The Assam Tribal Development Authority Act, 2005

Il THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, OCT. 10, 1983 857 Short tit le , ex ten t an d comm ence­ m en t. • The 10th Octob er 1983 No. LGL. 161/81/104.—The following Act of the Assam Legislative Asse mbly which received the assent of the Governo r is hereb y pub lished for gen era l information . ASSAM ACT NO. XI OF 1983. (Received the assent of the Governor on 8th October, 1983) TH E AS SA M TR IB AL DE VE LO PM EN T AU TH OR ITY ACT, 1983 An Act to pro vide for the setting up of a Tribal De velop me nt Au tho rity to acc elerat e develop me nt in the Plain s Trib al Are as of the S tat e o f Assam . Preamble. W he reas it is ex pe di en t to pr ov ide fo r th e se tt in g up of a Triba l Dev elop m en t A uth ori ty to ac ce le ra te de ve lo pm en t in th e Pl ai ns T ri bal Are as of th e S ta te of Assam . It is he re by en ac ted in th e T hir ty -f ourt h Yea r of th e Rep ub lic o f In di a as fol low s :— 1. (i) Th is Ac t m ay be ca lle d th e As sam T riba l Dev elop m en t A uth or ity A ct, 1983. (ii) It sh al l com e in to fo rce on su ch da te as th e S ta te Gov er nm en t may , by no ti ­ fic ati on in th e offic ial Gaz et te ap po in t.7f . (iii) Th e Act sh al l ap pl y to su ch ar ea or .ar ea s as th e S ta te Gov er nm en t m ay by no tif icat ion in th e offic ial Gaz et te from t im e to t im e spe cify. 2. In th is Ac t un less th ere is an yt hi ng re pug­ nan t in t he su bje ct or c o n te x t:— (a) "A uth ori ty ” m ea ns th e Triba l Dev elop ­ m en t A uth ori ty o f A ssam. (b) "G ov er nm en t” mea ns th e Sta te Gov er n­ m en t of Assam . (c) "G ov er no r” mea ns th e Gov er no r of Assam . I De fin ition . 853 fH E AS SAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINA RY, OCT. , 10, 1983 (d) "Rule s” mean the rules made under this Act. (e) 'M LA ’ and 'MP ’ mean the member of the Leg islative Assembly of the State of Assam and the member of Lok Sabha or Ra jya S abha respectively . The se tting up of the Autho rit y an d its co m­ posit ion. CHAPTER II 3. (1) The Gove rnment shall set up a Tribal Deve lopm ent Au thority for the Plains Tribal Are as of Assam imme­ dia tely afte r the coming into force of this Act. •‘--At' ; (2) The Au thori ty will be a corporate body with a perp etual succession and com­ mon seal. (3) The Autho rity , unless sooner dissolved, . shal l continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meetings : Provide d that the said period may be exten­ ded by the Governo r by notification in the Official Gazette for a period not exce eding one yea r at a time. 4. The Authority . shall consist of the followi ng :— (1) (a) The Chairman of the Au tho rity shall be the Chief Minister , Assam. (b) The Vice-Chairma n shal l be the Minister in-ch arge of the Welfar e of r Plains Tribes and Bac kwa rd Classes Department. (c) A ll Plains Tri bal M.L.As. and M.Ps. of the State representing the area in ’ which the Act is applicable. f li E ASSAM GA ZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, OCT. 10, 1983 859 (d) 8 (eight) members to be elected as provided in sub-section (2) of this Section str ict ly by the limited vote rs belon ging to the Plains Tribal Com­ munities of the Gaon Pan chayat areas, or a part of the Gaon Pan cha­ yat fal ling with in the areas to which this Act is applied. (e) An officer not bel ow the rank of a Divisional Commissioner nominated by the Governm ent shal l be the Member-Sec retary of the Authority. (f) 5 (five) Ex-officio members nominated by the Gov ernm ent from among the officers of the Developmental Dep art­ ments. (g) Not more than two repre sentative s shal l be nominated by the Central Government. (2) As soon as possible afte r the coming into force of the Act, the Gove rnment shall arrange to hold the elections for the members to be elected as provided under clause (d) above. The members of the Gaon Pan chayat or a part of the Gaon Pan chayat fal ling in the area to which the Act is applied shall form the Elec­ tora l College for the purposes. The pro­ cedure for the election shal l be as laid down by the Rules. 5. The tenure of the Vice-Chairma n shal l be for a period of five years . The terms of the m em­ bers who are M L. As or M.Ps shall be coterm inus with the ir membership of the Legis lat ive Assemb ­ ly or Par liam ent as the case ma y be. The normal terms of the members electe d under Section 4(1) (d) shall be for a period of five years. 