(1) A summary of the scheme notified by the Government in the second schedule under sub-section (1) of Section 38 of the Act shall be published by the local authority by means of a public notice given in two prominent daily newspapers and circulated in the area for being widely known in the area or locality of its jurisdiction which is likely to be affected thereby, within seven days from the date the scheme is notified by the Government.
(2) The notice shall be signed by the Municipal Commissioner or the Chief Executive Officer of the local authority, as the case may be, or by an officer authorised by him in this behalf.
(3) The notice shall be in such language or languages as the Municipal Commissioner or the Chief Executive Officer of the local authority, as the case may be, may specify in this behalf.
¹Hkkx IIµ[k.M 3(i)º Hkkjr dk jkti=k % vlk/kj.k 29 THE SCHEDULE [See rule 14] PROCEDURE FOR THE CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS OF MEMBERS OF A TOWN VENDING COMMITTEE REPRESENTING THE STREET VENDORS IN THE AREA OF THE JURISDICTION THEREOF
1. The local authority concerned shall supervise, direct and control the conduct of elections of the members of a Town Vending Committee representing the street vendors in the area of its jurisdiction.
2. As soon as the notification expressing the intention of the local authority to conduct elections for members of a Town Vending Committee representing the street vendors has been issued under sub-rule (1) of rule 13 and a returning officer has been appointed for conducting the elections under sub-rule (2) of that rule, the local authority shall by a resolution determine the date, time and place for conduct of elections.
3. The notice of the resolution or decision of the local authority shall be circulated among the street vendors engaged in the vocation of street vending in the area of jurisdiction of the Town Vending Committee, by any of the following modes, namely:-
(a) by public notice to be published in two prominent daily newspapers in Hindi, English or such other language as the local authority thinks fit;
(b) by local delivery;
(c) by post under certificate of posting;
(d) by speed post or courier services, duly registered with competent authority as well as on the notice board of the returning officer and such notice shall contain information regarding-
(i) the number of members to be elected including seats reserved for representatives of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, minorities, women, persons with disabilities or any other specified categories;
(ii) the date on which, the place at which and the hours between which nomination papers shall be filed, such date being not less than seven clear days before the date fixed for election or if that day happens to be public holiday, the next succeeding day which is not a public holiday;
Explanation.- the term “public holiday” means any day which is a public holiday under Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 [Central Act XXVI of 1881] or any day which has been notified by the Government to be a public holiday for offices under the Government;
(iii) the date and the hour for scrutinisation of the nomination papers;
(iv) the date, place, hours of polling.
4. The local authority shall prepare a list of street vendors engaged in the vocation of street vending in the area of jurisdiction of the Town Vending Committee as it stood on thirty days before the date fixed for inviting the nominations, and publish copies of the said list by affixing them upon the notice board at the office of the Town Vending Committee, not less than ten days prior to the date fixed for inviting nominations. The list shall specify the registration number or number of certificate of vending and the name of the street vendor, the name of the father or husband, as the case may be, and the address of the street vendor. It shall be the duty of the Town Vending Committee or the local authority, as the case may be, to bring up-to-date register of street vendors and such other register as the returning officer may require and hand over such records, register or registers to the returning officer thirty days prior to the date fixed for the purpose of election. A copy of the list shall be supplied by the Town Vending Committee or the local authority, or returning officer, as the case may be, to any street vendor on payment of such fee as specified by the local authority.
5. The nominations of the candidates for election shall be made in Form-1 annexed to this Schedule which shall be supplied by the returning officer to any street vendor, free of cost.
6. The candidate shall make a security deposit of rupees two thousand in cash or bank draft or pay order along with the nomination papers. If a candidate fails to get less than one-sixth of the votes polled, the security deposit shall be forfeited to the local authority.
7. Every nomination paper shall be presented in person by the candidate himself or by his proposer or seconder to the returning officer. The returning officer shall enter on the nomination paper its serial number and certify the date and hour at which the nomination is received by him and shall immediately give a written acknowledgement for the receipt of the nomination paper which shall bear the seal of the Town Vending Committee or returning officer. Any nomination paper which is not received on or before the date and time fixed for its receipt shall be rejected.
30 THE GAZETTE OF INDIA : EXTRAORDINARY [PART II—SEC. 3(i)]
8. (i) On the day following the date fixed for the receipt of nomination papers, the returning officer shall take up the scrutiny of the nomination papers;
(ii) The returning officer shall examine the nomination papers and decide objections, which may be made by any person in respect of any nomination and may, either on such objection, or on his own motion and after such summary inquiry, if any, as the returning officer thinks necessary, reject any nomination:
Provided that the nomination of a candidate shall not be rejected merely on the ground of an incorrect description of his name or the name of his proposer or seconder, or any other particulars relating to the candidate or his proposer or seconder, as entered in the list of street vendors referred to in paragraph 4 if the identity of the candidate, the proposer or seconder, as the case may be, is established beyond reasonable doubt.
