41. Quorum.
41. Quorum.—(1) The quorum necessary for the transaction of business at a meeting of the Board shall be one-half of the number of members of the Board holding the office:
Provided that if the number of members of the Board holding office at a particular time is an odd number, the quorum shall be one-half of the number obtained by adding one to the number of such members.
(2) If a quorum is not present, the President or in his absence, the Vice-President or in the absence of both, the Member-Secretary shall adjourn the meeting and the business which would have been brought before the original meeting if there had been a quorum present thereat shall be brought before, and may be transacted at, an adjourned meeting, whether there is a quorum present or not.
42. Presiding Officer.
42. Presiding Officer.—In the absence of —
(a) both the President and the Vice-President from any meeting of a Board in which there is more than one elected member,
(b) the President from a meeting of a Board constituted under sub-section (6) of Section 12 or sub-section (2) of Section 13,
the members present shall elect one from among their own members to preside.
43. Minutes.
43. Minutes.—(1) The minutes of the proceedings of each meeting shall be recorded in a book and shall be signed by the person presiding over the meeting and the Chief Executive Officer, before the close of the meeting and shall, at such times and in such place as may be fixed by the Board, be open to inspection free of charge by any inhabitant of the cantonment and its authenticated copies may be made available to him on request, at a nominal cost to be decided by the Board.
(2) Copies of the minutes shall, as soon as possible after each meeting, be forwarded for information to every Member of the Board, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command, the District Magistrate and the Defence Estate Officer and in cantonments where Navy or Air Force stations are located copies of the minutes shall be forwarded for information to the Command Headquarters of the Navy or, as the case may be, the Air Force.
44. Meetings to be public.
44. Meetings to be public.—Every meeting of a Board shall be open to the public unless in any case the person presiding over the meeting, for reasons to be recorded in the minutes, otherwise directs.
45. Method of deciding questions.
45. Method of deciding questions.—(1) All questions coming before a meeting shall be decided by the majority of the votes of the members present and voting.
(2) In the case of an equality of votes, the person presiding over the meeting, shall have a second or casting vote.
(3) The dissent of any member from any decision of the Board shall, if the member so requests, be entered in the minutes, together with a short statement of the ground for such dissent.
46. Civil area.
46. Civil area.—(1) The Central Government may, by notification in Official Gazette, declare the civil area, in a cantonment, which is inhabited largely by civil population to be the civil area for the purposes of this Act.
(2) The Central Government may in consultation with the Board undertake, as and when required and shall undertake after every census, a review of the boundaries of the civil area in each cantonment.
47. Committees for civil areas.
47. Committees for civil areas.—(1) Every Board constituted under Section 12 in a cantonment shall appoint a committee consisting of the elected members of the Board, the Health Officer and the Executive Engineer for the administration of the civil area in the cantonment as notified under Section 46 of this Act and may delegate its powers and duties to such committee in the manner provided in clause (e) of sub-section (1) of Section 48.
(2) The Vice-President of the Board shall be the Chairman of the committee appointed under sub-section (1).
(3) The powers, duties and functions of the Board under sub-section (1) of Section 137, Section 143, Section 147, Section 149 and Section 262 shall be exercised or discharged in respect of a civil area by the civil area committee:
Provided that if the Health Officer dissents from any decision arrived at by the committee under sub-section (1) of Section 137, Section 143, Section 147 and Section 149 on health grounds, the matter may be referred to the Board by the President for decision.
48. Power to make regulations.
48. Power to make regulations.—(1) A Board may make regulations consistent with this Act and with the rules made thereunder to provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:—
(a) the time and place of its meetings;
(b) the manner in which notice of the meeting shall be given;
(c) the conduct of proceedings at meetings and the adjournments of meetings;
(d) the custody of the common seal of the Board and the purposes for which it shall be used; and
(e) the appointment of committees for any purpose and the determination of all matters relating to the constitution and procedure of such committees, and the delegation to such committees, subject to any conditions which the Board thinks fit to impose, of any of the powers or duties of the Board under this Act other than a power to make regulations or bye-laws.
(2) No regulation made under clause (e) of sub-section (1) shall take effect until it has been approved by the Central Government.
(3) No regulation made under this section shall take effect until it has been published in such manner as the Central Government may direct.
49. Joint action with other local authority.
49. Joint action with other local authority.—(1) A Board may—
(a) joint with any other local authority—
(i) in appointing a joint committee for any purpose in which they are jointly interested and in appointing a chairman of such committee;
(ii) in delegation to such committee power to frame terms binding on the Board and such other local authority as to the construction and future maintenance of any joint work or to exercise any power which might be exercised by the Board or by such other local authority; and
(iii) in making regulations for regulating the proceedings of any such committee relating to the purposes for which it has been appointed; or
(b) with the previous sanction of the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command, and the State Government concerned, enter into an agreement with any other local authority regarding the levy of any tax or toll whereby the said tax or toll respectively leviable by the Board and by such other local authority may be levied together instead of separately within the limits of the area hereafter in this section referred to as the aggregate area subject to the control of the Board and such other local authority.
