Chapter II Chapter II

ESTABLISHMENT OF VILLAGE. CONSTITUTTON OF VIttAcE COLTNCII, BLOCK AND DISTRICT DEVETOPMENT COMMITTEE

1. (1) The State Government shall have the power to notify a village or a sub-village or give recognition to settlement sites as such, which have been in existence for considerable period of time, by notification in the Official Gazette from time to time as it deems necessary, Provided that the notification shall specify the name of the village by which it shall be known and shall also specify the local limit of that village Provided further that the State Government shall also have the power to alter the name, boundary and area of a village, including name of streets, roads, community assets, monuments, etc. therein.
2. (2) There shall be an institution of Local Self Government at the village level called the Village Council constituted by the State Government comprising one or more villages as the State Government may by notification in the Official Gazette, decide to be formed in the manner hereinafter given: Provided that:
   • (a) The State Government may constitute more than one village council in a village or notified town where municipality is not yet instituted;
   • (b) Except in the case of bifurcation or rationalisation of the existing Village Council, no new Village Council shall be established in a village having a population less than five hundred.
   • (c) A village once notified as a constituent of a Village Council is liable to be denotified at any time if the village becomes vacant or if its population is reduced to less than five hundred or if a situation arises demanding such alteration for a reasonable ground of administrative developmental or security reasons as the State Government may decide.
3. (3) The Government may abolish a Village Council if the population of the village has become too small to have Village Council of its own or if in its opinion, there is an exigency to amalgamate two or more Village Councils on the ground of administrative convenience, in such a situation the village may be integrated into the nearest village having a Village Council under sub-section () or as arranged by the Government.
4. (4) The State Government shall publish list of villages and Village Councils in the Official Gazette from time to time.
5. (5) If deemed necessary, villages having two or more Village Councils may constitute a Joint Village Council Committee with the approval of the State Government. The manner in which such committee is constituted, its composition and functions may be prescribed by the State Government by notification in the Official Gazette.

Number of Member of Village Council and reservation of seats for women. - A village Council shall be composed of such members not less than three and not more than nine according to the population it contains as specified below:

1. (1) For villages with population of below five hundred, there shall be three members, of whom one shall be woman;
2. (2) For villages with a population of more than five hundred but not exceeding one thousand, there shall be four members, of whom one shall be woman;
3. (3) For villages with a population of more than one thousand but not exceeding two thousand, there shall be seven members, of whom two shall be women;
4. (4) For village with a population of above two thousand, there shall be nine elected members, of whom three shall be women;
5. (5) For sub section (1)(2)(3)(4) population of a village shall be based on the latest data of Census of India or population projection duly prepared by Directorate of Economics and Statistics and Planning and Programme Implementation based on the latest data of Census of India.

Election to Village Council. -

1. (1) The superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for and the conduct of elections to the Village Council shall vest in the State Election Commission.
2. (2) The total number of members as determined under section 4 shall be elected by adult suffrage in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed: Provided that where an election to a Village Council cannot be held and the situation demands immediate constitution of such a Village Council, the Government may appoint persons not more than the total membership to hold office of the Village Council for the particular village as specified in section 4 to sit and act as elected members of the Village Council for a period not exceeding six months from the date of the first meeting of the Village Council: Provided further that the process of election for constitution of the Village Councils shall be completed before the expiry of six months from the date fixed for the first meeting of the Village Council.

Qualification of Members. - A person who satisfies the following conditions shall be eligible to be elected as a member of the Village Council, -

1. (1) he is a member of Scheduled Tribe;
2. (2) he has attained the age of twenty-five years;
3. (3) he is an elector where he seeks election;
4. (4) he is not a member of any other Village Council;
5. (5) he is of sound mind;
6. (6) he has not been convicted of an offence under any law in force in India, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, unless a period of three years has elapsed since his conviction, and if imprisoned since his release from prison;
7. (7) he does not hold any office of profit under the Central Government or the State Government;
8. (8) he has not been dismissed from the service of a State or Central or Autonomous Bodies, Corporation owned or controlled by the State or Central Government for misconduct.

