The Kerala Panchayat Raj (Constitution of Working Committees and Joint Committees and Procedure for their Meeting) Rules, 1995.

1. Short title and commencement. —

(1) These rules may be called the Kerala Panchayat Raj (Constitution of Working Committees and Joint Committees and Procedure for their Meeting) Rules, 1995.

(2) They shall come into force at once.

2.Definitions. — In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires, —

(a) 'Act' means the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 (13 of 1994);

(b) 'Joint Committee' means a committee constituted under Section 165;

(c) 'Section' means a section of the Act;

(d) 'Working Committee' means a committee constituted under sub-section (1) of Section 163;

(e)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 Working Committees. —

(1) Every Panchayat may, if so found necessary, constitute Working Committees for different subjects like agriculture, sanitation, communication, public works, public health and education.

(2) A Working Committee constituted under sub-rule (1) shall consist of, —

(a)The President of the Panchayat;

(b)Not exceeding four members, elected by the members of the Panchayat from among themselves;

(c)Not exceeding four members, nominated by the Panchayat, but non-members of the Panchayat, having, in its opinion, interest in public welfare and possessing special qualification or knowledge for service in the committee.

* Published in Kerala Gazette No. 45 as G.O. No. 48218/N1/1998/LSGD dt. 13-11-2001.

(3)A member of a Panchayat may, at a time, be a member in more than one Working Committees.

(4)Vacancies arising in the Working Committees shall be filled up, as the case may be, by election or nomination.

(5)The term of the Working Committee shall not exceed the term of the Panchayat.

(6)The President of the Panchayat shall be the Chairman of all Working Committees.

4. Powers and functions of the Working Committees. —

(1) It shall be the function of the Working Committee concerned to take decision on matters affecting the Panchayat in each subject and to submit the same for consideration of the Panchayat.

(2)A Working Committee may require the Secretary to furnish records in his possession relating to the subject of that Committee.

(3)The nominated members of the Working Committee shall be eligible for sitting allowance and travelling allowance as admissible to Panchayat members.

5. Procedure for the meeting of Working Committees. —

(1) The Chairman shall convene the meeting of the Working Committee once in every three months and as may be necessary during the interim period and give notice to the members intimating the venue, date and time of the meeting atleast seven days before the date of meeting and affix a copy of the said notice in the notice board of the Panchayat.

(2)The quorum of the Working Committee shall be one half of the total number of its members.

(3)The Chairman of the Working Committee shall preside over its meetings and in the absence of the Chairman, a member of Panchayat elected from among the members present shall preside over the meeting.

(4)The Secretary shall, in consultation with the Chairman, prepare the agenda for the meeting by including the items to be discussed in the meeting and shall read it over to the members at the beginning of the meeting.

(5)The Secretary or the officer authorised by him for the purpose shall prepare the proceedings of the meeting and the Chairman shall submit for the consideration of the Panchayat, the general and unanimous suggestions and the resolutions passed by majority.

6. Constitution of Joint Committee. —

(1) A Panchayat may, alone with one or more Panchayats constitute a Joint Committee for any purpose for which they are jointly responsible.

(2) A Joint Committee constituted under sub-rule (I) shall consist of, —

(a)President of the Village Panchayat and not exceeding two members nominated by majority opinion of the members present in the Panchayat meeting;

(b)President of the Block Panchayat and not exceeding two members nominated by majority opinion of the members present in the Panchayat meeting; and

(c)President of the District Panchayat and not exceeding four members nominated by majority opinion of the members present in the Panchayat meeting.

(3)A Joint Committee, may co-opt non members of Panchayat, having in its opinion special qualifications for service in that committee:Provided that number of members so co-opted shall not exceed one half of the total number of members of that committee.

1. Filling up of vacancies in the Joint Committee. — Vacancies arising in the Joint Committee shall be filled up by nomination under sub-rule (2) or sub-rule (3) of Rule 6, as the case may be.

    

2. Chairman of Joint Committee. — Chairman of the Joint Committee shall be fixed in the manner specified below: —

    

(a)

In case the Joint Committee is constituted with Panchayats at the same level jointly, the President of the Panchayat suggesting such constitution;

(b)

In case the Joint Committee is constituted with a Village Panchayat or Village Panchayats jointly with a Block Panchayat, the President of that Block Panchayat;

(c)

In case the Joint Committee is constituted with a Village Panchayat or Village Panchayats jointly with more than one Block Panchayat, the President of the Block Panchayat elected through lot;

(d)

In case the Joint Committee is constituted with a Village Panchayat or Village Panchayats with a Block Panchayat or Block Panchayats jointly with a District Panchayat, the President of the District Panchayat;

(e)

In case the Joint Committee is constituted with a Village Panchayat or Village Panchayats with a Block Panchayat or Block Panchayats jointly with more than one District Panchayat, the President of the District Panchayat elected through lot.

9. Powers of Joint Committees. — (1) A Joint Committee shall have power to enquire into, collect details and take decisions on matters for which it is constituted.

(2) A Joint Committee may, at any time, require the Panchayat concerned to produce necessary documents relating to its working.

10. Procedure for meeting of Joint Committees. — (1) The Chairman shall, at least five clear days before the day of the meeting, issue notice to the members informing them of the date, time and venue and the subjects to be discussed in the meeting.

(2)The Secretary of that Panchayat in the office of which the meeting of the Joint Committee is held or an office authorised by him shall record the proceedings of the meeting and all members present shall put their signature on it.

(3)Joint Committee shall take decision on subjects coming for its consideration by majority vote of the members present in the meeting and in case of equality of votes, the Chairman may exercise a casting vote.

(4)The Chairman shall preside over the meetings of the Joint Committee and in the absence of the Chairman, a member elected from among the members present shall preside over the meeting.

(5)The quorum for the meeting of the Joint Committee shall be two-third of its total number of members.

(6)The decisions of the Joint Committee shall be communicated to the Panchayats concerned.

11. Implementation of the decisions of the Joint Committee. — (1) The Panchayat concerned shall be liable to implement the decisions of the Joint Committee:

Provided that no such decision shall be in excess of the jurisdiction of the Panchayat concerned.

(2) The Panchayat concerned need not, in case a Joint Committee has been constituted to settle disputes, implement the decision of such Joint Committees, if such decision is not acceptable to it.

1. Dissolution of Joint Committee. — The Chairman of a Joint Committee shall, soon after the performance of the purpose for which the committee has been constituted, dissolve the committee.

    

2. Adjudication of disputes. — Action shall be taken under Section 282, if any dispute or difference of opinion arises among the Panchayats concerned regarding the constitution or functioning or implementation of decision of a Joint Committee constituted under these rules.

    

Explanatory Note

("This does not form part of the Notification, but is intended to indicate its general purport.)

Sub-section (2) of Section 163 of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994(13 of 1994) empowers the Government to make rules regarding the powers and functions of the Working Committees and Section 165 empowers the Government to make rules regarding the constitution, powers and procedure of the Joint Committees and the manners in which the disputes and differences of the Committee may be settled. This notification is intended to achieve the above purpose.