(1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) and the rules made under the proviso to article 309 of Constitution, the District Collector may appoint a person as Village Assistant for one or more revenue villages.
(2) No person shall be eligible for appointment to the post of Village Assistant unless he possess the Minimum General Educational Qualification referred to in rule12 (a) (i) of Part-II of the Andhra Pradesh State and Subordinate Services Rules and prescribed in the Schedule to the said Part-II.
(3) The Village Assistant shall be whole-time Government servant.
(4) The Village Assistant shall perform the duties relating to the collection of land revenue, taxes, cesses and other sums due to the Government, maintenance of the village records and such other duties (including the implementation at the village level of the schemes of the Government as may be assigned to him by the Government) or Commissioner of Land Revenue or the Collector or any other authority or officer authorized in this behalf.
(5) The Government or any officer or authority authorised by them in this behalf may sanction, from time to time, the creation of such number of posts of Village Assistants as may be necessary for the purpose of this Act.
5. Amount to be paid on abolition of posts of part-time Village Officers –
(1) Every person who ceases to hold the post of part-time Village Officer by reason of section 3, shall be paid an amount for the total service put in by him as part-time Village Officer and such amount shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of sub-section(2).
(2) The amount referred to in sub-section (1) shall be calculated at the rate of one-half of the monthly emoluments for every year of total service put in by the person referred to in sub-section (1).
Explanation:- For the purpose of this section,-
(a) where the total service,-
(i) includes a period which is a portion of a year; or
(ii) is a period less than a year;
the amount payable for the period referred to in sub-clause (i) or sub-clause(ii), as the case may be, shall be an amount bearing to the amount payable for one year of total service, the same proportion as the said period bears to the period of one year of total service.
(b) “monthly emoluments” shall mean,-
(i) honorarium, which was payable to the part-time Village Officer for the whole of the calendar month immediately preceding the date of the commencement of this Act;
(ii) an amount equal to one-twelth of the consolidated annual travelling allowance for the year ending with the 31st December,1983:
Provided that where the part-time Village Officer was on leave other than casual leave or was absent without authorisation or was under suspension, during the whole or part of the month immediately preceding the date of commencement of this Act, the monthly emoluments shall mean,-
(i) honorarium, which would have been payable to him for the whole of the said month but for such leave, absence or suspension, and
(ii) an amount equal to one-twelfth of the consolidated annual travelling allowance for the year ending with the 31st December, 1983;
(c) “total service” shall not include any period during which a parttime Village Officer was-
(i) on leave other than casual leave; or
(ii) absent without authorization; or
(iii) under suspension.
(3) (a) The competent authority shall,, either suo motu or on an application made, determine by an order in writing the amount to be paid under sub-section(1) and such order shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (6) and section 6, be final.
(b) The application referred to in clause (a) shall be made by the persons referred to in sub-section (1), or in the event of the death of such person, by his legal heir or heirs, within such time and in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed:
Provided that before passing an order under this subsection, the competent authority shall give a reasonable opportunity of being heard to the person or persons concerned.
(4) The amount payable under sub-section (1) shall be paid within a period of one year,-
(a) in case where there is no appeal, from the date of the order of the competent authority under sub-section (3);
(b) in case where there is an appeal, from the date of the order of the District collector under sub-section (6);
(c) in case where an application for appointment as Village Assistant is filed, from the date on which such application is rejected.
(5) In the event of the death of the person concerned before payment of the amount under sub-section (1), the amount remaining so unpaid on his death shall be paid to his legal heir or heirs.
(6) Any person aggrieved by an order of the competent authority under sub-section (3) may prefer an appeal to the District Collector within the prescribed period and the District Collector may pass an order on the appeal as he deems fit:
Provided that the District Collector may entertain the appeal after the expiry of the prescribed period if he is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from preferring the appeal in time:
Provided further that the District Collector shall, before passing the order on the appeal preferred to him under this sub-section, give a reasonable opportunity of being heard to the appellant.
(7) The order passed by the District Collector under sub-section (6) shall, subject to the provisions of section 6, be final.
6. Revision - (1) The Commissioner of Land Revenue may of his own motion or on application made to him, call for and examine the record of the appellate authority and the Government may, of their own motion or on application made to them, call for and examine the record of the Commissioner of Land Revenue, in respect of any proceeding to satisfy himself or themselves as to the regularity of such proceeding or the correctness, legality or propriety of any decision passed or order made therein; and if, in any case it appears to the Commissioner of Land Revenue or the Government, that any such decision or order should be modified, annulled,, reserved or remitted for reconsideration he or they may pass orders accordingly.
Provided that every application to the Commissioner of Land Revenue or the Government for the exercise of the powers under this section shall be preferred within ninety days from the date on which the proceeding, decision or order to which the application relates was communicated to the applicant.
(2) No order adversely affecting any party shall be passed under subsection (1) unless he has been given an opportunity of making his representation.
(3) The commissioner of Land Revenue or the Government, as the case may be, may suspend the decision or order pending exercise of his or their power under sub-section (1) in respect thereof.
(4) The decision passed or the order made by the Commissioner of Land Revenue or the Government under sub-section (1) shall be final.
7. Act to override other laws - The provisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force.
8. Construction of reference to Village Officers - In the application of any law, reference to the Village Offices of headman, munsiff, reddy, monigar, peddakapu, patel, karnam or patwari or triune officer or village officer shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be deemed to be a reference to the Village Assistant appointed in respect of one or more revenue villages under sub-section (1) of section 4 or a person appointed under section 13.