Development Authority (Recruitment and Promotion) Rules, 2019

GOVERNMENT OF WEST BENGAL
Department of Urban Development & Municipal Affairs
Town and Country Planning Branch
‘NAGARAYAN’, DF-8, Sector-I, Salt Lake, Kolkata – 700 064.

No. 2233-T&CP/C-2/1E-15/2012 Dated, Kolkata, the 22nd August, 2019

NOTIFICATION

In exercise of the power conferred by sub-section (1), read with clause (e) of sub-section (2), of section 138 of the West Bengal Town and Country (Planning and Development) Act, 1979 (West Ben. Act XIII of 1979), the Governor is pleased hereby to make the following rules regulating recruitment and conditions of appointment of employees of the Development Authorities under the Department of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs (Town and Country Planning Branch), Government of West Bengal:-

Rules
CHAPTER I

1. Short title and commencement.

(1) These rules may be called the Development Authority (Recruitment and Promotion) Rules, 2019.

(2) They shall come into force on and from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

2. Definition.

In these rules, unless there is anything repugnant to the subject or context,-

(a) “Act” means the West Bengal Town and Country (Planning and Development) Act, 1979 (West Ben. Act XIII of 1979);

(b) “State Government” means the Government of West Bengal in the Department of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs;

(c) “Authority” means the Development Authority constituted under the provision of the Act;

(d) “Board” means the Board of Development Authority duly notified by the State Government;

(e) “Chairman” means the Chairman of the Development Authority;

(f) “Head of Office” means the Chief Executive Officer or the Executive Officer of the Development Authority, as the case may be;

(g) “Chief Executive Officer or Executive Officer” means the Chief Executive Officer or the Executive Officer of the Development Authority, as the case may be;

(h) “Appointing Authority” means the Chief Executive Officer or the Executive Officer, as the case may be, of the Development Authority;

(i) “Selection Committee” means the Committee formed by the Chief Executive Officer or the Executive Officer, as the case may be, of the Development Authority in concurrence with the State Government;

(j) “Municipal Service Commission” means the Municipal Service Commission constituted under the West Bengal Municipal Service Commission Act, 2018 (West Ben. Act XII of 2018) under the Department of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs, Government of West Bengal;

(k) Group-A, Group-B, Group-C and Group-D category of posts shall be in compliance with their respective Pay Band and corresponding Grade Pay as defined under clause 13 of the West Bengal Services (Revision of Pay and Allowances) Rules, 2009.

3. Application.

(1) These Rules shall apply to all the officers and employees of Development Authorities other than-

(a) casual and work charged workers;

(b) persons engaged on contractual basis;

(c) persons engaged against any Project or Scheme.

CHAPTER II

4. Method of recruitment.

(1) Group-A, Group-B and Group-C category of posts under the Development Authorities shall be filled by:-

(a) Direct Recruitment through Municipal Service Commission, West Bengal; and

(b) Promotion; or

(c) by Deputation.

(2) The posts which may be filled up by direct recruitment and promotion, may be done in the ratio of 60:40 respectively except the Group-C posts where 10% of each Group-C post may be filled up by allowing promotion to the Group-D employees of the same Development Authority subject to fulfillment of criteria required for direct recruitment of those Group-C posts and the rest by direct recruitment. In case of nonavailability of suitable candidate for promotion against any vacant post(s) in the same Development Authority, the post(s) may be filled up through direct recruitment or deputation. For filling up of any single vacant post, first of all, promotional aspects may be considered following strictly the extant rules, if suitable candidate in the same Development Authority is not available, the post may be filled up by direct recruitment.

(3) In the case of direct recruitment of Group-D employees, selection of candidates shall be made through the Selection Committee duly constituted by the respective Development Authority with the concurrence of the State Government.

(4) Posts of Chief Executive Officer, Executive Officer, Assistant Executive Officer, Finance Officer, Law Officer or any other State Cadre posts will be filled up as per Government procedure in existence.

