Section 3 in The Assam Agricultural Produce Market Act, 1972
3. Constitution of State Agricultural Marketing Board.
(1)The State Government may, for exercising the powers conferred on and duties assigned to the Board by or under this Act, establish and constitute a State Agricultural Marketing Board consisting of Chairman and 17 other members to be nominated by the State Government as follows :(a)One Chairman;(b)Officials of the Government of Assam-(i)Director of Agriculture, Assam;(ii)Director of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry, Assam;(iii)Director of Panchayat, Assam;(iv)Director of Municipal Administration, Assam;(v)Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Assam;(vi)Secretary, Agriculture Department, Assam;(vii)Representative of the Marketing Adviser.(c)Non-officials -(i)one agriculturist member of the Market Committees to be nominated by the Chairman of the Board;(ii)one representative from Agricultural Farming Corporations formed under the Assam Agricultural Farming Corporation Act 1973;(iii)two progressive producers to be nominated by the Chairman of the Board;(iv)one licensee to be nominated by the Chairman of the Board;(v)one from amongst the members of the Co-operative Marketing Societies represented in the Market Committees, to be nominated by the Chairman of the Board.(vi)One trader of Agricultural produce of a Market Committee to be nominated by the Chairman of the Board."(vii)3 (three) Nos. of Chairman from the Market Committee to be nominated by the Chairman of the Board."(2)The State Government shall nominate a senior officer of the State Government having sufficient experience in the affairs of the State, to be the Chief Executive Officer of the Board who shall be selected by a Committee to be constituted by the State Government for this purpose. The Chief Executive Officer shall be the ex-officio Member-Secretary of the Board who shall enjoy the status of a Joint Secretary to the Government of Assam and shall hold office for such term and under such terms and conditions as may be fixed by the State Government from time to time."(3)The Board shall be a body corporate by the name of the State Agricultural Marketing Board having perpetual succession and a common seal, with power subject to the provisions of this Act, to acquire and hold property and shall by the said name sue and be sued "and shall competent to acquire and hold lease, or otherwise transfer any property and to enter into any contract and to do all other things necessary for the purpose for which it is established."(3A)The Board may with the previous sanction of the State Government raise money required for carrying out the purposes for which it is established on the security of any property vested in it:Provided that the conditions subject to which such money or loan shall be raised or obtained and time within which such money or loan shall be repayable shall be subject to the previous sanction of the State Government.(4)The term of the office of the Board shall be three years from the date of its first meeting or till its reconstitution, whichever is earlier :Provided that any non-official member nominated under clause (c) of sub-section (1) of this section shall cease to be a member of the Board from the date be ceases to be a member of a Market Committee, representative of Agricultural Farming Corporation, or a licensee or a member of the Co-operative society represented in the Market Committee.(5)No person shall be eligible to become a Chairman or a member of the Board who-(a)does not ordinarily reside within the State of Assam;(b)is below twenty-one years of age;(c)has been removed under Section 30 of this Act;(d)is of unsound mind; or(e)has been declared as insolvent of sentenced by a criminal Court whether within or outside the State of Assam for an offence involving moral turpitude :Provided that the disqualification under Clause 5 (c) on the ground of a sentence by a criminal Court shall not apply after the expiry of four years from the date on which the sentence of such person expired:Provided further that no person shall be nominated as Chairman of the Board consecutively for more than two terms.(6)A non-official member of the Board may resign from membership by tendering his resignation to the State Government through the Chairman of the Board and the Chairman of the Board may resign by tendering his resignation to the State Government and such resignation shall be effective from the date of the acceptance by the State Government.(7)The State Government may remove the Chairman or any member of the board who has become subject to any of the Disqualifications specified in sub-section (5) :Provided that the before removing the Chairman or a member the reasons for the proposed action shall be conveyed to him and his reply invited within a specified period and duly considered.(7A)In the event of the removal of the Chairman by the State Government under sub-section (7) of Section 3 and also in the event of resignation by the Chairman under sub-section (6) of Section 3, the State Government shall nominate one amongst the members of the Board to preside over the meetings of the Board till a regular Chairman is nominated by the State Government.