The Kerala Panchayat Raj (Constitution and Utilisation of Distress Relief Fund) Rules, 2003.

1. Short title and commencement—

1. These rules may be called the Kerala Panchayat Raj (Constitution and Utilisation of Distress Relief Fund) Rules, 2003.
2. They shall come into force at once.

2. Definitions.—

1.  In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,
   (a) 'Act' means the Kerala Pancbayat Raj Act, 1994 (13 of 1994)}
   (b) 'President’ means the President of a Grama Panchayat;
   (c) 'Secretary' means the Secretary of a Grama Panchayat;
   (d) 'Fund’ means the Distress Relief Fund constituted under rule 3 of these Rules;
   (e) 'Sub Committee’ means a sub-committee constituted under sub-rule (2) of rule 4 of these Rules,
2.  Words and expressions used and not defined in these rules, but defined in the Act shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Act,

3. Constitution of Fund.—

1.  Every Grama Panchayat may, by a , resolution, constitute a Distress Relief Fund kept separately from other Fundsof the Grama Panchayat to be known as Distress Relief Fund of the Grama Panchayat for providing urgent financial assistance for the purpose of giving relief to the poor persons residing in the Grama Panchayat area and suffering distress due to heavy rains, flood, natural calamity, fire, storm, sea erosion, accidents, protracted illness etc.
2. The amount required for constituting Fund may be collected by organising arts-sports-entertainment programmes and by accepting contributions from individuate, organisations, institutions etc.;Provided that, for such collection of fund, there shall not be any type of exertion of compulsion or adoption of coercion or offer of enticement or promises or any act of abuse of power of causing of loss of any income due to the Grama Panchayat or causing of damage to the development activities of the Grama Panchayat.
3. No amount shall be transferred to the Fund from any fund of the Grama Panchayat or from any grant that the Grama- Panchayat received from the Government..
4. A bank account shall be maintained in the name of the Secretary in a Nationalised Bank or in a Co-operative Bank for the transaction of the income and expenditure of the fund.
5. The Secretary or the Officer authorised by the Panchayat shall give receipt signed by him for the donations to the Fund and it shall be in printed form.

4. Utilisation of Fund.—

1. From the Fund constituted under rule 3 financial assistance may be given to a person residing in the Grama Panchayat area] or to his family.
2. Those who wish to get financial assistance from the Fund shall submit application thereof to the President of the Grama Panchayat.
3. There shall be a sub-committee of the Panchayat consisting of the President, a member elected by the members of the Panchayat from.. among themselves and the Secretary to co-ordinate the steps for collecting amounts' to the Fund and' to scrutinise the applications received forgetting financial assistance from the Fund and to take decision thereon and the President shall be the Chairman of the said sub-committee and the Secretary shall be the convenor thereof.
4. The sub-committee may utilise the services of the members of the Grama Panchayat or the Officers thereof for making necessary enquiries on the applications received for financial assistance.
5. In emergency situations where the context so requires the President may give financial assistance upto five hundred –rupees from the fund to a deserving individual or family even in the absence of an application thereof:
6. Provided that the ratification of the sub-committee constituted under sub-rule (3) shall be obtained within a month for having given such financial assistance.The President of the sub-committee shall consider the financial assistance that the applicant received or that he may receive from any other agency before taking a decision to give financial assistance from the Fund.
7.  The- Secretary shall, as per the orders of the sub-committee or President as the case may be, withdraw the amount from the Fund and disburse the same to the deserving persons.

5. Maintenance of Registers.—

1. The Secretary or the Officer authorised by him shall maintain the accounts of the income and expenditure in respect of the Fund in a Cash Boob,
2.  A register, for recording the details in respect of die applications received for financial assistance, the financial assistance sanctioned thereto etc. and a minutes book for recording the minutes of the proceedings of the sub-committee, shall be maintained.
3. .Receipt Book, Bank Pass Book, Registers, Applications, Enquiry Reports etc. relating to the Fund shall be in the custody of the Secretary or the Officer whom he authorised.
4. Form of receipt, Form of the cash book, the method of maintaining accounts etc., shall be in the manner that the Government may, from time to time specify.

6. Audit of Accounts—

1. Every month, the Secretary shall submit, in the meeting of the Grama Panchayat, accounts of nil income and expenditure in respect of the Fund (including the names of those who contributed to the Fund and of those who received financial assistance from the fund).
2. The Income and Expenditure Accounts in respect of the Fund shall periodically, be subjected to audit in the same manner as in the case of other Income and Expenditure Accounts of the Grama Panchayat.

7. Publishing information. —

The Secretary shall, in due course, publish in the Notice Board of the Office, the names and other details in respect of those who had applied for financial assistance from the Fund and of those who received financial assistance there from and of those who contributed thereto and the amounts and other Accounts thereof and the said details, as the case may be, shall be informed in the Grama Sabhas,

By order of the Governor, P.KamalkuttySecretary to Government Explanatory Note

(This does not form part of the notification, but is intended tQ indicate its general purport.)

Government consider that it will be proper to constitute a Distress Relief Fund under the control of each Grama Panchayat for giving financial assistance in emergency situations to those who are suffering distress due to heavy rains, flood, natural calamity, fire, storm, sea erosion, accidents, protracted illness etc. Government intend to make rules under section 166, section 177 and section 254 of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 for prescribing procedures for collecting amount to the Distress Relief Fund and that for giving financial assistance therefrom to the deserving persons.
This notification is intended to achieve the above object.