[West
Bengal Act 8 of 2010] [13th
May, 2010] [Passed
by the West Bengal Legislature] An Act to amend the West
Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973. West Ben Act XLI of 1973.-Whereas it is expedient
to amend the West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973, for the purposes and in
the manner hereinafter appearing; It is hereby enacted in the
Sixty-first Year of the Republic of India, by the Legislature of West Bengal,
as follows:- (1) This Act may be called
the West Bengal Panchayat (Amendment) Act, 2010. (2) It shall come into force on
such date or dates as the State Government may, by notification in
the Official Gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed for
different sections. In section 2 of the West
Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the principal
Act),- (1) after clause (8a), the
following clause shall be inserted:- ‘(8b) “Executive Assistant”
of a Gram Panchayat means an Executive Assistant appointed as such in
a Gram Panchayat under subsection (2) of section 35;’; (2) clause (12a) shall be
renumbered as clause (12b) and before clause (12b) as so renumbered the
following clause shall be inserted:- ‘(12a) “Leader” in
a Panchayat relating to a recognized political party means a Leader
selected as such within the concept and meaning of sub-section (3) of section
213A;’; (3) in clause (19), for the
words “for all or any of the purposes”, the words “for any one or more
purposes” shall be substituted; (4) clause (26A) shall be
renumbered as clause (26AA) and before clause (26AA) as so renumbered the
following clause shall be inserted:- ‘(26A) “Secretary” of
a Gram Panchayat means a Secretary appointed as such in a Gram
Panchayat under sub-section (2) of section 35;’. To sub-section (2) of
section 7 of the principal Act, the following proviso shall be added:- “Provided that if the first
meeting of the newly-formed Gram Panchayat cannot be held before the
expiry of the period of five years under sub-section (1), the State Government
may, by order, appoint, any authority, person or persons to exercise and
perform, subject to such conditions as may be specified in the order, the
powers and functions of the Gram Panchayat under this Act or any
other law for the time being in force, for a period not exceeding three months
at a time or until the date on which such first meeting of the
newly-formed Gram Panchayat is held, whichever is earlier.”. For section 10 of the
principal Act, the following section shall be substituted:- “Resignation of Pradhan or
Pradhan or member.-10.(1)
The Pradhon or the Upa-Pradhan or any other member of
a Gram Panchayat may resign his office by notifying in writing his intention
to do so, preferably mentioning the reasons for his resignation and also his
present postal address for further communication, to the prescribed authority. (2) On receipt of the
letter under sub-section (1), the prescribed authority shall issue within three
days a letter by registered post to the person tendering such resignation,
requesting him to appear in person before the prescribed authority within seven
days from the date of receipt of such letter for a hearing on the resignation
tendered. (3) During the hearing held
under sub-section (2), the prescribed authority shall ascertain whether the
resignation has been tendered under own volition of the person and also whether
such person intends to withdraw his letter of resignation. (4) The prescribed
authority shall pass a reasoned order and either allow such person to withdraw
in writing the letter of resignation instantly or accept the resignation
tendered with immediate effect: Provided that if such
person does not appear in the hearing without any form of communication to the
prescribed authority, the letter of resignation tendered by him shall be
treated as wilful resignation and the prescribed authority shall accept it
forthwith. (5) When the resignation is
accepted under sub-section (4), the relevant office shall stand vacated from
the date of such acceptance and an intimation in writing shall be sent by the
prescribed authority within next three working days to the Executive Assistant
of the Gram Panchayat or in his absence to the person officiating in
the post as well as to the person tendering resignation directing him to make
over charges of his office within next five working days to the person as may
be mentioned in the letter or if no person is so mentioned, to relinquish the
charges within the aforesaid period in writing addressed to the Executive
Assistant with a copy endorsed to the prescribed authority and also to hand
over to the Executive Assistant all documents, registers, seals, assets and
cash, if any, owned by the Gram Panchayat or any Gram Unnayan
Samiti, which are in his custody. (6) The entire process of
acceptance of resignation and intimating the person concerned shall be
completed within thirty days from the date of receipt of such letter of
resignation by the prescribed authority.”. For section 12 of the
principal Act, the following section shall be substituted:- “Motion of no confidence or
removel of Pradhan or Upa-Pradhan.-12.(1) Subject to other provisions of this
section, the Pradhan or the UPa-Pradhan of a Gram
Panchayat may, at any time, be removed from his office by the majority of
the existing members of the Gram Panchayat, referred to in clause (i) of
sub-section (2A) of section 4, expressing their lack of confidence against
the Pradhan or the Upa-Pradhan or recording their decision
to remove the Pradhan or the Upa-Pradhan, at a meeting specially
convened for the purpose. (2) For the purpose of
removal of the Pradhan or the Upa-Pradhan, one-third of the
existing members referred to in sub-section (1) subject to a minimum of three
members shall sign a motion in writing expressing their lack of confidence
against the Pradhan or the Upa-Pradhan or recording their
intention to remove the Pradhan or the Upa-Pradhan, indicating
party affiliation or independent status of each of such members and either
