) 'Assembly' means the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly;

¹(ii-A) 'Authorised Officer' means the officer countersigning the travelling Allowance bills of Members, authorised by the Secretary;

²(iii) Omitted.

²(iv) 'Committee' means a Committee appointed or elected by the Assembly or nominated by the Speaker under the rules of the Assembly and includes a Select Committee, but does not include any Committee appointed by the State Government;

(v) 'Constitution' means the Constitution of India;

²(vi) Omitted.

²(vii) 'Meeting' means a meeting of the Assembly or of the Governor's address or a meeting of a Committee or two or more of the Committees combined but does not include 'tour' as defined in clause (xi) of sub-rule (c) of rule 1;

²(viii) 'Member' means the Member of the Assembly;

(ix) 'Secretary' means the Secretary to the Assembly;

³(x) 'Speaker' means the Speaker of the Assembly chosen as such under Articles 178 of the Constitution; and

⁴(xi) 'Tour' means-

(a) a tour undertaken by a Committee in connection with its functions within the State; and

(b) a tour arranged by the State Government for groups of Members to various places within the State to study the developmental activities.

⁵(xii) 'Session' means the period of time between the first meeting of the Assembly upon the summons of the Governor under clause (1) of Article 174 of the Constitution of India and its prorogation or dissolution under clause (2) of the said Article.

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2. ²(a) The Speaker shall be eligible for travelling allowance for one journey from his usual place of residence to Chennai or to any other place fixed under Article 174 of the Constitution for a meeting of the Assembly and for one journey back there from to his usual place of residence in respect of each session of the Assembly.

²(b) The Speaker shall be eligible for Travelling Allowance-

(i) for journey ²performed for attending Conferences or Committees of Presiding Officers of Legislatures whether held inside or outside India.

(ii) for journeys in connection with visiting other Legislatures either inside or outside India; and

³(iii) for journeys performed anywhere in India for participating in any public function or official function or for receiving civic address.

(c) The Headquarters of the Speaker shall during a session, be deemed to be at the place fixed for a meeting of the Assembly under Article 174 of the Constitution and at all other times deemed to be at his usual place of residence.

(d) The Speaker shall not be eligible for daily allowance for the days of the meeting of the Assembly.

(e) The Speaker shall be entitled to take with him during his journeys under this rule, his Personal Assistant and one ²Office Assistant and they shall be entitled to travelling allowance for such journeys in accordance with the Travelling Allowance Rules applicable to Government servants drawing similar pay.

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3. For journeys of the nature described in rule 2, performed by the Speaker, travelling and daily allowances shall be admissible at the rates upon the conditions applicable to Ministers and specified in the Tamil Nadu Ministers Travelling Allowance Rules, 1951 issued with G.O.Ms. No. 42, Finance, dated 23rd January 1952, as amended from time to time, and all references in those rules to a Minister shall for purposes of this rule, be construed as references to the Speaker.

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4. ⁶The Speaker may present bills for travelling allowance without the counter-signature of a controlling officer. The Speaker shall furnish a certificate to the effect that the journey was for a public or official function as the case may be, but need not specify in the travelling allowance bill, the nature of details of the function in connection with which the journey was performed.

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5. The Speaker may once in respect of each Session of the Assembly, draw the actual cost of transporting, at owner's risk, a motor car from his usual place of residence to Chennai or other place of meeting fixed under Article 174 of the Constitution and back.

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6. ⁷(a) The Deputy Speaker shall be eligible for travelling allowance-

(i) for one journey from his usual place of residence to Chennai or to any other place fixed under Article 174 of the Constitution for a meeting of the Assembly, and for one journey back therefrom to his usual place of residence in respect of each continuous meeting of the ²Assembly.

(ii) for journeys for attending conferences or committees of Presiding Officers of Legislatures whether held inside or outside India;

(iii) for one journey from his usual place of residence to the place of meeting of a Committee of which he is a member and back there from; and

⁹(iv) for journeys performed anywhere within the State of Tamil Nadu for participating in any public or official function arranged by the State Government or by any Local Authority⁷.

