State Act

Jharkhand Panchayat Raj Act, 2001_English

Section 17 Reservation of seats in the gram Panchayat - (A) For members of the Gram Panchayat (general area) 1. In every Gram Panchayat seats shall be reserved for (a) Scheduled Castes and (b) Scheduled Tribes, the number of seats so reserved shall bear as nearly as may be the same proportion to the total number of seats to be filled up by direct election in that Gram Panchayat as the population of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the said Gram Panchayat area bears to the total population of that area, and such seats shall be allotted by rotation in the prescribed manner to different territorial constituencies (wards) in the Panchayat by the State Election Commission. 2. In case of the overall reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes being less than 50 percent of the total number of members in a Gram Panchayat, the reservation falling short of 50 percent shall be made for other Backward Classes in proportion to their population provided that overall reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other Backward Classes shall not exceed 50 percent of the total number of posts. 3. In every Gram Panchayat, out of the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes and other Backward Classes, 3[not less than fifty percent] seats shall be reserved for women belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other Backward Classes, as the case may be. 4. In every Gram Panchayat, out of the total number of seats to be filled up by direct election, at 3[not less than fifty percent] seats (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other Backward Classes) shall be kept reserved for women and such seats shall be dully allotted by rotation by the State Election Commission. 5. Such territorial constituencies (wards) having no population of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes or other Backward Classes, shall, as the case may be, excluded from allotment of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other Backward Classes 2[in the prescribed manner.] (B) For members of the Gram Panchayat (in Scheduled area)- 1. In each Gram Panchayat in the Scheduled area, reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes shall be made according to their respective population in the Panchayat; Provided that reservation for Scheduled Tribes shall not be less than half of the total number of seats, 2. In a scheduled areas Gram Panchayat, seats for persons belonging to other Backward Classes shall, in proportion to their population, be reserved in such number that the same together with the number of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, if any, does not exceed 80 percent of the total seats of the said Gram Panchayat. 3. Out of the seats reserved under subsection (1) and (2), 2[not less than fifty percent] seats shall be reserved for women belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other Backward Classes, as the case may be. 4. Out of the total seats of the Gram Panchayat concerned, 2[not less than fifty percent] seats (including the seats reserved for women belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other Backward Classes) shall be reserved for women. 5. Reservation of posts under the aforesaid subsections shall be allotted by rotation in the prescribed manner by the State Election Commission. 6. As to a Gram Panchayat within the scheduled area, in which there is no population of Scheduled Tribes the same shall be excluded from allotment of seats reserved for members of the Scheduled Tribes, in the prescribed manner. 7. As to the territorial constituencies (wards) of a Gram Panchayat, in which there is no population of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes or other Backward Classes, the same shall duly be excluded from seats reserved for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes or other Backward Classes, as the case may be.