deliver the motion in person through any of the members or send it by
registered post to the prescribed authority; one copy of the motion shall be
delivered to the concerned office bearer either by hand or by registered post
at the Gram Panchayat office and another copy shall be sent by
registered post at his residential address. (3) The prescribed
authority on receipt of the motion shall satisfy himself that it conforms to
the requirements of sub-section (2) and on his satisfaction shall specially
convene, by issue of notice, within five working days of the receipt of the
motion a meeting of the Gram Panchayat to be held in its office
fixing date and hour of the meeting and sending such notice at least before
clear seven days to each of its existing members for consideration of the
motion and for taking a decision on it. (4) The meeting referred to
in sub-section (3) shall be held on a working day which shall not be later than
fifteen working days from the date of receipt of the motion by the prescribed
authority and the meeting so convened shall not be adjourned or cancelled
except in pursuance of an order or direction of a competent court or for any
other reason beyond control of the prescribed authority, (5) Such meeting shall be
presided over by an officer, as may be authorized by the prescribed authority,
in the manner as may be directed by order by the State Government or as may be
prescribed and the presiding officer before commencement of the meeting shall ensure
that notice has been duly served to every member in the manner laid down in
this behalf; quorum required for such meeting shall be more than fifty percent
of the existing members referred to in sub-section (1) and the presiding
officer shall not be entitled to vote at the meeting although he may advise on
one or more points of law without expressing his own views. (6) If there is no
consensus decision in the meeting, voting shall be held by open ballot wherein
each participating member shall put his full signature or his left thumb
impression to be attested by the leader, referred to in section 213A, of the
same political party to which the member belongs or by the said presiding
officer on the reverse side of the ballot paper. (7) The minutes of the meeting
shall be written by the Secretary or in his absence, by any other official as
authorized by the presiding officer. Such minutes shall record in brief names
of the members present, the procedure followed, names of the members who voted
for or against the motion and the decision adopted unanimously or by the
majority of its existing members and shall be signed by him as well as by the
presiding officer. (8) After the minutes of
the meeting is signed by the presiding officer, it shall be read over to all the
attending members who shall thereafter put their signatures or left thumb
impressions, as the case may be, on the minutes in confirmation of the
proceedings recorded. Then the presiding officer shall again put his signature
on the same document after recording the names of members, if any, who have
declined to sign or left earlier and thereafter he shall collect a copy of the
minutes before leaving the premises. (9)(a) The Executive
Assistant or in his absence the Secretary of the Gram
Panchayat shall, within three working days of the meeting, forward a copy
of the minutes of the meeting to the prescribed authority. (9)(b) The presiding
officer shall also submit a separate report in writing alongwith a copy of the
minutes of the meeting within the aforesaid time to the prescribed authority. (10) On receipt of the
minutes of the meeting and the report under sub-section (9), the prescribed
authority shall, within next five working days, take such action as he may deem
fit and the entire process commencing from submission of motion to the prescribed
authority upto the action finally taken by him shall be completed within thirty
days. (11) If the motion is not
carried by the majority of its existing members or the meeting cannot be held
for want of quorum, no notice of any subsequent motion for the removal of the
same office bearer shall be taken into cognizance within a period of one year
from the date appointed for such meeting. (12) Notwithstanding
anything contained in sub-section (1), no meeting for removal of
the Pradhan or the Upa-Pradhan under this section shall be
convened within a period of one year from the date of election of
the Pradhan or the Upa-Pradhan either at the first meeting
following reconstitution of Gram Panchayat or for filling casual
vacancy in the said office.”. In section 16 of the
principal Act,- (1) the third proviso to
sub-section (1) shall be omitted; (2) in sub-section (4), for the
second proviso, the following proviso shall be substituted:- “Provided further that in
case of any requisitioned meeting the person presiding shall have no second or
casting vote.”. To clause (b) of
sub-section (6) of section 16A of the principal Act, the following proviso
shall be added:- “Provided that without
prejudice to the terms and conditions laid down in the guidelines relating to a
poverty alleviation programme in which beneficiaries are selected not on the
basis of entitlement or demand but using discretion of
the Panchayat body concerned, the implementing agency shall take
steps to ensure that as nearly as possible three percent of the total number of
beneficiaries for such programme shall constitute people with any form of
disability.”. To sub-section (2) of
section 16B of the principal Act, the following proviso shall be added:- “Provided that a Gram Panchayat may,
in addition to the annual meeting, hold extraordinary meeting of a Gram
Sabha at any time if the situation so warrants or if the State Government,
by order, so directs and for the purpose of holding such extraordinary meeting,
provision of this section shall apply.”. In clause (a) of
sub-section (1) of section 17A of the principal Act, after subclause (ii), the
following sub-clauses shall be inserted:- “(in)
the annual work plan finally approved and adopted for the current year; (iv)
