(1)A Zilla Panchayat shall hold a meeting for the transaction of business at least once in two months (hereinafter in this section referred to as the ordinary meeting), and shall subject to the provisions of the following sub-sections, make regulations not inconsistent with this Act or with any rules made thereunder with respect of the day, hour, notice, management and adjournment of its meetings and generally with respect to the transaction of business thereto. Every meeting of the Zilla Panchayat shall ordinarily be held at the headquarters of the Zilla Panchayat.(2)(a)The date of the first meeting of the Zilla Panchayat after the first constitution or reconstitution shall be fixed by the Director, who shall preside at such meeting, and the date of such subsequent ordinary meeting shall be fixed at the previous meeting of the Zilla Panchayat, provided that the Adhyaksha of Zilla Panchayat, may for sufficient reasons, alter the date of the meeting to a subsequent date. The Adhyaksha may, whenever he thinks fit, and shall, upon the written request of not less than onethird of the total number of members and on a date within fifteen days from the receipt of such request, call a special meeting. Such request shall specify the object for which the meeting is proposed to be called. If the Adhyaksha fails to call a special meeting, the Upadhyaksha or one-third of the total number of members of the Zilla Panchayat may call the special meeting for a day not more than fifteen days after presentation of such request and require the Chief Executive Officer to give notice to the members and to take such action as may be necessary to convene the meeting.(b)Ten clear days notice of an ordinary meeting and seven clear days notice of a special meeting specifying the time at which such meeting is to be held and the business to be transacted thereat, shall be sent to the members and pasted up at the office of the Zilla Panchayat. Such notice shall include, in the case of a special meeting, any motion or proposition mentioned in the written request made for such meeting.(c)One-third of the total number of members of the Zilla Panchayat shall form a quorum for transacting business at a meeting of the Zilla Panchayat. If, at the time appointed for the meeting a quorum is not present, the person presiding shall, wait for thirty minutes and if within such period there is a quorum, proceed with the meeting; but if within such period there is no quorum, the person presiding shall adjourn the meeting to such hour on some future day as he may fix. He shall similarly adjourn the meeting at any time after it has begun if his attention is drawn to the want of a quorum. At such adjourned meetings at which there is quorum, the business which would have been brought before the original meeting shall be transacted.(d)Every meeting shall be open to the public unless the presiding authority considers that any enquiry or deliberation pending before the Zilla Panchayat should be held in camera and the said authority may at any time cause any person who interrupts the proceedings to be removed.(e)Every meeting shall be presided over by the Adhyaksha or if he is absent by the Upadhyaksha, and if both are absent or if the Adhyaksha is absent and there is no Upadhyaksha, the members present shall elect one from among themselves to preside.(f)All questions shall, unless otherwise specially provided, be decided by a majority of votes of the members present and voting. The presiding member, unless he refrains from voting shall give vote before declaring the number of votes for and against a question and in case of equality of votes, he may give his casting vote.(g)No member of the Zilla Panchayat shall vote on, or take part in the discussion of any question coming up for consideration at a meeting of a Zilla Panchayat or any Committee, if the question is one in which apart from its general application to the public, he has any pecuniary interest.(h)If the person presiding is believed by any member present at the meeting to have any such pecuniary interest in any matter under discussion and if a motion to that effect be carried, he shall not preside at the meeting during such discussion, or vote on, or take part in it. Any member of the Zilla Panchayat may be chosen to preside at the meeting during the continuance of such discussion.(i)No proposition shall be discussed at any ordinary meeting unless it has been entered in the notice convening such meeting or in case of a special meeting, in the written request for such meeting. A member may propose any resolution connected with or incidental to the subjects in the list of business. The Adhyaksha may propose any urgent subject of a routine nature not included in the list of business if no member objects to it. No permission shall be given in the case of a motion or proposition to modify or cancel any resolution within three months after the passing thereof except in accordance with clause (k). The order in which any business or proposition shall be brought forward at such meeting shall be determined by the presiding authority who, in case it is proposed by any member to give priority to any particular item of such business or to any particular proposition, shall put the proposal to the meeting and be guided by the majority of votes given for or against the proposal.(j)Any ordinary meeting may, with the consent of a majority of the members present be adjourned from time to time, but no business shall be transacted at any adjourned meeting other than that left undisposed at the meeting from which the adjournment took place.(k)No resolution of the Zilla Panchayat shall be modified or cancelled within six months after the passing thereof except by a resolution passed by not less than two-thirds of the total number of members at an ordinary or special meeting, and notice whereof shall have been given fulfilling the requirements of clause (b) and setting forth fully the resolution which it is proposed to modify fully or cancel at such meeting and motion or proposition for the modification or cancellation of such resolution.(3)The proceeding of every meeting shall be recorded in the minutes book immediately after the deliberations of the meeting and shall, after being read over by the Adhyaksha of the meeting, be signed by him. The action taken on the decisions of the Zilla Panchayat shall be reported at the next meeting of the Zilla Panchayat. The minutes book shall at all reasonable times be open to inspection by any member of the Zilla Panchayat. The minutes book shall always be kept in the office of the Zilla Panchayat and it shall be in the custody of the Chief Executive Officer.(4)A copy of every resolution passed by a Zilla Panchayat at a meeting shall, within ten days from the date of meeting, be forwarded to the Director.(5)During any vacancy in a Zilla Panchayat or any Committee thereof, the continuing members may act as if no vacancy occurred.
