The Chhattisgarh Official Language Commission Act, 2010

1. (1) This Act may be called the Chhattisgarh Official Language Commission Act, 2010. (2) It extends to the whole of the State of Chhattisgarh. (3) It shall come into force from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:- (a) "Commission" means the Chhattisgarh Official Language commission constituted under section 3 of this Act; (b) "Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Commission as nominated by the Government; (c) "Department" means concerned Department Government of Chhattisgarh; (d) "Government" means Government of Chhattisgarh; (e) "Member" means the nominated members of the Commission and includes the Chairperson;

1. (1) The State Government shall constitute a body to be known as "Chhattisgarh Official Language Commission" (Rajbhasha Ayog) to exercise the powers conferred on and to perform the functions assigned to it under this Act. (2) The Commission shall consist of the Chairperson and four other members. (3) The Chairperson and the members of the Commission shall be concerned and renowned persons who are well acquainted with Chhattisgarhi Language and Chhattisgarhi Literature. (4) The Chairperson and members of the Commission shall be nominated by State Government. (5) The Chairperson and every Member shall hold office for such term not exceeding three years, as may be fixed by the State Government in this behalf, and thereafter he may be eligible for term more than that for Chairperson shall be.

1. (3) The State Government shall remove a person from the office of Chairperson or a Member referred to in sub-section 3 (3) if that person- (a) becomes an undischarged insolvent; (b) is convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for an offence involving moral turpitude; (c) becomes of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court; (d) refuses to act or becomes incapable to perform duty; (e) without obtaining leave remains absent in three consecutive meetings of the Commission; or (f) if the opinion of the State Government, has so abused the position of Chairperson or Member as to render his continuance in office detrimental to the public interest: Provided that, no person shall be removed under this clause until and unless he has been given a reasonable opportunity of being heard in the matter. (4) The salaries and allowances payable to and the other terms and conditions of service of the Chairperson and the Members as the case may be prescribed by the state Government.

1. (1) The State Government shall provide the Commission with such officers and employees as may be necessary for the efficient performance of the functions of the Commission under this Act. (2) The salaries and allowances payable and the other terms and conditions of service of the officers and other employees appointed for the purpose of Commission shall be such as may be prescribed by the state Government.

The salaries and allowances payable to the Chairperson and Members and the administrative expenses, including salaries, allowances and pensions payable to the officers and other employees shall be paid out of the grants refer to in sub-section (1) of Section 11.

No act or proceeding of the Commission shall be questioned or shall be invalid merely on the ground of the existence of any vacancy or defect in the constitution of the Commission.

1. (1) The Commission shall perform all such functions as are necessary for the development, propagation and promotion of the Official Language of the State. (2) The Commission shall ensure the use of Official Language in the official work of the State. (3) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provision, the Commission shall: (a) suggest measures for the use of Official Language in administrative work; (b) organize workshops, seminars and conferences for the promotion of the Official Language; (c) take steps for the standardisation of the Official Language in various fields. (4) The Government may entrust to the Commission such other functions as it may deem fit.

1. (1) The meeting of the Commission shall be conducted at least twice a year. (2) The date and time of the meeting shall be such as decided in the last meeting or shall be fixed with the consent of Chairperson and its information shall be sent at least seven days prior to the meeting. (3) The Chairperson may call special meeting as per necessity. (4) A special meeting of the Commission may be called on the basis of written request of at least 3 members of the Commission submitted at least 21 days prior to the requisite date of meeting. A proposal clearly indicating the object of the meeting so called must be enclosed with this requisition. (5) The Annual meeting of the Commission shall be called upon for the following objects :- (a) to discuss the Annual Report and the Annual Income and Expenditure Report of the previous financial year and proposed budget for the coming year; (b) To nominate the members of any adhoc committees as considered necessary by Commission; (c) To finalized the plan for the year; (d) To discuss on any other matter with the consent of the Chairperson. (6) The intimation about the Annual meeting along with the Agenda and Annual Report, shall be delivered to all the members at least 7 days prior to the date prescribed for the meeting.

1. (1) (a) The Commission shall take necessary action on a matter related to Chhattisgarhi language or literature either on its own or on receipt of information thereto. (b) The above action shall be conducted with the approval of the Chairperson. (2) The meetings of the Commission shall be presided over by Chairperson. In the absence of Chairperson, the members present in the meeting may elect a chairperson amongst themselves for presiding that meeting. The member so elected shall preside over the meeting and exercise the powers of Chairperson in the said meeting. (3) The Chairperson of the Commission may distribute the work and responsibility among the members of the Commission. (4) The Commission may prescribe its work procedure separately wherever necessary. (5) The decisions of the Commission shall be approved by the majority of members present. In the case of a tie, the Chairperson shall have the power of the casting vote.

1. (1) The State Government shall after due appropriation made by State Legislative Assembly by law in this behalf, pay to the Commission by way of grants such sums of money as the State Government may think fit for being utilized for the purposes of this Act.

1. (1) The Commission shall maintain proper accounts and other relevant records and prepare an annual statement of accounts in such form as may be prescribed by the State Government, in consultation with the Accountant General, Chhattisgarh. (2) The accounts of the Commission shall be audited by the Accountant General at such interval as may be specified by him and any expenditure incurred in connection with such audit shall be payable by the Commission to the Accountant General. (3) The Accountant General and any person appointed by him in connection with the audit of the accounts of the Commission under this Act shall have the same rights and privilege and the authority in connection with such audit as the Accountant General generally has in connection with the audit of Government accounts and in particular shall have the right to demand the production of books, accounts, connected vouchers and other documents and papers and to inspect the offices of the Commission. (4) The accounts of the Commission as certified by the Accountant General or any other person appointed by him together with the audit report thereon shall be forwarded annually to the State Government by the Commission. (5) The Commission shall exercise such other duties as may be prescribed.

The Commission shall prepare, in such form and at such time for each financial year as may be prescribed, its annual report, giving a full account of its activities during the previous financial year and forward a copy thereof to the Government.

1. (1) The Chairperson shall convene the meetings of the Commission. (2) The Chairperson shall preside over all the meetings of the Commission. (3) The Chairperson shall be the sole authority to judge the validity of the votes cast by the members in any meeting of the commission. (4) The Chairperson may exercise his casting vote in case the votes for and against any proposal are equal. (5) The Secretary of the Commission shall be responsible for proper administration of the affairs and funds of the Commission and implementation of various activities of the Commission.

1. (1) ... (2) The Secretary shall have administrative powers equivalent to the head of the department of the government, for effective discharge of his functions and he shall have the powers to: (a) implementation the decision and the function of the Commission; (b) Conduct meetings of the Commission and keep a record of proceedings of these meetings; (c) Coordinate and exercise general/supervision over the activities of the Commission including its officers;

No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Government, Commission, Chairperson, member, officer or employee of the Commission for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or the rules made thereunder.

If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the Government may, by order, do anything not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act which appears to it to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of removing the difficulty.

1. (1) The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the provisions of this Act. (2) Every rule made under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before the State Legislature.