State Act

The Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act, 1965.

81. Provisions in regard to meetings of Council.— The following provisions shall be observed with respect to the meetings of a Council :— 2[(1) For the disposal of general business, which shall be restricted to matters relating to the powers, duties and functions of the Council as specified in this Act or any other law for the time being in force, and any welcome address to a distinguished visitor, proposal for giving Manpatra to a distinguished person or resolution of condolence (where all or any of these are duly proposed), 3[an ordinary meeting shall be held once in every month]. The 4[first such meeting, shall be held within one month] from the date on which the meeting of the Council 5[under section 51] is held, and 6[each succeeding ordinary meeting shall be held within one month] from the date on which the last preceding ordinary meeting is held. The President may also call additional ordinary meetings as he deems necessary. It shall be the duty of the President to fix the dates for all ordinary meetings and to call such meetings in time.] 7[(1A) If the President fails to call on ordinary meeting within the period specified in clause (1), the Chief Officer shall forthwith report such failure to the Collector. The Collector shall, within seven days from receipt of the Chief Officer’s report or may, suo motu, call the ordinary meeting. The agenda for such meeting shall be drawn up by the Collector, in consultation with the Chief Officer: Provided that, any such meeting called by the Collector shall not disturb the sequence of the ordinary meetings as specified in clause (1) and the next ordinary meeting shall be called by the President as if the last preceding meeting was held on the last permissible day of the period specified in clause (1).] (2) The President may, whenever he thinks fit, and shall upon the written request of not less than one-fourth of the total number of Councillors and on a date not later than fifteen days after the receipt of such request by the President, call a special meeting. 8[The business to be transacted at any such meeting shall also be restricted to matters specified in clause (1).] (3) If the President fails to call a meeting within the period 9[specified in clause (2)], the Councillors who had made a request for the special meeting being called, may request the Collector to call a special meeting. On receipt of such request, the Collector, or any officer whom he may designate in this behalf, shall call the special meeting on a date within fifteen days from the date of receipt of such request by the Collector. Such meeting shall be presided over by the Collector or the officer designated, but he shall have no right to vote. (4) (a) Seven clear days’ notice of an ordinary meeting, and three clear days’ notice of a special meeting, specifying the date, hour and place at which such meeting is to be held and the business to be transacted thereat shall be served upon the Councillors, 1[and posted up at the Municipal Office and the official website of the Council or Nagar Panchayat]. The notice shall include any motion or proposition of which a Councillor shall have given written notice not less than ten clear days previous to the meeting, of his intention to bring forward thereat and in the case of a special meeting, any motion or proposition mentioned in any written request made for such meeting; (b) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-clause (a) in an emergency, for reasons to be recorded in writing, the President may call a special meeting of the Council with only one day’s notice served upon the Councillors and posted up at the municipal office. (5) Every meeting of a Council shall, except for reasons to be specified in the notice convening the meeting, be held in any of the buildings used as a municipal office by such Council. (6) Every meeting shall, in the absence of both the President and the Vice-President, be presided over by such one of the Councillors present as may be chosen by the meeting to be the Chairman for the occasion and such Chairman shall exercise thereat the powers vested in the President by clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 58. (7) (a) The presiding authority shall preserve order at the meeting. All points of order shall be decided by the presiding authority with or without discussions as it may deem fit, and the decisions of the presiding authority shall be final; (b) (i) the presiding authority may direct any Councillor whose conduct is in its opinion disorderly to withdraw immediately from the meeting of the Council and any Councillor so ordered to withdraw shall do so forthwith and shall absent himself during the remainder of the day’s meeting: Provided that, the presiding authority may withdraw such order on receiving an apology from the Councillor or without such apology; (ii) if any, Councillor, who has been ordered to withdraw, continues to remain in the meeting, the presiding authority may take such steps as it may deem fit to cause him to be removed. (8) Every meeting shall be open to the public, unless the presiding authority considers that any inquiry or deliberation pending before the Council should be held in private: Provided that, the presiding authority may at any time cause any person to be removed who interrupts the proceedings. (9) (a) The quorum necessary for the transaction of business— (i) at an ordinary meeting shall be one-third of the total number of Councillors; (ii) at a special meeting shall be one-half of the total number of Councillors: Provided that, in computing the quorum a fraction shall be ignored; (b) If at any time during a meeting the presiding authority notices or if it is brought to the notice of the presiding authority that the number of Councillors present including the presiding authority falls short of the quorum required, the presiding authority shall after waiting for not less than fifteen minutes