The Assam Panchayat (Amendment) Act, 1962
**ASSAM ACT No .XXIX OF 1962**

i'H E ASSAM PANCHAYAT (AM ENDMENT) ACT, 1962

(As passed by the Assembly)

**Received the assent o f the Governor on the 28th Septem ber 1962**

[P ublish ed in th e _Assam Gazette, E x tr ao rd in ary ,_ da ted the

4th O cto ber 19 62 ]

_An_

_Act_

_to amend furthe r the Assam Panchayat Act,_ _1959_

Preamble Whereas it is expedient to amend further the \ ss ani Act

Assam Panchayat Act, 1959 hereinafter called the XXIV **of**

principal Act, in the manner hereinafter appearing ; 19s9.

It is hereby enacted in the T hirteenth Year of the

Republic of India as follows:—

**Short title,** I. (1) This Act may be called the Assam Pan­

**commence-extent and** c hayat (Amendm ent) Act, 1962.

**(2 )** It shall bar e the like extent as the prin­

cipal Act.

(3) It shall come into force at once.

**Amendment** **2.** In section 2 of the principal Act, clauses (20)

**of section 2** a n c j (21) shall be deleted and the existing subsequent
**Act XXIV** [c] l[a u s e s] (22) [t0] (35) shall be renumbered as clauses

**o)19 59 .** (20) to (33) respectively.

**Amendment** 3. In section 8 of the principal Act.—

**of section 8** (1) the full-stop at the end of sub-section (2)

**of** **Assam** shall be deleted and the words and punctuation ( :)

r iqXni I V “and shall publish the same in the manner pres-

° 5 ' cribed shall be added ;

(2) after sub-section (2) as so amended, the

following proviso shall be added, namely : —

“ Provided that the Deputy Commissioner or the

Subdivisional Officer, as the case mav be, may include
the name of any person whose name is not included in
the list of voters if such person makes an application
within ten days oi the publication of the list and satis­
fies the Deputy Commissioner or the Subdivisional
Officer, as the case may be, that his name appears in
the upto date electoral roll of the Assam Legislative
Assembly, prepared and in force after the **d ay** notified
under sub-section (1).”


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l oO

Amendment 4. After sub-section (2) o f section 9 of the priri-

of section 9 c jp a j Act, the following shall be inserted as sub-
Act XXIV [s e c t] ‘[o n f]2) and the existing sub-sections (2), (3), (4)
of'l959. a n h (5) shall be renumbered as sub-sections (3), (4),
(5) and (6) respectively, namely ;—

“ (2) Every meeting shall be presided over by ti e

President of the Gaon Panchayat and in his absence by
the Vic -President of the Gaon Panchsyat a >d in the

absence of boih, members present shall choose one from
amongst themselves to preside.”

Amendment oti ectior. 11 5. I n section 11 of the principal A ct—

Act XXIV (1) f°r sub-section (1), the following shall be

ofl9 5 9. sub stituted, namely :—

“ (1) Every Gaon Sabha shall have an Executive

Committee including a President and a Vice-President
called the Gaon Panchayat to be elected in the manner
prescribed.”

(2) For the second proviso under sub-section (2),

the following shall be substituted, namely:—

“Provided further that the Gaon Panchayat shall

co-opt from amongst the members of the Gaon

Sabha, two women members if no woman is elected,
and one woman member if only one is elected.”

(3 > After sub-section (3) the following shall

be inserted as sub-section (4) and the existing

sub-sections (4) and (5) shall be renumbered as sub­

sections (5) and (6) respectively, namely: —

“ (4) The State Government may, by notification

for reasons to be stated therein, extend the term of
office referred to in sub-section (3) by such period not
exceeding one year as may be specified in the notifica­
tio n.”

, 6. In section 14 o f the principal Act, after clause

ofsection6?! W °f sub-section (5), the following Explanation shall

of Assam be inserted, namely :—

Act X X IV “E xp lana tion .—For the purpose of quorum,

of 1959. _ex-officio members shall not be counted.”_

Amendment 7- In section 16 of the principal Act, in sub-

of section 16 section (2), for the words “Gaon Panchayat” occurring
of Assam jn the first fi n e betw een the words ‘The’ an a ‘may’,

©H9 [X X IV t] ^le w o r ds ‘State Government’ shall be substituted.

