The Assam Panchayat (Amendment) Act, 1964

y ASSAM AC T V II O F 1964 TH E ASSAM PANCHA YAT (AM ENDM ENT) AG P, 1964 (Received the assent of the Governor on the 23rd April, 1964) [Published in the Assam Gazette Ex traord ina ry, dated the 25th April, 1964) An Act further to amend the Assam Panchayat Act, 1959 Short titl e, extent and commence­ men t. Amendment of section 2 of Assam Act XX IV ,, Preamble Whereas it is expedie nt fur the r to amend the ^ a m Act Assam Panchayat A ct, 1959, hereinafte r called the ° pri nc ipa l A ct, in the m ann er here inaf ter appearing ; I t is here by enacted in the Fift een th Year of the Republic of India as follows :— 1. (1) This Act may be called the Assam Pa nc ha ­ ya t (Amendm ent) Act, 1964. (2) It shall have the like extent as the princi* pal Act. (3) It shal l come int o force at once. 2. In section 2 o f the pr inc ipa l A ct,— (1) clause (4) shal l be dele ted and clauses to (16) shal l be renum bered as c lauses (4) to (15) respectively ; (2) for clause 13 as so r enum bered , the following shall be sub sti tuted , na m el y:— “ (13) ‘Fina ncial Yea r’ means the Yea r star ting from 1st Ju ly an d-en ding on the 30th Ju ne o f the following ye ar ;” ; (3) afte r clause (15) as so ren um bered , the fol­ lowing sha ll be ins ert ed as clause (16), name ly: — “ (16) ‘House’ includes a building , hu t, shed, shop , warehouse, workshop or Mill house ;” . [ Price 0-1 2 P. or 2d . ] 2 Amendment 3. Provisos to sub-section (4) and sub-section (6) • f C Assam section 9 of the p rin cip al Act shall be dele ted and Act XXIV f° r sub-section (5) the following shall be substituted, of 1959. na mely:— “ (5) Th e votin g shall be by show of ha nd s” . 4. In section 11 of the pr incipa l Act,— Amendm ent (1) for sub-section (1) and (2) the following of section 11 shal l be substituted, name ly: — °X ^rv 1ofCt “ (1) Every Gaon Sabha shall have an 1959, Executive C ommit tee called the Gaon P ancha yat co n­ sisting of nine mem bers to be elected in the m an ­ ner prescribed : Provided that every Gaon Sab ha hav ing a pop ula tion over two thousand five hundred shall be ent itled to one addit ion al memb er for the Gaon Pan cha yat for every increase of population of five hundred subje ct to a maxim um of eleven : Prov ided fur the r that the Gaon Panch aya t shall co-opt from amongst the members of the Gaon Sabha , two women mem bers if no ' woman is elec ted, and one woman memb er if only one is elec ted: Provided fur the r th at wherever five pe r ce nt or more of the members of a Gaon Sab ha are Scheduled Castes, the n in case no mem ber belong­ ing to the Scheduled Castes is elec ted to the - Gaon Panchayat, the Gaon Panchayat shall co­ op t one such me mb er from amongst the mem­ bers of the Gaon Sab ha: Provided fur the r th at whereve r five per cen t or more of the mem bers of the Gao n Sabha are Scheduled Trib es, the n in case no memb er belo ng­ ing to the Scheduled Tr ibe s is elec ted to the Gaon Panchayat, the Gaon Pa nchaya t shall co­ opt one such member from amo ngs t the mem bers of the Gaon Sab ha: Prov ided fur the r that this representatio n shall con tinue only as long as special representatio n for the Scheduled Castes and Schedu led Tribes continues to be provided for in the Con stitutio n of In di a: Prov ided fur the r th at such co-opted members shall be in add itio n to the members prov ided in the first proviso to this sub-section. (2) When th e cons titut ion of the G aon Pan cha ­ yat under sub-section (1) is complete , the Deputy Commiss ioner or the Subdivisiona l Officer, as the case may be , shall call a meet ing of the Gaon Panch a­ ya t (which shall be calle d the first