162. Standing Committees

1. ⁸⁸In every Panchayats standing committees as stated below shall be constituted namely: -
   
   1. In a Village Panchayat
      1. Standing committee for Finance
      2. Standing Committee for Development
      3. Standing Committee for Welfare.
   2. In a block Panchayat
      1. Standing Committee for Finance
      2. Standing Committee for Development
      3. Standing Committee for Welfare
   3. In a District Panchayat
      1. Standing Committee for Finance
      2. Standing Committee for Development
      3. Standing Committee for public works.
      4. Standing Committee for Health and Education
      5. Standing Committee for Welfare
2. Every standing committee shall consist of such number of members, including its chairman as decided by the Panchayat, so that all other elected members except the President and Vice-President shall be elected as a member in any of the standing committee and the number of members elected to each standing committee shall, as far as possible, be equal.
3. The number of members of each standing committee as decided by the Panchayat under sub-section (2) shall not be changed within the term of that Panchayat.
4. In every standing committee there shall be members elected by the elected members of the Panchayat from among themselves under the proportional representation system by single transferable vote and a member shall not be a member of more than one standing
   committee at a time.
5. The Chairman of every standing committee, except the standing committee for finance, shall, be elected by the members of the respective standing committee from among themselves.
6. The Vice-President shall be an ex-officio member and chairman of the standing committee for finance and the President shall be an ex-officio member of all standing committees without the right to vote.
7. A member other than an ex-officio member of a standing committee and the chairman of a standing committee other than the standing committee for finance may resign the membership or chairmanship of a standing committee as the case may be by tendering resignation to the Secretary in the prescribed form and the resignation shall take effect from the date on which it was received by the Secretary and the Secretary shall inform the fact immediately to the President and the panchayat.
8. The person who resigns the membership of chairmanship of the standing committee shall give in person or send through registered post his resignation where such resignation letter is attested by a gazetted officer, as the case may be his resignation to the Secretary and the Secretary shall acknowledge receipt of the same.
9. Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the term of the Chairman of a Standing Committee or its member shall co-exists with the terms of that Panchayat.
10. An election to fill up casual vacancy of the member of standing committee shall be conducted within thirty days of the occurrence of that vacancy:
    Provided that where the vacancy in a standing committee could not be filled up due to the vacancy of a member of panchayat, the vacancy of standing committee shall be filled up within thirty days from the date of filling up of the vacancy of the member of panchayat.
11. If a casual vacancy of the Chairman of a standing committee other than the standing committee for finance arises one of its members shall be elected as its chairman in the next meeting of the standing committee.
12. A motion of non-confidence on the chairman of the standing committee other than the standing committee for finance may be moved subject to the prescribed provisions and procedures and if such a motion is passed with the support of not less than the majority of the members of the standing committee the chairman of that standing committee shall cease to hold office and he shall be deemed to have vacated the office of the chairman of the standing committee immediately.

⁸⁸Substituted by Act 13 of 1999.