860 THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAO RDINA RY, OCT. 10, 1983 6. Notw ithst anding any thin g contained herein befo re the Governo r may from time to time reconstitute the Autho rity . Salary and allowances of Vice- Chairman , 7. The Vice-Chairman (if nominated from members other than Minister) shall receive TA/ DA as per rules and sitting fees as may be laid down by the Government. 8. The non-official members of the Autho rity sha ll rece ive such TA/ DA as per rules and sitting fees as the G overnment ma y decide : Prov ided that the Governmen t may, while decid ing the sittin g fees pay able to MPs. and ML As., take into account the provisions of Art i­ cle 102 and 192 of the Const itution of India and also those of Par liam ent (Prev ention of Disquali­ fication) Act. 1959 and such Acts of the State of Assam in respect of preventio n and disqu alifica­ tions of the members of the State Legislatu re. Resignation. 9. A ny of the members of the Au tho rity may resig n his office by addressing a let ter to the Chairman. i m̂berf °f 10.,(1) The Governm ent shal l have the right to remove the Vice-Chairman (if nominated from the members other than the Minister) or any other member of the Au tho rity befo re the expir y of his term on any one or more of the follo wing gro un ds:— , __ (a) On his refu sal to serve in the Authority. ........ (b) If he is incap able of holding the office, due to disease or infirmity. (c) On absence Srom 5 (five) succ essive mee t­ ings of the Au tho rity without suffi­ cient reason. (d) If he has misused his office. THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, OCT, 10, 1983 861 (e) If hi s re te ntion in th e A uth ori ty is o th er ­ wi se co ns idered un de si ra bl e or ag ains t \ th e in te re st of th e A ut ho ri ty , ■ - w (2) Th e or de r und er su b- se ct io n (i) above sh al l no t be pa ssed unti l th e V ic e- Cha irm an or m em be r co nc erne d ha s be en give n an opp ort un i­ ty to show cause as to w hy th e or de r shou ld no t be p ass ed . (3) A pe rson remov ed from ' th e office under su b- se ct io n (i) sh al l be di squa lif ied from ho ld ing an y office un de r th e au th ori ty fo r 5 ye ar s, com ­ men cing from t he da te of su ch remov al . vâ lciX-611 11- T h e Gov er nm en t sh al l ha ve th e po wer to fill up th e va ca nc ies in ac co rdan ce w ith th e pr ov is ions of th e Act , in case of t he office of Vice- Cha irm an or a M em be r fa lls va ca nt du e to re sign at ion, remov al , de at h or an y ot he r cause be fo re th e ex piry of te rm of su ch Vice-Cha irm an or mem be rs . Th e te rm of su ch Vic e-Cha irm an or m em be rs sh al l be co te rm in us w ith th e ex piry of th e te rm of th e ot he r re gu la r m em be rs of th e Aut ho ri ty . Authorhyhc 12 Th e A uth ori ty m ay ha ve su ch sta ff as m ay be de cid ed by th e A uth ori ty w ith th e ap ­ pr ov al o f th e Gov ernm en t. CH AP TE R II I Pro ce du re fo r th e m ee ting of th e A ut hori ty tite^uthol H) Th e A uth ori ty sh al l m ee t at le as t onc e rity. in th re e m on th s pr ov id ed th a t a m ee tin g of th e A uth ori ty m ay be ca lle d by th e Cha irm an at sh ort er in te rv al s if he co ns iders it ne ce ssary. (2) Th e Cha irm an or in his absenc e th e V ic e- Cha irm an sh al l pi es ide ov er th e m ee ting of th e A ut ho ri ty . In th e ab senc e of th e Cha irm an an d th e V ic e- Cha irm an th e m em be rs pr es en t sh al l elec t an y m em be r to pr es id e ov er th e mee tin g. s 862 THE ASSAM GAZETTE. EXTRA ORDIi'IARY, OCT. 10, 1983 Special invi­ tees. Quorum. {3) The notice for the meet ing of the Autho ­ ri ty sha ll be issued by the Member Secre tar y and nor ma lly 10 days’ notice will be necessary unless the requ irem ent is waived by the Chair­ man. 14 The Chairman may invite such person to attend the meet ing as he may consider neces­ sar y but such invi tees shal l have no voting power. 