the annual budget finally approved and adopted for the current year;”. In section 19 of the
principal Act,- (1) in sub-section (2),- (a) in clause (f), after the
words “introduction of new crop”, the words “and improved agronomic practices”
shall be inserted; (b) in clause (j), for the
words “new project”, the word “project” shall be substituted; (2) in sub-section (3),- (a) after the words
“recommendations of a Gram Sansad relating to”, the words “a
programme or work proposed”, shall be inserted; (b) for the words “immediately
communicated to the Gram Unnayan Samiti for placing it”, the word
“placed” shall be substituted. In sub-section (2) of
section 20 of the principal Act,- (1) the words “and assign or
entrust or devolve such functions upon Panchayat Samiti having
jurisdiction till a reconstituted Gram Panchayat is elected and
starts functioning.” shall be omitted; (2) the following proviso shall
be added:- “Provided that the State
Government shall, before making such order of withdrawal, give the Gram
Panchayat an opportunity of making a representation against the proposed
order.”. In section 21 of the
principal Act,- (1) in clause (i),- (a) for the word “distress”,
the word “distressed” shall be substituted; (b) after the word “infirm”,
the word “persons” shall be inserted; (2) in clause (l), for the word
“property”, the word “properties” shall be substituted. In section 21A of the
principal Act,- (1) in clause (d), for the word
“collective”, the word “community” shall be substituted; (2) in clause (Z), for the
words “ghats; and”, the word “ghats” shall be substituted; (3) after clause (m), the
following clauses shall be inserted:- “(n)
promotion of enterprises for building non-conventional energy sources; (o)
motivation and spreading awareness on environmental and social issues; and (p)
detection of unlawful practices in trade and business and sharing such
information with the appropriate authority.”. In section 32A of the
principal Act,- (1) in clause (d) of
sub-section (3),- (a) after the words
“the Artha O Parikalpana Upa-Samiti shall have”, the words “the
leader of the recognised political party in opposition having largest number of
members in the Gram Panchayat and” shall be inserted; (b) the following proviso shall
be added:- “Provided that when in
a Gram Panchayat, there is a single member in opposition affiliated to a
recognised political party, he shall become such member of the
said Upa-Samiti and incase, there is no member in opposition
affiliated to any recognised political party, the independent member in
opposition who is seniormost in age or, when there is only one independent
member in opposition, the said member shall become such member of the
said Upa-Samiti”; (c) the
following Explanations shall be inserted:- “Explanation I.-For the
purpose of this clause, a member of the Gram Panchayat shall be
considered a member in opposition if in the election of
the Pradhan under section 9, he did not cast his vote in favour of
the winning candidate or has abstained himself from casting his vote in the
said election. Explanation II.-If two or
more recognized political parties have equal number of members elected to
the Gram Panchayat, the leader of the recognized political party placed
higher in the sequential arrangement in the relevant notification issued by the
Election Commission of India shall be chosen as such member.”; (2) for sub-section (5), the
following sub-section shall be substituted:- “(5) Subject to such
provision as may be prescribed and without prejudice to the general control and
authority of Gram Panchayat, the Upa-Samiti shall devise its own
procedure for holding the meetings and for performing functions as may be
assigned to it.”; (3) after sub-section (7), the
following sub-section shall be inserted:- “(8) When a vacancy occurs
in the office of a Sanchalak or a member of
an Upa-Samiti by resignation, death, removal or otherwise, the
members of the Upa-Samiti shall elect another Sanchalak or
the members of the Gram Panchayat shall elect another member, as the
case may be, in the prescribed manner, and the Sanchalak or the
member so elected shall hold office for the unexpired portion of the term of
the office of the person in whose place he is elected.”. In section 45 of the
principal Act,- (1) in sub-section (2), for
clause (c), the following clause shall be substituted:- “(c)
subject to such direction as may be issued, by order, by the State Government,
the cost of its own administration including the payment of salary and
allowances of the employees, commission and allowances of the Tax Collectors
and remuneration and honoraria of the elected functionaries.”; (2) in sub-section (5), in the
second proviso,- (a) after the words “the State
Government may”, the words “by framing rules or” shall be inserted; (b) after the words “conditions
as may be specified”, the words “in the rules or” shall be inserted. To sub-section (2) of
section 96 of the principal Act, the following proviso shall be added:- “Provided that if the first
meeting of the newly-formed Panchayat Samiti cannot be held before
the expiry of the period of five years under sub-section (1), the State
Government may, by order, appoint, any authority, person or persons to exercise
and perform, subject to such conditions as may be specified in the order, the
powers and functions of the Panchayat Samiti under this Act or any
other law for the time being in force, for a period not exceeding three months
at a time or until the date on which such first meeting of the
newly-formed Panchayat Samiti is held, whichever is earlier.”. For section 99 of the
principal Act, the following section shall be substituted:- “Resignation
of Sabhapati or Sahakari Sahakari or a member.-99.(1)
The Sabhapati or the Sahakari Sabhapati or any other member
of a Panchayat Samiti may resign his office by notifying in writing
his intention to do so mentioning the reasons for his resignation and also his
present postal address for further communication, to the prescribed authority. (2) On receipt of the