(2) If any difference of opinion arises between any Board and other local authority acting together under this section, the decision thereon of the Central Government or of an officer appointed by the Central Government in this behalf shall be final.
(3) When any agreement such as is referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (1) has been entered into, then—
(a) where the agreement relates to octroi or terminal tax or toll, the party to the agreement (the Board, or as the case may be, such other local authority) which is specified in this behalf in the agreement,—
(i) shall have the same powers to establish octroi limits and octroi stations and places for the collection of octroi, terminal tax and toll within the aggregate area as it has within the area ordinarily subject to its control;
(ii) shall have the same powers of collecting such octroi, terminal tax or toll in the aggregate area and the provisions of any enactment in force relating to the levy of such octroi, terminal tax or toll by it shall apply in the same manner as if the aggregate area were comprised within the area ordinarily subject to its control;
(b) the total of the collection of such octroi, tax or toll made in the aggregate area and the costs thereby incurred shall be divided between the cantonment fund and the fund subject to the control of such other local authority, in such proportion, as may have been determined by the agreement.
50. Report on administration.
50. Report on administration.—(1) Every Board shall, as soon as may be after the close of the financial year and not later than the date fixed in this behalf by the Central Government, submit to the Central Government through the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command, a report on the administration of the cantonment during the preceding financial year, in such form and containing such details as the Central Government may direct.
(2) The comments, if any, of the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command, on such report shall be communicated by him to the Board which shall be allowed a reasonable time to furnish a reply thereto, and the comments together with the reply, if any, shall be forwarded to the Central Government along with the report.
Control
51. Power of Central Government to require production of documents.
51. Power of Central Government to require production of documents.—The Central Government or such officer or authority as may be authorised by the Central Government in this behalf may at any time require a Board—
(a) to produce any record, correspondence, plan or other document in its possession or under its control;
(b) to furnish any return, plan, estimate, statement, account or statistics relating to its proceedings, duties or works;
(c) to furnish or obtain and furnish any report.
52. Inspection.
52. Inspection.—The Central Government or the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command or the Director General or the Principal Director, may depute any person in the service of the Government to inspect or examine any department of the office of, or any service or work undertaken by, or thing belonging to, a Board, and to report thereon, and the Board and its officers and employees shall be bound to afford the person so deputed access at all reasonable times to the premises and property of the Board and to all records, accounts and other documents the inspection of which he may consider necessary to enable him to discharge his duties.
53. Power to call for documents.
53. Power to call for documents.—The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command or the Principal Director, may, by order in writing—
(a) call for any book or document in the possession or under the control of the Board;
(b) require the Board to furnish such statements, accounts, reports and copies of documents relating to its proceedings, duties or works as he thinks fit.
54. Power to require execution of work, etc.
54. Power to require execution of work, etc.—If, on receipt of any information or report obtained under Section 51 or Section 52 or Section 53, the Central Government or the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command or the Director General or the Principal Director is of opinion—
(a) that any duty imposed on a Board by or under this Act has not been performed or has been performed in an imperfect, inefficient or unsuitable manner; or
(b) that adequate financial provision has not been made for the performance of any such duty,
it or he may direct the Board, within such period as it or he thinks fit, to make arrangements to its or his satisfaction for the proper performance of the duty, or as the case may be, to make financial provision to its or his satisfaction for the performance of the duty:
Provided that unless in the opinion of the Central Government or the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command or the Director General or the Principal Director, as the case may be, the immediate execution of such order is necessary, it or he shall, before making any direction under this section, give the Board an opportunity of showing cause why such direction should not be made.
55. Power to provide for enforcement of direction under Section 54.
55. Power to provide for enforcement of direction under Section 54.—If, within the period fixed by a direction made under Section 54, any action the taking of which has been directed under that section has not been duly taken, the Central Government or the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command or the Director General, or the Principal Director, as the case may be, may make arrangements for the taking of such action, and may direct that all expenses connected therewith shall be defrayed out of the cantonment fund.
56. Power to override decision of Board.
56. Power to override decision of Board.—(1) If the President dissents from any decision of the Board which he considers prejudicial to the health, welfare, discipline or security of the Forces in the cantonment, he may, for reasons to be recorded in the minutes, by order in writing, direct the suspension of action thereon for any period not exceeding one month and, if he does so, shall forthwith refer the matter to the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command.
(2) If the District Magistrate considers any decision of a Board to be prejudicial to the public health, safety or convenience, he may, after giving notice in writing of his intention to the Board, refer the matter to the Central Government, and pending the disposal of the reference to the Central Government no action shall be taken on the decision.
