Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Rules 1996 (Chapter 6 Conduct of Business in Meetings)

 Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Rules 1996

39. Meetings of Panchayati Raj Institutions. – A Panchayat shall meet at least once a fortnight, a Panchayat Samiti at least once a month, and a Zila Parishad at least once a quarter, a period of more than four months shall not, however, intervene between any two meetings of a Zila Parishad:

[Provided that the State Government may issue direction to hold the meeting on such date as fixed by it.]

40. Notice of Meetings. – (1) A notice specifying the place, date, and time of the meeting as well as the business to be transacted thereat shall be at least seven clear days before the meeting of Panchayat and at least ten clear days before the meeting of a Panchayat Samiti or a Zila Parishad, be given by the Secretary/Vikas Adhikari/Chief Executive Officer respectively to all the members of the concerned Panchayati Raj Institution.

(2) In the case of Panchayat, the Sarpanch may convene a special meeting by giving shorter notice than that specified in Sub-rule (1) but in no case, the period of notice shall be less than three days.

(3) The notice shall be sent by post or such other mode as the Secretary/Vikas Adhikari/Chief Executive Officer may consider expedient to every member of the concerned Panchayati Raj Institution at his ordinary place of residence. The notice shall also be sent, in the case of a meeting of a Panchayat, to the Vikas Adhikari, the Patwari, and any other Tehsil level functionary of the State Government or of a Panchayati Raj Institution, whose attendance and participation in the deliberations of such meetings appears to the convener of the meeting to be desirable and, in the case of a meeting of a Panchayat Samiti or Zila Parishad, to such District and Tehsil level Officers whose attendance in such meeting is considered desirable under Sub-Section (7) of Section 48.

(4) A copy of the notice of every meeting shall also be affixed on the Notice Board of the office of the concerned Panchayati Raj Institution.

41. Agenda for a meeting. – (1) The agenda for a meeting will be prepared by the Secretary/Vikas Adhikari/Chief Executive Officer in consultation with the Sarpanch/Pradhan/Pramukh and may include any subject which, in his opinion, should be considered by the Panchayat/Panchayat Samiti/Zila Parishad and shall include any subject specified by the Sarpanch/Pradhan/Pramukh.

(2) Motion sought to be made by the members shall also be included in the agenda provided that the Chairperson of the concerned Panchayati Raj Institution may disallow any motion which in his opinion contravenes the provisions of the Act or the rules made thereunder and his decision shall be final.

(3) In the case of the agenda of the panchayat, the following items shall be included invariably: –

(i) Compliance with the last meeting;

(ii) Statement of Income and expenditure as per cash book;

(iii) Mutations of deceased cultivators;

(iv) Removal of encroachments in Abadi and pasture lands;

(v) Utilisation of funds under various schemes;

(vi) Physical progress of construction works;

(vii)Review of village Sanitation, Street Lighting, Rural Roads, Drinking Water, Anganvadi, Fair Price Shops, and Maintenance of School Buildings;

(viii) Vaccination and Family Welfare.

42. Special meeting. – The Chairperson of a Panchayati Raj Institution may, whenever he thinks fit, and shall, on the request of not less than one-third of the total number of members of such Panchayati Raj Institution within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the request, call a special meeting of a Panchayati Raj Institution. If the Chairperson fails to do so, the Deputy Chairperson or Vikas Adhikari in case of Panchayat, Chief Executive Officer in case of Panchayat Samiti, and Divisional Commissioner in the case of Zila Parishad and after giving three clear days’ notice in the case of a Panchayat and seven clear days notice in the case of a Panchayat Samiti or Zila Parishad to all the members of the Panchayati Raj Institution call such meeting.

43. Mode of putting the question of the vote. – When a question is put to vote, the presiding authority shall call for a show of hands and he shall count the hands shown for or against and declare the result. In case of equality of votes, the Chairperson shall have a casting vote.

44. Minutes of the proceedings of the meetings. – (1) The proceedings of the meeting of a Panchayati Raj Institution shall be in Hindi and shall, in the minute’s book, be recorded by the Secretary in the case of a Panchayat, by the Vikas Adhikari in the case of a Panchayat Samiti and by the Chief Executive Officer in the case of a Zila Parishad.

(2) Proceedings shall include the attendance of members present along with their signatures and the decisions taken. Although it will not be necessary to give details of the debates or discussions held about the various resolutions moved in the meeting, it will be the duty of the official recording the proceeding to give details of every resolution which in his opinion is inconsistent with the provision of the Act or any other law or the rules made thereunder or instructions issued by the State Government along with reasons.

(3) A copy of the proceedings shall be sent, in the case of a Panchayat, to the Panchayat Samiti in the case of a Panchayat Samiti, to a Zila Parishad as well as to all the members of the Panchayat Samiti and in the case of a Zila Parishad to all the members of the Zila Parishad. Such copies shall be sent within fifteen days. In case of any resolution in contravention of the Act or rules as referred to in Sub-rule (2). Secretary and Vikas Adhikari shall report within twenty-four hours to the Chief Executive Officer and in case such resolution has been taken by Zila Parishad, Chief Executive Officer and in case such resolution has been taken by Zila Parishad, Chief Executive Officer shall report to Director Rural Development. The Secretary/Vikas Adhikari/Chief Executive Officer shall also forward relevant extract of the minutes of the meeting to the district Tehsil level Officers of the departments concerned for necessary action at their level.