Amendment 8. In section I7 of the principal Act, in sub-

of section 17 section (1).—

of Assam po r t[ i] e second proviso to clause ft) the

of[C t]1959 following shall be substituted, namely : —

“ Provided further that if the President or the

Vice-President of a Gaon Panchayat is elected to the
Anchalik Panch .yat, he shall, within fifteen days from
the date of declaration of result thereof, exercise his


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option of rem aining either as the President or the Vice-
President, as the case may be, of the Gaon Pancha-
yat or alternatively as the member of the Anchalik

Panchayat. If he does not exercise his option within

the time limit, he shall immediately on expiry of such
time limit cease to be the President or the Vice-
President, as the case may be, of the Gaon Panchayat.
His place in the Gaon Panchayat or the Anchalik
Panchayat, as the case may be, shall be filled in the
manner these offices are filled.”

_(b) lor clause («), the following shall be substi­_

tuted, name ly:—

_“ (ii) One representative to be elected, in the_

manner prescribed, by the Chairmen of the Go-opera­
tive societies from amongst themselves, falling within
the area of the Anchalik Panchayat:

Provided that notwithstanding anything herein

contained, no mem ber elected before the coming into
force of the Assam Panchayat (Amendment) Act, 1962,
shall be disqualified even if such a mem ber was not a
Chairman of any Co-operative Society at the time of
his election.”

(2) In sub-section (2), for clause (i») the following

shall be substituted, namely :—

“ (h) The Anchalik Panchayat shall, from within

the area of its jurisdiction, co-opt two women

members ii no woman is elected, and one woman
member if only one is elected.”

Amendment 9. [I n] section 19 of the principal Act,—

of Section (1) the existing section shall be renumbered as

19 of sub-section (1) thereof ;

XXIV[A]of after sub-section (J) as so renumbered, the

1959. Ot following shall be inserted as sub-section (2), namely :—

_“ 2) The State Government may, by notification,_

for reasons to be stated therein, extend the term of
office referred to in sub-section (1), by such period
not exceeding one year as may he specified in the
notification.”

10. In section 22 of the principal Act,—for the

Amendment

of Section second proviso in sub-section (1), the following shall
22 of be substituted, namely:—
Assam Act “ Provided furthe r that the Mohkuma Parishad
XXIV of

shall from within the are a of its jurisdiction,

1959,

co-opt two women members if no woman is

elected, and one woman member if only one is

elected.' [1]

Amendment 11. In section 24 of the principal Act,

of Section a fter sub-section (3), the following shall be

2\ am Act i[n s e r t e] d [a s] sub-section (4), namely : —

XX IV of _“W The State Government may, by notification,_

1959. for reasons to be stated therein, extend the term of
office referred to in sub-section (1), by such period
not exceeding one year as may be specified in the
## notification”.


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Amendment 12. For section 27 of the principal Act, the

27 [S] QCfti o n following shall be substituted, namely :—

Assam Act
XX IV of
1959,

“ Remo val of 27. (1) (a) A President or Vice-President or

President member of a Gaon or Anchalik Panchayat or Mohkuma
or Vice- Parishad shall immediately cease to hold office : —
President
**or** member (t) if he suffers from any of the disqualifications

of a Gaon mentioned in sub-section (1) (a) to _(J") of section 16 ;_
or Anchalik («) if he absents himself, without assigning any

Q^[nC]yj^[a t] cause, from 1 hree consecutive meetings of the Gaon or

kuma Pa ri Anchalik Panchayat or the Mohkuma Parishad, as
shad. the case may be.

(Z>) A President or Vice-President of an Anchalik

Panchayat or Mohkuma Parishad shall immediately
cease to hold office, if by three-fifths majority of votes
a motion of no-confidence is passed by members in
a meeting of the Anchalik Panchayat or the Moh­
kum a Parishad as the case may be, where at least a
minimum of two-thirds of total num ber of members
is presen t:

Provided that at least seven days’ notice in writing

shall be given to the President and the Vice-Presi­

dent of the Anchalik Panchayat or the Mohkuma
Parishad, as the case may be, before such a motion
can be discussed.

