Reservation of seats of members of Zilla Praja Parishad.

(1) The seats of members of Zilla Praja Parishads in the State shall be reserved for Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes and Women, by notification, in the manner specified below.

(2) In every Zilla Praja Parishad, out of the total strength of the elected members determined under section 174, the District Collector shall determine, in the first instance, the number of Zilla Praja Parishad Territorial Constituencies (hereinafter referred to as ZPTC) to be reserved for the members belonging to Scheduled Tribes and the Scheduled Castes, subject to the condition, that the number of ZPTCs so reserved shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of ZPTCs to be filled by direct election to the Zilla Praja Parishad as the population of Scheduled Tribes or as the case may be of the Scheduled Castes in that Zilla Praja Parishad bears to the total population of that District falling within the jurisdiction.

(3) The number of seats of members of Zilla Praja Parishad in the State reserved for Backward Classes shall not be less than 34%(thirty-four percent) of the total number of offices of the members of Zilla Praja Parishads in the State. For the purpose of reserving ZPTCs for Backward Classes in respect of the Territorial Constituencies in the District, the District Collector, shall determine the number of ZPTCs to be reserved for the Backward Classes in each district on the basis of the proportionate percentage of Backward Classes of District in the manner specified below.

NOTE:- In order to arrive at the District Proportionate percentage of Backward Classes the following formula shall be adopted:

District Proportionate Percentage of Backward Class = (Reservation for BCs in the State / State Percentage of BCs) X District BC%.

Explanation:- (i) State percentage of Backward Classes shall be as projected by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics.

(ii) District Backward Class percentage is the figure as projected by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics.

(4) The District Collector shall reserve one-half of the number of ZPTCs reserved for Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes and one-half of the unreserved ZPTCs for women in each Zilla Praja Parishad.

(5) (a) The District Collector shall reserve in respect of ZPTCs and allot to the Scheduled Tribes in the District, in the first instance in such Zilla Praja Parishad Territorial Constituencies, where the proportion of population of the Scheduled Tribes in the ZPTCs to the total population of the ZPTC concerned is the highest in the descending order;

(b) after excluding the ZPTCs reserved for Scheduled Tribes, the District Collector, shall reserve from the remaining ZPTCs the offices for the Scheduled Castes allocated to each District under sub-section (2) where the proportion of the Scheduled Castes of the ZPTC to the total population of the ZPTC concerned is the highest in the descending order;

(c) the reservation of ZPTCs for Backward Classes in the District as allocated under sub-section (3) shall be made by the District Collector after excluding the Zilla Praja Parishad Territorial Constituencies reserved for Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes where the proportion of voters of Backward Classes in the ZPTC to the total voters in the ZPTC concerned is the highest in the descending order;

(d) the District Collector shall reserve ZPTCs for Women as allocated under sub-section (4), out of the reserved and unreserved categories on the basis of draw of lots.

(6) The District Collector shall reserve seats with regard to Zilla Praja Parishad Territorial Constituency in the first instance and thereafter reserve offices with regard to President, Mandal Praja Parishad.

(7) (a) The reservation of ZPTCs for Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes and Women shall be by rotation commencing from the first ordinary election held under this Act. The ZPTCs allotted to the Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes during the earlier ordinary election shall not be allotted to the same categories till a cycle of reservation in that category is completed:

Provided such rotation shall be effected after completion of two consecutive terms;

(b) for allotting the seats by rotation, Scheduled Tribe, Scheduled Tribe (women), Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Caste (women), Backward Classes, Backward Classes (women), Unreserved and Unreserved (women) shall be treated as separate categories:

Provided, such of those seats which could not be reserved in the first and second cycle though they were eligible in the descending order but were allotted to the other categories due to order of preference in allotment as per descending order or proportionate population, in those categories shall be allotted first before going to the seats in the second cycle;

(c) those seats which lost their reservation as a result of repeating the reservation second time in that cycle, should be reserved in the ensuing elections in those districts or wherever applicable.

Explanation:- For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that, for purposes of reserving seats under this section, any fraction less than one-half shall be ignored and any fraction equal to or more than one-half shall be counted as one.

(8) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prevent women and members of the Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes from standing for election to the unreserved seats.