State Act

THE KARNATAKA GRAM SWARAJ AND PANCHAYAT RAJ ACT, 1993

2. Definitions.- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,- (1) “Assistant Commissioner” means the Assistant Commissioner of a revenue sub-division; 1[(2) “Backward Classes” means such class or classes of citizens as may be classified as category “A” and “B” and notified by the Government from time to time for the purposes of reservation of seats and offices of Chairperson in Zilla Panchayat, Taluk Panchayat and Grama Panchayat.]1 2[(2-A) “Ballot or Ballot Box or Ballot paper” means Ballot or Ballot Box or Ballot paper wherever used shall be construed as secret Ballot Paper wherever applicable]2 (3) “building” includes a house, out- house, shop, stable, warehouse, workshop, canopy, shed, hut, or other enclosure whether used as a human dwelling or otherwise and shall include a wall, compound wall, fencing, verandah, platform, plinth, doorstep and the like; (4) “business” includes any trade, commerce or manufacture or an adventure or concern in the nature of trade, commerce of manufacture; (5) “casual vacancy” means a vacancy occurring otherwise than by afflux of time; (6) “Chief Executive Officer” means the Chief Executive Officer of the Zilla Panchayat; (7) “Commissioner” means the 1[Regional Commissioner]1 or such other officer as may be appointed by the Government to exercise the powers of Commissioner under this Act; (8) “company” means a company as defined in the Companies Act, 1956 (Central Act 2 of 1956) or a co-operative society registered under the Karnataka Co-operative Societies Act, 1959 (Karnataka Act 11 of 1959) and includes any firm or association of individuals carrying on business in the State of Karnataka whether incorporated or not; (9) “Deputy Commissioner” means the Deputy Commissioner of the district; 1[(9A) “Designated Court” means the jurisdictional Court of Senior Civil Judge designated for the trial of election disputes related to Gram Panchayats, Taluk Panchayats and Zilla Panchayats, in whose territorial jurisdiction respectively, the panchayat area or a major portion of the panchayat area is situated.]1 (10) “district” means a revenue district; (11) “erection or re-erection or enlargement” of any building includes,- (i) any material alteration or enlargement of any building; (ii) the conversion , by structural alteration , into a place of human habitation of any building not originally constructed for human habitation; (iii) the conversion of two or more places of human habitation into a lesser number of such places; (iv) the conversion of one or more places of human habitation into a greater number of such places; (v) such alteration of a building as would affect a change in the drainage or sanitary arrangements or materially affect its security; (vi) the addition of any rooms, buildings, out-houses or their structures to any building; (vii) the conversion , by any structural alteration, into a place of religious worship or into a building used for a sacred purposes of any place or building not originally meant or constructed for such purposes; (viii) roofing or covering an open space between walls or buildings, in respect of the structure which is formed by roofing or covering such space; (ix) conversion into a stall, shop, warehouse or godown of any building not originally constructed for use as such or vice versa; (x) construction of a door in a wall adjoining any street or land not vested in the owner of the wall and opening on such street or land; 1[(xi) erection of a hoarding or mobile tower on the roof of any building or on a platform within the compound or land adjacent thereto, in the panchayat area]1 (12) “Executive Officer” means an Executive Officer of Taluk Panchayat; (13) “factory” means besides a factory as defined in the Factories Act , 1948 (Central Act, 13 of 1948) any premises including the precincts thereof wherein any industrial manufacturing or trade process is carried on with the aid of steam, water, oil, gas, electrical or any other form of power which is mechanically transmitted and is not generated by human or animal agency; (14) “Government” means the State Government; (15) “Grama Panchayat” means the Grama Panchayat established under this Act. 1[(16) “Gram Sabha” means a body consisting of persons registered as voters in the electoral rolls relating to a village comprised within the area of Gram Panchayat at the village]1 1[(16A) “Habitation” means a hamlet or other small settlement by whatever name called or a group of such hamlets or settlements with one hundred to three hundred and fifty population located outside the limits of a village and notified as such under section 3”; "(16B) "Habitation Sabha" shall be a body consisting of persons registered in the voters list of habitation in the Gram Panchayat]1 (17) “Health Officer” means the Health Officer, employed by or on behalf of the Zilla Panchayat and if there is no such officer, the Government Health Officer having jurisdiction over the Taluk or district concerned; (18) “infectious disease” means cerebro-spinal fever, chicken pox, cholera, diptheria, enteric fever, epidemic influenza, 1[XXX]1, measles, plague, rabies, scarlet fever, small-pox, tuberculosis, typhus, yaws or any other disease which the Government may notify in this behalf either generally throughout the State or in such part or parts thereof as may be specified in the notification; (19) “land revenue” means all sums and payments received or claimable by or on behalf of the Government, from any person on account of land held by or vested in him as fixed at a survey settlement current in the area in which the land is