52. Duties and Responsibilities of Gram Panchayat.
(1)Subject to the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder, the Gram Panchayat shall primarily be responsible for the following:-(a)Maintenance of proper sanitation;(b)Maintenance of different plantations;(c)Maintenance of street lights;(d)Collection of taxes and non-taxes.(2)It shall be the duty of the Gram Panchayat to make provisions for the following:-(A)Sanitation:(i)Making village clean by taking up regular sanitation activities;(ii)Construction of toilets for hundred percent households on saturation basis;(iii)Provision of sanitation facilities in all public institutions;(iv)Construction of community latrines wherever necessary;(v)Construction of drains and their maintenance;(vi)Adoption of solid and liquid waste management methods;(vii)The Gram Panchayat shall impose a fine of rupees five hundred whenever anyone throws garbage on the roads and in the drains and other public places.(B)Social Forestry and Plantation:(i)Establishment of nurseries;(ii)Planting a minimum of forty thousand saplings in a year;(iii)Taking care of maintenance and survival of plants;(iv)Shall maintain clean environment and protect bio-diversity;(v)The Gram Panchayat shall take necessary action for plantation of wild fruit bearing trees outside the habitation in the common lands, barren hills etc.,(C)Preparation of Gram Panchayat Development Plan:(i)Gram Panchayat shall strive to transform the village into a model village and shall accordingly prepare a perspective plan for the Gram Panchayat.Explanation. - A model village is defined as one having;(a)Clean and green surroundings;(b)Burial ground and crematorium;(c)Dumping yard for preparation of compost from garbage;(d)Toilets to every household and no open defecation;(e)Well maintained vegetable market;(f)Sports ground;(ii)Preparation of village profile as prescribed by the Government;(D)Registration of Marriage, Birth and Deaths, in the village.(E)Layout Approvals and Building Permissions: Regulation of all layout approvals and building constructions in accordance with this Act and rules made in this behalf.(F)Records: Maintenance of proper records and accounts relating to income and expenditure.(G)Community Assets: Construction and maintenance of the following community assets,-(i)internal public road within Gram Panchayat and of all bridges, culverts, road, dams and cause ways on such roads (other than the roads vested in the Mandal Praja Parishad and Zilla Praja Parishad and the roads classified by the Government as National and State Highways);(ii)all buildings vested in the Gram Panchayat;(iii)Crematoria.(H)Public Convenience and Health:(i)Regulation of slaughtering of animals and sale of meat, fish and other easily perishable food stuffs etc.,(i)welfare of vulnerable groups in the village such as tribal and nomadic groups, senior citizens, orphans, sick, crippled and destitute etc.,(ii)awareness building against social evil like Gudumba, practicing black magic such as Banamathi, consumption of narcotics, dowry, abuse of women and children, child marriage;(iii)campaign of legal awareness, social harmony, cooperative sector, self help groups, family welfare, adult education, health etc.,(iv)awareness building on Government Schemes like Family Welfare, Education, Public Health etc.,(v)organization of Shramadanam for community development;(vi)Preservation and Promotion of Local Culture.(ii)Controlling of eating places;(iii)Prevention of food adulteration;(iv)Issue of licenses to dangerous and offensive trades;(v)Issue of license to domestic dogs and to control stray dogs and pigs;(vi)Establishment and management of public cattle pounds;(vii)Preventive and remedial measures connected with any epidemics or communicable diseases;(viii)Sinking and repairing of wells and water works for supply of protected water for drinking purposes;(ix)construction and maintenance of crematoria (Vaikuntadhamam) and burial-grounds and the disposal of unclaimed dead bodies of human beings or of animals;(x)Control of fairs, jataras and festivals;(xi)establishment of village shandies, markets.(I)Social Empowerment:(J)Street lights:(i)Purchase electric items and equipment only from approved firms with appropriate warranty. There will be monthly submission of expenditure report on street light items by the Gram Panchayat to the Extension Officer (PR&RD) and also to the Gram Sabha;(ii)Regular payment of current consumption charges as a first priority.(K)All procurements and execution of works shall be done as per Government rules and procedure prescribed for the same.(L)Make assessment of tax on new and old properties within the Gram Panchayat and also monitor the tax collection done by the Panchayat Secretary and other employees of the Gram Panchayat. Reconciliation of all the accounts done by the Panchayat Secretary shall be approved by the Gram Panchayat and forward to the Extension Officer (PR&RD) atleast once in a quarter.(iii)Preparation of an Integrated Perspective Five Year Development Plan, with a financial outlay of hundred and twenty five percent of previous year's finances and expected finances of current year which shall be an aggregate of annual plans duly prioritizing the needs. Different sources of funding like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Central Finance Commission, State Finance Commission, Swatch Bharat Mission, Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme, Assembly Constituency Development Programme, Own Source Resources, Corporate Social Responsibility and any other funds shall be taken into consideration while preparing such plan. The Gram Panchayat shall in the beginning of the financial year plan all types of works in accordance with the above and declare shelf of works by prioritizing the works which are planned to be taken up in the financial year. No deviation from the above can take place without the approval of the Gram Sabha;(iv)Maintenance of records relating to population census, cattle and crop census, census of un-employed persons, families below poverty line etc., for the purpose of preparation and implementation of Perspective Development Plan.(3)The Government may, in addition to the matters specified in sub-sections (1) and (2) subject to such rules as may be made in this behalf, entrust the Gram Panchayats with any other duties and functions, in relation to the subjects specified in Schedule-I, from time to time.(4)If the Gram Panchayat fails to discharge duties, perform the functions assigned to it under this Act, the entire Gram Panchayat shall be liable for any action under the provisions of this Act, including its dissolution.(5)No suit for damages for failure or for enforcement of the duty to make provision in respect of any of the matters specified in this section shall be maintainable against any Gram Panchayat or Sarpanch or Panchayat Secretary or employees of the Gram Panchayat.