letter under sub-section (1), the prescribed authority shall issue within three
days a letter by registered post to the person tendering such resignation,
requesting him to appear in person before the prescribed authority within seven
days from the date of receipt of such fetter for a hearing on the resignation
tendered. (3) During the hearing held
under sub-section (2), the prescribed authority shall ascertain whether the
resignation has been tendered under own volition of the person and also whether
such person intends to withdraw his letter of resignation. (4) The prescribed
authority shall pass a reasoned order and either allow such person to withdraw
in writing the letter of resignation instantly or accept the resignation
tendered with immediate effect: Provided that if such
person does not appear in the hearing without any form of communication to the
prescribed authority, the letter of resignation tendered by him shall be
treated as wilful resignation and the prescribed authority shall accept it
forthwith. (5) When the resignation is
accepted under sub-section (4), the relevant office shall stand vacated from
the date of such acceptance and an intimation in writing shall be sent by the
prescribed authority within next three working days to the Executive Officer of
the Panchayat Samiti or in his absence to the person officiating in
the post as well as to the person tendering resignation directing him to make
over charges of his office within next five working days to the person as may
be mentioned in the letter or if no person is so mentioned, to relinquish the
charges within the aforesaid period in writing addressed to the Executive
Officer with a copy endorsed to the prescribed authority and also to hand over
to the Executive Officer or any other officer, so authorized by him, all
documents, registers, seals and assets, owned by the Panchayat
Samiti which are in his custody. (6) The entire process of
acceptance of resignation and intimating the person concerned shall be
completed within thirty days from the date of receipt of such letter of
resignation by the prescribed authority.”. For section 101 of the
principal Act, the following section shall be substituted:- “Motion of no confidence or
removal of Sabhapati or Sahakari Sabhapati.-101.(1) Subject to other provisions of this
section the Sabhapati or the Sahakari Sabhapati of
a Panchayat Samiti may, at any time, be removed from his office by
the majority of the existing members of the Panchayat Samiti, referred to
in clause (ii) of sub-section (2) of section 94, expressing their lack of
confidence against the Sabhapati or the Sahakari
Sabhapati or recording their decision to remove the Sabhapati or
the Sahakari Sabhapati, at a meeting specially convened for the purpose. (2) For the purpose of
removal of the Sabhapati or the Sahakari Sabhapati, one-third of
the existing members referred to in sub-section (1) shall sign a motion in
writing expressing their lack of confidence against the Sabhapati or
the Sahakari Sabhapati or recording their intention to remove
the Sabhapati or the Sahakari Sabhapati, indicating party
affiliation or independent status of each of such members and either deliver
the motion in person through any of the members or send it by registered post
to the prescribed authority; one copy of the motion shall be delivered to the
concerned office bearer either by hand or by registered post at
the Panchayat Samiti office and another copy shall be sent by
registered post at his residential address. (3) The prescribed
authority on receipt of the motion shall satisfy himself that it conforms to
the requirements of sub-section (2) and on his satisfaction shall specially
convene, by issue of notice, within five working days of the receipt of the
motion, a meeting of the Panchayat Samiti to be held in its office
fixing date and hour of the meeting and sending such notice at least before
clear seven days to each of its existing members for consideration of the
motion and for taking a decision on it. (4) The meeting referred to
in sub-section (3) shall be held on a working day which shall not be later than
fifteen working days from the date of receipt of the motion by the prescribed
authority and the meeting so convened shall not be adjourned or cancelled except
in pursuance of an order or direction of a competent court or for any other
reason beyond control of the prescribed authority. (5) Such meeting shall be
presided over by an officer, as may be authorized by the prescribed authority,
in the manner as may be directed by order by the State Government or as may be
prescribed and the presiding officer before commencement of the meeting shall
ensure that notice has been duly served to every member in the manner laid down
in this behalf; quorum required for such meeting shall be more than fifty
percent of the existing members referred to in sub-section (1) and the
presiding officer shall not be entitled to vote at the meeting although he may
advise on one or more points of law without expressing his own views. (6) If there is no
consensus decision in the meeting, voting shall be held by open ballot wherein
each participating member shall put his full signature or his left thumb
impression to be attested by the leader, referred to in section 213A, of the
same political party to which the member belongs or by the said presiding
officer on the reverse side of the ballot paper. (7) The minutes of the
meeting shall be written by the Secretary or in his absence, by any other
official as authorized by the presiding officer. Such minutes shall record in
brief names of the members present, the procedure followed, names of the
members who voted for or against the motion and the decision adopted
unanimously or by the majority of its existing members and shall be signed by
him as well as by the presiding officer. (8) After the minutes of
the meeting is signed by the presiding officer, it shall be read over to all
the attending members who shall thereafter put their signatures or left thumb
impressions as the case may be on the minutes in confirmation of the