meeting of the Gaon Pan cha yat ) for elec tion of a Pre sident and Vice-President from amongst its mem bers in the ma nner prescribed.’, 3 (2) In sub-section (3) for the woid ‘three’ occurring between the words ‘be ’ and ‘years’ the word ‘fou r’ shall be substituted. (3) Th e existing sub-section (5) shall be de leted and sub-section (6) shall be renum bered as sub­ section (5). Su bs titut ion 5. For section 13 of the principal Act, the of se ctio n 13 following shal l be substituted, namely :— of Assam Ac t X X IV of 1959. " rf CGann ®̂ a t e g ov ernm en t may app oin t a Secre tary P° nc ha ya t. t î e Gaon Panchayat who shall also function as ’ the Sec reta ry of the Gao n Sa bh a concern ed : Provide d th at one Sec reta ry may be app oin ted for more than one Gaon Pa nchaya t.” Amendm ent 6. In sub-section (1) of section 16 of th e pr inc ipal of sect ion 16 Ac t,— of Assam Act X X IV of 1959. (1 ) in clause (e), betw een the words “ Gov ernment” and “or” occurring in the first line, the words ‘‘or any edu cat ional inst itut ion recognised by and receiving gran t from the Go ver nm ent ” shall be inserted ; (2 ) at the end of clause (f ), for the pu nc tua­ tion full stop, the pu nc tua tio n semicolon shall be sub stituted and the rea fte r the wor d “or” shall be add ed ; (3) afte r clause ( f ), the following shall be inserted as clause (g), na mely:— “ (g) has been a defa ulte r of pay ment of any rate, tax , cess or fee imposed under sections 75 or 76 of the Act and the rules framed the reunde r or of any loan of any Co-opera­ tive Soc iety .” 7. In section 17 of the principal Act,— Amen dm en t (1) for sub-section (1) the following shall be ° fofCAs9am7 substitu ted, na me ly:— Act X X IV of 1959. “ (1) Th e Anchalik P anc hay at) as es tabli shed u nder section 5 shall consist of— (i) all Pres iden ts of th e Gaon Panch aya ts falling within the ju risd iction of the A nchalik Pan­ chayat : (ii'i one-third of total num ber of members under the preced ing clause subje ct to a 4 min imum of three to be elected in the pres­ crib ed ma nner from amongst the members of Gaon Sabha s by an electoral college consisting of al l m embers of the Gaon Pan - chayats falling w ithin the juris dic tion of the Anchalik Pa nc ha ya t: Prov ided th at when one thi rd is a fract ion which is h al f or more than ha lf of a whole num ber, then the n um ber shall be roun ded to the next higher num ber and if less shal l be igno red: Provided fur the r th at i f a member of the Gaon Panch aya t is elec ted as a me mb er of the Ancha lik Pan cha yat , he shall im med iate ly cease to b e a mem ber of the Gaon Panchayat; (iii) one rep res ent ative to be elected, in the ma nner prescr ibed, by the Ch airme n of Co- ope rative Societies falling within the are a of the Anchalik Panchayat from amongst themselves: Prov ided th at notwithstanding any thing herein con tained no member elected before coming into force of th e Assam Panchayat (Amendm ent) Act, 1964 shall be disquali fied even if such member was no t a Chairma n of any Co-o pera tive Society at t he tim e o f his electio n; (iv) such num ber of member or members as may be nomin ated by the Sta te Go­ vernment from the unrepre sented areas like tea-gard ens and forest villages fal­ ling wi thi n the jur isd ict ion of th e An­ cha lik Pa nc ha ya t.” ; (2) for sub-section (5) the following shall be sub stit ute d, na mely:— “ (5) No person shal l be elected, co-opted or no­ minat ed an d rem ain as member of the Anchalik Pa nc ha ya t, if he suffers from any of the disqualif i­ cations men tion ed in sub-section (1) (a) to (g) of sec­ tion 16.” Am end ment 8. Existing section 18 of th e prin cipal