Srinagar, Nov 30: Amid the ongoing elections for district development councils in Jammu & Kashmir, it has come to fore that each DDC will have to convene at least four meetings in a financial year.
The amendments made by the Centre in Jammu & Kashmir Panchayat Raj Act-1989 in October this year outline how DDCs will conduct their business. “The chairperson shall convene at least four meetings of the district development council in a financial year, one in each quarter which shall be called the ordinary or general meeting and every meeting of the District Development Council shall ordinarily be held at district development council headquarters,” reads the amendments.
The law mandates that the first meeting of the district development council shall be held within one month of its constitution. “The chairperson may, whenever deemed fit and shall upon the written request of not less than one third of the total number of members and on a date within fifteen days of receipt of such request call a special meeting and such request shall specify the object for which the meeting is proposed to be called,” the Act states.
According to the amendments, one half of the total members of the district development council shall form a quorum for transacting business at a district development council. “Every meeting shall be presided over by the chairperson or if he is absent or if the office of the Chairperson is vacant, by the Vice Chairperson and if both the chairperson and vice- chairperson are absent, the members present shall elect one from among themselves to preside,” the law states.
According to the law, all questions shall, unless otherwise specially provided, decided by a majority of members present and voting. “The proceedings of every meeting shall be recorded in the minute -book immediately after the deliberations of the meeting and shall after being read over by the chairperson of the meeting, be signed by him,” it states. Under the law, a copy of every resolution passed by a district development council at a meeting shall within ten days from the date of meeting be forwarded to the government—(KNO)