Duration of Village Council. - Every Village Council, unless sooner dissolved under the provision of section 28 of this Act shall continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting: Provided that the State Government may, by order, extend or shorten the term of a Village Council for such periods not exceeding twelve months in the aggregate:

Removal of Members Removal of Members. -

1. (1) A member shall be deemed to be removed if he is convicted by a court of law on criminal charge with an imprisonment of one year or more.
2. (2) The State Government shall have the power to remove any of the members if the member has acted in a manner unbecoming of a public servant or if he has migrated from the village.
3. (3) The State Government shall have the power to remove any members on grounds of corruption, abuse of office or irregularities in the discharge of administrative functions.
4. (4) If a member absents himself continuously in three consecutive meetings of a Village Council without a written communication to the President, the Village Council shall report to the State Government for declaration of his seat to be vacant.
5. (5) The State Government may remove the President, the Vice President or the Treasurer of a Village Council if in its opinion the President or the Vice President or the Treasurer has lost support of the majority of members but refuses to tender resignation or is indulging in corrupt practices or on gross negligence of duties or is acting in a manner prejudicial to the interest of the State.
6. (6) If the President has lost the support of the majority of members, and if a report is received in writing by the State Government, a meeting of Village Council shall be convened by an officer appointed by the State Government to elect a new President. The officer appointed by the State Government shall serve a written notice of such meeting specifying the date and time and place thereof and send a copy of notice to the State Government. Such meeting shall be presided over by any officials appointed by the State Government.

Tenure of membership Tenure of membership. -

1. (1) All members of a Village Council shall hold office during the tenure of the Village Council unless removed as provided under section 8: Provided that in the case of a fresh election due to dissolution of a Village Council under section 28, the members so elected shall hold office during the remaining term of the Village Council.
2. (2) A member elected to fill a casual vacancy shall hold office for the remaining term of the Village Council.

First meeting of the Village Council. -

1. (1) The State Election Commission shall stipulate timeline for holding of the first meeting of the new Village Council for formation of new Executive Committee in the schedule of its notice of Elections.
2. (2) The first meeting of the new Village Council shall be conducted by an authorised official appointed by the State Government, in such manners as may be prescribed.

Executive Committee. - There shall be a President, a Vice President, a Treasurer and a Secretary in each Village Council and the executive functions of the Village Council shall be vested upon them.

1. (1) The President, the Vice President and the Treasurer of the Village Council shall be elected by the members of the Village Council from amongst themselves by a majority votes.
2. (2) There shall be a Secretary of the Village Council who shall be appointed or dismissed by the State Government on the recommendation of the executive body of the Village Council.
3. (3) The President may at any time by writing under his hand, submit his resignation to the State Government and until the State Government accepts the resignation he shall continue to work as such.
4. (4) If for any reason, the office of the President becomes vacant, the duties of the office of the President shall be performed by the Vice President.
5. (5) The Vice President and the Treasurer may, at any time, in writing under his hand, submit his resignation to the President who shall, without delay, forward to the State Government or to an officer authorised by it in this behalf, for acceptance, and until the resignation is accepted, he shall continue to function as such. When the resignation is accepted, the members of the Village Council shall elect another member as Vice President or Treasurer as the case may be.
6. (6) The President, the Vice President, the Treasurer and the Members of a Village Council shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of section 2
7. (25) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and section 2
   • (c) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
8. (7) If the majority of members demand reshuffling of the executive committee of the Village Council and if such report is received in writing by the State Government, the procedure given in sub-section
9. (1) and
10. (6) of this section shall be applied.

Vacation of seats. -

1. (1) A seat in the Village Council shall become automatically vacant as a result of removal of members as provided under section 8, and it shall forthwith be declared by the State Government as such.
2. (2) In the event of resignation of any member on any ground, the resignation shall be submitted to the President who shall communicate forthwith to the State Government or to an authorised official for acceptance, and until the resignation is accepted, he shall continue to function as such. Any resignation shall be normally accepted.
3. (3) If at any time, for any reason there is casual vacancy of a seat in the Village Council, it shall be reported forthwith to the State Government by the President or the Vice-President, as the case may be.

