(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of the West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973 or the Bengal Municipal Act, 1932, the General Council shall exercise general powers of supervision over Panchayat Sanzitis, Gram Panchayats and municipalities in the hill areas, and it shall be the duty of every such Panchayat Samiti, Gram Panchayat or municipality to give effect to any direction of the General Council on matters of policy or planning for development.
(2) The General Council shall exercise all the powers of the Zilla Parishad under sections 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161 and 162 of the West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973.
Exercise of powers of supervision over municipalities, Panchayat Samitis and Grain Panchayats.
32. The General Council may—
(a) inspect, or cause to be inspected, any immovable property used or occupied by a Panchayat Samiti under it or any work in progress under the direction of the Panchayat Samiti,
(b) inspect or examine, or depute an officer to inspect or examine, any department of the Panchayat Samiti, or any service, work or thing under the control of the Panchayat Samiti,
(c) inspect or cause to be inspected utilisation of funds in respect of schemes or programmes assigned to the Panchayat Samiti by the Government for execution either directly or through the General Council,
(d) require a Panchayat Samiti, for the purpose of inspection or examination as aforesaid,—
(i) to produce any book, record, correspondence or other documents, or
(ii) to furnish any return, plan, estimate, statement, accounts or statistics, or
(iii) to furnish or obtain any report or information.
33. If any dispute arises between a Gram Panchayat or a Panchayat Disputes.
Samiti or a municipality in the hill areas and the General Council, such dispute shall be referred by the General Council to the Government and the decision of the Government thereon shall be final.
Inspection of works of Panchayats.
139 The Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council Act, 1988.
[West Ben. Act (Chapter 111.—Chief Executive Councillor and Committees of the General Council.—Sections 34-36.)
CHAPTER III Chief Executive Councillor and Committees of the General Council.
Chief Executive Councillor and Vice- Chairman.
Term of office.
Salaries and allowances.
34. The elected members of the General Council shall, in the prescribed manner, elect from amongst themselves,—
(a) at the first meeting of the General Council after a general election,—
(i) one member to be the Chairman who shall also be the Chief Executive Councillor, and
(ii) one member to be the Vice-Chairman, and
(b) so often as a vacancy in the office of the Chief Executive Councillor or the Vice-Chairman, as the case may be, occurs by reason of death, resignation, removal or otherwise and within one month of the occurrence of such vacancy, one member to be the Chief Executive Councillor or the Vice- Chairman, as the case may be.
35. The Chief Executive Councillor or the Vice-Chairman, as the case may be,
(a) shall cease to hold office as such forthwith if he ceases to be a member;
(b) may, at any time, by giving notice in writing to the Chief Executive Councillor in the case of the Vice-Chairman and to the Vice-Chairman in the case of the Chief Executive Councillor, resign his office and such resignation shall take effect from such date as may be specified in the notice or, if no such date is specified, from the date of its receipt by the Chief Executive Councillor or the Vice-Chairman, as the case may be;
(c) may be removed from office by a resolution carried by a majority of the total number of elected members at a special meeting of the General Council called for this purpose upon a requisition made in writing by not less than one-third of such members.
36. The Chief Executive Councillor and the Vice-Chairman shall be whole-time functionaries and shall be paid out of the Council Fund such salaries and allowances and shall be entitled to such leave of absence for such period or periods on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed.
140 The Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council Act, 1988.
XIII of 1988.]
(Chapter 111.—Chief Executive Councillor and Committees of the General Council.—Section 37.)