(iii) the returning officer shall give all reasonable facilities to the contesting candidates or the proposer or seconder as the case may be, to examine all the nomination papers and to satisfy themselves that the inclusion of the name of the contesting candidate is valid;
(iv) the returning officer shall endorse on each nomination paper his decision accepting or rejecting the same as the case may be, and if the nomination paper is rejected, he shall record in writing a brief statement of his reasons for such rejection;
(v) the returning officer shall not allow any adjournment of the proceedings except when such proceedings are interrupted or obstructed by riots or affray or by causes beyond his control;
9. The list of valid nominations as decided by the returning officer with names in English alphabetical order and addresses of the candidates as given in the nomination papers will be displayed or published on the same day on which the scrutiny of the nomination papers is completed.
10. Any candidate may withdraw his candidature by notice in writing signed by him and submitted in person, at any time after the presentation of his nomination paper but before 05.00 pm on the day following the day on which the valid nominations are published, to the returning officer of the Town Vending Committee and a notice of withdrawal of candidates once given shall be irrevocable.
11. If the number of candidates whose nomination papers have been declared valid, does not exceed the number of candidates to be elected, the returning officer shall announce the names of all such candidates and declare them to have been duly elected to the Town Vending Committee after the closing hour of the day of withdrawal of candidatures fixed under paragraph 10 above. If the number of candidates whose nominations are valid exceeds the number to be elected, the returning officer shall arrange for conducting a poll on the date fixed for the purpose. The returning officer may appoint one or more polling officers as may be necessary for conducting the poll. Ballot paper to be used shall be as prescribed in Form-2 annexed to this Schedule.
12. The local authority shall provide the returning office with ballot boxes, ballot papers copy of list of street vendors or voters and such other articles as may be necessary for the conduct of elections. The ballot box shall be so constructed that ballot papers can be inserted therein but cannot be taken out there from without the boxes being unlocked. A candidate contesting the election may, by a letter to the returning officer appoint an agent to represent him both where polling is held to identify the voters and to watch the recording of votes and such letter shall contain the consent in writing of the agent concerned in Form-3 annexed to this Schedule.
13. Canvassing for votes by any person at the place where elections are to be conducted shall be prohibited.
14. Immediately before the commencement of the poll, the returning officer shall show the empty ballot box to such persons as may be present at the time and shall then lock it up and fix his seal. The candidate or his agent may also affix his own seal, if he so desires.
15. Every street vendor or voter who desires to exercise his right to vote shall be supplied with a ballot paper containing the names of contesting candidates arranged in the English alphabetical order either printed, type written or cyclostyled, according to convenience, on the ballot paper. The ballot paper shall also bear the seal of the Town Vending Committee and also the initials of the returning officer, and further contain a column, for the voter to inscribe a mark [x] against the names of persons to whom he wants to vote.
16. Each polling station and where there is more than one polling booth at a station, each such booth shall contain a separate compartment in which the street vendors or voters can record their votes in secrecy.
17. No ballot paper shall be issued to a street vendor or voter unless the polling officer is satisfied that the street vendor or voter concerned is the same person as noted in the list furnished to him. On receipt of such ballot paper the street vendor or voter shall proceed to the polling compartment set apart for the purpose and indicate the person or persons in whose favour he exercises his vote by inscribing a mark [x] against the names of the candidate or candidates, as the case may be, and put the ballot paper in the ballot box kept for the purpose with utmost secrecy. If owing to blindness or other physical infirmity or illiteracy, the street vendor or voter is unable to inscribe the mark on the ballot paper, the polling officer and where no such polling officer is appointed, the returning officer shall ascertain from him the ¹Hkkx IIµ[k.M 3(i)º Hkkjr dk jkti=k % vlk/kj.k 31 candidate or candidates in whose favour he desired to vote, inscribe the mark [x] on his behalf and put the ballot paper in the ballot box.
18. If at any stage of the polling, the proceedings are interrupted or obstructed by any riot or affray or if at such elections, it is not possible to take the poll for any sufficient cause, the returning officer shall have the power to stop the poling, recording his reasons for such action in the minute book of the Town Vending Committee.
19. No street vendor or voter shall be admitted after the hours fixed for the poll but a voter, who enters the premises where ballot papers are being issued before the close of the polling hour shall be issued the ballot paper and allowed to vote.