proceedings recorded. Then the presiding officer shall again put his signature
on the same document after recording the names of members, if any, who have
declined to sign or left earlier and thereafter he shall collect a copy of the
minutes before leaving the premises. (9)(a) The Executive
Officer or in his absence, the Joint Executive Officer of the Panchayat
Samiti shall, within three working days of the meeting, deliver the copy
of the minutes of the meeting to the prescribed authority. (9)(b) The presiding
officer shall also submit a separate report in writing alongwith a copy of the
minutes of the meeting within the aforesaid time to the prescribed authority. (10) On receipt of the
minutes of the meeting and the report under subsection (9), the prescribed
authority shall take such action as he may deem fit within next five working
days and the entire process commencing from submission of motion to the
prescribed authority upto the action finally taken by him shall be completed
within thirty days. (11) If the motion is not
carried by the majority of its existing members or the meeting cannot be held
for want of quorum, no notice of any subsequent motion for the removal of the
same office bearer shall be taken into cognizance within a period of one year
from the date appointed for such meeting. (12) Notwithstanding
anything contained in sub-section (1), no meeting for removal of
the Sabhapati or the Sahakari Sabhapati under this section
shall be convened within a period of one year from the date of election of
the Sabhapati or the Sahakari Sabhapati either at the first
meeting following reconstitution of Panchayat Samiti or for filling a
casual vacancy in the said office.”. In section 105 of the
principal Act,- (1) the third proviso to
sub-section (1) shall be omitted; (2) in sub-section (4), for the
second proviso, the following proviso shall be substituted:- “Provided further that in
case of any requisitioned meeting the person presiding shall have no second or
casting vote.”. To sub-clause (ii) of
clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 109 of the principal Act, the
following proviso shall be added:- “Provided that without
prejudice to the terms and conditions laid down in the guidelines relating to a
poverty alleviation programme in which beneficiaries are selected not on the
basis of entitlement or demand but using discretion of the Panchayat body
concerned, the implementing agency shall take steps to esure that as nearly as
possible three percent of the total number of beneficiaries for such programme
shall constitute people with any form of disability.”. For sub-section (1) of
section 119 of the principal Act, the following subsection shall be
substituted:- “(1)(a)
There shall be an Executive Officer for every Panchayat Samiti and
the Block Development Officer shall be such Executive Officer ex-officio. (b)
If a Panchayat Samiti is of the opinion that its Executive Officer is
consistently failing in discharging his duties and responsibilities in
accordance with law, it may pass a resolution in a meeting specially convened
for the purpose, supported by the majority of the existing members referred to
in sub-section (2) of section 94 and shall bring the matter to the notice of
the District Magistrate with a request to take appropriate remedial measures
within one month from the date of communication of such resolution. (c)
If the Panchayat Samiti feels that no action has been taken by the
District Magistrate to remedy the situation or the action so far taken has not
improved the situation within the next two months, the Panchayat
Samiti may, at a meeting specially convened for the purpose, adopt a
resolution supported by the majority of the existing members referred to in
clause (b) to recall the Executive Officer adducing the reasons for such
decision of the Panchayat Samiti and such resolution shall be sent to
the State Government with a copy to the District Magistrate. (d)
On receipt of the resolution under clause (c), the State Government shall
enquire into the circumstances and satisfy itself about the justification of
such resolution before recalling such officer: Provided that if after enquiry
the State Government is not satisfied about the propriety of recalling such
officer, it may initiate procedure under section 209 to rescind the
resolution.”. To sub-section (1) of
section 125 of the principal Act, after the second proviso the following
proviso shall be added:- “Provided also that
the Karmadhyaksha for Sishu O Nari Unnayan, Janakalyan O Tran
Sthayee Samiti shall be elected from among the women members of
the Sthayee Samiti”. To sub-section (2) of
section 141 of the principal Act, the following proviso shall be added:- “Provided that if the first
meeting of the newly-formed Zilla Parishad cannot be held before the
expiry of the period of five years under sub-section (1), the State Government
may, by order, appoint, any authority, person or persons to exercise and
perform, subject to such conditions as may be specified in the order, the
powers and functions of the Zilla Parishad under this Act or any
other law for the time being in force, for a period not exceeding three months
at a time or until the date on which such first meeting of the
newly-formed Zilla Parishad is held, whichever is earlier.”. For section 144 of
the principal Act, the following section shall be substituted:- “Resignation of Sabhadhipati
or Sahakari Sabhadhipati or member.-144.(1) The Sabhadhipati or
the Sahakari Sabhadhipati or any other member of a Zilla
Parishad may resign his office by notifying in writing his intention to do
so, preferably mentioning the reasons for his resignation and also his present
postal address for further communication, to the prescribed authority. (2) On receipt of the
letter under sub-section (1), the prescribed authority shall issue within three
days a letter by registered post to the person tendering such resignation,
requesting him to appear in person before the prescribed authority within seven
