(1)A Gram Panchayat shall have the power to acquire, hold and dispose of property and to enter into contract:Provided that in all cases of disposal of immovable property by the Gram Panchayat, it shall obtain the prior approval of the Government.(2)All property within the local limits of the jurisdiction of Gram Panchayat of the nature hereinafter in this Section specified, other than property belonging to or maintained by the Central or the State Government or a local authority or any other Gram Panchayat, shall vest in and belong to the Gram Panchayat, and shall with all other property of whatsoever nature or kind which may become vested in the Gram Panchayat, be under its direction, management and control, that is to say-(a)All general properties;(b)All public streets, including the soil, stones and other materials thereof and all drains, bridges, culverts, trees, erection materials, implements and other things provided for such streets;(c)All public channels, water courses, springs, tanks, ghats, reservoirs, cisterns, wells, aquaducts, conduits, tunnels, pipes, pumps and other water works whether made, laid or erected at the cost of the Gram Panchayat or otherwise, and all bridges, buildings, engines, work, materials, and things connected therewith or appertaining thereto and also any adjacent land (not being private property) appertaining to any public tank:Provided that water pipes and water works, connected therewith or appertaining thereto which with the consent of the Gram Panchayat are laid or set up in any street by the owners of any mill, factory, industry, workshop or the like, primarily for the use of their employees shall not be deemed to be public water works by reason of their being used by the public;(d)All public sewers and drains and all works, materials and things appertaining thereto and other conservancy works :Provided that for the purpose of enlarging, deepening or otherwise repairing or maintaining any such sewer or drain the subsoil appertaining thereto shall also be deemed to vest in the Gram Panchayat,(e)All sewage, rubbish and offensive matter deposited on streets or collected by the Gram Panchayat from streets, latrines, urinals, sewers, cesspools and other places;(f)All public lamps, lamp-posts and apparatus connected therewith or appertaining thereto; and(g)All buildings erected by the Gram Panchayat and all lands and buildings or the property transferred to the Gram Panchayat by the Central or the State Government or acquired by gift, purchase or otherwise for local public purposes.(3)The State Government may, by notification, exclude any street, bridge or drain from the operation of this Act or of any specified Section of this Act:Provided that if the cost of the construction of the work had been paid from the Gram Panchayat Fund, such work shall not be excluded from the operation of this Act or any specified Section of this Act, except after consideration of the views of the Gram Panchayat at a meeting.(4)The Government may allocate to a Gram Panchayat any public property situated within its local jurisdiction, and thereupon such property shall vest in and come under the control of the Gram Panchayat.(5)For every Gram Panchayat there shall be constituted a Gram Panchayat Fund bearing the name of the Gram Panchayat and there shall be placed to the credit thereof -(a)[ Contributions and grants, if any, made by the Central or State Government including grants received on the basis of recommendations of the Central Finance Commission or State Finance Commission;] [Substituted by Bihar Act No. 17 of 2017, dated 4.9.2017.](b)Contributions and grants, if any, made by the Zila Parishad, Panchayat Samiti or any other local authority;(c)Loans, if any, granted by the Central or the State Government;(d)All receipts on accounts of taxes, rates and fees levied by it;(e)All receipts in respect of any schools, hospitals, dispensaries, buildings, institutions or works vested in, constructed by or placed under the control and management of the Gram Panchayat,(f)All sums received as gift or contribution and all income from any trust or endowment made in favour of the Gram Panchayat,(g)Such fines and penalties imposed and realised under the provisions of this Act as may be prescribed; and(h)All other sums received by or on behalf of the Gram Panchayat.(6)Every Gram Panchayat shall set apart and apply annually such sum as may be required to meet-(a)The cost of its own administration including the payment of salary, allowances, provident fund and gratuity to the officers and employees.(b)Every Gram Panchayat shall have the power to spend such sums as it thinks fit for carrying out the purposes of this Act.(c)The Gram Panchayat Fund shall be vested in the Gram Panchayat and the balance to the credit of the Fund shall be kept in such custody as may be prescribed.(7)[ For equitable development of the Gram Panchayat area, the Government shall be competent to issue necessary instructions to the Gram Panchayat from time to time with respect to utilization and expenditure of money from the Gram Panchayat Fund and such direction shall be binding on the Gram Panchayat.] [Inserted by Bihar Act No. 17 of 2017, dated 4.9.2017.]