15. (i) One-third of the total voting mem­ bers of the Au thori ty shal l form a quorum for a meeting. ,,. (ii) In case the minimum numb er of the vot ing members form ing a quoru m are not present in a meeting, the meeting shall be postponed and reconvened afte r giv ing 7 day s’ notice. No quoru m shall be nece ssary to transact any business of the recon vened meeting . Function s of 16. (1) The Au thority shal l have the fol low - Ehe Autho- -n g fU n c tions :— (a) To prep are short-te rm and long-term plans for all round socio-economic dev e­ lopment of the areas to which this Act Is applied. (b) To form ulate schemes for the deve lop­ ment of the area in the context and within the frame-wo rk of the State Plans. (c) To recommend such other measures as nia y be considered nece ssary for acce le­ rating the development of the area. (d) To rev iew the schemes for the deve lop­ ment of the area and their progress from time to time. 3 THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, OCT. 10, 1983 863 (e) To call for the reports relating to the implemen tation of the developm ent pro­ grammes in the area and to suggest measures for co-ordination and sup ervi­ sion o f th e Schemes. (2) The Au thori ty may wit h the approva l of the Gov ernm ent set up such agency at Sub -Divisiona l or block level as it may consider nec essary for the effec tive disch arge of its fun c­ tions. CHAPTER IV Fund of the Authority 17. The Au thority shal l have its own fund called "Th e Triba l Deve lopm ent Au thority Fun d” into which all the sums rece ived from the Governm ent for the development of the area will be credited. The fund shall be non-lapsable, 18. The Governm ent ma y fram e rules for maintenance of the fund and for regulat ing the accou nting procedure to be foll owed by the Autho rity . 19. The Acco unts of the Au thority will be subject to Aud it by such agencies as the Gov ernm ent ma y prescribe from time to time. Budget. 20. The Au thority shall adopt its budget be­ fore the commencement of the financial yea r and the budget will be operated wit h the approval of the Government. bowow.T 21. The Au thori ty shall have the power to take loans from the Governm ent on such term s and conditions as ma y be agreed upon. Submission o f Annual Repor t. 22. Within 3 months of the ex piry of each financial yea r, the Au tho rity shall submit a re­ port to the Governm ent indic ating the activities, I 864 TH E ASSAM GAZETTE., EX TR AO RD IN AR Y, OC . 10, 1983 reve nue and expenditure of the Au tho rity during the course of the financial yea r. ^bmit'ty/e- 23. The Au thori ty shall subm it reports and pons, etc. furnish such figures and data as may be required by the Government. CHA PTER V Miscellaneous st°â er Gov- 24. The Gove rnment shal l have the eminent to power to issue from time to time such directive s tiveS e direc" to the Au thori ty as it ma y consider necessary and the Au thori ty shall carry them out. Authority °f 25. The members, the staff and office bearers and st af f to of the Au thori ty shal l be deemed to be public sCTvPants.1 , c serva nts within the mean ing of Section 21 of the Indian Pan el C'ode. o fi n v li id a " 26. No Ac t or proceedings of the Au tho rity tion of Act shall be inva lidated by reasons of any vac ancy £gs Proceed" in the Autho rity , any defe ct in the composition the reo f or any irr egular ity in the procedure of rhe Autho rity . Protection for acts done. 27. No suit shall lie against any public ser­ van t for anything done by him in good faith under the Act . Power to make rules. 28. The Gove rnment shall have the power to make rules to give effect to the pro vi­ sions of the Ac t as it ma y consider ne ce ssar y: Pro vided that such rules shall be laid as soon as m ay be, after they are made, befo re the Assam Leg islative Assembly wh ile it is in session for a tota l period of four teen days which ma y be com­ prised in one session or in two successive sessions, and it befo re the expiry of the session in which it is so laid, or in session imm edia tely follo wing. T il t ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, OCT. *0, 1983 865 th e Assam Le gi slat ive As sembly ag re ed in m ak ­ ing an y mo dif ica tio n in th e ru le or th e Assam Le gi slat iv e As sembly ag ree th a t no ru le s shou ld be ma de, th e ru le s sh al l th er ea ft er , ha ve effe ct on ly in su ch m odifie d f or m o r be of no effec t, as t he eas e m ay b e : Pr ov id ed th a t an y such modifica­ tio n or an nu lm en t sh al l be w itho ut pr ej ud ic e to th e va lidi ty of an yt hi ng pr ev io us ly done un de r th e ru les. M«al 29 (H The Assam Tribal qren t A uth ori ty Ord inan ce , 1983 is her eof ti iT by repe aled .r \ (2) Notwithstanding such repeal anything done or any action taken under the ordinance go repealed shall be deem­ ed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of th is Act, rx e, sarma, Secy, to the Govt, of Assam, Jud icia l & Leg isla tive Depth OAWHA¥t,«Pfinted and pttfelhtWd by the Sup dte i/c.„ Govtg Pr in ting Press (8*»0«aette) No«2S7—l,000 +9cO—lO-10»1983.