- There shall be constituted at the level of every district a District Planning Committee to consolidate the plans prepared by the Panchayats and the Municipalities in the district and to prepare a draft development plan for the districts as a whole.(2)A District Planning Committee shall consist of twenty members as follows :(a)sixteen members to be elected in the prescribed manner by and from amongst the elected members of the Zilla Parishad and the elected Councillors 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; and(b)four members to be nominated by the State Government, as follows:(i)a Minister in the Council of Ministers of the State, who shall be the Chairperson;(ii)the Collector of the district, who shall be the Vice-Chairperson;(iii)the Chairperson of the Zilla Parishad in the district;(iv)the Chairperson of the Municipality in the district;Provided that -(a)if the Chairperson of the Zilla Parishad in the district is elected as a member of the Committee under Clause (a); or(b)where there is only one Municipality in a district and the Chairperson of such Municipality is elected as a member of the Committee under the said Clause;some other person may be nominated by the State Government.Explanation. - For the purpose of this section -(a)"Zilla Parishad" means a Zilla Parishad constituted under the Orissa Zilla Parishad Act, 1991 Orissa Act, 17 of 1991;(b)"rural areas" means the territorial areas of Panchayats; and(c)"urban areas" means the territorial areas of Municipalities;(3)Notwithstanding anything contained in this section the State Government may nominate any official or non-official as special invitee to attend the meetings of the District Planning Committee without any right to vote at any such meeting.(4)The Chief Executive Officer of the Zilla Parishad shall be the Secretary of the District Planning Committee.(5)The term of office of the members of the District Planning Committees, the conduct of business at the meetings thereof and such other matter is including filling up of casual vacancies in the said Committee shall be such as may be prescribed.(6)No act of a District Planning Committee shall be deemed to be invalid only by reason of the existing of a casual vacancy therein.