days from the date of receipt of such letter for a hearing on the resignation
tendered. (3) During the hearing held
under sub-section (2), the prescribed authority shall ascertain whether the
resignation has been tendered under own volition of the person and also whether
such person intends to withdraw his letter of resignation. (4) The prescribed
authority shall pass a reasoned order and either allow such person to withdraw
in writing the letter of resignation instantly or accept the resignation
tendered with immediate effect: Provided that if such
person does not appear in the hearing without any form of communication to the
prescribed authority, the letter of resignation tendered by him shall be
treated as wilful resignation and the prescribed authority shall accept it
forthwith. (5) When the resignation is
accepted under sub-section (4), the relevant office shall stand vacated from
the date of such acceptance and an intimation in writing shall be sent by the
prescribed authority within next three working days to the Executive Officer of
the Zilla Parishad or in his absence to the person officiating in the
post as well as to the person tendering resignation directing him to make over
charges of his office within next five working days to the person as may be
mentioned in the letter or if no person is so mentioned, to relinquish the
charges within the aforesaid period in writing addressed to the Executive
Officer with a copy endorsed to the prescribed authority and also to hand over
to the Executive Officer or any other officer so authorized by him within next
seven days all documents, registers, seals and assets owned by the Zilla
Parishad which are in his custody. (6) The entire process of
acceptance of resignation and intimating the person concerned shall be
completed within thirty days from the date of receipt of such resignation by
the prescribed authority.”. For section 146 of the
principal Act, the following section shall be substituted:- 146. “Motion of no
confidence or removal of Sabhadhipati or Sahakari Sabhadhipati.- (1) Subject to other provisions
of this section, the Sabhadhipati or the Sahakari
Sabhadhipati of the Zilla Parishad may, at any time, be removed
from his office by the majority of the existing members of the Zilla
Parishad, referred to in clause (ii) of subsection (2) of section 140,
expressing their lack of confidence against the Sabhadhipati or
the Sahakari Sabhadhipati or recording their decision to remove
the Sabhadhipati or the Sahakari Sabhadhipati, at a meeting
specially convened for the purpose. (3) For the purpose of removal
of the Sabhadhipati or the Sahakari Sabhadhipati, one-third of
the existing members referred to in sub-section (1) shall sign a motion in
writing expressing their lack of confidence against the Sabhadhipati or
the Sahakari Sabhadhipati or recording their intention to remove
the Sabhadhipati or the Sahakari Sabhadhipati, indicating party
affiliation or independent status of each of such members and either deliver the
motion in person through any of the members or send it by registered post to
the prescribed authority; one copy of the motion shall be delivered to the
concerned office bearer either by hand or by registered post at the Zilla
Parishad office and another copy shall be sent by registered post at his
residential address. (4) The prescribed authority on
receipt of the motion shall satisfy himself that it conforms to the
requirements of sub-section (2) and on his satisfaction shall specially
convene, by issue of notice, within five working days of the receipt of the
motion, a meeting of the Zilla Parishad to be held in its office
fixing date and hour of the meeting and sending such notice at least before
clear seven days to each of its existing members for consideration of the
motion and for taking a decision on it. (5) The meeting referred to in
sub-section (3) shall be held on a working day which shall not be later than
fifteen working days from the date of receipt of the motion by the prescribed
authority and the meeting so convened shall not be adjourned or cancelled
except in pursuance of an order or direction of a competent court or for any
other reason beyond control of the prescribed authority. (6) Such meeting shall be
presided over by an officer, as may be authorized by the prescribed authority,
in the manner as may be directed by order by the State Government or as may be
prescribed and the presiding officer before commencement of the meeting shall
ensure that notice has been duly served to every member in the manner laid down
in this behalf; quorum required for such meeting shall be more than fifty
percent of the existing members referred to in sub-section (1) and the
presiding officer shall not be entitled to vote at the meeting although he may
advise on one or more points of law without expressing his own views. (7) If there is no consensus
decision in the meeting, voting shall be held by open ballot wherein each
participating member shall put his full signature or his left thumb impression
to be attested by the leader, referred to in section 213A, of the same
political party to which the member belongs or by the presiding officer on the
reverse side of the ballot paper. (8) The minutes of the meeting
shall be written by the Secretary or in his absence, by any other official as
authorized by the presiding officer. Such minutes shall record in brief names
of the members present, the procedure followed, names of the members who voted
for or against the motion and the decision adopted unanimously or by the
majority of its existing members and shall be signed by him as well as by the
presiding officer. (9) After the minutes of the
meeting is signed by the presiding officer, it shall be read over to all the
attending members who shall thereafter put their signatures or left thumb
impressions as the case may be on the minutes in confirmation of the
proceedings recorded. Then the presiding officer shall again put his signature
on the same document after recording the names of members, if any, who have