(5) The Chief Executive Officer or the Executive Officer, as the case may be, of the Development Authority shall be the Appointing Authority in respect of all the posts mentioned under CHAPTER III of these rules.

(6) The Appointing Authority i.e. the Chief Executive Officer or the Executive Officer, as the case may be, of the Development Authority shall issue the formal appointment order on the basis of recommendation made by (i) the Selection Committee in case of appointment of a Group-D employee, appointment on promotion and appointment on contract basis, (ii) Municipal Service Commission, West Bengal in case of direct recruitment, (iii) Department of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs in case of employees on deputation, as the case may be.

5. Selection Committee.

(1) For the purpose of direct recruitment to Group-D posts and for awarding promotion to any promotional post as are so earmarked, there shall be a Selection Committee for each Development Authority duly constituted by the respective Development Authority in concurrence with the State Government. The Committee shall consist of the following members:-

(a) An Assistant Executive Officer of the Development Authority or any officer assigned by the Chief Executive Officer or the Executive Officer, as the case may be, of the Development Authority- Chairperson;

(b) any two non-official members of the Board nominated by the Board of the Development Authority;

(c) an officer nominated by the District Magistrate of the concerned District not below the rank of Deputy Magistrate;

(d) the Finance Officer or the Accounts Officer of the Development Authority;

(e) the Law Officer or the Senior Law Officer or the Special Law Officer, as the case may be, of the Development Authority.

(2) While considering a proposal for promotion to any post which is earmarked as the promotional post, the Chairman of the Selection Committee may include two experts in the relevant field as member of the Selection Committee constituted under sub-rule (1):

Provided that any five members comprising of the Assistant Executive Officer of the Development Authority or any officer assigned by the Chief Executive Officer or the Executive Officer, as the case may be, of the Development Authority shall form a quorum.

(3) The Assistant Executive Officer of the Development Authority or any officer assigned by the Chief Executive Officer or the Executive Officer, as the case may be, of the Development Authority shall act as the Chairman of the Selection Committee.

6. General Procedure for recruitment of Group-D staff by the Selection Committee.

(1) The Selection Committee, as soon as possible from the date of receipt of any advice from the Board of the concerned Development Authority for recruitment against any vacancy in any Group-D posts referred to under CHAPTER III of these rules, determine the nature of the vacancy following a roster to be maintained in pursuance of the statutory provisions and circulars commensurate with the reservation policy laid down by the State Government from time to time.

(2) On determination of the nature of vacancy, the Selection Committee shall take steps for publishing notice in leading newspapers, in the manner specified by the order of the State Government, inviting applications from intending candidates eligible for recruitment.

(3) The Selection Committee shall act independently, in such manner as may be determined by it, prepare a panel of not more than three candidates arranged in order of merit for each vacancy on the basis of a written test or interview or both. The Selection Committee will strictly follow the terms and conditions as provided in the Memo No. 7196-F(P), dated 02.07.2010 of the Finance Department regarding preparation, validity etc. of panel for the selected candidates along with waiting-list candidates:

Provided that the total marks assigned for the written test with respect to any selection shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total marks assigned for the interview for that selection as the figure of eighty-five bears to the figure of fifteen.

(4) The panel so prepared by the Selection Committee shall be placed before the Board of the Development Authority as early as possible. The Board of the Development Authority will approve the panel. The Chief Executive Officer or the Executive Officer, as the case may be, shall take steps for appointment in accordance with the provisions of these rules.

7. Engagement on contract basis.

The Selection Committee shall also select the persons on contractual basis in the posts earmarked to be filled up by direct recruitment strictly following the extant rules and orders of the State Government for such engagements and their consolidated remuneration shall also be fixed as per the prevailing orders of the State Government in this regard or in consultation with the Finance Department, Government of West Bengal. The agreement for appointment on contractual basis shall be entered into between the Head of Office of the Development Authority and the selected candidate in such form as may be specified by order by the State Government. The contract may be renewed on satisfaction of both the parties on completion of the earlier period subject to prior approval in writing of the Board of the Development Authority.

