' . - {a) "Act" means the Punjab Panchayati Raj Act, J994;
(b) "Appendix" means Appendix appended to these rul es;
. .
(c) "Competent Authority" means the authority specified as such in Appendix 'A' an.ct 'B' and includes any other officer to whom the compF.!tent . authority may delegates its .,.,,.... powers under these rules; · ·
(d) "Controller" means . the · Controller Pan chayati Haj Finances in the Department of .· ·}'Ural Development and Parichayats;
\j..ef "Family" mean·s th"e family.· a~". defined in rUle . 2 .17 of ·· the Punjab Civil. Ser.vices Rules, Volume I, Part i; . . .
· (f) "Form" means the form appended to these rule;
( g) "Fund" means the peps ion_· fund established under rule 4 of these rules;
· (h) "Government" means · the · Government of State of Punjab in the Department of Rural . Development and Panchaya.ts;
(i) "Pay" means the pay as defined in rule
2.44 of the' Punjab Civil Services ' Rules, Volume I, Part I;
(j) "Pension" ir:cludes family ·pension;
(k) "qualifying service" means the service of an ~inployP-e Of a Panchayat ·samiti or Zila ·Parish ad, . as the case may be, for which he has . made contribution towards the Contributory Provident Fund before and after the corr,mencement of ·these rules; and . (1) "section" means the section of the Act.
) ) / ...... ~ --····- ··- · ·· PUNJAB Govt-GAZ.' JULY 28, 2000 (SRVN 6, "1922 SAKA) 443 · · '\. 3 • . Exercise of Option. --( 1) ·· The option under clause . ( i) of sub..:.rule ( 3) of rule 1 to elect to be governed by these rules, shall be exercised in form ~ I appended to these rules so as to reach . Competent A.uthority within a period of four months from the date of publication of these rules in the ·Official Gazette :
Provided that. --
(a) in the case of an employee, who on the date of publica'.tion of these rules was on · leave, the optJ.on shall . be·· exercised within a period of four months frorri the date he joins his duty after returning from leave;
(b) where an · employee is. .under suspension on ..,,,..._. that . date, .the option shall be exercised within a period of . four months from the .date he joins his duty; and
(c) •,_, .
in the . cas£;! of an .· employee, who · dies without .. exi:r cising his ' option within . · the stipulated per:iod, he ·shall be . deemed -to have -opted :for these ru;tes. · · V (2) ·The ·employees who opt· for . these rules shall cease .. . to a.vc:.il . the benefit of . Contributory Provident Fund and the employees who opt out bf these rules, shall ·~ontinue to avail the benefit of the Contributory Pro .rident Fund.