declined to sign or left earlier and thereafter he shall collect a copy of the
minutes before leaving the premises. (10) Within three working days
of the meeting, the Executive Officer or in his absence the Additional
Executive Officer of the Zilla Parishad shall forward a copy of the
minutes of the meeting to the prescribed authority. The presiding officer shall
also submit a separate report in writing alongwith a copy of the minutes of the
meeting within the aforesaid time to the prescribed authority. (11) On receipt of the minutes
of the meeting and the report under subsection (9), the prescribed authority
shall take such action as he may deem fit within next five working days and the
entire process commencing from submission of motion to the prescribed authority
upto the action finally taken by him shall be completed within thirty days. (12) If the motion is not
carried by the majority of its existing members or the meeting cannot be held
for want of quorum, no notice of any subsequent motion for the removal of the
same office bearer shall be taken into congnizance within a period of one year
from the date appointed for such meeting. (13) Notwithstanding anything
contained in sub-section (1), no meeting for removal of
the Sabhadhipati or the Sahakari Sabhadhipati under this
section shall be convened within a period of one year from the date of election
of the Sabhadhipati or the Sahakari Sabhadhipati either at
the first meeting following reconstitution of Zilla Parishad or for
filling a casual vacancy in the said office.”. In section 150 of the
principal Act,- (1) the third proviso to
sub-section (1) shall be omitted; (2) in sub-section (4), for the
second proviso, the following proviso shall be substituted:- “Provided further that in
case of any requisitioned meeting the person presiding shall have no second or
casting vote.”. To sub-clause (ii) of
clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 153 of the principal Act, the
following proviso shall be added:- “Provided that without
prejudice to the terms and conditions laid down in the guidelines relating to a
poverty alleviation programme in which beneficiaries are selected not on the
basis of entitlement or demand but using discretion of the Panchayat body
concerned, the implementing agency shall take steps to ensure that as nearly as
possible three percent of the total number of beneficiaries for such programme
shall constitute people with any form of disability.”. (1) For sub-section (1) of
section 166 of the principal Act, the following subsection shall be
substituted:- “(1)(a)
There shall be an Executive Officer for every Zilla
Parishad appointed by the State Government on such terms and conditions as
may be prescribed. (1)(b)
If a Zilla Parishad is of the opinion that its Executive Officer is
consistently failing in discharging his duties and responsibilities in
accordance with law, it may pass a resolution in a meeting specially convened
for the purpose, supported by the majority of the existing members referred to
in sub-section (2) of section 140, and shall bring the matter to the notice of
the Divisional Commissioner with a request to take appropriate remedial
measures within one month from the date of communication of such resolution. (1)(c)
If the Zilla Parishad feels that no action has been taken by the
Divisional Commissioner to remedy the situation or the action so far taken has
not improved the situation within the next two months, the Zilla
Parishad may, at a meeting specially convened for the purpose, adopt a
resolution supported by the majority of the existing members referred to in
clause (b) to recall the Executive Officer adducing the reasons for such
decision of the Zilla Parishad and such resolution shall be sent to
the State Government with a copy to the Divisional Commissioner. (1)(d)
On receipt of the resolution under clause (c), the State Government shall
enquire into the circumstances and satisfy itself about the justification of
such resolution before recalling such officer: Provided that if after
enquiry the State Government is not satisfied about the propriety of recalling
such officer, it may initiate procedure under section 209 to rescind the
resolution.”. To sub-section (1) of
section 172 of the principal Act, after the third proviso, the following
proviso shall be added:- “Provided also that
the Karmadhyaksha for Sishu O Nari Unnayan, Janakalyan O Tran
Sthayee Samiti shall be elected from among the women members of
the Sthayee Samiti.”. In principal Act, after
section 196B, the following sections shall be inserted:- 196C.“Performance audit.- (1) Without any prejudice to
other provisions of the Chapter relating to audit, a mechanism for performance
audit of the fund utilized by a Gram Panchayat, a Panchayat
Samiti or a Zilla Parishad shall be devised in the manner as may
be prescribed or as may be directed, by general or special order, by the State
Government. (2) The performance audit
referred to in sub-section (1) shall relate to utilization of fund following
the norms and procedure as may be applicable under the relevant rules, orders
and guidelines, quality of the work performed, usefulness of the asset created
and the benefits generated out of the work performed with an equitable
distribution of such benefits. 196D. Social Audit.- (1) Without any prejudice to
other provisions of the Chapter relating to audit, a mechanism for social audit
of the fund utilized by a Gram Panchayat, a Panchayat Samiti or
a Zilla Parishad shall be devised in the manner as may be prescribed
or as may be directed, by general or special order, by the State Government. (2) The social audit team
constituted at various level under sub-section (1) shall monitor the execution
of works, the quality and utility of the works executed or the services
provided and the benefits generated out of the work performed ensuring an
equitable distribution of such benefits.”. In section 213 of the
principal Act,- (1) in sub-section (1),- (a) for the words “The State
Government may”, the words ‘The prescribed authority may” shall be substituted; (b) for the words
