(1) There shall be an attendance register in the Gram Panchayat office in which all the employees of the Gram Panchayat shall be required to record their attendance, which may be supervised and endorsed by the Pradhan, or in his absence by the Upa-Pradhan, or by the Executive Assistant in the absence of both Pradhan and Upa-Pradhan.
(2) The Block Development Officer and ex-officio Executive Officer of the Panchayat Samiti shall be the disciplinary authority for all the employees ofGram Panchayat.
(3) Casual leave not exceeding fourteen days in one English calendar year may be granted to the staff of the Gram Panchayat by the Pradhan. Casual leave shall not ordinarily be granted to an employee in the manner that may entail absence from office for more than seven days at a time including Sundays or holidays. The employees of the Gram Panchayat may also enjoy the benefit of earned leave, half-pay leave, commuted leave, extra-ordinary leave, leave not due, quarantine leave and maternity leave to such extent and in such manner as are admissible to a State Government employee on an identical or comparable scale of pay under the West Bengal Service Rules, Part I. Any such leave to employees shall be granted by the Block Development Officer and ex-officio Executive Officer of the Panchayat Samiti on the recommendation of the Pradhan subject to the approval of the Gram Panchayat and shall be recorded by the sanctioning authority in the Service Book of the employee concerned:
Provided that no leave of any kind shall, however, be claimed by the employees as a matter of right and the sanctioning authority may refuse any prayerofleave at any time in the interest ofpublic service. At the time of retirement on superannuation, or otherwise, termination of service, encashment of earned leave of an employee for admissible period may be sanctioned by the Block Development Officer on the recommendation of the Gram Panchayat in the manner as may be laid down by an order of the Government from time to time.
(4) Service Books and other records of all employees of the Gram Panchayat shall be recorded, authenticated and maintained by the Block Development Officer and ex-officio Executive Officer of the Panchayat Samiti or by the Extension Officer ofPanchayat, if authorised by the Block Development Officer and ex-officio Executive Officer of the Panchayat Samiti.
(5) The employees of a Gram Panchayat may be transferred within the Panchayat Samiti area by the Block Development Officer and ex-officio Executive Officer of the Panchayat Samiti, within the district by the District Magistrate or subject to any direction given by him, by the District Panchayat and Rural Development Officer, and from one district to another, by the Director of Panchayats and Rural Development. Transfer from one district to another district may be made, ifspecifically recommended by the District Magistrate, on the ground ofadministrative expediency.
They may be allowed joining time in case of transfer as may be specified by the Government by order:
Provided that the employees of the Gram Panchayat other than the Gram Panchayat Karmees may be transferred after every five years.
(6) Whenever a post falls vacant on account of leave, training, transfer, suspension or otherwise ofany employee, the Gram Panchayat may direct another employee to discharge temporarily the duties of such employee in addition to his normal duties. If the Gram Panchayat does not find a suitable person in its establishment for such arrangement, the Block Development Officer and the ex-officio Executive Officer of the Panchayat Samiti may be informed of the situation who may direct an employee ofan adjoining Gram Panchayat to act as such temporarily, in addition to his normal duties in the vacant pust.
THE KOLKATA GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, NOVEMBER 23, 2004 [PART I
(7) The employees of a Gram Panchayat shall attend training course in any institution or any other training camp whenever he is called upon to do so by thecompetent authority. TheGramPanchayat concerned shall allow the selected employees to attend such training and such employees shall be deemed to be on duty during the period of training including the period of journey to and from the place of training.
(8) (a) The Block Development Officer and ex-officio Executive Officer of the Panchayat Samiti may place an employee of a Gram Panchayat within thejurisdiction of the concerned Panchayat Samiti, under suspension, when_
(i) a disciplinary proceeding or departmental enquiry against him is contemplated or is pending,
(ii) he has been detained in custody for a period exceeding forty-eight hours under any law providing for preventive detention or as a result of a proceeding either on a criminal charge or otherwise, or
(iii) he has been implicated in a proceeding initiated against him in charge of a criminal offence involving moral turpitude punishable with imprisonment for a period of more than six months.
