HC Notice to Govt on Quorum for Gram Sabha Meetings

 Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Monday issued notices to the state government and principal secretaries of panchayat raj and tribal welfare departments to submit their reply on a petition challenging the amendments made to Section 4 of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act, 1996. The section pertains to the quorum to hold the gram sabha in gram panchayats.

The rule first said that the quorum for the gram sabha meeting shall not be less than one-third of the sabha members of whom at least 50 per cent shall be from the ST community. In 2019, the GO 54 amended the quorum for such meetings.

It also added that: “Provided that when the meeting of a gram sabha is not held within one hour of the scheduled time for want of quorum, it shall be adjourned. The adjourned meeting shall be held at any time after two hours, and the business at such adjourned meeting may be transacted without the requirement of the requisite quorum.”