254. Powers of Government to make rules

1. The Government may, by notification in the Gazette, make rules either prospectively or retrospectively to carry out all or any purposes of this Act.
2. In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, the Government may make rules, -
   
   1. as to the provision of burial and burning grounds, the licensing of private burial and burning grounds, the regulation of the use of all grounds so provided or licensed, the closing of any such grounds and the prohibition of the disposal of corpses except in such grounds or other permitted places;
   2. as to the licensing of pigs and dogs and the disposal of unlicensed pigs and dogs;
   3. prohibiting or regulating the use for any specified purpose of any public spring, tank, well or water course or of any private spring, tank, well or water course with the consent of its owner and without such consent.
   4. as to the realisation of any tax or other sum due to a village panchayat under this Act or any other law or any rules or bye-laws whether by distraint and sale of movable property, by prosecution before a Magistrate or by, a suit or otherwise;
   5. as to the realisation of fees due in respect of the use of cartstands and the like, whether by the seizure and sale of the vehicles or animal concerned or any part of its burden, or otherwise;
   6. as to the powers of Secretary to call for information on any matter, to summon and examine witnesses and to compel the production of documents;
   7. as to the interpellation of the President by the members and the moving of resolutions at meetings of Panchayats;
   8. as to the powers of auditors, inspecting and Superintending Officers and officers authorised to hold inquiries, to summon and examine witnesses and to compel the production of documents and all other matters connected with audit, inspection and superintendence.
   9. as to the conditions on which and the mode in which contracts may be made by or on behalf of Panchayat;
   10. as to the constitution of standing committees and functional committees of Panchayats, the inclusion of outsiders therein and the delegation of functions to such committees;
   11. as to the preparation of plans and estimates for works and the power of Panchayats and of officers of the Central or State Government to accord technical or administrative sanction to estimates;
   12. for the lodging and investment of the moneys of the Panchayat and for the manner in which such moneys may be drawn upon.
   13. as to the delegation of any function of a Panchayat to the President, Vice-President, Chairman of standing committee, member, any officer of the Panchayat, or any officer of the Central or State Government;
   14. as to the grant to the public of copies of any proceeding or record of the Panchayat not relating to any matter classified as confidential by the Government or any authority empowered by them, and the fees to be levied for the grant of such copies;
   15. as to the form and contents of licences, permission and notices granted or issued under this Act, the manner of their issue or the method of their service and the modification, suspension or cancellation thereof;
   16. as to the prohibition or regulation of the slaughter cutting up or skinning of animals at places other than public slaughter houses and licensing of persons to slaughter animals for purposes of the sale to the public;
   17. for the determination of any claim to trees growing on public roads or other property vesting in or belonging to Panchayats or on porambokes or on lands; the use of which is regulated by them and for the presumptions to be drawn as regards the ownership of such trees;
   18. as to the regulation or restriction of construction of buildings and the use of building sites;
   19. as to the powers which may be exercised by the Panchayat or the Secretary or officer in respect of any public or private market or the use thereof, and the enforcement of any orders issued in pursuance of such powers; and as to the prohibition of the sale or purchase of any commercial crop in any such market within any area, notified in respect of such crop under the Madras Commercial Crops Markets Act, 1933 or any other law;
   20. as to the disposal of household and farm-yard waste in the panchayat area, the acquisition of land by the Panchayat for laying out plot for digging pits in which such waste may be thrown, the assignment of any of those plot to persons in Panchayat, area and the conditions subject to which such assignment may be made, including the rent to be charged;
   21. regulating contracts between the Panchayat and the owners or occupiers of private premises for the removal there from or rubbish or filth, or any kind of rubbish or filth;
   22. as to the preparation of development schemes and plans and execution of such schemes;
   23. as to the form of administration report and the preparation of such report;
   24. as to the estimates of receipts and expenditure, returns statements and reports to be submitted by Panchayats;
   25. ¹⁹⁸[*** *** ***]
   26. for the use of the facsimiles of signatures of the President the Secretary and other officers of the Panchayats;
   27. for the removal of encroachments of any description from public roads vesting in village Panchayats and the repair of any damage caused to such roads by the person causing the damage or at his expense;
   28. for compelling owners of cattle to stall them in cattle sheds provided by the Panchayat and the fees leviable in respect thereof;
   29. as to the imposition and recovery of penalties for the unauthorised occupation of public roads or other land vesting in or belonging to village panchayats and the assessment and the recovery of compensation for any damage caused by such occupation;
   30. as to the duties to be discharged by village officer in relation to Panchayats and their Secretaries;
   31. for the decision of disputes between a Panchayat and other local authorities;
   32. as to the class of Magistrates by whom offences against this Act shall be tried;
   33. as to the manner of publication of any notifications or notices to the public under this Act;
   34. as to the way of discharging the functions by the Panchayat;
   35. as to the transfer of allotments entered in the sanctioned budget of a Panchayat from one head to another;
   36. as to the accounts to be kept by Panchayats, the audit and publication of such accounts and conditions under which rate-payers may appear before auditors, inspect books and accounts, and take exception to items entered or omitted;
   37. as to the conditions on which property may be acquired by a Panchayat or on which property vested in or belonging to Panchayat may be transferred by sale, mortgage, lease, exchange or otherwise;
   38. for regulating the sharing between Panchayat in the State of the proceeds of any tax, duty or income levied or obtained under this or any other Act;
   39. as to the time within which appeals allowed by this Act or by rules thereunder should be presented;
   40. for the distribution of the basic tax or surcharge among the Panchayats;
   41. as to the accounts to be kept by owners, occupiers and farmers of private markets and the audit and inspection of such accounts;
   42. as to the assessment of taxes under this Act and the revision of and appeals against assessments;
   43. as to the form of and the fees to be paid in respect of any matter mentioned in the Act;
   44. as to the determination of ordinary residence by the State Election Commission;
   45. as to the particulars to be entered in the electoral rolls of Panchayats;
   46. as to the preliminary publication of electoral rolls of Panchayats;
   47. as to the manner in which and the time within which claims and objections as to entries in electoral rolls may be preferred;
   48. as to the manner in which notices of claims or objections shall be published;
   49. the place, date and the time at which claims or objections shall be heard and the manner in which claims or objections shall be heard and disposed of;
   50. the final publication of electoral rolls;
   51. the revision and correction of electoral rolls and inclusion of names therein and exclusion of names therefrom;
   52. the duties of presiding officers and polling officers at polling stations;
   53. the checking of voters by reference to the electoral rolls;
   54. all matters expressly required or allowed by this Act to be prescribed.
3. Every rule pertaining to elections shall only be made in consultation with the State Election Commission.
4. Every rule made under this Act shall be laid as soon as may be after it is made before the Legislative Assembly, while it is in session for a total period of fourteen days which may be comprised in one session or in two successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session in which it is so laid or the session immediately following, the Legislative assembly makes any modification in the rule or decides that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified from or be of no effect, as the case may be, so however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.

¹⁹⁸Omitted by Act 13 of 1999.