The Manipur Khadi and Village Industries Board Act, 1966

Short title, extent and commencement.—

1. (1) This Act may be called the Manipur Khadi and Village Industries Board Act, 1966.
2. (2) It extends to the whole of the Union territory of Manipur.
3. (3) It shall come into force at once.

Definitions.— In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

1. (a) “Board” means the Manipur Khadi and Village Industries Board constituted under section 3;
2. (b) “Khadi” means any cloth woven on handlooms in India from cotton, silk or woollen yarn handspun in India or from a mixture of any two or all of such yarns;
3. (c) “Village Industries” means—
   • (i) any industry located in a rural area which produces any goods or renders any service with or without the use of power and in which the fixed capital investment per head of an artisan or a worker does not exceed one thousand rupees or such other sum as may, by notification in the Official Gazette, be specified by the Central Government;
   • (ii) any other industry which the Central Government may, in consultation with the Khadi and Village Industries Commission, specify in the Official Gazette as village industry;
4. (d) “Administrator” means the Administrator of the Union territory of Manipur;
5. (e) “Government” means the Administrator of the Union territory of Manipur;
6. (f) “Member” means a member of the Board and includes the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman thereof;
7. (g) “Regulation” means a regulation made by the Board under this Act;
8. (h) “Rules” means rules made by the Government under this Act;
   • (i) “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Board.

Establishment and incorporation of the Board.

1. (1) With effect from such date as the State Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, fix in this behalf, there shall be established for the purposes of this Act a Board to be called the "Manipur Khadi and Village Industries Board".
2. (2) The Board shall be a body corporate with the name aforesaid having perpetual succession and a common seal, with power, subject to the provisions of this Act, to acquire, hold and dispose of property, both movable and immovable, and to contract, and shall by the said name sue and be sued.

Constitution of the Board.

1. (1) The Board shall consist of a Chairman and such number of other members, not exceeding seven, as the State Government may appoint.
2. (2) The Chairman and the other members of the Board shall be appointed by the State Government from among persons who, in the opinion of the State Government, possess experience in matters relating to the development to Khadi and Village Industries.
3. (3) The term of office and the terms and conditions of service of the Chairman and other members of the Board shall be such as may be prescribed.
4. (4) Any member may resign his office by giving notice in writing to the State Government, and on such resignation being accepted by the State Government, he shall be deemed to have vacated his office.
5. (5) The State Government may remove from office any member who—
   • (a) is or becomes subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in section 5; or
   • (b) without excuse sufficient in the opinion of the State Government, remains absent from four consecutive meetings of the Board.
6. (6) A casual vacancy caused by the resignation or removal of any member under this section or otherwise shall be filled by fresh appointment by the State Government and the person so appointed shall hold office for the period for which his predecessor would have held office if the vacancy had not occurred.
7. (7) No act or proceeding of the Board shall be invalid by reason only of the existence of any vacancy amongst its members or any defect in the constitution thereof.

Appointment of members

1. (1) The Board shall consist of the following members, namely:—
   • (a) a Chairman;
   • (b) a Vice-Chairman;
   • (c) a Secretary;
   • (d) a Finance and Accounts Officer;
   • (e) not more than seven other members; all to be appointed by the State Government.
2. (2) The State Government shall appoint one of the members of the Board to be the Chairman and another to be the Vice-Chairman.
3. (3) The Secretary and the Finance and Accounts Officer shall be appointed by the State Government from among the officers of the State Government.
4. (4) The names of the members of the Board as first constituted and any change in the membership thereafter shall be published in the Official Gazette.

Term of office and conditions of service of members

1. (1) Every member, other than an ex-officio member, shall hold office for a period of three years from the date of his appointment: Provided that the State Government may extend the said period by a period not exceeding one year.
2. (2) A member of the Board may resign his office by giving notice in writing to the State Government, and on such resignation being accepted, the member shall be deemed to have vacated his office.
3. (3) If a casual vacancy occurs in the office of a member, it shall be filled by the State Government, and the person so appointed shall hold office for the remainder of the period for which his predecessor would have held office.
4. (4) The members shall receive such allowances as may be prescribed.
5. (5) No act or proceeding of the Board shall be questioned or invalidated merely by reason of any vacancy in, or defect in the constitution of, the Board.

Disqualification for being a member.—

1. (1) A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of the Board—
   • (a) if he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court;
   • (b) if he is, or at any time has been, adjudicated insolvent or has suspended payment of his debts or has compounded with his creditors;
   • (c) if he has been convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude;
   • (d) if he has any financial interest in any industry in respect of which the Board is empowered to exercise its functions;
   • (e) if he is a member of Parliament or of any State Legislature.