(rj A President or Vice-President of a Gaon or

Anchalik Panchayat or Mohkuma Parishad, as the
case may be, shall immediately cease to hold office, if
he ceases to be a member of the Gaon Sabha or
Anchalik Panchayat or the Mohkuma Parishad, as the
case may be.

(2) A President or Vice-President of a Gaon or

Anchalik Panchayat or Mohkuma Parishad may be
disqualified from holding office by the State Govern­
ment,—

(i) if he refuses to act or becomes incapable of

acting ; or

(«) if he is guilty of misconduct or wilful neglect

in the discharge of his duties ; or

(in) if his continuance in office is dangerous to

the public peace or is likely to bring the administra­
tion of a Gaon or Anchalik Panchayat or Mohkuma

Parishad into contempt.

(3) A President or Vice-President or member of

the Gaon or Anchalik Panchayat or Mohkuma Pari­
shad who immediately ceases to hold office according
to the provisions of sub-section (1) or is disqualified bv

the State Government according to the provisions of


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sub-section (2) shall be removed in the manner

prescribed :

Provided that no such person as aforesaid shall be

removed until he has been given a reasonable opportu­
nity of showing cause against the action proposed to
be taken against him.

(4) No person who has been removed from office

under the provisions of this section shall be eligible
for re-election to the vacancy so created.”

Am endment 13. In section 29 of the principal Act, the follow-

of section 29 jn g s hall be inserted as an Explanation to clause (t) of
Act XXIV sub-section (5), namely:—
of 1959 _“Explanation.—For the purpose of quorum_ _ex-officio_

members shall not be counted.”

Am endment 14. In Part II of section 36 of the principal Act—

of a cti on 36 (1) fo r item (8), the following shall be substituted,

of Assam namelv :—
# Act xxiv [ua e y]

of 1959.
“ (8) control, maintenance and regulation of bus-

stand, carriage-stand, cart-stand and fairs

(2) for the full-stop ( . ) at the end of item (18), a

semicolon ( ; ) shall be substituted and after the said
item the following shall be inserted as item (19),
na mely;—

“ (19) maintenance and regulation of hats accord­

ing to the provisions of section 76A.”

Am endm ent 1 5 ‘ In Part II of section 37 of the principal Act,

of section 37 for item (6), the following shall be substituted,

of Assam namely; —

Act XXIV

of 1959
“ (6) maintenance and regulation of hats accord­

ing to the provisions of section 76A ; and 5”

Am endment 16. In sub-section (2) of section 66 of the prin-

of section 66 cipal Act, for the full-stop ( . ) at the end of clause

°[f] (iii), a semicolon ( ; ) shall be substituted and the

of[C] 1959. following shall be inserted as clause (w), namely :—

“ (t») sums received on account of sale proceeds

of hats.”

Am endment _ 17* - [n] sub-section (1) of section 67 o f the prin-

of section 67 cipal Act, for the full-stop ( . ) at the end of clause

A t XXIV 3 s e m ic o I o n ( i ) & h al> be substituted and the

of 1959. following sha'I be inserted as clause (i»), name ly:—

“ (««) allotment of sale proceeds of hats to each

Gaon or Anchalik Panchayat according to the provi­
sions of section 76A.”


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of section 69 Amendment 18. In section 69 of the principal Act— r

Act XX IV (1) fo r clause (io), th e following shall be substi-

of 1959. tuted, namely:—

_“ (iv) contribution from Government including a_

share of the land revenue which shall not be less than
fifteen per cent of the net receipt and the entire net
receipt of local rate, collected from the are a of the
Gaon Panchayat after providing for agent’s commis­
sion :

Provided that the State Government may direct

the Gaon Panchayat to spend a specified share of the

net receipt of local rate for any purpose specified by
the State Government.”

(2) in clause («), for the words “m inor hats” ,

occurring between the words “ o f” and “ an d” , the
words “ hats according to the provisions of section
76A” shall be substituted ;

(3) for clause (x), the following shall be substi­

tuted , namely :—

“ (x) contribution from private individuals,

local authorities.”

Amendment 19. In clause (») of section 70 of the principal

of section 7O A ct__

(1) for the words “major hats or bazars” occur­

Act XX IV
of 1959, ring between the words “of ” and “ buildings” , the

words “hats according to the provisions of section

71 A ” shall be substituted ;

(2) the proviso at the end shall be deleted.