Act shall be of sec tion ren um bered as sub-section (1) and the following 'I c fx x iV sha M he inse rted as sub-section (2), namely of 1959. “ (2) If the Preside nt of a Gaon Panchayat is elec­ ted as the President of the Anc hal ik Pan chayat , he shall , on and f rom the d ate of his election as such, cease to be, an d vac ate the office of the Gao n Pa n­ ch ay at bu t such cessat ion shall no t affect in any way his election as t he P residen t of th e Anchal ik Pancha­ ya t as such an d he shall con tinue to hold the office of the Pre sident of the Anchalik Pa nchaya t,” 5* Insertion o f 9. Afte r section 18 of the princ ipa l Act, t he fo llo w an ew se c - jn „ gjja ll be in ser ted as section 18A, nam ely:— tion I8A in a Assam Act XXIV of 1959. “Additional I8A. Th e Preside nt of the Gaon Panch aya t who n?e “l b c r , vacates his office as such under sub-section (2) of lil P̂ancha"-s e c t ’o n 18 because of his having been elec ted as yat. the Preside nt of the Ancha lik Panch aya t shall also be the member of such Anchalik Pa nchaya t.” Amendmen t 10. In sub-sec tion (1) of section 19 of the pri nc ipa l ofA«am Act, f° r ^ i e word “ three ” occurring between the Act XXIV words “ be” and “ year s” the word “fou r” shall of 1959. be substituted. Sub stitu tion jj. For s e c tion 22 of the principal Act, the 22 oMssam following shall be subs titu ted , namely :— Act X X IV of I95g. “ Consti­ tut ion of the Mohkuma Parishad . 22. (1) Th e Mohkuma Parishad as establ ished under section 4 shall consist o f - (i) the Presidents of all Anchalik Panch aya ts within the a rea of the Mo hkum a Parish ad ; (ii) the Deputy Commissioner and theS ub- divisional Officer ; (iii) all mem bers of Pa rliam ent and members of State Legisla ture , representing the area of the Mo hkum a Parishad ; (iv) the Cha irmen of Municipaliti es, Tow n Comm ittees and Co-operative Central Bank falling w ithin the area of the Mohkuma Par isha d as Ex-officio mem bers ; (v) such Gov ernment officials as Ex-officio mem bers as the Sta te Gov ernment may appo int from time to tim e : Provide d th at if no person belonging to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes , as" the case may be, is a member, the Moh kuma Parish ad shall co-opt from within its are a one such mem ber from among st the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Trib es, as th e case may b e : 6 Provided fur the r th at the Mohkuma Par ishad shall from within the area of its jur isd ict ion , co-opt two women mem bers if no woman is elected and one wom an member, if only one is ele cted. (2) No persons shall be elected or co-opted and rem ain as mem ber of the Moh kuma Par isha d, if he suffers f rom any of the disqualifications mentioned in sub-section (1) (a) to (g) of section 16. (3) An ex-officio member of the Mo hkum a Pa rishad shal l h ave no right to vo te .” Amendm ent 12. In section 23 o f th e principal Ac t,— of section 23 XXIV™ ACo‘f W afte r sub-section (1) the following sha ll be 1959. inse rted as sub-section (2) and the exis ting sub-sections (2) and (3) shal l be ren um bered as sub-sections (3) and (4) respective ly, na mely:— “ (2) If the Pres ident of an Anchalik Panch aya t is elected as the President of the Mohkuma Par ishad he shall on and from the date of his election as suc h, cease to be, and vacate the office of the P resi ­ den t of the Anchalik Panchayat bu t such cessat ion shall not affect in any way his elect ion as the Presi­ dent o f the Mohku ma Parish ad as such and he shall con tinu e to hold the office of the Preside nt of the Mo hku ma Parishad .” ; (2) for sub-section (3) as so renumbere d the fol low­ ing shal l be sub stit ute