“any Pradhan or Upa-Pradhan,
any Sabhapati or Sahakari Sabhapati or
any Sabhadhipati or Sahakari Sabhadhipati”, the words “any
member or office bearer of a Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti or Zilla
Parishad” shall be substituted; (2) in sub-section (2), for the
words “The State Government shall”, the words “The prescribed authority shall”
shall be substituted. In section 213A of the
principal Act,- (1) in sub-section (1),- (a) for sub-clause (ii) of
clause (a), the following sub-clause shall be substituted:- “(ii) exercised the voting
right or abstained from voting contrary to any direction issued by the Leader
of his political party to which he belongs, without obtaining the prior
permission of the said Leader or such voting or abstention has not been
condoned by the said Leader within seven days from the date of such voting or
abstention; or”; (b) the second proviso to
clause (b) shall be omitted; (c) the
following Explanation shall be inserted:- “Explanation.-Direction shall
be issued by the Leader in writing to each member belonging to his political
party at least twenty four hours before the commencement of the meeting and a
copy of such direction shall be communicated to the prescribed authority before
commencement of the meeting.”; (2) after sub-section (1), the
following sub-section shall be inserted:- “(1A) Notwithstanding
anything contained in sub-clause (ii) of clause (a) of sub-section (1), an
elected member who has exercised his voting right contrary to the direction
issued by the Leader, shall not be declared to be disqualified if such member
claims and establishes that- (a) he and a few other members
of the same Panchayat belonging to same political party have
constituted a group consisting of not less than one-third of the total number
of members set up by such recognised political party in
that Panchayat and have already intimated such decision to the Leader
mentioning that the members of such group shall no longer be abided by any direction
of such Leader and that such decision have also been communicated to the
prescribed authority at least three working days prior to the meeting, or (b) his original political
party has merged with another political party and he and a few other members of
his original political party constituting at least one-third of the total
number of members in the same Panchayat belonging to such original
political party- (i) have become members of such
other political party, or as the case may be, of a new political party formed by
such merger and have decided to elect a new Leader for such separate party or
group, or (ii) have not accepted the
merger and opted to function as a separate group and wants to be treated as
such other political party or a new political party or group as the case may be
for the purpose of all provisions of this section, and the members involved
have already communicated their collective decision in writing to the Leader
and to the prescribed authority under the signatures of all such members at
least three days before the commencement of the meeting.”. (3) in sub-section (3),- (a) for the words “As soon as
may be within one month from the date of the first meeting of a Panchayat or
within one month from the date on which this section comes into force, as the
case may be, the words “As soon as may be within three months from the date of
the first meeting of a Panchayat or within three months from the date on which
this section comes into force, as the case may be” shall be substituted; (b) for the words “and such
Leader shall within fifteen days”, the words “and such Leader shall within
thirty days” shall be substituted; (c) for the second proviso, the
following proviso shall be substituted:- “Provided further that if
selection of Leader of any recognized political party does not take place
within the aforesaid period due to exceptional reason, the members belonging to
a recognised political party may jointly file a petition with endorsement of
the President or the General Secretary or the Secretary of the district unit of
such recognized political party may file a petition showing the ground of such
exceptional reason to the prescribed authority seeking further time for
selection of such Leader and the prescribed authority on being satisfied about
the exceptional reason may allow further time for one month to select such
Leader who shall within fifteen days from the date of such selection furnish
the aforesaid documents to the prescribed authority.”; (4) in sub-section (7),- (a) for the words “endorsed by
the General Secretary, or, if there is no General Secretary, the Secretary, of
the district unit of such recognized political party”, the words “the President
or the General Secretary or the Secretary of the district unit of such
recognized political party” shall be substituted; (b) for sub-clause (ii) of
clause (a), the following sub-clause shall be substituted:- “(ii)
exercised the voting right or abstained from voting contrary to any direction
issued by the Leader of his political party to which he belongs, without
obtaining prior permission of the said Leader or such voting or abstention has
not been condoned by the said Leader;”; (5) in sub-section (9), for the
words “six weeks”, the words “two weeks” shall be substituted; (6) in sub-section (11), for
the words “eight weeks”, the words “four weeks shall be substituted. In th eprincipal Act, after
section 213B, the following section shall be inserted:- 213C “Jurisdiction of
Lokayukta or Upa-Lokayukta.-Nothing in this Act shall affect the jurisdiction exercisable by,
or the procedure applicable to the Lokayukta or Upa-Lokayukta under the West
Bengal Lokayukta Act, 2003, in respect of any complaint alleging corrupt
practices against any member including office bearer of Gram Panchayat
Panchayat Samiti, Zilla Parishad or Mahakuma Panshad, as the case may
be.”. [1] Received the Assent of the
Governor was first published in the Kolkata Gazette, Extraordinary, of the 13th May,
2010[West Bengal Panchayat (Amendment) Act,
2010][1]