Powers and jurisdiction of Village Council Powers and jurisdiction of Village Council. -

1. (1) Jurisdiction of a Village Council: The jurisdiction of a Village Council shall limit to the geographical boundary of the village or villages as may be prescribed by the State Government from time to time.
2. (2) Allotment of Lo and Leipui (jhum): Every Village Council shall have the power to allot Lo and Leipui within its jurisdiction, in areas other than areas covered by notified reserved or protected forests, and the distribution of Lo and Leipui shall be in such manner as may be prescribed by the State Government subject to section 21 of the Mizoram (Forest) Act, 1955.
3. (3) Power to collect Animal Tax: Subject to the provisions of the Mizoram Animal (Control and Taxation) Act, 2014, animal tax at such rate or rates as may be fixed by the State Government, by notification, shall be collected by the Village Council.
4. (4) Power to collect Property Tax: The Village Councils are empowered to collect property tax within their respective jurisdictions on such items, and at such rates, as may be determined by the State Government from time to time: Provided that a proper account of property tax shall be maintained as may be prescribed by the State Government, and the accounts thereof shall be made available to inspection by the Village Council in its sittings, by Vintling Inkhawm and by an authorised official to do so by the Government.
5. (5) Power to collect user charge: Subject to the approval of the State Government or authorised official in this behalf, the Village Councils shall have the power to collect user charge at such rates as may be proposed by Vintling Inkhawm on any public asset and service, created out of public funds or from any other sources, for the purpose of augmenting revenues.
6. (6) Power to regulate building construction: The Village Councils shall adopt and enforce the model building bye-laws as may be framed by the State Government in order to prevent encroachment of public roads and public land. Further, subject to the approval of the concerned District Disaster Management Authority, the Village Councils, may declare certain area within their jurisdiction as unsafe site for house construction for mitigation of landslide and to avoid man-made disaster.
7. (7) Power to constitute Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC): Every Village Council shall constitute a Biodiversity Management Committee within their jurisdiction in exercise of the powers conferred by section 41 of the Biological Diversity Act 2002 for the purpose of promoting conservation, sustainable use and documentation of biological diversity including preservation of habitats, conservation of landraces, folk varieties and cultivars, domesticated stocks and breeds of animals and micro-organisms and chronicling of knowledge relating to biological diversity: Provided that the manner of selection, appointment, term of office, pay and allowances of chairperson, nomination, term and allowances of expert member etc. shall be as specified in the Mizoram State Biological Diversity Rules, 2010.
8. (8) Power to settle dispute: The Village Councils shall have the power to settle dispute within their respective jurisdiction and act as conciliator in cases where a dispute arises in the context of petty civil and criminal nature and the parties thereto seek an amicable settlement of that dispute by recourse to the Village Council.
9. (9) Power to impose fine: The Village Councils shall have the power to impose fine on any person or persons, if such person or persons are found to act in contravention or insubordination to any public notification made in discharging their duties, functions and responsibilities as prescribed in this Act. The ceiling amount of such fine may be prescribed by the State Government from time to time.
10. (10) General powers of the Village Council: The Village Council shall have powers to perform all actions necessary for or incidental to the carrying out of the functions entrusted, assigned or delegated to it and in particular and without prejudice to the foregoing powers, to exercise all powers specified under this Act.

Roles and functions. -

1. (1) Village Council shall formulate Village Development Plan annually and supervise development works at the village level as may be prescribed and entrusted by the State Government.
2. (2) Help various Government agencies in carrying out development works in the village.
3. (3) Take up development works initiative or on request made by the Government.
4. (4) Convene regular social audit in such manner as may be prescribed for successful implementation of development works in the village.
5. (5) Notwithstanding the provision of sub-section
6. (7) of section 13 of this Act take up conservation of wildlife habitats, preservation of village forest, including all notified forest.
7. (6) Conserve water resources within the village area and shall endeavour to improve drinking water supply.
8. (7) Shall take up initiatives for prevention of domestic and forest fire.
9. (8) Collect property tax as prescribed by the State Government.
10. (9) Realize registration fees for settlement of disputes within its jurisdiction.
11. (10) Raise fund for public utility within its jurisdiction by passing a resolution subject to the approval of the State Government or authorized officials. Any collection of such nature shall be deposited into the Village Council Fund so maintained in any of the Scheduled Banks.
12. (11) Initiate or assist the State Government in all preventive measures on the outbreak of an epidemic or infectious disease.
13. (12) Co-operate with Government officials in charge of any official activities within its jurisdiction.
14. (13) Identify, demarcate and manage grazing grounds.
15. (14) Shall take up solid and liquid waste management, identify waste management centre, regulate waste disposal and promote scientific waste management.
16. (15) Prevent public nuisance.
17. (16) Identify and maintain burial grounds or cemetery.
18. (17) Carry out baseline survey annually and maintain correct record and statistic of the village.
19. (18) Be accountable to the Vintling Inkhawm for all its functions and decisions taken in its meetings.
20. (19) Prepare a report in respect of its administration in such form and with such details as may be prescribed and such report shall be submitted on a quarterly basis to the State Government. Failure to submit requisite report on time may result in withholding of payment, by the State Government, of grants and remunerations due to the Village Councils thereafter.
21. (20) Maintain Village Population Register of the village, in such manner as may be prescribed by the State Government.
22. (21) Village Council shall be deemed to be a public authority under section 2
    • (h) of the Right to Information Act, 2005.