20. The counting of votes shall take place immediately after close of the poll. If this is not possible, the ballot box shall be sealed with the seal of the returning officer and the contesting candidates or their agents, if they so desire, and deposit with the local authority for safe custody, the returning officer shall then announce the next day of counting. The votes shall be counted by or under the supervision of the returning officer. Each candidate and his authorised agent shall have a right to be present at the time of counting. But absence of any candidate or his agent at the time of counting shall not vitiate counting and announcement of results by returning officer. The number of votes secured by each candidate and the result of the elections shall be announced by the returning officer as soon as the counting is over.
21. The result of the elections shall also be recorded in the minute book of the Town Vending Committee and attested by returning officer and shall also be notified immediately on the notice board of the Town Vending Committee.
22. In case of equality of votes, the returning officer shall declare the election result by tossing coin.
23. The ballot paper shall be rejected by the returning officer if,-
(i) it bears any mark by which the street vendor's vote can be identified;
(ii) it does not bear the seal of the Town Vending Committee or the initials of the returning officer;
(iii) the mark indicating the vote thereon is placed in such a manner as to make it doubtful to which candidate the vote has been cast;
(iv) is so damaged or mutilated that its identity as a genuine ballot paper cannot be established.
24. After the result of election has been announced, the result of the election and a report thereon shall be communicated to the local authority as well as to the Government by the returning officer within three days after the declaration of result.
25. After the declaration of the result of the election, the returning officer shall handover the ballot paper and records relating to the elections of the members of the Town Vending Committee to the local authority in a sealed cover and the same shall safely be preserved by the local authority till the next election results are available and shall thereafter be destroyed by the local authority and a copy of the handing over and taking over record of elections shall be sent to the Government as well as local authority by the returning officer along with his report.
THE SCHEDULE Form-1 (paragraph 5 of Schedule) NOMINATION FORM FOR ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF TOWN VENDING COMMITTEE To The Returning Officer, ………………………….
Town Vending Committee ………………………….
Sir, I, ......................................., wife/son/daughter of Shri/Smt./Ms. ..................................., street vendor vending in the area of jurisdiction of the Town Vending Committee, (Registration Certificate of Vending No. ....................) hereby propose the name of Shri/Smt./Ms. .................................. wife/son/daughter of Shri/Smt./Ms. .............................. and a street vendor of the said Town Vending Committee (Registration/Certificate of Vending No. ................................) as a candidate for the post of Member of the said Committee for the election to be held on ..................................
Name and signature of the proposer ………..................
Registration/Certificate of Vending No. ..........................
32 THE GAZETTE OF INDIA : EXTRAORDINARY [PART II—SEC. 3(i)] I, ..............................., wife/son/daughter of Shri/Smt./Ms. ..................................... Registration/Certificate of Vending No. ......................... of ........................ Town Vending Committee, hereby second the above proposal.
Name and Signature of the Seconder ………………….
Registration/Certificate of Vending No. ...........................
DECLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE I, ..............................., wife/son/daughter of Shri/Smt./Ms. ................................. Registration/Certificate of Vending No.
.................... of ....................... Town Vending Committee, hereby agree to my nomination for the election as Member of the ........................ Town Vending Committee.
I further declare that-
(i) I am not an employee of the said Town Vending Committee;
(ii) I am eligible to vote;
(iii) I do not incur any disqualification for election as Member of the said Town Vending Committee under the provisions of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 (Central Act 7 of 2014) and the ‘Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli’ Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Rules, 2015 made thereunder.
Name and Signature of the Candidate ……………….
Registration/Certificate of Vending No. .........................
(FOR OFFICE USE ONLY) Received the nomination form at .......................... a.m./p.m. on ....................................
Signature of the Returning Officer .........................
Seal ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Received the nomination form of .....................................presented by Shri/Smt./Ms. ...............................
candidate/proposer/seconder for election at .......... a.m./p.m. on ................
Signature of the Returning Officer ...............................
Seal THE SCHEDULE Form- 2 (paragraph 11 of Schedule) BALLOT PAPER FOR ELECTION OF MEMBER OF A TOWN VENDING COMMITTEE Ballot paper of elections of Members of a Town Vending Committee whose elections are to be conducted under Schedule I appended to rule 14 of the ‘Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli’ Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Rules, 2015.
¹Hkkx IIµ[k.M 3(i)º Hkkjr dk jkti=k % vlk/kj.k 33 The ..........................................
Town Vending Committee …………………………………..
............................................. (Address) (Counterfoil) Ballot paper for the Post of ............................
Date of Election..............................................
Sl. No. ................................................
Ce