Quorum and Procedure — (1)The quorum for a meeting of the Gram

Panchayat shall be half of the total number of members. If, at the time appointed for the meeting, a quorum is not complete or if the meeting has begun and attention is drawn to the want of quorum the presiding officer shall wait for one hour, and if within such period there is no quorum, the presiding officer shall adjourn the meeting to such time on the following day or such future day as he may fix. The business which could not be considered at the meeting so postponed for want of quorum, shall be brought before and disposed of at the subsequent adjourned meeting or meetings for which the same quorum of half of the total number of members shall be required.

1. (2) All questions shall, unless otherwise specifically provided, be decided by a majority of votes of the members present and voting. The Mukhiya or Up-Mukhiya as the case may be, presiding over the meeting, unless he refrains from voting, shall give his vote before declaring the number of votes for and against a question and in case of equality of votes, he may give his casting vote.
2. (3) No member of a Gram Panchayat shall vote on, or take part in the discussion of, any question coming up for consideration at a meeting of the Gram Panchayat, if the question is one in which, apart from its general application to the public, he has any pecuniary or personal interest and if the person presiding has such an interest, he shall not preside over the meeting when such question comes up for consideration.
3. (4) If any member present at the meeting believes that the person

presiding has any pecuniary or personal interest in any matter under discussion, and if a motion to that effect be carried, the latter shall not preside over the meeting during such discussion or vote on or take part in it. Any member of the Gram Panchayat may be chosen to preside at the meeting during the continuance of such discussion.