d, na m ely:— “ (3) Th e Mo hkum a Parishad shall form such numb er of Standin g Com mitt ees and with such powers and funct ions as may be pre scr ibed.” Insertion o f ] 3. After section 23 of the Principal Act, the don W23A M ow in g shall be inse rted as section 23A, nam ely :—■ in Assam Act XX IV of 1959. “ Additional 23A. Th e Preside nt of the Anchalik Panchayat n?e m ^ r , o f who vaca tes his office as such under sub-sec tion (2) ku m aP ar i- ° ? s e c t i° n 23 because of his hav ing been elected as shad. the Preside nt of the Mohkuma Par ishad shall also be the member of such Mo hku ma Pa ris ha d.” Amendment 14. In sub-sect ion (1) of section 24 o f the pr im 21 ofC tAs- c ipa l Act, for the word “t hree” occ urr ing between sam Act the words “ be” and ‘‘years” , the w ord “ four” shall XX IV of be substituted. 1959. 7 Amendment of section 27 o f As­ sam Act X X IV ot 1959, 15. In section 27 of the principal Act ,- (I) in sub-section (1)— (a) in clause (a) , for item (i), the following shall be subs tituted , namely :— “ (i) if he suffers from any of the disqua lifi­ cations men tioned in sub-section (1) (a) to (g) of section 16 (b) for clause (b), the following shal l be subs­ titu ted , na mely:— “ (b) A Pres iden t or Vic e-Presiden t of a Gaon or Anchalik Pa nchayat or a Mohkuma Parish ad shall imm ediate ly cease to hold office, if by three- fifths major ity of votes of members presen t a m otion of no-confidence is passed by them in a meeting of the Gaon or Anc hal ik Panch aya t or the Mohku­ ma Par ishad, as the case may be, where at least a min imum of tw o-thi rds of to tal numb er of mem­ ber s is p re se nt : Pro vided th at at least seven days’ notice in wri ting shall be given by the intend ing mover of the no-co nfidence mo tion to the President and Vice-President of t he Gaon or Anchalik Panchayat or the Mohku ma Parishad , as the case may be, be­ fore such a mo tion can be discussed.” ; (2) in sub-sect ion (2), between the words “ Vice- Pre sident ” and “ o f ” , the words “or member” shall be inserted ; (3) in sub-section (3), afte r the existing proviso the following shall be add ed as the second proviso, na mely:— “ Provide d fur the r th at notwithstanding any thin g conta ine d in this sub-sect ion, the Sta te Governm ent may, at any time, suspend a Pres iden t or Vice-Presi­ dent of a Gaon or Anchalik Panchayat or Mohkuma Par ishad pending his removal und er tlus sub-section if his con tinuan ce in office is considered inadvisable by the Sta te Governm ent on any of the g roun ds for which he may be disquali fied un de r sub-section (21 of this section or on the ground of pub lic intere st.” £ V „ , . . 16. For section 32 of the principal Act, the stsec tion following shal l be substituted, namely :— 32 of Assam Act X X IV of 195g. 32. Save as otherwise provide d, the Mo hku ma ' ofm Pp”mcha- Parish ad may app oin t such staffs may be necessary yat staff "for the Gaon or Anchalik Pan cha yat or Mohkunw Pari shad . 8 Salary , pro motion and oth er c ondi tions of services inc lud ing discipl inary act ion of such staffs sha ll be det erm ined by rules to be ma de for the purpose.” Amen dm en t l7 « Part H of section 36 of the prin cipal of sec tion Act— 36 o f A ssam (j ) fo r item (19), the following shall be sub stit ute d, oH 95 9 V n a m e l y : - “ (19) establishment of ha t and maintena nce an d regula tion thereo f according to the provisions of section 76A.” ^section *8* Existing section 37 of the principal Act shall 37 ofC As- be renum bered as sub-section (1) and in the sub-section A«am Ac t (1) as so renum bered— X X IV of (i ) (a) for item (6) in Pa rt II , the following shall 19 59 , be sub stit