Removal of members.— The State Government may remove from office any member who—

1. (a) is or has become subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in section 7; or
2. (b) is absent without leave of the Board from more than three consecutive meetings of the Board; or
3. (c) in the opinion of the State Government, has so abused his position as to render his continuance as a member detrimental to the interests of the Board or the public interest:

Resignation of member Resignation of member. –

1. (1) Any member may resign his office by giving notice in writing under his hand to the State Government and his office shall become vacant from the date on which the resignation is accepted by the State Government.

Vacancies etc., not to invalidate proceedings of the Board. –

1. (1) No act or proceeding of the Board shall be questioned or shall be invalid on the ground merely of the existence of any vacancy in, or any defect in the constitution of, the Board.

Meetings of the Board.

1. (1) The Board shall meet at such times and places and shall observe such rules of procedure in regard to the transaction of business at its meetings (including the quorum at meetings) as may be provided by regulations made by the Board under this Act.
2. (2) The Chairman or, in his absence, any member chosen by the members present from amongst themselves, shall preside at a meeting of the Board.
3. (3) All questions at a meeting of the Board shall be decided by the majority of the votes of the members present and voting and, in the case of equality of votes, the Chairman or, in his absence, the person presiding shall have a second or casting vote.

Temporary association of persons with the Board for particular purposes.

1. (1) The Board may associate with itself in such manner and for such purposes as may be provided by regulations made under this Act any person whose assistance or advice it may desire in carrying into effect any of the provisions of this Act.
2. (2) A person associated with it by the Board under sub-section
3. (1) for any purpose shall have a right to take part in the discussions of the Board relevant to that purpose, but shall not have a right to vote at a meeting of the Board and shall not be a member for any other purpose.

Staff of the Board.—

1. (1) The Board may appoint such staff as it may think necessary for the efficient performance of its functions.
2. (2) The remuneration, allowances and other conditions of service of the staff shall be such as may be prescribed.

Functions of the Board.—

1. (1) It shall be the function of the Board to plan, organise and implement programmes for the development of khadi and village industries.
2. (2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, the Board may—
   • (a) start, encourage, assist and carry on khadi and village industries and carry on trade or business in such industries and in the course of such trade or business, engage in marketing of khadi and products of village industries and for that purpose, establish depots, emporia, shops and other like establishments;
   • (b) provide for the training of persons engaged in khadi and village industries and for the equipment of such industries;
   • (c) provide for the sale and marketing of khadi and products of village industries;
   • (d) encourage and promote research in the technique of production of khadi and in the development of village industries or provide facilities for a study of the problems relating to khadi and village industries;
   • (e) maintain or assist in maintaining institutions for the development of khadi and village industries;
   • (f) carry out any other matter which may be prescribed.

General powers of the Board General powers of the Board.

1. (1) The Board shall have power to acquire, hold and dispose of property, both movable and immovable and to contract and do all things necessary for the purposes of this Act.
2. (2) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Board may perform all or any of the following functions, namely:—
   • (a) to start, encourage, assist and carry on Khadi and Village Industries and to carry on trade or business in such industries and in the course of such trade or business to undertake, carry on, promote and facilitate the carrying on of such industries;
   • (b) to promote and develop co-operative efforts among persons engaged in Khadi and Village Industries;
   • (c) to collect statistics and collect and maintain records relating to Khadi and Village Industries;
   • (d) to encourage and promote research in the technique of production of Khadi or in the development of Village Industries or to provide facilities for a study of the problems relating to Khadi and Village Industries;
   • (e) to promote the sale and marketing of Khadi and products of Village Industries and to carry on trade or business in such khadi and products;
   • (f) to conduct training centres and train persons thereat or make other arrangements for such training;
   • (g) to organize publicity and popularise finished products of Khadi and Village Industries by opening stores, shops, emporia, exhibitions and the like;
   • (h) to encourage the establishment of co-operative societies for Khadi and Village Industries;
     • (i) to carry out any other work which may be incidental to the above functions.

Khadi and Village Industries Fund.

1. (1) The Board shall have its own fund, to be called the Khadi and Village Industries Fund, and all receipts of the Board shall be credited thereto and all payments by the Board shall be made therefrom.
2. (2) The Board may accept grants, subventions, donations and gifts and receive loans from the Government or a local authority or any other body or person, whether incorporated or not, for all or any of the purposes of this Act.
3. (3) The Board shall maintain a sinking fund for the repayment of any loans which may be raised by the Board and shall pay every year into the sinking fund such sum as may be sufficient for repayment within the period fixed of all loans so raised: Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall apply to any loans made to the Board by the Government.
4. (4) The Board may deposit its funds in any Scheduled Bank or invest the same in such securities as may be approved by the Government.
5. (5) The fund shall be applied for meeting the administrative and other expenses of the Board and the expenditure for such other purposes as may be authorized by this Act.

