(1)The Government shall constitute in every district, a District Planning Committee at the district level to consolidate the plans prepared by the Panchayats and the Municipalities in a district and to prepare a draft development plan for the district as a whole.(2)The Committee shall consist of fifteen members of whom-(a)twelve members shall be elected, in such manner as may be prescribed, by and from amongst the elected members of the Panchayats at the district level and of the Municipalities in the district in proportion to the ratio between the population of the rural areas and of the urban areas in the district:(b)the President of the District Panchayat in that district;(c)one shall be a person having considerable experience in administration and planning, nominated by the Government;(d)the District Collector concerned, ex-officio.(3)In sub-section(2),-(i)the members mentioned in clause (a) shall be elected under the guidelines, supervision and control of the State Election Commission;(ii)the President of the District Panchayat mentioned in clause (b) shall be the Chairman of the Committee;(iii)[xxx] [Omitted by Act 8 of 1995.] and(iv)the District Collector referred to in clause (d) shall be the Secretary of the Committee.(4)The district level officers of the departments of the Government in the District shall be the Joint Secretaries of the Committee.(5)The Members of the House of the People (Lok Sabha) and the members of the Legislative Assembly of the State, representing any area comprised in a district shall be permanent invitees of the District Planning Committee of that district:Provided that where the area which a Member of the House of the People (Lok Sabha) or a member of the Legislative Assembly of the State represents, comprises partly in one district and partly in another district, he shall be a permanent invitee to the District Planning Committee of both the districts in which the area he represents is comprised.(6)A member of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) representing the State shall be a permanent invitee to the District Planning Committee of the district in which he is registered as elector in the electoral roll of any Municipality or Panchayat.(7)A member nominated to the Legislative Assembly of the State shall be a permanent invitee to the District Planning Committee of the district in which he ordinarily resides.(8)Where a Member of Parliament or a Member of the Legislative Assembly of the State is appointed as Minister or elected as Speaker or Deputy Speaker or appointed as the Government Chief Whip or recognised as Leader of the Opposition, he may nominate a person from the area he represents as Member to represent him in the District Planning Committee or the District Planning Committees of the district or districts to which he was a permanent invitee.(9)The Committee shall consolidate the plans prepared by the Panchayats and the Municipalities in the district and prepare a draft development plan for the district as a whole and perform such other functions relating to district planning, as may be assigned to it by the Government, from time to time, by notification in the Gazette.(10)The Committee shall, in preparing the draft development plan,-(a)have regard to-(i)matters of common interest between the Panchayats and the Municipalities including spatial planning, sharing of water and other physical and natural resources, the integrated development of the infrastructure and environmental conservation; and(ii)the extend and the type of available resources, whether financial or otherwise;(b)consult such institutions and organisations as the Governor may, by order specify.(11)The Chairman shall forward the development plan, as recommended by the Committee, to the Government for approval.(11A)[ The Government shall, while preparing the State Plan consider the proposal and priorities included in the draft development plans prepared for each districts by the District Planning Committee,(11B)The District Planning Committee shall monitor the quantitative and qualitative progress, especially its physical and financial achievements, in the implementation of the approved district planning schemes and State plans relating to the district and it shall evaluate the action programmes already completed.] [Added by Act 14 of 1999, w.e.f. 24-3-1999.](12)The procedure to be followed in the meeting of the Committee, including the quorum for such meeting, shall be governed by such rules as may be prescribed.