(b) During the period of suspension, such employee shall be entitled to subsistence allowance and to pay and allowance on reinstatement in respect of theperiod of suspension at such rate as is admissible to a Government servant on an identical or comparative scale of pay under rules 71 and 72 of theWest Bengal Service Rules, Part I:
Provided that in a case where an employee is detained in custody under any law providing for preventive detention, the subsistence allowance admissible under the said rule shall be reduced by the amount of allowance if any paid to the detainee under the relevant laws or rules for the time being in force.
(9) The Block Development Officer and ex-officio Executive Officer of the Panchayat Samiti may start proceedings at any time against an employee of a Gram Panchayat, for imposition of the following penalties:-
(i) censure;
(ii) withholding of increments or promotion;
(iii) recovery from pay of the whole or part of any pecuniary loss caused to the Gram Panchayat by negligence, dereliction of duty or breach of orders;
(iv) reduction to a lower stage in the time scale of pay, for a specified period;
(v) reduction in rank and servicewhich shall ordinarily be II bar to the promotion to the higher post or cadre for a specified period;
(vi) compulsory retirement;
(vii) removal from service; and
(viii) dismissal from service which shall ordinarily be a disqualification for future employment:
Provided that for initiating a proceeding, the Block Development Officer and ex-officio Executive Officer of the Panhayat Samiti shall serve or cause to be served a notice to show-cause aslto why he shall not be proceeded against for negligence, dereliction of duty, wrongful act or any other commission or omission which he should not have done and shall also be served with appropriate articles of charge framed against him with a statement of imputation of misconduct, if necessary:
Provided further that the Block Development Officer and ex-officio Executive Officer of the Panhayat Samiti shall also invite and consider the views of the Gram Panchayat on the charges framed and misconduct alleged against such anemployee:
Provided also that the employee shall, before imposition of any penalty, be given an opportunity of being heard by serving a notice to show-cause as to why the action as contemplated shall not be taken against him:
Provided also that for initiating and concluding the disciplinary proceedings against the employees of a Gram Panchayat in matters and in manners not provided in these rules or the Act, the provision of the West Bengal Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1971, shall apply mutatis mutandis.
IY.alib.-An officer who conducts the preliminary enquiry or investigation of the case shall not be appointed as the presenting officer in the disciplinary proceedings.
(10) (G) In conclusion of the proceedings against any employee, the Block Development Officer and ex-officio ExecutiveOfficer of thePanchayat Samitimay impose upon such employee any penalty which are mentioned at serial (i) to serial (iii) in sub-rule (9) and may, in appropriate cases, recommend to the Sub-divisional Officer for imposition of such penalties as referred to at serial (iv) to serial (viii) in sub-rule (9).
(ii) If the Sub-divisional Officer after due consideration of the recommendations as afore-mentioned, is of the opinion that apenalty as specified at serial (iv) to serial (viii) of sub-rule (9) should be imposed on the charged employee, he shall--
(a) furnish to the employee a copy of the report of the inquiring authority and a statement of his findings together with brief reasons for disagreement, if any, with the findings of the inquiring authority;
(b) serve a notice stating the punishment proposed and the grounds thereof and calling upon him to submit within a specified time the reply, if any, to the proposed punishment on the basis of the evidence adduced during theenquiry. TheSub-divisional Officer shall consider the representation, if any, of thecharged Gram Panchayat employee, in response to the notice and determine as to what penalty, if any, should be imposed on the Gram Panchayat employee and pass appropriate orders on the case and shall serve or cause to serve the orders upon the said employee and other concerned authorities.
PART I] THE KOLKATA GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, NOVEMBER 23, 2004 19 l
(11) The Sub-divisional Officer, if he is satisfied with the recommendation of the Block Development Officer and ex-officio Executive Officer of the Panhayat Samiti, may, after giving the employee an opportunity of being heard, remove or dismiss him from service.
(12) An appeal shall lie to the Sub-divisional Officer against an order under sub-rule IO(i) in respect of penalties as mentioned at serial (i) to (iii) in sub-rule (9) within one month from the date of communication of the order. The decision of the Sub-divisional Officer shall be final.
(13) An appeal shall lie to the District Magistrate against an order under sub-rule 10(ii) in respect of penalties as mentioned at serial (iv) to (viii) in sub rule (9) within one month from the date of communication of the order. The decision of the District Magistrate shall be final.
(14) Notwithstanding the provisions in sub-rule (9) the District Magistrate or the Director ofPanchayats and Rural Development may, at any time, initiate proceedings against the employees when the provisions of this rule shall applymutatis mutandis.