Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council Act, 1988

No: 13 Dated: Oct, 15 1988

THE DARJEELING GORKHA HILL COUNCIL ACT, 1988

West Bengal Act XIII of 1988

    An Act to provide for the establishment of an autonomous Council for the hill areas of the district of Darjeeling and for certain matters incidental thereto and connected therewith.

    Whereas it is expedient to provide for the establishment of an autonomous Council for the social, economic, educational and cultural advancement of the Gorkhas and other sections of the people residing in the hill areas of the district of Darjeeling;

    It is hereby enacted as follows ;-

CHAPTER I

Preliminary

1. Short title and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Darjeeling Gorkha Autonomous Hill Council Act, 1988.

(2) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act.

2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) "constituency" means a constituency provided by an order made under section 6 for the purpose of election to the General Council;

(b) "Council Fund" means the fund constituted under section 52;

(c) "election" includes general election and also an election to fill a seat or seats in the General Council;

(d) "elector" in relation to a constituency means a person whose name is entered in the electoral roll of that constituency for the time being in force;

(e) "Executive Council" means the Executive Council of the General Council constituted under section 38;

(f) "General Council" means the Darjeeling Gorkha Autonomous Hill Council constituted under this Act;

(g) "Government" means the Government of the State of West Bengal;

(h) "Gram Panchayat" means a Gram Panchayat constituted under section 4 of the West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973;

(i) "hill areas" means the territory comprising the three hill subdivisions of the district of Darjeeling, namely, Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong, and includes the following mouzas in the sub-division of Siliguri of that district :-

(1) Lohagarh Tea Garden,

(2) Lohagarh Forest,

(3) Rangmohan,

(4) Barachenga,

(5) Panighata,

(6) Chota Adalpur,

(7) Paharu,

(8) Sukna Forest,

(9) Sukna Part I,

(10) Pantapati Forest I,

(11) Mahanadi Forest,

(12) Champasari Forest, 

(13) Salbari Chhat Part II, and

(j) "member" means a member of the General Council;

(k) "municipality" has the same meaning as in the Bengal Municipal Act, 1932;

(l) "Official Gazette" means the Calcutta Gazette published by the Government;

(m) "Panchayat Samiti" means a Panchayat Samiti constituted under section 94 of the West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973;

(n) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(o) "State Planning Board" means the West Bengal State Planning Board established by the Government;

(p) "Zilla Parishad" means a Zilla Parishad constituted under section 140 of the West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973;

3. General Council. - (1) There shall be a General Council comprising the hill areas in the district of Darjeeling.

(2) The General Council shall be constituted in the manner provided in this Chapter and shall exercise such powers and perform such functions as are provided in Chapter II.

4. Incorporation of General Council. - The General Council shall be a body corporate, having perpetual succession and a common seal, with power to acquire, hold and dispose of property and to contract, and shall, by its corporate name, sue and be sued.