ute d, namely :— “ (6) establishme nt o f ha t an d maintena nce and reg ula tion the reo f according to the provisions of sec­ tion 76A ; (b) for item (8) in Pa rt V, the following shall be substi tuted , na mely:— “ (8) preparati on of development plans for the area under t he juris dic tion of the Anchalik Panch aya t.” (2) After sub-section (1) as so ren um bered the following shall be inse rted as sub-section (2), namely :— “ (2) Th e State Government m ay transfer any of its inst itut ions, works o r develop men t schemes in rela tion to any subject enu merate d in sub-section (1) along with such funds as may be deemed necessary to the Anchalik Panchayat. On such tran sfer , the ins titu ­ tions , works or development schemes shall vest in the Anchalik Panchayat and a ll rights and liabili ties which are enforceable by or again st the Sta te Governm ent in rela tion to such inst itut ions , works or deve lopm ent schemes under an y contract or agreemen t or otherw ise, shal l be enforceab le by or against the Anchalik Pa nchaya t.” T I Am endn,en t 19 . of sect ion 38 of Assam Act X X IV o f 1939. In section 38 o f the prin cipal Act,— (1) the word “ and” occurring at the end of clause (g) shall be dele ted ; (2) for t he punc tua tion full stop “ (.) ” occ urr ing at the end of clause (h) the punc tua tio n semicolon “ (; )” shall be subs titu ted and the rea fter the word “ an d” sha ll be inserted ; *! (3) after clause (h) the following shall be inser ted as c lause (i), namely :— “ (i) admi nis tra tio n of subdivisional cadre of Pan cha yat employees as p rescribed.” 9 itoendmen* 20. In section 69 of the prin cipal Act,— of section r ’ Act X X IV (1) for c lause (iv), the following shall be substi tu- of 1959. ted , nam ely ;— “ (lv) con trib utio n from Gov ernment including a share of lan d revenue which shall be a sum not less than thirty-three naye paise per capita of the pop ula tion, and local rat e collected f rom the area of the Gaon Pan cha yat calcula ted at twenty-five naye paise per capita o f the populat ion : Provided that the Sta te Government may dire ct the Goan Panch aya t to spend a specified sha re of the ne t r ece ipt o f loca l r ate for any purpose specified by the Sta te Governm ent (2) the word "a nd ” occu rring at the end of clause (ix) shall be dele ted ; (3) for the punctu ati on full stop "( ,) ” at the end of clause (x) the pun ctu ation semicolon " (; )” sha ll be sub stituted and ther eaf ter the word "a nd” be adde d ; (4 ) after clause (x) th e following shall be Linserted as clause (xi), namely :— "(xi ) an equal amount of contr ibu tion from Government as ma tch ing gran t on every rupee of house-t ax collec ted by the Gaon Panchaya t under section 75(1) (i) (a) of the A ct,” Amendment j l . In section 70 of the p rincipal Act,— of section 70 r r » Act X X IV ( l ) for clause (iii), the following shall be sub- of 1959* sti tuted , nam ely • "(i ii) all oth er sums collec ted by the An chali k Panchayat or assigned to the Anchalik A Panchayat by the Sta te Gov ernment as * well as g ran ts from the Un ion or the Sta te Governmen t inc lud ing a share of lan d revenue which shall be. a sum not x less than seventeen naye paise per capita of the populat ion, pub lic con trib ution and con trib ution by' Local Author itie s;” ; (2) the word ‘an d’ occu rring at the end of clause (vi) shall be deleted ; tt.f— 10 < (3) for the punctuatio n fullstop at the end o f clause (vii), the punctua tion semi­ colon shall be substitu ted a nd the re­ after the w ord “ an d” be add ed ; (4) afte r clause (vii), the following shall be insert ed as c lause (viii) , namely “ (viii) such am ount of con trib ution