Punjab Panchayati Raj Act, 1994
[Act No. 9 of 1994] [21st April, 1994]
PREAMBLE
An Act to replace the Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1952, relating to Gram Panchayats, and the Punjab Panchayat Samitis and Zila Parishads Act, 1961, relating to the Panchayat Samitis and Zila Parishads by a comprehensive new enactment;
Whereas it is expedient to replace the present enactments by a comprehensive new enactment to establish a three-tier Panchayati Raj system in the State of Punjab with elected bodies at the village, Block and District levels, in keeping with the provisions of the Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992 for greater participation of the people and more effective implementation of rural development and Panchayati Raj system.
Be it enacted by the State Legislature of the State of Punjab in the forty-fifth year of the Republic of India as follows:-
Section 1 - Short title, extent and commencement
(1) This Act may be called the Punjab Panchayati Raj Act, 1994.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Punjab.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification, in the Official Gazette, appoint.
Section 2 - Definitions
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, -
(a) "annual value" means -
(i) double the land revenue for the time being assessed on any land, whether the assessment is leviable or not; or
(ii) where the land has been permanently assessed, or has been wholly or in part compounded for or redeemed, double the amount which, but for such permanent assessment, composition or redemption, would have been leviable; or
(iii) where no land revenue has been assessed, double the amount which would have been assessed if the average village rate had been applied:
Provided that, in any tract in which, under the settlement for the time being in force, the improvement of the land due to canal irrigation has been excluded from account in assessing the land revenue and a rate has been imposed in respect of such improvement, that rate shall be added to the land revenue for the purpose of computing the annual value;
(b) "Backward Classes" means such classes of citizens as may be notified by the State Government from time to time;
(c) "Block" means such area in a district as may be declared by the State Government by notification, to be a Block;
(d) "Block Development and Panchayat Officer" means the Block Development and Panchayat Officer and includes any other officer appointed by the State Government to perform all or any of the functions of the Block Development and Panchayat Officer under this Act;
(e) "business" includes any trade, commerce or manufacture or an adventure or concern in the nature of trade, commerce or manufacture;
(f) "building" means any shop, house, hut, out-house, shed or stable, whether used for the purpose of human habitation or otherwise and whether of masonry, bricks, wood, mud, thatch, metal or any other material whatever, and includes a wall and a well;
(g) "bye-laws" means bye-laws made by a Gram Panchayat, or a Panchayat Samiti or a Zila Parishad under this Act;
(h) "Chairman or Vice-Chairman" means the Chairman or the Vice-Chairman of a Panchayat Samiti or a Zila Parishad, as the case may be;
(i) "Chief Executive Officer" means Chief Executive Officer of a Zila Parishad appointed under this Act;
(j) "Collector" means the Collector of a district and includes any officer not below the rank of a District Development and Panchayat Officer specially appointed by the State Government to perform the functions of a Collector under this Act;
(k) "Commissioner" means the Divisional Commissioner or such other officer as may be appointed by the State Government to exercise the powers of a Commissioner under this Act;
(l) "Common land" means land which is not in the exclusive use of any individual and has by usage, custom or prescription been reserved for the common purposes of village community or has been acquired for such purposes;
(m) "casual vacancy" means a vacancy occurring otherwise than by efflux of time;
(n) "Deputy Chief Executive Officer" means an officer not below the rank of District Development and Panchayat Officer to be appointed under this Act as such for a Zila Parishad;
(o) "Deputy Commissioner" means the Deputy Commissioner of a district and includes any officer not below the rank of an Extra Assistant Commissioner specially appointed by the State Government to perform the functions of a Deputy Commissioner under this Act;
(p) "Deputy Director" means an Officer appointed by the State Government to perform the functions of a Deputy Director under the Act;
(q) "Director" means the Director of Panchayats appointed under this Act and includes any officer not below the rank of Deputy Director appointed by the State Government to perform the functions of the Director;
(r) "District" means a revenue District in the State;
(s) "District Development and Panchayat Officer" means a District Development and Panchayat Officer and includes an officer appointed by the State Government to perform the functions of a District Development and Panchayat Officer under this Act;
