Insertion of a new chapter and new section in the Bihar Act 6, 2006 . After ChapterVIII and Section 170 in the Bihar Panchayat Raj Act, 2006, the following new Chapter IX and new section 170 A shall be inserted :-

"CHAPTER IX WARD SABHA

170A (1) Subject to the general orders of the Government, a ward Sabha shall be organised in each territorial electoral constituency of the wards within the Gram Panchayat. The Ward Sabha shall meet once in three months. The elected member of Gram Panchayat, who represents the Ward, shall convene the meetings of Ward Sabha as per prescribed procedure and preside over the meeting. Every voter residing in the electoral territory of the Ward shall be a member of that Ward Sabha.

1. (2) If the Gram Panchayat member responsible to convene the meeting fails to convene the meeting of the Ward Sabha, the Mukhiya of the Gram Panchayat or the Up-Mukhiya, if authorised by the Mukhiya, shall convene the meeting and preside over it.
2. (3) The quorum for the meeting of a Ward Sabha shall be present with the presence of the members of one tenth of the total number of members of the Ward Sabha or fifty members. As far as possible not less than thirty percent of the voters attending the Ward Sabha, shall be women. As far as possible persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes may be represented in the Ward Sabha in proportion to their population in the Ward Sabha.
3. (4) Ward Sabha shall, subject to such rules as may be prescribed, exercise the following powers and discharge the following functions :-
   • (a) to generate proposals and determine the priority of schemes and development programmes to be implemented in the area of the Ward Sabha and forward the same to place it before the Gram Sabha for inclusion in Gram Panchayat development plan ;
   • (b) to identify the most eligible persons from the area of Ward Sabha for beneficiary oriented schemes on the basis of criteria fixed;
   • (c) to verify the eligibility of persons getting various kinds of welfare assistance from Government such as pensions and subsidies ;
   • (d) to get information from the Gram Panchayat on the rationale of every decision of the Gram Panchayat concerning the area of the Ward Sabha ;
   • (e) to provide and mobilize voluntary labour and contributions in cash and kind for development work and supervise such development works through volunteer teams ;
   • (f) to make efforts to ensure that the members of Ward Sabha pay taxes and fees (if any) to the Gram Panchayat ;
   • (g) to suggest, on the request of Mukhiya, the location of streetlights, street or community water taps, public sanitation units, and such other public amenity schemes within the area of the Ward Sabha ;
   • (h) to impart awareness on matters of public interest such as cleanliness, preservation of the environment and prevention of pollution ;
     • (i) to assist the employees of the Gram Panchayat in sanitation arrangements in the area of Ward Sabha and render voluntary service in the removal of garbage ;
   • (j) to promote programme of adult education within the area of Ward Sabha ;
   • (k) to assist the activities of public health centers in the area of Ward Sabha especially in disease prevention and family welfare and to create arrangements to quickly report the incidence of epidemics and natural calamities ;
   • (l) to promote harmony and unity among various groups of people in the area of the Ward Sabha and to arrange cultural festivals and sports meets to give expression to the talents of the people of the locality ; and
   • (m) to exercise such other powers and discharge such other functions as may be prescribed.
4. (5) The procedure for convening and conducting the meetings of the Ward Sabha shall be such as may be prescribed.
5. (6) Every meeting of a Ward Sabha shall be presided over by the ward member of the Gram Panchayat elected from the area of the concerned Ward and in his absence by the Mukhiya of the Gram Panchayat or the Up-Mukhiya authorised by the Mukhiya.
6. (7) All resolutions in respect of any issue in the meeting of the Ward Sabha shall be passed by a majority of the members present and voting in the meeting of the Ward Sabha."