⁸(b) for journeys of the nature described in clauses (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) of sub-rule (a) performed by the Deputy Speaker, travelling and daily allowances shall be admissible at the rates and upon conditions applicable to Ministers and specified in the Tamil Nadu Ministers Travelling Allowance Rules, 1951 issued with G.O.Ms. No. 42, Finance, dated 23rd January 1952, as amended from time to time and all references in those rules to a Minister shall for purpose of this rule be construed as references to the Deputy Speaker.

(c) The Headquarters of the Deputy Speaker shall, during a session be deemed to be at the place fixed for meeting of the Assembly under Article 174 of the Constitution and at all other times be deemed to be at his usual place of residence.

(d) The Deputy Speaker shall not be eligible for daily allowance for the days of the meeting of the Assembly.

(e) The Deputy Speaker may present bills for travelling allowance without the counter-signature of a controlling officer. The Deputy Speaker shall specify in the travelling allowance bill the nature of the business in connection with which the journey was performed.

¹⁰Explanation.-For the purpose of this rule, a meeting shall be deemed to be continuous, if the number of days of adjournment between the last days of a meeting and the first day of another meeting does not exceed ten.

¹¹(f) The Deputy Speaker shall be entitled to take with him during his journey under this rule, his Personal Assistant and one ¹⁵Office Assistant and they shall be entitled to travelling allowance for such journeys in accordance with the Travelling Allowance Rules applicable to Government servants drawing similar pay.

¹²The sub-rule (f) shall be deemed to have come into force on 17th day of January 1970.

¹³(g) Omitted.

6A

6A. ¹⁴The Parliamentary Secretary to the Chief Minister shall be eligible for travelling allowance and daily allowance at the rates applicable to the Deputy Speaker in Rule 6.

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7. Rules 8 to 19 shall apply to all members except the Ministers, the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker and Parliamentary Secretaries.

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8. (a) A member who attends a meeting ²⁰or goes over to Chennai for the purpose of making or subscribing an oath or affirmation under Article 188 of the Constitution of India, when the Assembly is not in session, as the case may be, may draw-

(i) for one journey from his usual place of residence to the place of meeting and one journey back there from to his usual place of residence-

(1) for the portion of each journey performed by railway, one single railway fare of the highest class of accommodation available in the train other than air-conditioned I class accommodation, plus fractional fare at ¹⁵10 P. per kilometre;

¹⁶proviso - ¹⁷Omitted.

(2) mileage at 1'25P' per kilometer for the portion performed by road if the places are connected by any public transport; or mileage at 1'50P' per kilometer for the portion performed by road, if the places are not connected by any public conveyance; and

(ii) daily allowance at ¹⁸Rs. 400/- per day.

¹⁹(b) Deleted.

(c) A member, who attends a meeting may draw daily allowance admissible to him under clause (ii) of sub-rule (a)-

(i) for each day of attendance at the meeting;

²¹(ii) for two days before and the day after a continuous meeting of the Assembly and for one day before ²²and one day after the meeting of any committee, as the case may be provided that the member is present at the place of meeting on those days; and

(iii) for days of adjournment in the course of a continuous meeting, provided that the member is present at the place of the meeting on those days and provided further that the member attends the sitting on the day before adjournment as well as on the day of the re-assembly.

Explanation.-A meeting shall be deemed to be continuous, if the number of days between the last day of a meeting and the first day of another meeting whether held in the same place or not is not more than ²³four.

(d)     (i) During an adjournment in the course of a continuous meeting, if a member leaves the place of meeting, he may draw either the daily allowance admissible to him under clause (ii) of sub-rule (a) for a period of adjournment or a single railway fare of the highest class of accommodation available in the train, other than air-conditioned ²⁴I class accommodation ²⁴or the portion performed by railway of the journey to and from his usual place of residence, whichever is less provided he attends the sitting on the day before the adjournment as well as on the day of the re-assembly.

