Rural Development & Panchayat Raj - Panchayat Raj : TN Panchayats Act

The following Act of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly received the assent of the Governor on the 22^nd April 1994 and is hereby published for general information:-

WHEREAS it is expedient to repeal and re-enact the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1958, for establishing a three-tier Panchayat Raj system in the State to the elected bodies at the village, intermediate and district level in keeping with the Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992, relating to Panchayats for greater participation of the people so as to make them Institutions of self-government and for more effective implementation of rural development programmes;-

BE it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Tamil Nadu in the Fort-fifth year of the Republic of India as follows:-

1. Short title, extent and commencement – (1) This Act may be called the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act,1994.

(ii) the City of Madurai constituted under the Madurai City Municipal Corporation Act, 1971 (Tamil Nadu Act 15 of 1971);

(iii) the City of Coimbatore constituted under the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation Act, 1981 (Tamil Nadu Act 25 of 1981);

(iv) the Municipalities, Town Panchayats and Industrial Townships constituted under the Tamil Nadu District Municipalities Act, 1920 (Tamil Nadu Act V of 1920); and

(v) the Cantonments constituted under the Cantonments Act, 1924 (Central Act II of 1924)

(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification, appoint.

¹[(1) “Backward Classes of Citizens” shall have the same meaning as defined in clause (a) of Section 3 of the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of appointments of posts in the Services under the State) Act, 1993 (Tamil Nadu Act 45 of 1994);

(1-A) “building” includes a house, out-house, tent, stable, latrine, shed, hut, wall (other than a boundary wall not exceeding 2.5 metres in height) and any other such structure, whether of masonry, bricks, wood, mud, metal or any other materials whatsoever;]

(2) “casual vacancy” means a vacancy occurring otherwise than by efflux of time and “casual election” means an election held to fill a casual vacancy;

(3) “Chairman” means the Chairman of a Panchayat Union Council or a District Panchayat, as the case may be;

(7) “Company” means a Company as defined in the Companies Act, 1956 (Central Act 1 of 1956) and includes foreign company within the meaning of Section 591 of that Act;

(9) “District Panchayat” means the District Panchayat constituted under sub-section (1) of Section 24;

(10) “drain” means a rain or storm water drain and water tables, chutes and the side drain exclusively meant to drain away the rain water falling on the surface of any street, bridge or causeway, but does not include a drain or sewer within the meaning of the ¹[Chennai] Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Act, 1978 (Tamil Nadu Act 28 of 1978);

(11) ³[“Executive Authority” means a person notified as such by the Government under Section 83];

(13) “Grama Sabha” means a body consisting of persons registered in the electoral rolls relating to a Panchayat Village comprised within the area of Village Panchayat concerned;

(14) “house” means a building fit for human occupation, whether as a residence or otherwise, having a separate principal entrance from the common way and includes any shop, workshop or warehouse or any building used for garaging or parking buses or as a bus-stand;

(15) “hut” means any building which is constructed principally of wood, mud, leaves, grass or thatch and includes any temporary structure of whatever size or any small building of whatever material made, which the Panchayat may declare to be a hut for the purposes of this Act;

(16) “Inspector” means any officer not below the rank of a Collector appointed by the Government to exercise or perform any of the powers or duties of the Inspector under this Act;

(18) “member” means a member of the Village Panchayat, the Panchayat Union Council or the District Panchayat, as the case may be;

(19) “ordinary vacancy” means a vacancy occurring by efflux of time and “ordinary election” means an election held to fill an ordinary vacancy;

(a) the person for the time being receiving or entitled to receive whether on his own account or on behalf of another persons as agent, trustee, guardian, manager or receiver or for any religious or charitable purpose, the rents or profits of the property in connection with which the word is used; and

(b) the person for the time being in charge of the animal or vehicle in connection with which the word is used;

(21) “Panchayat” means a Village Panchayat, a Panchayat Union Council or a District Panchayat constituted under this Act;

(22) “Panchayat Development Block” means the area declared by the Government from time to time to be a Panchayat Development Block for the purpose of this Act;

(23) “Panchayat Union” means any local area which is declared to be a Panchayat Union under this Act;

(24) “Panchayat Union Council” means the body constituted for the administration of a Panchayat Union under this Act;