45. Certain restrictions on speaking. – (1) A member while speaking shall not –

(a) comment in any matter on which a judicial decision is pending;

(b) make a personal charge against a member of the Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson of a Panchayat Raj Institution or any officer of the Government;

(c) use offensive expressions about the conduct of proceedings of the Parliament or of the Legislature of any State or any other Panchayati Raj Institution;

(d) utter defamatory words;

(e) use his right of speech to obstruct the business of the Panchayati Raj Institution; or

(f) persist in irrelevant or in the tedious repetition of his own arguments or of the arguments used by other members in the debate.

(2) No member shall speak more than once except the proposed who has the right to reply.

46. Duration of speeches. – The presiding authority shall regulate the duration of speeches at his own discretion.

47. Procedure when a member has a pecuniary interest in the subject under consideration of meeting. – (1) The presiding authority may prohibit any member from voting on or taking part in the discussion of any subject in which he believes such member to have, apart from its general application to the public, any direct or indirect pecuniary interest by himself or as a partner.

(2) Such member may challenge the decision of the presiding authority who shall thereon put the question to the meeting and the decision of the meeting shall be final. The concerned member shall not, however, be entitled to vote when such a question is put to the meeting.

48. Arrangement of business for Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad meetings. – (1) The arrangement of business to be transacted at a meeting shall ordinarily be as follows: –

(a) oath or affirmation, if necessary;

(b) confirmation of the proceedings of the preceding meeting;

(c) a statement of the action taken on the decisions of the preceding meeting;

(d) a perusal of the proceedings of Standing Committees;

(e) information regarding important papers (Audit Reports, Inspection Reports, Circulars, Instructions, etc.);

(f) physical and financial progress report of schemes in progress for the preceding three months;

(g) implementation of the annual plan proposals;

(h) review of employment generation and poverty alleviation programs;

(i) rural sanitation and rural housing programs;

(j) steps are taken to increase own income and progress of revenue collection;

(k) any other business which may be permitted by the presiding authority to be taken up.

(2) The presiding authority may, in his own discretion or on the motion of any member, make such variations in the relative procedure of the various items of business enumerated in Sub-rule (1) as he may consider necessary looking to the special circumstances of a case.

49. Withdrawal of a member. – The presiding authority may direct any member whose conduct is, in his opinion, grossly disorderly, to withdraw immediately from the meeting and any member so ordered to withdraw shall do so forthwith and absent himself during the remainder of the day’s sitting.

50. Suspension of a sitting. – The presiding authority may in case of a grave disorder arising in the meeting of a Panchayati Raj Institution suspend any sitting for a time to be decided by him.

51. Procedure for conduct of meetings of the Standing Committee. – (1) The Chairman of a Standing Committee may at any time call a meeting when there are sufficient agenda items to be discussed. [At least one meeting shall be held every month]:

[Provided that the State Government may issue direction to hold the meeting on such date as fixed by it.]

(2) Procedure for notice of meeting recording the minutes, voting on decisions, restrictions on speaking, and conduct of meetings shall be same as for special meeting of Panchayat Samiti or Zila Parishad.

(3) Quorum for Standing Committee shall be of three including the Chairman of such Committee.

52. Conflicting resolutions of Standing Committees. – In any case, in which two or more Standing Committees have passed conflicting resolutions, the Vikas Adhikari shall place the matter before the Panchayat Samiti and the Chief Executive Officer before the Zila Parishad and pending final decision of Panchayat Samiti/Zila Parishad, the Vikas Adhikari/Chief Executive Officer shall withhold all action regarding the matter at issue.

53. Attendance of officers. – (1) Vikas Adhikari or Chief Executive Officer [shall be Secretary for the meetings and shall attend all the meetings] of Standing Committees unless he is prevented due to illness, leave, or urgent official business outside the headquarters of Panchayat Samiti/Zila Parishad.

(2) In such case [an officer appointed by the Vikas Adhikari or Chief Executive Officer, as the case may be, shall perform the functions of Secretary and attend] such meetings and shall inform about the decisions taken to the Vikas Adhikari or Chief Executive Officer on return as the case may be.

[(3) If it shall appear to a Standing Committee that the presence of an Officer of the Government Posted in the jurisdiction of the Panchayati Raj Institution concerned is desirable at its meetings, the Vikas Adhikari or the Chief Executive Officer shall inform such Officer not less than three days before the date of the meeting and such Officer shall unless prevented by sickness or other reasonable cause, attend the meeting.]

54. Compliance with decisions. – It shall be the duty of Vikas Adhikari/Chief Executive Officer to inform the Pradhan/Pramukh about decisions made by Standing Committees and action taken on them before the next meeting of Panchayat Samiti/Zila Parishad respectively.

55. Stay orders by Standing Committee for administration and finance. – While considering an appeal against decisions of Panchayats by Panchayat Samiti in respect of un-authorized encroachment or un-authorized construction, stay application shall not be decided without: –

(a) giving the opportunity of hearing to Panchayat,

(b) verifying title to the land,

(c) perusing construction permission accorded by Panchayat.

56. Member’s right to obtain information and access to the records. – A member of a Panchayati Raj Institution shall have the right to obtain information on any matter about the Administration and access to the records of such Panchayati Raj Institution or Standing Committee thereof, if any, during office hours after giving due notice to the Secretary/Vikas Adhikari/Chief Executive Officer, who may, however, with the approval of the Chairperson of the concerned Panchayati Raj Institution and for reasons to be recorded in writing, refuse to give any particular information or access to any particular.