(1) Every District Development Council shall consist of––
(a) the directly elected members from territorial constituencies in the district ;
(b) the Members of the Legislative Assembly representing a part or whole of the district whose constituencies lie within the district ; and
(c) the Chairperson of all Block Development Councils of the district.
(2) The number of elected members of a District Development Council under clause (a) of sub-section (1) shall consist of persons elected from the territorial constituencies in the district, as may be notified from time to time, which shall be fourteen in number.
(3) All members of District Development Council, whether or not elected by direct election from territorial constituencies in the district shall have the right to vote in the meeting of the District Development Council :
Provided that in the case of election or removal of the Chairman and Vice Chairman only the directly elected members shall have the right to vote.
(4) Seats to be filled by direct election shall be reserved in the District Development Council––
(a) for the Scheduled Castes ; and
(b) for the Scheduled Tribes,
and the number of seats to be filled by direct election so reserved shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in the District Development Council as the population of the Scheduled Castes in the district or of the Scheduled Tribes in the district bears to the total population of the district.
(5) Not less than one-third of the total number of seats reserved under sub-section (4) shall be reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes or, as the case may be, the Scheduled Tribes.
(6) One-third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every District Development Council shall be reserved for women.
(7) The seats reserved under sub-sections (4), (5) and (6) shall be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in the district in such manner as may be prescribed.
(8) The Additional District Development Commissioner of the District shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the District Development Council and he shall be assisted by the District level heads in the discharge of functions as such.
(9) The term of District Development Council shall be five years except for holding common elections to all the tiers of the Panchayats simultaneously so that all the tiers have co-extensive terms in the district.
(10) The provisions for disqualification from the membership of a Halqa Panchayat as provided under section 6 shall be applicable mutatis-mutandis to the directly elected members of the District Development Council.
(11) A Chairperson, Vice Chairperson of a District Development Council may, by writing under his hand, addressed to such authority and in such manner as may be prescribed, resign his office and on acceptance of the resignation by such authority the office shall thereupon become vacant.
(12) Any Chairperson vacating an office of District Development Council either by resignation or removal shall handover the charge to the Vice Chairperson of the District Development Council.
(13) In the event of the position of the Vice Chairperson having been vacated earlier, the Chairperson shall hand over the charge to the Chief Executive Officer.
(14) A Chairperson or a Vice Chairperson shall be deemed to have vacated his office forthwith if a resolution expressing want of confidence in his favour is passed by a majority of not less than two third of the directly elected Members of the District Development Council at a meeting specifically convened for the purpose in the prescribed manner on the following grounds, namely;-
(i) gross misconduct ;
(ii) neglect of duty ;
(iii) any disqualification prescribed under sub-section (10) ;
(iv) failure to attend three consecutive meetings of the District Development Council :
Provided that failure to attend meetings of the District Development Council shall not render him liable to removal if such failure is due to reasons beyond his control.