(ii) During the adjournment of a meeting for a period exceeding five days if a member does not return to his usual place of residence and attends the sitting on the date on which it re-assembles after the adjournment, he may draw either the daily allowance admissible to him under clause (ii) of sub-rule (a) for the period of adjournment or the Travelling Allowance which would have been admissible to him if he had returned to his usual place of residence under clause (i) of sub-rule (a) whichever is less.

(iii) If during an adjournment, a member proceeds from one place of meeting to another place of meeting he may draw travelling allowance for the journey between the two places and daily allowance for the days of halt during the period of adjournment at either or both the places of meeting at the rates admissible to him under the rules, provided he attends the meeting on the day before adjournment as well as on the day of the reassembly.

Explanation.-(1) The expression 'adjournment' means interval between one meeting and another and may consist of holidays or non-holidays or of both.

(2) Daily allowance is admissible for the day of arrival in Chennai, if a member arrives in the forenoon and for the day of departure from Chennai, if a member departs in the afternoon.

²⁰(e) Deleted.

²⁵(f) Where a member during a continuous sitting has attended the meeting for not less than seven days and returns to his usual place of residence, he may draw a single railway fare of the highest class of accommodation available in the train other than air-conditioned ²⁶I Class accommodation plus fractional fare and mileage to and fro as provided in the rules.

¹⁵(ff) Every member, who travels with his/her spouse shall once during every session of the Assembly be entitled to one²⁶ railway fare of the highest class of accommodation available in the train other than air-conditioned I class railway fare for his/her spouse from the usual place of residence to the place where the session of the Legislative Assembly is held and for the return journey from such place.

(g) A Member who participates in a tour may draw-(i) for one journey from his usual place of residence to the place where the tour commences and from there to the places visited by the committee and for one journey back there from to his usual place of residence travelling allowance at the rates admissible to him under clause (i) of sub-rule (a); and

(ii) daily allowance for the period of the tour at the rates admissible to him under clause (ii) of sub-rule (a) inclusive of the day on which the tour commences or ends.

Explanation.-The dates of commencement and conclusion of a tour shall be determined by the Chairman of the Committee.

(h) If free transport is provided for a member of Committee for any portion of the tour, no allowances other than daily allowance shall be admissible to him for that portion of the tour. But, if a member of a committee does not avail himself of the free transport for any portion of the tour, he may draw travelling allowance for that portion of the journey at the rates admissible to him under these rules.

²⁷(i) If free boarding and lodging are provided for a member of a committee on tour, he shall draw only one-fourth of the daily allowance admissible to him under these rules. If only boarding or lodging is allowed free to a member, he shall draw daily allowance at one-half of the rates admissible to him under these rules.

(j) Whenever the member attend meetings at Ootacamund or Kodaikanal or whenever tours are undertaken by committees to such places the rates of daily allowance and mileage shall be increased by 50 per cent.

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9. (a) A member's "usual place of residence" shall be such place as may be specified and certified by him and registered in the office of the Assembly as such.

(b) If such place is within the State, travelling allowance may be drawn from and to that place.

(c) If such place is outside the State, travelling allowance admissible to a member shall be limited to the amount that may be drawn for a journey from and to-

(i) If he is an elected member, any one of the district heads-quarters of the constituency which he represents; or

(ii) If he is a member nominated to the Assembly the district headquarters within the State which is nearest to his usual place of residence.

(d) No change of the usual place of residence will be recognised unless and until the member reports the change and certifies that such change has lasted for a continuous period of three months.

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10. (a) Mileage allowance for a journey between two stations shall be calculated with reference to the shortest ordinary route or to the route which is declared by the State Government to be the shortest route for the purpose of the travelling allowance rules. When two or more routes are equally short, the allowance shall be calculated by the cheapest.

(b) If a member travels by a route which is not the shortest but is cheapest than the shortest his mileage allowance shall be calculated by the route actually used.

²⁸(c) The members who are entitled, to travel by the highest class of accommodation available in the train, other than air-conditioned ²⁶I class accommodation, travelling from stations beyond Tiruchirappalli in the Tiruchirappalli-Danushkodi Section to Chennai and back, may claim the actual fare paid by them and the incidental expenses calculated on the main line route.