Duties and responsibilities. -

1. (1) Every Village Council shall perform its duties and responsibilities as the State Government may assign in respect of the following:
   • (a) Development of agriculture and allied sectors, animal husbandry, dairying, forestry, etc., including propagation of scientific methods of farming;
   • (b) Land improvement and soil conservation;
   • (c) Minor irrigation, water management and watershed development;
   • (d) Khadi, village and cottage industries;
   • (e) Drinking water supply;
   • (f) Rural housing;
   • (g) Fuel and fodder;
   • (h) Roads, culverts, bridges, ferries, waterways and other means of communication;
     • (i) Education including primary and adult education;
   • (j) Vocational education and skill development;
   • (k) Public distribution system;
   • (l) Social welfare, including the welfare of disabled persons;
   • (m) Markets and fairs;
   • (n) Cultural activities and libraries;
   • (o) Poverty alleviation programmes;
   • (p) Rural dispensaries, health centres and anganwadis;
   • (q) Sanitation and drainages;
   • (r) Rural Animal Health centres and animal pounds; Community forestry and afforestation, including roadside plantations;
   • (t) Construction, maintenance and regulation of public places such as village parks, playground, artificial water bodies/lakes etc;
   • (u) Control of movement of animals and animal tax;
     • (v) Such other functions as the Government may assign from time to time.
2. (2) If the State Government is of the opinion that a Village Council has without reasonable cause defaulted in the performance of any of the duties and responsibilities assigned to it under sub-section (1), or the Village Council has been acting in a manner prejudicial to the interest of the public, the State Government may, for reason to be recorded in writing, withdraw such duties and responsibilities from such defaulting Village Council: Provided that where the State Government assigns any function to a Village Council under sub-section
3. (1) it shall endeavour to place such funds, functionaries and other assistance at the disposal of the Village Council as may be determined for due performance of such duties and responsibilities.

Hnatling. -

1. (1) The Village Council shall have the power to enforce 'Hnatling' in the interest of the public whenever occasion so demands: Provided that no discrimination shall be made on grounds of religion or caste or class or any of them.
2. (2) Each Village Council shall have power to exempt any person or persons from hnatling at its own discretion. The reason for exemption shall be recorded in writing. No person who is sixty years or above, persons having terminal illness and persons with disabilities shall be compelled to participate in any hnatling.
3. (3) Any person who does not comply with the order of 'Hnatling' shall be liable to 'fine' either in cash or in kind which may be fixed by the State Government, by notification, from time to time unless he has been exempted from hnatling under sub-section
4. (2) or has obtained phatna (commutation) under sub-section (5).
5. (4) Any person below 14 years shall not be allowed to represent in the hnatling.
6. (5) Every person may have the option of commuting his obligation to render service (phatna) under hnatling on payment of cash compensation in lieu of it at a rate fixed by the State Government, by notification from time to time.

Collection of Taxes. -

1. (1) In addition to taxes specified in sub section
2. (4) and
3. (5) of Section 13, the State Government or any authorised official may allot the work of collection of taxes to the Village Councils, specifying their duties and any other matters connected with the collection of taxes.
4. (2) Collection of taxes shall be done strictly in accordance with the prevailing laws or under the instructions and directions given by the State Government in that behalf.

Vintling Inkhiwm. -

1. (1) 'Vintling Inkhiwm' shall:
   • (a) approve the Annual Village Development Plan, programmes and projects for social and economic development in respect of the village concerned before such plans, programmes and projects are taken up for implementation.
   • (b) be responsible for the identification or selection of persons as beneficiaries under the poverty alleviation and other programmes.
   • (c) pass the audit observations along with the action taken report and may satisfy itself with the action taken report or otherwise.
   • (d) ordinarily be convened and presided over by the President of the Village Council.
   • (e) be at least six times within a financial year or as prescribed from time to time.
2. (2) The quorum of a Vintling Inkhiwm shall be one-tenth of the total number of electors in the village.