(3) If any Magistrate who is a member of a Board, being present at a meeting, dissents from any decision which he considers prejudicial to the public health, safety or convenience, he may, for reasons to be recorded in the minutes and after giving notice in writing of his intention to the President, report the matter to the District Magistrate; and the President shall, on receipt of such notice, direct the suspension of action on the decision for a period sufficient to allow of a communication being made to the District Magistrate and of his taking proceedings as provided in sub-section (2).
(4) If the Chief Executive Officer considers any decision of the Board taken at a meeting, to be in contravention of the provisions of this Act, rules, regulations or bye-laws made thereunder and the general guidelines issued by the Central Government from time to time in this regard, he may, for reasons to be recorded in writing and after informing the President in this behalf, forthwith refer the matter to the Principal Director who shall if considered appropriate direct the suspension of action on the said decision for a period not exceeding one month.
(5) The Principal Director shall, for reasons to be recorded in writing on the reference made under sub-section (4), refer the matter to the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command along with recommendation on whether or not the said decision of the Board should be revoked and inform the matter to Director General Defence Estates.
57. Power of Central Government to review.
57. Power of Central Government to review.—The Central Government may, at any time, review any decision or order of the Board or the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command, and pass such orders thereon as it may deem fit:
Provided that where it is proposed to modify a decision or order of the Board reasonable opportunity shall be given to the Board to show cause why the decision or order in question should not be modified.
58. Power of General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command, on reference under Section 56 or otherwise.
58. Power of General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command, on reference under Section 56 or otherwise.—(1) The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command, may at any time—
(a) direct that any matter or any specific proposal other than one which has been referred to the Central Government under sub-section (2) of Section 56 be considered or reconsidered by the Board; or
(b) direct the suspension, for such period as may be stated in the order, of action on any decision of a Board, other than a decision which has been referred to him under sub-section (1) of Section 56, and thereafter cancel the suspension or after giving the Board a reasonable opportunity of showing cause why such direction should not be made, direct that the decision shall not be carried into effect or that it shall be carried into effect with such modifications as he may specify.
(2) When any decision of a Board has been referred to him under sub-sections (1) and (4) of Section 56, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command, may, by order in writing,—
(a) cancel the order given by the President directing the suspension of action; or
(b) extend the duration of the order for such period as he thinks fit; or
(c) after giving the Board a reasonable opportunity of showing cause why such direction should not be made, direct that the decision shall not be carried into effect or that it shall be carried into effect by the Board with such modifications as he may specify.
59. Power of Central Government on a reference made under Section 56.
59. Power of Central Government on a reference made under Section 56.—(1) When any decision of a Board has been referred to the Central Government under sub-section (2) of Section 56, the Central Government may, after consulting, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command, by order in writing,—
(a) direct that no action be taken on the decision; or
(b) direct that the decision be carried into effect either without modification or with such modifications as it may specify.
60. Supersession of Board.
60. Supersession of Board.—(1) If, in the opinion of the Central Government, any Board is not competent to perform or persistently makes default in the performance of the duties imposed on it by or under this Act or otherwise by law, or exceeds or abuses its powers, the Central Government may by an order published, together with the statement of the reasons therefor, in the Official Gazette, declare the Board to be incompetent or in default or to have exceeded or abused its powers, as the case may be, and supersede it for such period as may be specified in the order:
Provided that no Board shall be superseded unless a reasonable opportunity has been given to it to show cause against the supersession.
(2) When a Board is superseded by an order under sub-section (1)—
(a) all members of the Board shall, on such date as may be specified in the order, vacate their offices as such members but without prejudice to their eligibility for election or nomination under clause (c);
(b) during the supersession of the Board, all powers and duties conferred and imposed upon the Board by or under this Act shall be exercised and performed by the Officer Commanding the station, or by such officer as may be authorised by the Central Government, subject to such reservation if any, as the Central Government may prescribe in this behalf; and
(c) before the expiry of the period of supersession elections shall be held and nominations made for the purpose of reconstituting the Board.
Validity of proceedings
61. Validity of proceedings, etc.
61. Validity of proceedings, etc.—(1) No act or proceeding of a Board or of any committee of a Board shall be invalid by reason only of the existence of a vacancy in the Board or committee.
(2) No disqualification or defect in the election, nomination or appointment of a person acting as the President or a member of a Board or of any such committee shall vitiate any act or proceeding of the Board or committee if the majority of the persons present at the time of the act being done or the proceeding being taken were duly qualified members thereof.
(3) Any document or minutes which purport to be the record of the proceedings of a Board or any committee of a Board shall, if made and signed substantially in the manner prescribed for the making and signing of the record of such proceedings, be presumed to be a correct record of the proceedings of a duly convened meeting, held by a duly constituted Board or committee, as the case may be, whereof all the members were duly qualified.
[disclaimer]