(t) "Election Commission" means the Election Commission constituted under Article 243-K of the Constitution of India for the State of Punjab;
(u) "Erection or Re-erection or Enlargement" of any building includes-
(i) any material alteration or enlargement of any building;
(ii) the conversion, by structural alteration, into a place of human habitation of any building not originally constructed for human habitation;
(iii) the conversion of two or more places of human habitation into a lesser number of such places;
(iv) the conversion of one or more places of human habitation into a greater number of such places;
(v) such alteration of a building as would effect a change in the drainage or sanitary arrangements or materially affect its security;
(vi) the addition of any rooms, buildings, out-houses or their structures to any building;
(vii) the conversion, by any structural alteration, into a place of religious worship or into a building used for a sacred purpose of any place or building not originally meant or constructed for such purpose;
(viii) roofing or covering an open space between walls or buildings, in respect of the structure which is formed by roofing or covering such space;
(ix) conversion into a stall, shop, warehouse or godown of any building not originally constructed for use as such or vice versa;
(x) construction of a door in a wall adjoining any street or land not vested in the owner of the wall and opening on such street or land;
(v) "Executive Officer" means an Executive Officer of a Panchayat Samiti constituted under this Act;
(w) "existing law" means the Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1952 (Punjab Act 4 of 1953) or the Punjab Panchayat Samitis and Zila Parishad Act, 1961 (Punjab Act 3 of 1961) as the case may be;
(x) "Factory" means besides a factory as defined in the Factories Act, 1948 (Central Act 13 of 1948) and any premises including any premises where in any industrial manufacturing or trade process is carried on with the aid of stream, water, oil, gas, electrical or any other form of power which is mechanically transmitted and is not generated by human or animal agency;
(y) "Gram Sabha" means a body consisting of persons registered as voters in the electoral rolls of the area of the Gram Panchayat, constituted under Section 3 of this Act;
(z) "Gram Sabha area" means territorial area of a Gram Sabha;
(za) "Gram Panchayat" means an institution of self-government for a Gram Sabha area constituted under Section 9;
(zb) "land" means land assessed to land revenue and includes land whereof the land revenue has been wholly or in part released, compounded for, redeemed or assigned;
(zc) "land-holder" means any person responsible for the payment of the land revenue, if any, assessed on land and includes the proprietor of land, the land revenue of which has been wholly, or in part released, compounded for redeemed or assigned;
(zd) "latrine" includes a privy, water-closet and urinal;
(ze) "local authority" includes a Municipal Corporation, Municipal Committee, Zila Parishad, Panchayat Samiti, Gram Panchayat, Sanitary Board, Town Board, Notified Area Committee, Improvement Trust, Urban Development Authority and Planning Authority constituted under this Act of under any law for the time being in force;
(zf) "market" means a place for the sale of goods or animals publically exposed where ordinarily or periodically at least four shops, stalls or sheds are set up or where at least ten animals are brought for sale;
(zg) "member" means a member of a Gram Panchayat, a Panchayat Samiti or Zila Parishad and includes Sarpanch of a Gram Panchayat and Chairman and Vice-Chairman of Panchayat Samiti or Zila Parishad;
(zh) "occupier" means any person in actual possession of any land or building or part thereof and includes an owner in actual possession and the tenant or licensee whether such tenant or licensee is liable to pay rent or not;
(zi) "Panch" means a member of the Gram Panchayat elected under this Act and includes a Sarpanch;
(zj) "Panchayat" means a Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad constituted under this Act;
(zk) "Panchayat area" means the territorial area of a Panchayat or Panchayat Samiti or Zila Parishad;
(zl) "Panchayat Samiti" means a Panchayat Samiti constituted for a Block under this Act;
(zm) "Panchayat Secretary" means the Secretary of the Gram Panchayat appointed under this Act;
(zn) "population" means 1[the rural population as] ascertained at the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published;
(zo) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(zp) "public nuisance" includes any act, omission, place or thing which causes or is likely to cause injury, danger, annoyance or offence to the sense of sight, smell or hearing or disturbance to rest or sleep or which is or may be dangerous to life or injurious...
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