Kerala District Administration Act, 1979

No: 7 Dated: May, 27 1980

THE KERALA DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION ACT, 1979

(Act 7 of 1980)

    An Act to provide for a decentralised system of administration at the district Hon'ble constituting district councils.

    Preamble. - Whereas it is necessary to provide for a demo-creation and decentralised system of administration at district level by constituting district councils and delegating certain powers and functions of the State government to such district councils;

Be it enacted in the Thirtieth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-

CHAPTER 1

Preliminary

1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Kerala District Administration Act, 1979.

(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Kerala.

(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint:

Provided that different dates may be appointed for different areas and for different provisions of this Act, and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the coming into force of that provision.

2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) "Commissioner for Local Government" means an officer not below the rank of a Secretary to Government appointed by the Government to perform the functions of the Commissioner for Local Government under this Act in respect of district councils and local governments;

(b) "Director of elections" means the Chief Electoral Officer as defined in the Representation of tho People Act, 1951 (central Act 43 of 1951);

(c) "district" means a district as notified by the Government;

(d) "district council" means a district council constituted under section 3.

(e) "Examiner of Local Fund Accounts" means the Examiner of Local Fund Accounts appointed by the Government ;

(f) "Local Government" means in any city, the municipal corporation of the city concerned, in any municipality, the municipal council concerned, in any panchayat area, the panchayat concerned and in any area within the jurisdiction of a township, the township committee concerned;

(g) "member" means a member of the district council including an ex-officio member;

(h) "municipal corporation" means the municipal corporation of a city constituted under the Kerala Municipal Corporations Act, 1961 (30 of 1961);

(i) "municipality" means a municipality constituted under the Kerala Municipalities Act, 1960 (14 of 1961);

(j) "Panchayat" means the body constituted or deemed to have been constituted for the local administration of a Panchayat area under the Kerala Panchayats Act, 1960 (32 of 1960) ;

(k) "Panchayat area" means any local area declared or deemed to have been declared as such under the Kerala Panchayats Act, 1960 (32 of 1960) ;

(l) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act ;

(m) "President" means the President of the district council ;

(n) "rank" in relation to an officer means his rank as determined by the Government on the basis of scale of pay or of the precedence assigned to him in the Table of precedence ordered by the Governor of Kerala from time to time ;

(o) "Scheduled Castes" and "Scheduled Tribes" shall have the same meaning as in the Constitution of India ;

(p) "Secretary" means the secretary of the district council ;

(q) "township" means the-Guruvayoor Township specified in section 2 of the Guruvayoor Township Act 1961 (43 of 1961) ;

(r) "Vice-President" means the vice-president of the district council;

(s) words and expressions used but not defined in this Act, but defined in the Kerala Panchayats Act, 1960 (32 of 1960), shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in that Act.