(1) This Act may be called the West Bengal Panchayat Short title, Act, 1973. extent and commencement.
West Ben.
Act XXXIII of 1951.
West Ben.
Act XVII of
1965.
Ben. Act XV of 1932.
Cooch Behar Act IV of
1903.
West Ben.
Act XVIII of
1955.
2 of 1924.
(2) It extends to the whole of West Bengal, except the areas to which the provisions of the Calcutta Municipal Act, 1951, the Howrah Municipal Act, 1965, the Bengal Municipal Act, 1932, the Cooch Behar Town Committee Act, 1903, the Chandernagore Municipal Act, 1955, and the Cantonments Act, 1924, or any parts or modifications thereof apply or may hereafter be applied.
(3) This section shall come into force at once; the remaining sections shall come into force on such date or dates and in such area or areas as the State Government may, by notification, appoint and different dates may be appointed for different sections and for different areas.
2. In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,—
(1) "auditor" means an auditor appointed under section 186 and includes any officer authorised by him to perform all or any of the functions of an auditor under Chapter XVIII;
(2) "Block" means an area referred to in section 93;
Definitions.
265 The West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973.
[West Ben. Act (Part I.—Chapter 1.—Preliminary.--Section 2.)
(3) "Block Development Officer" means an officer appointed as such by the State Government;
(4) "case" means a criminal proceeding in respect of an offence triable by a Nyaya Panchayat;
(5) "District Magistrate" includes an Additional District Magistrate, a Deputy Commissioner, an Additional Deputy Commissioner and any other Magistrate appointed by the State Government to discharge all or any of the functions of a District Magistrate under this Act;
(6) "Director of Panchayats" means the Director of Panchayats, Department of Panchayats, Government of West Bengal, and includes a Joint Director of Panchayats, a Deputy Director of Panchayats and an Assistant Director of Panchayats;
(7) "District Panchayat Officer" means an officer appointed as such by the State Government;
(8) "District Planning Committee" means the District Planning Committee established by the State Government for a district;
(9) "Extension Officer, Panchayats" means an officer appointed as such by the State Government;
(10) "Gram" means any mauza, part of a mauza or group of contiguous mauzas or parts thereof declared by the State Government under sub-section (1) of section 3 to be a Gram;
(11) "Gram Panchayat" means a Gram Panchayat constituted under section 4;
(12) "Karmadhyaksha" means the Karmadhyaksha of a Sthayee Samiti of a Panchayat Samiti elected under section 125 or of a Sthayee Samiti of a Zilla Parishad elected under section 172, as the case may be;
(13) "mauza" means an area defined, surveyed and recorded as a distinct and separate village in the revenue record of the district in which it is situate;
(14) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette;
(15) "Nyaya Panchayat" means a Nyaya Panchayat constituted under section 51;
(16) "Panchayat Samiti" means a Panchayat Samiti constituted under section 94;
(17) "Pradhan" means a Pradhan of a Gram Panchayat elected under section 9;
266 The West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973.
XLI of 1973.]
(Part 1.—Chapter 1.—Preliminary.—Section 2.)
(18) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(19) "prescribed authority" means an authority appointed by the State Government, by notification, for all or any of the purposes of this Act;
(20) "public street" means any street, road, lane, gully, alley, passage, pathway, bridge, square or court, whether a thoroughfare or not, over which the public have a right of way, and includes side drains or gutters and the land up to the boundary of any abutting property, notwithstanding the projection over such land or any verandah or other superstructure;
(21) "Sabhapati" means a Sabhapati of a Panchayat Samiti, elected under section 98;
(22) "Sabhadhipati" means a Sabhadhipati of a Zilla Parishad, elected under section 143;
(23) "Sahakari Sabhapati" means a Sahakari Sabhapati of a Panchayat Samiti, elected under section 98;
(24) "Sahakari Sabhadhipati" means a Sahakari Sabhadhipati of a Zilla Parishad, elected under section 143;
(25) "Scheduled Castes" means such castes, races or tribes or parts of, or groups within, such castes, races or tribes as are deemed to be Scheduled Castes in relation to the State of West Bengal under article 341 of the Constitution of India;
(26) "Scheduled Tribes" means such tribes or tribal communities or parts of, or groups within, such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed to be Scheduled Tribes in relation to the State of West Bengal under article 342 of the Constitution of India;
(27) "State Planning Board" means the West Bengal State Planning Board established by the State Government;
(28) "suit" means a civil suit triable by a Nyaya Panchayat;
(29) "Upa-Pradhan" means an Upa-Pradhan of a Gram Panchayat, elected under section 9;
(30) "year" means the year beginning on the first day of April;
(31) "Zilla Parishad" means a Zilla Parishad of a district constituted under section 140.
267 The West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973.
[West Ben. Act Gram.
Gram Panchayat and its constitution.
(Part IL—Gram Panchayat.—Chapter IL—Constitution of Gram Panchayat.—Sections 3, 4.)
PART II GRAM PANCHAYAT
CHAPTER II Constitution of Gram Panchayat