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11. The military route book shall be taken as the authority for distances in the case of all journeys, and the central points used in the military route book shall be taken as the fixed points at which journeys commence or end. When no such central point is given the distance shall be calculated with reference to the principal post office.

Explanation.-When a journey by road is combined with a journey by rail or steamer, unless such journey by road be a journey to or from the member's usual place of residence, mileage allowance shall be calculated on the distance actually travelled without regard to the central point.

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12. When a journey is performed by a motor car or by air between places connected by a railway, the charge shall ordinarily be limited to what would have been admissible had the member travelled by rail.

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13. In calculating mileage allowance, fractions of a ²⁹KM shall be omitted from the total of a bill for any one journey but not from the various items which make up the bill.

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14. ³⁰A member who is residing at the place of the meeting or at the place of making or subscribing an oath or affirmation under Article 188 of the Constitution of India, when the Assembly is not in session, may draw Daily Allowance for each day of attendance at a meeting or for the day on which the oath or affirmation is made or subscribed as the case may be at the rate of ³¹Rs. 400/- per day.

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15. ³²Travelling allowance bills in respect of himself/herself or his/her spouse shall be drawn up in Form 'A' or Form 'C' as the case may be annexed to these rules, stamped, if necessary and signed by the Member concerned and delivered at the office of the Secretary for counter-signature. The travelling allowance

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16. All claims for travelling allowance preferred after the expiry of one year from their becoming due shall be regarded as time-barred and the Secretary shall reject all such claims.

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17. ³⁵Deleted.

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18. ³³(a) When a Member who leaves his usual place of residence to attend a meeting is unable from any causes beyond his control:-

(i) either to complete the journey to the place specified in rule 8; or

(ii) after arriving at the place of meeting, actually to attend the meeting, he may be allowed travelling allowance from his usual place of residence to the place of meeting or to the place at which his journey was interrupted, as the case may be, and back, but shall not be entitled to any daily allowance.

(b) If and when a member proceeds from his usual place of residence to attend a meeting and if such meeting stands postponed or cancelled prior to its holding there of for any reason, though communications to that effect is sent to the Member concerned, he may be allowed travelling allowance from his usual place of residence to the place of meeting and back there from to his usual place of residence, but he shall not be entitled to any daily allowance.

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19. ³⁴(a) A Member shall before claiming travelling allowance in respect of himself/herself or his/her spouse for the journey from his/her usual place of residence to the place of meeting or for the return journey from the place of meeting to his/her usual place of residence, fill in and sign Form 'B' or 'D' as the case may be, and deliver the same to the office of the Secretary.

Any member may have his travelling allowance bills prepared at the office of the Secretary, if he so desires.

(b)     (i) The travelling allowance bills of Members for their journey from their usual place of residence to the place of meeting will be paid by cheque at the office of the Secretary on bills countersigned by the Secretary ³⁶or by the Authorised Officer.

(ii) Bills similarly countersigned for the daily allowance permissible under these rules for actual days of attendance or halts during a meeting and for travelling allowance for the return journey to their usual place of residence may also be paid by cheque at the office of the Secretary even before the conclusion of the meeting.

(c) If a Member, who has been paid travelling allowance in advance for his journey, does not perform the proposed return journey, he shall report the fact to the office of the Secretary for communication to the ³⁷'Accountant-General', Tamil Nadu. The Accountant-General, Tamil Nadu, will intimate to the office of the Secretary, the amount recoverable from each Member. The Secretary will then take steps to recover the amount paid in excess either in cash or by recovery from the Member's next travelling allowance bill.

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19A. ³⁸Every Member shall be issued with an identity card containing his photograph attested by the Secretary, and it shall be treated as a pass referred to in, section 12(4-A)(a) of the Act.

19B

19B. ³⁹These rules shall apply Mutatis Mutandis to claims arising up to the 31st October 1986 in respect of members of the former Tamil Nadu Legislative Council.

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20. The State Government may, by order, relax the provisions of these rules in any particular case to such extent or subject to such conditions or modification as may be specified in such order and also fix the rates of travelling and daily allowances applicable to the case.