(25) “Panchayat Village” means any local area over which a Village Panchayat has jurisdiction;

(27) “private road” means any street, road, square, court, alley, passage, cart-track, foot-path or riding-path which is not a ‘public road’ but does not include a path-way made by the owner of premises on his own land to secure, access to, or the convenient use of, such premises;

(28) “public road” means any street, road, square, court, alley, passage, cart-track, foot-path or riding-path over which the public have a right of way, whether a thoroughfare or not, an includes-

(c) the drains attached to any such road, public bridge or causeway, and the land whether covered or not by any pavement, veranda, or other structure, which lies on either side of the roadway upto the boundaries of the adjacent property, whether that property is private property or property belonging to the State or Central Government;

(29) a person is deemed to have his residence or to reside in any house if he sometimes uses any portion thereof as a sleeping apartment, and a persons is not deemed to cease to reside in any such house merely because he is absent from it or has elsewhere another dwelling in which he resides, if he is at liberty to return to such house at any time and has not abandoned his intention of returning;

(30) “revenue district” means any local area which for the purpose of revenue administration is under the charge of a Collector, after excluding therefrom all areas included in –

(b) the City of Madurai constituted under the Madurai City Municipal Corporation Act, 1971 (Tamil Nadu Act 15 of 1971);

(c) the City of Coimbatore constituted under the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation Act, 1981 (Tamil Nadu Act 25 of 1981);

(d) the Municipalities, Town Panchayats and Industrial Townships constituted under the Tamil Nadu District Municipalities Act, 1920 (Tamil Nadu Act V of 1920); and

(e) the Cantonments constituted under the Cantonments Act, 1924 (Central Act II of 1924);

(31) “Scheduled Castes” shall have the same meaning as in the Constitution;

(32) “Scheduled Tribes” shall have the same meaning as in the Constitution;

(33) ⁶[“Tamil Nadu State Election Commission”] means the ⁶[“Tamil Nadu State Election Commission”] referred to in Section 239 ;

(34) ⁷[“Tamil Nadu State Election Commissioner”] means the ⁷[“Tamil Nadu State Election Commissioner”] referred to in Section 239 ;

(35) “unreserved forest” means a forest not notified under Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Forest Act, 1882 (Tamil Nadu Act V of 1882) and includes unreserved land at the disposal of the Government;

(36) “village” means any local area which is declared to be a Panchayat Village under sub-section (1) of Section 4, and ‘revenue village’ means any local area which is recognized as a village in the revenue accounts of Government after excluding therefrom the areas, if any, included in-

(b) the City of Madurai constituted under the Madurai City Municipal Corporation Act, 1971 (Tamil Nadu Act 15 of 1971);

(c) the City of Coimbatore constituted under the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation Act, 1981 (Tamil Nadu Act 25 of 1981);

(d) the Municipalities, Town Panchayats and Industrial Townships constituted under the Tamil Nadu District Municipalities Act, 1920 (Tamil Nadu Act V of 1920); and

(e) the Cantonments constituted under the Cantonments Act, 1924 (Central Act II of 1924);

(37) “Village Panchayat” means a Panchayat constituted as a Village Panchayat under sub-section (1) of Section 6 ; ⁹[***]

(38) “water-course” includes any river, stream or channel, whether natural or artificial;

1. Substituted by Tamil Nadu Act 30 of 1995.

2. The word “Chief Executive Officer means the Chief Executive Officer of a District Panchayat” omitted by Tamil Nadu Act 28 of 1998.

3. Substituted by Tamil Nadu Act 21 of 1996.

5. Clause (32-b) omitted by Tamil Nadu Act 17 of 2006 w.e.f. 14.7.2006. Before omission it was read as: “Special Village Panchayat” means the Special Village Panchayat referred to in sub-section(4) of Section 6;

6. Substituted for the words “State Election Commission” by Tamil Nadu Act 4 of 1998.

7. Substituted for the words “State Election Commissioner” by Tamil Nadu Act 4 of 1998.

9. The words “and includes a Special Village Panchayat” were added by Tamil Nadu Act 39 of 2004 and omitted by Tamil Nadu Act 17 of 2006 w.e.f. 14.7.2006.