(8)In the vacancy caused by cessation of office of any member under proviso to sub-clause (4) or by resignation or removal of the Chairman or member under sub-sections (6) and (7) respectively of this section the State Government may nominate another in the manner provided in clause 3 (1) (a) or 3 (1) (c) as the case may be and such person shall remain in office for the remaining period of the term of is predecessor.(9)The State Government shall exercise superintendence and control over the Board and its employees and may call for such information as it may deem necessary and in the event of its being satisfied that the Board is not functioning properly or is abusing, its powers or is guilty of corruption or mis-management, it may supersede the Board and, till such time as a new Board is constituted, shall make such arrangements for the exercise of the functions of the Board as it may think fit:Provided that the new Board shall be constituted within six months from the date of its supersession.(10)The Board shall exercise superintendence and control over the Market Committees in the manner prescribed.(11)The State Government or the Chairman or the Secretary of the Board, or any other employee of the Board authorised in this behalf by the Board, may call for any information for return relating to notified agricultural produce from a Market Committee or any other functionaries under or in relation to such Committees and shall have the power to inspect the records of a Market Committee or such functionaries, as the case may be.(12)(a)Subject to the provisions of this Act, and the rules and bye-laws made thereunder, the Board may employ such persons for the performance of the functions of the Board under this Act, and may give them such remuneration, as it may think fit, and may suspend, remove, dismiss or otherwise punish any person so employed.Provided that no new post in any category shall be created by the Board without obtaining prior approval of the State Government and the numbers of existing posts category-wise already created by the Board since its inception and before coming into force of the Assam Agricultural Produce Market (Amendment) Act, 2000, shall be submitted by the Board for obtaining ex-post-facto concurrence of the State Government in this regard within one months from the date of coming into force of the Assam Agricultural Produce Market [Amendment] Act, 2000 and no person shall be employed by the Board in any capacity and in any manner whether on fixed pay or on adhoc basis or otherwise if the creation of such post has not been concurred by the State Government as provided under this section :Provided further that the Board may, with the approval of the State Government and without any prejudice to the rule making power of the State Government under Section 49 of the Act, make bye-laws under sub-section (14) of Section 3 regulating the employment and conditions of service in respect of any or all categories of officers and employees of the Market Committees and such bye-laws shall, as nearly as may be, consistent with the corresponding rules in respect of the Officers and employees of the corresponding grade of the State Government. Any amendment to such bye-laws once framed shall required approbation of at least three-fourth of the total number of members of the Board in the meeting before approval of the Government;(b)The Board may constitute pool of Officers and other staff common to all market Committees and the Board as it may deem fit.(13)Subject to rule made under this Act, an estimate of the annual income and expenditure of the Board for the ensuing year shall be prepared arid passed by the Board and submitted every year for sanction of the State Government a not later than the prescribed date. The State Government shall sanction and return the budget within two months from the date of the receipt thereof. If it is not received within two months it shall be presumed to have been sanctioned.(14)Subject to rules made under this Act, the Board may, with the approval of the State Government frame bye-laws for-(a)regulating the transaction of business at its meeting;(b)the assignment of duties and powers of the Board to its Chairman, Secretary or persons employed by it; and(c)regulating the employment and conditions of service in respect of any or all of the categories of officers and employees of the Board and the Market Committees,(d)such other mattes as may be prescribed.(15)Four member shall constitute a quorum at a meeting of the Board :Provided that if a meeting is adjourned for want of quorum, no quorum shall be necessary at such adjourned meeting.(16)All questions before a meeting of the Board shall be determined by a majority or votes of the members present in the voting and, in case of equality of votes, the Chairman may exercise a casting vote.(17)The State Government may delegate, by notification in the official Gazette any of the powers conferred on it by or under the Act, to any of its officers or to the Board or to the Chairman or its Secretary.(18)The headquarters of the Board shall be located at a place to be determined by the State Government.(19)No act or proceeding of the Board shall be invalid by reason only of the existence of any vacancy among its members or any defect in the constitution thereof.