situated; (20) “latrine” include a privy, water-closet and urinal; (21) “local authority” includes a municipal corporation, municipal council, Zilla Panchayat, Taluk Panchayat, Grama Panchayat, 1[Town Panchayat, Industrial Township]1 , Improvement Board, Urban Development Authority and Planning Authority constituted under this Act or under any law for the time being force; (22) “market” means a place for the sale of goods or animals publicly exposed where ordinarily or periodically at least four shops, stalls or sheds are set up or where at least ten animals are brought for sale; (23) "nuisance” includes any act, omission, place or thing which causes or is likely to cause injury, danger, annoyance or offence to the sense of sight, smell or hearing or disturbance to rest or sleep or which is or may be dangerous to life or injurious to the health or property of the public, or of the people in general, who dwell in the vicinity or of persons who may have occasion to exercise a public right; (24) “offensive or dangerous trade” means any trade, business or industry dangerous to life, health or property or likely to cause nuisance which is notified by the Government under section 67; (25) “occupier” means any person in actual possession of any land or building or part thereof and includes an owner in actual possession, and the tenant or licensee whether such tenant or licensee is liable to pay rent or not; (26) "offensive matter” includes filth, sewage, dirt, house sweepings, splittings, including chewed betel and tobacco, kitchen or stable refuse, pieces of broken glass or pottery, debris and waste paper; (27) “owner” includes the person for the time being receiving the rent of any land or building or part thereof, whether on his own account or as agent, receiver or trustee or who would receive rent if the land or building or part thereof were let to a tenant; (28) "panchayat area” means any area declared as panchayat area under section 4; 1[(28-A)"Panchayath Development Officer" means the Panchayath Development Officer of the Grama Panchayath;]1 3[2[(28B) “Panchayat Staff” means the officers and staff appointed by the panchayat excluding the posts in the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Administrative Service; (28C) “Responsibility Map” means the detailed enumeration of responsibilities of the Panchayat Raj Institutions under the Act; (28D) “Returning Officer”, “Assistant Returning Officer”, “Presiding Officer” and “Polling Officer” wherever used in this Act shall have the same meaning assigned to in the Representation of People’s Act, 1951(central Act No.43 of 1951) for conduct of elections to panchayats by the State Election Commission]2]3 (29) "Population” means the population as ascertained at the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published; (30) “private market” means a market other than a public market; (31) "public market” means any market owned by a Grama Panchayat or acquired, constructed, maintained or managed by a Grama Panchayat; (32) “public place” means any place not being private property which is open to the use or enjoyment of the public whether such place is vested in a Grama Panchayat, Taluk Panchayat or Zilla Panchayat or not; (33) “public street” means any street over which the public have a right of way whether a thoroughfare or not; (34) “Schedule” means a Schedule annexed to this Act; (35) "Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes” means the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes specified in respect of the State of Karnataka in the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, for the time being in force; (36) “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Grama Panchayat; 1[(36A) "State Election Commission" means the Election Commission of Karnataka constituted under section 308]1 ; (37) “street” includes any highway, causeway, bridge, viaduct, arch, road, land, footway, subway, court, alley or riding path or passage, whether a thoroughfare or not; and when there is a footway as well as carriage way in any street, the said term includes both; (38) “taluk” means a revenue taluk but excluding therefrom the limits of a 1[larger urban area, smaller urban area, transitional area or an industrial township specified]1 under any law for the time being force; (39) “Taluk Panchayat” means the Taluk Panchayat established under this Act; (40) “Tahsildar” means the Tahsildar of a revenue taluk; (41) “vehicle” includes a bicycle, cycle rickshaw, motorcar and every wheeled conveyance which is used or is capable of being used on a public street; (42) “village” means a village specified by the Governor by public notification to be village for the purposes of this Act and includes a group of villages so specified; 2[ 1[(42A) “Vision Plan” means a long term forward looking plan for achieving overall development in the panchayat area; (42B) “Vulnerable sections of society” means the children, adolescents, women, senior citizens, the sick and the infirm, the disabled and the differently-abled, the Scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes, the religious, linguistic and sexual minorities, the bonded labour if any, nomadic and tribal groups and migrant labour of the society; (42C) “Ward” means an area of local constituency demarcated as ward within a Gram Panchayat for the purpose of conduct of elections to the Gram Panchayat; (42D) "Ward Sabha" means in relation to ward area, a body consisting of all persons registered as voters in the electoral rolls of each ward of Gram Panchayat constituency]1 ]2 (43) “Zilla Panchayat” means the Zilla Panchayat established under this Act.