Budget

1. (1) The Board shall prepare in such form and at such time each financial year as may be prescribed a budget in respect of the financial year next ensuing showing the estimated receipts and expenditure and copies thereof shall be forwarded to the State Government.
2. (2) The Board shall also prepare a programme of work for the ensuing year and forward copies thereof to the State Government.

Sanction of budget and programme of work

1. (1) The State Government may sanction the budget and the programme of work submitted to it with such modifications as it deems proper.
2. (2) The Board shall incur expenditure and undertake work only in accordance with the budget and the programme of work sanctioned under sub-section (1):

Supplementary budget and programme of work Supplementary budget and programme of work.

1. (1) The Board may submit to the State Government a supplementary budget and programme of work in such form and at such time as may be prescribed, as and when the Board considers it necessary to undertake additional activities.
2. (2) The State Government shall cause the supplementary budget and programme of work to be laid as soon as may be after they are received before the Legislative Assembly.

Annual report.

1. (1) The Board shall, as soon as may be after the end of each financial year, prepare and submit to the State Government a report in such form as may be prescribed giving a true and full account of its activities during the previous year and the account statement.
2. (2) The State Government shall cause the report to be laid as soon as may be after it is received before the Legislative Assembly.

Accounts and Audit.

1. (1) The Board shall maintain proper accounts and other relevant records and prepare an annual statement of accounts including the profit and loss account and the balance sheet in such form as may be prescribed by the State Government in consultation with the Accountant General, Manipur.
2. (2) The accounts of the Board shall be audited by the Accountant General, Manipur, or by such other person as the State Government may appoint in this behalf.
3. (3) The accounts of the Board as certified by the Accountant General, Manipur, or any other person appointed by the State Government in this behalf together with the audit report thereon shall be forwarded annually to the State Government and that Government shall cause the same to be laid before the Legislative Assembly.

Dissolution of the Board.

1. (1) If at any time the State Government is satisfied that the Board has failed to carry out the functions under this Act or has exceeded or abused its powers, the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, dissolve the Board from such date as may be specified in the notification and reconstitute it in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
2. (2) The State Government may, for the period from the date of dissolution of the Board until its reconstitution, appoint any person or body of persons to perform the functions of the Board under this Act.
3. (3) On the dissolution of the Board under sub-section (1), all properties, funds and dues which are vested in, or realisable by, the Board shall vest in, or be realisable by, the State Government.
4. (4) All liabilities which could be enforced against the Board shall be enforceable against the State Government.

Power to make rules.

1. (1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules to give effect to the provisions of this Act.
2. (2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:—
   • (a) the terms and conditions of service of the Chairman and other members of the Board;
   • (b) the disqualifications for being chosen as, and for being, a member of the Board;
   • (c) the procedure to be followed in the conduct of the business of the Board;
   • (d) the manner in which the accounts of the Board shall be maintained and audited;
   • (e) the form in which the budget of the Board shall be prepared and the dates on which such budget shall be submitted;
   • (f) the returns and reports which the Board shall submit to the State Government;
   • (g) any other matter which has to be or may be prescribed.
3. (3) Every rule made under this section shall be laid as soon as may be after it is made before the Legislative Assembly while it is in session for a total period of fourteen days which may be comprised in one session or in two successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session in which it is so laid or the session immediately following, the Legislative Assembly agrees in making any modification in the rule or the Legislative Assembly agrees that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so however that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.

Power to make regulations.

1. (1) The Board may, with the previous sanction of the State Government, make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act and the rules made thereunder, for enabling it to discharge its functions under this Act.
2. (2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such regulations may provide for—
   • (a) the terms and conditions of appointment and scale of pay and other conditions of service of officers and employees of the Board;
   • (b) the time and place of meetings of the Board, the procedure to be followed in regard to the transaction of business at such meetings and the quorum necessary for the transaction of such business;
   • (c) the functions and duties of the Secretary and other officers and employees of the Board;
   • (d) the delegation of powers and duties to the Secretary or any other officer or employee of the Board;
   • (e) the manner in which and the conditions under which the Board may lend money;
   • (f) the maintenance of minutes of meetings of the Board and the transmission of copies thereof to the State Government;
   • (g) the persons by whom, and the manner in which, payments, deposits and investments may be made on behalf of the Board;
   • (h) the custody of money required for the current expenditure of the Board and investment of moneys not so required;
     • (i) all other matters which are necessary for the purposes of the Board consistent with the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder.

Members of the Board and members of staff to be public servants. — Every member of the Board and every officer and servant of the Board shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).

Protection of action taken under the Act. — No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Board or any member or officer or servant of the Board for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or of any rules or regulations made thereunder.

-1 27. Power to remove difficulties.—If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the State 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.