and not more than thirty minutes adjourn the meeting to such hour on the following or some other future day as it may reasonably fix. A notice of such adjournment shall be posted up at the municipal office 1[and the official website of the Council or Nagar Panchayat] and the business which would have been brought before the original meeting, had there been a quorum thereat, but no other business, shall be brought before the adjourned meeting and may be disposed of at such meeting: 2[Provided that, all proposals of the Councillors on the agenda of meeting should have detailed remarks of the Chief Officer of the Council or Nagar Panchayat.] (10) Except with the permission of the presiding authority (which shall not be given in the case of a motion or proposition to modify or cancel any resolution within three months after the passing thereof), no business shall be transacted and no proposition shall be discussed at any meeting unless it had been mentioned in the notice convening such meeting or in the case of a special meeting in the written request for such meeting: 3[Provided that, no such permission shall be granted by the authority for consideration of more than five subjects in the meeting.] (11) Subject to any rules made in this behalf, the order in which the business shall be transacted at any meeting shall be determined by the presiding authority: Provided that, if it is proposed by any Councillor that priority should be given to any particular item of business, or to any particular proposition, the presiding authority shall put the proposal to the meeting and be guided by the majority of votes of the Councillors present and voting, given for or against the proposal. (12) Minutes containing the names of the Councillors and of the Government officers, if any, present under the provisions of clause (17), and of the proceedings at each meeting shall be kept in Marathi, Hindi or English as the Council may determine, in a book to be maintained for this purpose. Except when votes are recorded by ballot, the names of the Councillors voting for or against any proposal or motion shall be recorded in the minute book. 4[The minutes shall be signed, within seven days] by the presiding authority of such meeting and shall at all reasonable times be open to inspection 5[by any inhabitant of the municipal area and the resolutions shall be published on the official website of the Council and the official website of the Director.] Such minutes shall be placed before the next meeting of the Council and shall after confirmation by the meeting, be signed by the presiding authority of such meeting. (13) Except as otherwise provided by or under this Act, all question shall be decided by a majority of votes of the Councillors present and voting, the presiding authority having a second or casting vote in all cases of equality of votes. Votes shall be taken and results recorded in such manner as may be prescribed by rules: 6[Provided that, the nominated Councillors referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 9 shall not have the right to vote in the meetings of the Council.] (14) Any meeting may, with the consent of a majority of the Councillors present be adjourned from time to time to a later hour on the same day or to any other day; but no business shall be transacted at any adjourned meeting other than that left undisposed of at the meeting from which the adjournment took place. A notice of such adjournment posted up at the municipal office shall be deemed to be sufficient notice of the adjourned meeting. 7[Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (9), except for the meeting adjourned while having quorum, no quorum shall be necessary for an adjourned meeting.] (15) No resolution of a Council shall be modified or cancelled within three months after the passing thereof except by a resolution supported by not less than one-half of the total number of Councillors and passed at the meeting of which notice shall have been given fulfilling the requirements of clause (4) and setting forth fully the resolution which it is proposed to modify or cancel at such meeting and the motion or proposition for the modification or cancellation of such resolution. (16) Except for reasons which the presiding authority deems emergent, no business relating to any work which is being or is to be executed for the Council by any Department of the Government or the Zilla Parishad concerned or to any educational matter shall be transacted at any meeting of a Council unless at least seven days previous to such meeting, a letter has been addressed to the concerned officer of the Government or the Zilla Parishad or the Educational Inspector, as the case may be, informing him of the intention to transact such business thereat and of the motions or propositions to be brought forward concerning such business. (17) If it shall appear to a Council that the presence of any Government officer or an Officer of the Zilla Parishad is desirable for the purpose of discussion of consideration of any question, on which, in virtue of the duties of his office, his opinion or the information which he can supply will be useful to such Council, at any meeting of such Council, it shall be competent to such Council, by letter addressed to such officer not less than fifteen days previous to the intended meeting, to invite him to be present thereat; and the said officer shall, as far as possible, attend such meetings: Provided that, such officer on receipt of such letter may, if unable to be present himself, instruct a Deputy or Assistant or other competent subordinate, as to his views, and may send him to the meeting as his representative, instead of attending himself. (18) No officer attending a meeting of the Council under clause (16) or (17) shall be entitled to vote on any proposition at such meeting. (19) The State Government may make rules in respect of matters relating to the conduct of business at meetings of the Council not provided for in this section.