Section 8 in The West Bengal Panchayat (Amendment) Act, 2012
8. Amendment of section 185B.
- For sub-section (3) of section 185B of the principal Act, the following sub-section shall be substituted :-(3)The Mahakuma Parishad shall consist of the following members, namely :-(i)Sabhapatis of the Panchayat Samitis within the sub-division, ex officio;(ii)such number of persons not exceeding three, as may be prescribed on the basis of the number of voters in each Block within the sub-division, the Block being divided by the prescribed authority for the purpose into constituencies in the prescribed manner, elected by secret ballot, at such time and in such manner as may be prescribed, from amongst the persons, whose names are included in the electoral roll prepared in accordance with such rules as may be made by the State Government in this behalf and in force on such date as the State Election Commissioner may declare for the purpose of an election, pertaining to any Block within the area of Mahakuma Parishad, by persons whose names are included in such electoral roll pertaining to the constituency comprised in such Block :Provided that seats shall be reserved for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the Backward Classes in a Mahakuma Parishad area and the number of seats so reserved shall bear, as nearly as may be and in accordance with such rules as may be made in this behalf by the State Government, the same proportion to the total number of seats in that Mahakuma Perished to be filled up by election as the population of the Scheduled Castes or of the Scheduled Tribes or the Backward Classes as the case may be, in that Mahakuma Perished area, bears to the total population of that Mahakuma Parishadarea and such seats shall be subject to allocation by rotation, in the manner prescribed to such different constituencies having Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes or Backward Classes population which bears with the total population in that constituency not less than half of the proportion that the total Scheduled Castes population or the Scheduled Tribes population or the Backward Classes population as the case may be, in that Mahakuma Perished area, bears with the total population in that Mahakuma Parishad area :Provided further that as nearly as practicable one-half but not exceeding one-half of the total number of seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the Backward Classes shall be reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes or the Backward Classes as the case may be :Provided also that as nearly as practicable one-half but not exceeding one-half of the total number of seats, including the seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the Backward Classes in the Mahakuma Perished shall be reserved for women, and the constituencies for the seats so reserved for women shall be determined by rotation, in such manner as may be prescribed :Provided also that notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions of this sub-section, when the number of members to be elected to the Mahakuma Parishad is determined, or when seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the Backward Classes in the Mahakuma Perished, in the manner as aforesaid, the number of members so determined or the number of seats so reserved shall not be varied for two successive general elections :Provided also that no member of the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes or the Backward Classes and no woman for whom seats are reserved under this sub-section, shall, if eligible for election to the Mahakuma Perished be disqualified for election to any seat not so reserved :Provided also that such division into constituencies shall be made in such manner that the ratio between the population of all the Blocks in the Mahakuma Parishad and the number of constituencies in the Mahakuma Perished shall, so far as practicable, be the same as in any Zilia Parishad :Provided also that the State Election Commissioner may, at any time, for reasons to be recorded in writing, issue an order making fresh determination, of the number of members in the Mahakuma Parishad or fresh reservation on rotation of the number of constituencies in the Mahakuma Perished and, on such order being issued by the State Election Commissioner, the determination of the number of members and the reservation of the number of constituencies shall not be varied for the next two successive general elections :Provided also that the provisions for reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes shall cease to have effect on the expiry of the period specified in Article 334 of the Constitution of India and the provisions for reservation of seats for the Backward Classes shall cease to have effect from the date on which the State Legislature by enactment decides so in this behalf;(iii)member of the House of the People and the Legislative Assembly of the State elected thereto from a constituency comprising the sub-division or any part thereof (excluding the part comprised in the hill areas), not being Ministers;(iv)members of the Council of States, not being Ministers, registered as electors within the area of any Block in the sub-division (excluding the place comprised in the hill areas).".
