- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-(1)"Backward Classes" means any socially and educationally Backward Classes of citizens recognized by the Government for purpose of clause (4) of article 15 of the Constitution of India;(2)"building" includes a house, out-house, shop, stable, latrine, shed (other than a cattle shed in an agricultural land) poultry shed, farm house, hut, wall and any other such structure whether of masonry, bricks, wood, mud, metal or other material whatsoever;(3)"casual vacancy" means a vacancy occurring otherwise than by efflux of time, and 'casual election' means an election held to fill a casual vacancy;(4)"Chairperson" means the Chairperson of a Zilla Praja Parishad elected under section 176;(5)"Chief Executive Officer" means the Chief Executive Officer of the Zilla Praja Parishad appointed under section 182;(6)"Collector" means any officer in-charge of Revenue Division and includes a Deputy Collector, a Sub-Collector and an Assistant Collector;(7)"Commissioner" means any officer who is authorized by the Government to exercise any of the powers or discharge any of the duties of the Commissioner under this Act;(8)"Company" means a Company including a foreign company as defined in the Companies Act, 2013, (Central Act 18 of 2013);(9)"Election Authority" means such authority not being a member or office bearer of any local authority as may, by notification, be appointed by the State Election Commissioner;(10)"Factory" means a factory as defined in the Factories Act, 1948 (Central Act 63 of 1948), and includes any premises including the precincts thereof wherein any industrial, manufacturing or trade process is carried on with the aid of steam, water, oil, gas, electrical or any other form of power which is mechanically transmitted and is not generated by human or animal agency;(11)"Finance Commission" means the Finance Commission constituted by the Governor under section 244 of this Act;(12)"Government" means the State Government;(13)"Gram Kantam" means a traditional dwelling area of the village represented by part where there are no survey numbers;(14)"Gram Panchayat" means the body constituted for the local administration of a village under this Act;(15)"Gram Panchayat Tribunal" means a Tribunal constituted under section 141;(16)"Gram Sabha" means the Gram Sabha which comes into existence under section 6;(17)"House" means a building or a hut fit for human occupation, whether as a residence or otherwise and includes any shop, factory, workshop or warehouse or any building used for garaging or parking buses or as a bus stand, poultry shed, farm house, cattle shed (other than a cattle shed in any agricultural land) or dairy shed;(18)"Hut" means any building which is constructed principally of wood, mud, leaves, grass, or thatch and includes temporary structure of whatever size or any small building of whatever material made, which the Gram Panchayat may declare to be a hut for the purposes of this Act;(19)"Junior Civil Judge" means the Junior Civil Judge appointed under the Telangana Civil Courts Act, 1972, (Act 19 of 1972);(20)"Latrine" includes privy, water-closet and urinal;(21)"Mandal" means such area in a district as may be declared by the Government by notification to be a Mandal under section 3 of the Telangana Districts (Formation) Act, 1974, (Act 7 of 1974) excluding the areas covered under the Telangana Municipalities Act, 1965 and the Municipal Corporations governed by any law relating to Municipal Corporations for the time being in force in the State;(22)"Mandal Praja Parishad" means a Mandal Praja Parishad constituted or reconstituted under section 142;(23)"Mandal Parishad Development Officer" means the Officer referred to under section 162;(24)"Markets",-(a)Private Market means any market other than a public market;(b)Public Market means any market owned, constructed, repaired or maintained by a Gram Panchayat;(25)"Notification" means a notification published either in the Telangana Gazette or as the case may be District Gazette concerned and the word 'notified' shall be construed accordingly;(26)"Nuisance" includes any act, omission, place or thing which causes or is likely to cause injury, danger, annoyance or offence to the sense of sight, smell or hearing or disturbance to rest or sleep of which is or may be dangerous to life, or injurious to health or property;(27)"Ordinary Vacancy" means a vacancy occurring by efflux of time and ordinary election means an election held to fill an ordinary vacancy;(28)"Owner" includes,-(a)the person for the time being receiving or entitled to receive whether on his own account or on behalf of another person as agent, trustee, guardian, manager or receiver for another person or for any religious or charitable purpose, the rent or profits of the property in connection with which the word is used; and(b)the person for the time being in-charge of the animal or vehicle in connection with which the word is used;(29)"Panchayat Secretary" means a person appointed under section 42;(30)"Population" means population as per the latest census of which the relevant figures have been published;(31)"Prescribed" means prescribed by the Government by rules made under this Act;(32)"President" means the President of a Mandal Praja Parishad elected under section 147;(33)"Private Road" means any street, road, square, Court, alley, passage, or riding-path which is not a 'public road', but does not include a pathway made by the owner of premises on his own land to secure access to, or the convenient use of such premises;(34)"Public Road" means any street, road, square, Court, alley, passage and includes,-(a)the roadway over any public bridge or cause way;(b)the footway attached to any such road, public bridge or cause-way; and(c)the drains attached to any such road, public bridge or cause way, and the land, whether covered or not by any pavement, verandah or other structure, which lies on either side of the road way up to the boundaries of the adjacent property, whether that property is private property or property belonging to Government;(35)"Qualifying Date" in relation to the preparation and publication of every electoral roll under this Act, means the first day of January of the year in which it is so prepared and published;(36)"Registered Voter" in the 'Mandal Praja Parishad' or 'registered voter in the District' means a person whose name appears in the electoral roll prepared and published under section 11 for any Gram Panchayat or Gram Panchayats comprised in the Mandal or as the case may be, in the District;(37)"Residence", "reside" - A person is deemed to have his 'residence' or to 'reside' in any house if he sometimes uses any portion thereof as a sleeping apartment, and a person is not deemed to cease to reside in any such house merely because he is absent from it or has elsewhere another dwelling in which he resides, if he is at liberty to return to such house at any time and has not abandoned his intention of returning;(38)"Roznamcha" means a diary in which details of strangers and non-residents are maintained;(39)"Sarpanch" means the Sarpanch of a Gram Panchayat elected under section 15;(40)"Scheduled Castes" and 'Scheduled Tribes' shall have the meaning respectively assigned to them in clause (24) and clause (25) of article 366 of the Constitution of India;(41)"State Election Commission" means the State Election Commission constituted under section 196;(42)"State Election Commissioner" means a State Election Commissioner appointed by the Governor under sub-section (2) of section 196;(43)"Technical Sanction Authority" means an Urban Development Authority as defined in clause (44) and the Director, Town and Country Planning or such Authority as notified by the Government;(44)"Urban Development Authority" means such authority as have been notified under the Telangana Urban Development Authority Act, 1975 and shall also include Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority or any other Metropolitan Development Authority;(45)"Village" means any local area which is declared to be a village under this Act;(46)"Village Organization" is a federation of self help groups formed at village level and registered under the Telangana Mutually Aided Cooperative Societies Act, 1995, (Act 30 of 1995);(47)"Ward" means a territorial division of a Gram Panchayat;(48)"Water-course" includes any river, stream or channel, whether natural or artificial;(49)"Year" means the financial year;(50)"Zilla Praja Parishad" means a Zilla Praja Parishad constituted under section 172.Part - II Gram PanchayatChapter - I Constitution, Administration and Control of Gram Panchayats
