Section 24 in Tamil Nadu Panchayats (Procedure for Conducting Public Auction of Leases and Sales in the Panchayats) Rules, 2001
24. Direct management by the Panchayat.
(1)The Panchayat shall have power to manage itself the affairs of letting on lease, the enjoyment or right of a property of collection of fees, for the use of public places like public market, bus stands, vehicle stand, etc., in one or more of the following circumstances. However, the Panchayat can resort to the management by itself only for a short period till the lease of such property is let out, -(a)when the lease is terminated for the violation of conditions of lease deed by the lessee and the lease property or right has to be necessarily managed by the Panchayat at the risk of the lessee till the lease for the remaining period is auctioned and a fresh lease deed is executed for its management;(b)when the process of leasing could not be finalised due to extraordinary unforeseen circumstances or administrative reasons, before the period of commencement of lease;(c)in case of collection of fees during an annual festival of a temple, lasting for a very short period, when there is no bid at the first auction of a lease or when the lease amount is comparatively low due to collusion or other unhealthy means and the Panchayat does not see reason to accept such a low lease amount.(2)When a Panchayat decides to take up the management by itself of a lease of enjoyment or right of a property, the Executive Authority or the Commissioner or the Secretary, as the case may be, may utilise the service of its employees for the collection work. In exceptional cases, where it is essential to engage temporary staff for collection, it shall also decide regarding the appointment of temporary staff, their daily wages not exceeding the rates fixed by the Inspector for such period of Panchayat management, mode of selection of person for appointment, the amount of security deposit to be collected from the temporary staff, expenditure on the printing of tickets or receipt books and other contingent expenditure. The Panchayat shall be competent to incur expenditure for the departmental management not exceeding thirty per cent of the anticipated receipt without outside sanction and for any expenditure exceeding this limit, the previous permission of the Inspector shall be obtained.(3)The Executive Authority or the Commissioner or the Secretary, as the case maybe, shall decide the colour of ticket for different denominations, for different rates of fees, the design and size of ticket leaves, the number of series of ticket books for different rates of fees, the actual letter of series (such as "A, B, C") of ticket books for different rates of fees, the number of ticket leaves to be provided for each denomination, the details to be provided in the ticket leaf, the size of the leaf, the number of tickets to be printed in each series in each denomination, etc., the details of ticket leaf may be similar to those approved by the Panchayat already when the lease for a particular purpose was auctioned last. Each ticket book shall contain one hundred leaves having printed serial number on the leaves. Depending upon the number of series of ticket book to be printed and number of books to be prefixed in each series, the first letter of each series may be printed to serial number of leaf. By this way, the leaves of same denomination can be identified on the basis of letter of series prefixed to such serial numbers. The ticket book in each denomination in each series shall be serially numbered. The receipt for the printing of ticket books shall show details, names of series of ticket books printed in each denomination, the total number of leaves in each book and the total number of ticket leaves printed in each series in each denomination.(4)A stock register of ticket books shall be maintained in two parts. In the part one of the register, the details of ticket books printed and brought to stock shall be entered and the details of issues of ticket book to the collecting staff, who are appointed with a separate set of serially numbered for all ticket books under each denomination, the ticket books serial be numbered in a separate series for each denomination, the total number of leaves serially numbered under each denomination, the serial number of leaves bound as a ticket-book being printed on the ticket book. The leaves in the ticket-book shall bear the facsimile of the signature of the Executive Authority or the Commissioner or the Secretary, as the case may be, and signature of the collecting staff in ink. Part two of this register shall be treated as a personal ledger for each collecting staff showing the details of ticket books issued to each collecting person under each denomination together with total number of leaves and the total value of ticket books supplied. Whenever ticket books are issued, the dated signature of the collecting person shall be obtained in the register as a token of his acknowledgement. The details of amount daily collected and remitted into the Panchayat shall be noted in this part of the register, denomination-wise and date-wise under the dated signature of the collecting person. In this way, the balance amount to be remitted by each collecting person can be ascertained on any date and the responsibility and accountability of the collecting person can be ensured and fixed.(5)The Executive Authority or the Commissioner or the Secretary, as the case may be, shall issue a set of directions to the collecting staff on all matters enumerated below relating to the collection work, -(a)area or zone allotted for each collecting person;(b)rate of fees to be collected for different articles/purposes or person, etc.;(c)remittance of daily collection at the Panchayat Office in the evening of the everyday with details of the collection work for that day and surrender the counter-foil books;(d)authorised persons for receiving the collections and counter-foil books from the collecting staff and give acknowledgement in the register or note book maintained by him for this record;(e)any other pertinent matter which may arise in a particular case;(f)the person receiving the cash daily at the Panchayat must verify the number of counter-foils and assess the amount which should have been collected and tally it with the cash actually received. If any discrepancy is notified in the verification, then, he should take up the matter to the notice of the Executive Authority or the Commissioner or the Secretary, as the case may be, for suitable further action.(6)The Executive Authority or the Commissioner or the Secretary, as the case may be, shall keep strict watch over the collection work of the staff. He shall undertake the following measures in this regard. He shall take immediate and effective action in case he notices any irregularity or misappropriation during his check-(a)verify with vendors or other persons who have to pay fees, whether they receive tickets for the amount they pay to the collecting person, whether they were demanded to pay or give more amount than that specified in the ticket or mentioned in the notice board installed at the site of collection;(b)verify whether the collecting persons are collecting fees from all persons/vendors or they omit to collect fees from some persons/vendors or whether they collect money, but omit to give receipts;(c)whether the tickets available with the vendors are genuine or spurious;(d)any other kind of check, as he may consider necessary or essential;(e)if he thinks desirable or necessary, he can authorise the Vice-President to undertake the measures he is taking, on days on which he could not undertake them, due to his pre-occupation with any other official business; and(f)surprise verification of stock of tickets and cash on hand with the collecting person at frequent intervals.(7)Each and every collecting person shall maintain a separate account in two parts for his record in respect of tickets entrusted to him and collections made and remitted into the Panchayat. Details of collection made and remitted into Panchayat shall be entered daily in the register.(8)The Executive Authority or the Commissioner or the Secretary, as the case may be, shall verify the number of ticket books used, cash on hand with every collecting person and append a certificate of verification in the stock register of the collecting persons with a view to keeping strict vigil to prevent misappropriation and defalcation. Any irregularity noticed during such verification should be given due serious consideration and follow up action taken. The Executive Authority or the Commissioner or the Secretary, as the case may be, shall arrange to issue a receipt for the cash remitted into the Panchayat Office daily to the collecting person when they remit money and receive used ticket book. The miscellaneous register shall also indicate the serial number of tickets from which fees were collected and the serial number of used ticket books received by the office.(9)After the period of management by the Panchayat is over, the Executive Authority or the Commissioner or the Secretary, as the case maybe, shall review the overall position with reference to the number of ticket books printed, number issued, amount collected and remitted and the net savings accrued and report the matter to the concerned Panchayat at its next meeting.