from the Sta te Government as ma tch ing grant, on local rate surc harge collected by the Ancbalik Pan cha yat unde r section 76(1) (d) of the Ac t.” 22. In section 75 of the prin cipal Act, i n sub- 75 of Assam 8 c c t *o n (1 ), for item (a) of clause (i) , the follow ing Act XXIV sha ll be sub sti tuted , nam ely s —- o f 1959. “ (a) house 2 ^‘ s e c , i o n 7 6 o f the prin cipa l Act— 16 of Asians Act XXIV (1) in sub-section (1), afte r clause (c) th e following shall be inserted as clause (d ), na mely:—• “ (d) surc harge on loca l rat e collected from within t he are a of an Anchal ik Pancha­ ya t.” ; {2) in clause (b) of sub-section (2) for the words “ brick or concrete bui lding” the word “h ouse” shall be substituted. AcscBtlmeat 24. In section 76A of the princi pal Act ­ or section Ac t^J oS v" ( 0 f o r sub-section (4), the following sha ll be o f 1959. substitu ted, na mely:— “ (4) All sa le proceeds of hat s shall be dep o­ sited in the Subdiv isions! Ru ra l Deve­ lopm ent Fun d and dis trib ute d in the man ne r her ein after pro vided afte r ded uct ing the amoun t due. if any , as ann ual ins talment for repaym ent of the loa n with inte rest inc urr ed by a Gaon or Anchalik Panch aya t for the imp roveme nt of h at : — 0) if the balance of the sale proceeds of any hat aft er providing as aforesaid, for rep ayme nt of loan, if any , does not exceed rupees thre e tho usand, then the en tire amount shall be made over to the Gaon Panch aya t within whose jur isd iction the ha t is sit uate j 11 (/«) if the balance of the sale p rocaeds of any hat after providing for repaym ent o f loa n, if any , as aforesaid exceeds rupees thr ee tho usa nd bu t does not exceed rupees ten tho usand, then a sum of rupees three thousand shal l go to the Gao n Panch aya t within whose jur isd ict ion the ha t is situa te an d the balance to the Anchalik Pa nc ha ya t within whose jur isd ict ion the ha t is situate ; (ti») if the balanc e of the sale procee ds of any ha t after providing as aforesaid for rep ayme nt of loan, if any , exceeds rupees ten thousand, then a sum of rupees t hre e thou sand shall go to the Gaon P anchayat within whose juri sd ic­ tion the ha t is situat e a nd a sum of rupees seven thousand shal l go t o the Anchalik Panch aya t within whose jur isd ict ion the ha t is s itua te and the bal anc e shall go t o a common pool ; (u>) five pe r c ent of the co mmon pool shall be kep t for m eeting the expenses of con­ ducti ng the sale of hat s an d one- th ird of the balance be dis trib uted among all the Anchalik Panch aya ts and the rem ain ing two-thirds among all the Gaon Pan chayats within the area of th e Mohku ma Parishad . The basis of d istr ibu tion shall be area-«rwt- pop ula tion in bo th the cases.” ; (2) for t he punc tua tio n full stop " (. )” occu rrin g at the end of sub-section (5), the punc­ tua tion colon “ ( ;) ” shal l be su bsti tute d an d the following proviso shall be added the reafter , namely ‘’"Provided th at th e Gaon or Anc hal ik Pancha­ ya t which receives a loan for improve ­ ment of a ha t, shall cont inue t o ma intain and regula te the h at till the en tire am oun t of loan with i nte res t is repa id .” 25, R ep ea l a n d sav in g .— (1) Th e Assam Pan - Assam O rd h ch ay at (Am endment) Or din ance, 1964 is hereb y nance No .I repe aled . o f (2) No twithstanding such rep eal, any thing do ne > or any action tak en unde r the Assam Pa nc ha ya t , (Am end ment) Or dinanc e, 1964 shall be deemed to have been done or taken under this Act as if this Act had comm enced on twenty second day of Ja nu ar y, 1964 (the date of prom ulg ation of the Ordin ance). A G P (Leg) 27/64—7,612-16 -7-64