Amendment 20. In clause _(ii) of sub-section (1) cf section 75_
of section 75
of Assam of the principal Act, at the end of item (c) the wi rd

Act XX IV “ an d” shall be added and item (d) shall be deleted.

of 1959.

Amendment 21 , In sub-section (1) of section 76 of the prin-

of [SC]A*Jam[6 c] ’P [a] l Act, clause (r) shall be deleted and the existing

Act XXIV clause (d) shall be renumbered as clause (r).
of 1959,

Insertion of 22. After section 76 of the principal Act, the

tion TCA^in foP°[w] i[n] S shall be inserted as section 76A=, namely

Assam Act
XX IV of

l9 [5] 9-

“ Settlement 76A. (11 Subject to sub-section (2), all hats with

to'bution of ’[n ] [t] '[l e] P [a n c] M a t areas shall be settled in the prescribe

"proceeds manner for a period of one year by public auction to

and mainte- be held at the headquarters of the Anchalik Panchayat

nance and w it..in whose jurisdiction the particular hat or ha ti

Thereof[011 a r e s]i[t u a t e] d by theCommittee constituted by the Mob-

kuma Parishad in the m anner prescribed.


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. i(2) All settlement made under sub-section ( If

shall he subject to confirmation by the Mohkuma

Parishad in a meeting convened for the purpose with­

in such period as may be prescribed in this behalf. In

case the Mohkuma Parishad in such meeting refuse^ to
confirm, the reasons for such refusal shall be duly
recorded in the proceedings of the meeting and the
Mohkuma Parishad shall pass such orders thereon as

it may deem fit.

. (3) After the settlement is confirmed the lease in

th e prescribed form shall be issued by the Mohkuma

Parishad to the person in whose favour the settlement

t? is confirmed.

(4) All sale proceeds of hats shall be deposited in

the Subdivisional Rural Development Fund and distri­
buted in the manner hereinafter provided :—

(zj if the sale proceed of any hat dees not exceed

rupees three thousand, then the entire amount shall be

made over to the Gaon Panchayat within whose

jurisdiction the ha t is situate ;

(z'i) if the sale proceed of any hat exceeds rupees

three thousand bu t doe* not exceed rupees ten

thousand then a sum cf rupees chree thousand shall gc
to the Gaon Panchayat within whose jurisdiction the
hat is situated and the balance to the Anchalik
Panchayat in whose jurisdiction the ha t is situate ;

(z’/z) if the sale proceed of any hat exceeds ten

thousand, then a sum of rupees three thousand shall
go to the Gaon Panchayat within whose jurisdiction
the h at is situate and a sum of rupees seven thousand
shall go to the Anchalik Panchayat within whose juris­
diction the hat is situate and the balance shall go to
a common po ol ;

_(w) one-third of the common_ pool shall be

distributed among all the nchalik Panchayats and

the remaining two-thirds among all the Gaon Pancha­
yats within the are a of the Mohkuma Parishad. The

basis of distribution shall be area _cum population_ in

both the cases.

(t>) All hats the sale proceeds of which do no

exceed rupees five thousand shall be maintained ana
regulated by the Gaon Panchayat concerned where
the h at is situate, and all bats the sale proceeds of
which exceed rupees five thousand shall be main­
tained and regulated by the Anchalik Panchavat
poncerned where the hat is situate.”


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Amendment 23. In section 139 of the principal Act, the exis-

?(oS tc ti o? t *n 8 section shall be renumbered as sub-section (1)

A«sam A-t[t] h [e r e o] ^ and [t] ^ [e] following shall be inserted as sub-sec-

XXIV of tion (2), namely

1959.

“ (2) After passing an order under sub-section (1)

the Deputy Commissioner or the Subdivisional Officer,
as the cate may be, shall forthwith submit a copy of
the order assigning reasons for making it along with
any explanation submitted by the Gaon or Anchalik
Panchayat or Mohkuma Parishad concerned to the

, State Government which may rescind, modify or
confirm the order.”

Amendment 24 . In section 161 of the principal Act, (1) for

?61[S]' [CtlO]f [c] ^a u E e W the f°ll° w in g shall be substituted, namely :—

**Assam** Act

XXIV o f “ (A) other similar matters including con trib utory

lg59. provident fund, gratuities or pensions or oth er

benefits.”


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