8. Appointment on probation and appointment on permanent basis.

A person appointed as the employee to any post of the Development Authority by direct recruitment except the persons engaged on contractual basis-

(a) shall be deemed to be on probation on completion of a continuous temporary service for two years after joining the post;

(b) shall be confirmed and made permanent on satisfactory completion of the period of probation for one year;

(c) on completion of a period of probation, the appointing authority shall issue a formal order confirming the probationer in the post:

Provided that no formal declaration shall be necessary in respect of appointment on probation:

Provided further that in the case of promotion of a permanent employee, no further order of confirmation in the higher post shall be necessary.

9. Age Limit for Direct Recruitment.

(1) The age for direct recruitment shall be not less than 18 years for all categories of posts and the upper age limit for (a) Group-A posts shall be 36 years; (b) Group-B posts shall be 39 years; and (c) Group-C posts shall be 40 years, on the 1st day of January of the year of advertisement:

Provided that the provisions of the West Bengal Services (Raising of Age-limit) Rules, 1981, shall apply.

(2) The upper age-limit shall be relaxable for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes & Other Backward Classes (Non-Creamy Layer) candidates of West Bengal, by 5 years for Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes candidates and by 3 years for other Backward Classes (Non-Creamy Layer) candidates. In the case of Persons with Disabilities, the upper age-limit shall be relaxable up to 45 years. Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes & Other Backward Classes candidates of other States shall be treated as general candidates.

10. Determination of Vacancies.

The Appointing Authority shall determine the number of vacancies to be filled up during the course of recruitment and also the number of vacancies to be reserved for candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes & Other Backward Classes as per extant rules. Some vacancies may also be reserved for Persons with Disabilities (40% and above) provided that they are otherwise suitable and possess the capacity to perform the duties attached to the post.

11. Promotion.

For all the posts earmarked as the promotional posts, there shall be periodical publication of Gradation List maintaining roster points and exempted category for each category of promotional posts by the concerned Development Authority. The employees who are in the zone of consideration, their Annual Performance Reports for the last three consecutive years before the date of occurrence of the vacancy of a promotional post, position in the respective Gradation List maintained by the concerned Development Authority containing roster points, any Departmental proceedings or vigilance case being pending or contemplated or any court case pending or contemplated against the employees concerned with timely submission of declaration of assets shall be examined by the same Development Authority and recommended to the Selection Committee for approval. All the promotional cases shall be considered on merit-cum-seniority basis. After scrutiny, the Selection Committee may approve the proposal of promotion of an employee. The date of effect of promotion to any post will be offered from the date of occurrence of the vacancy or the date of eligibility for the promotion of the candidate, whichever is later. The entire matter may be brought to the notice of the Board of the Development Authority in due course.

CHAPTER III

Details of posts of officers and employees of a Development Authority and Method of Recruitment.

12. The method of, and the qualifications required for, recruitment to the following posts of a Development Authority under the Department of Urban Development & Municipal Affairs, Government of West Bengal, shall be as detailed below:-

CHAPTER IV

13. Interpretation and Relaxation of rules.

(1) If any question arises relating to the interpretation of these rules, it shall be referred to the State Government in the Department of Urban Development & Municipal Affairs whose decision thereon shall be final.

(2) Nothing in these rules shall be construed to limit or abridge the power of the State Government to dispense with or relax the requirement of any of these rules to such extent and subject to such conditions as the State Government may consider necessary for dealing with a case in a just and equitable manner.

14. Power of the Authority.

If the provisions of these rules are found to be inadequate in dealing with an issue concerning the terms and conditions of recruitment of an employee, the matter shall be referred to the State Government and its decision shall be final.

CHAPTER-V
Repeal and Saving

15. Repeal and Saving.

(1) With effect from the date of commencement of these rules, all other existing rules, orders or memoranda etc. relating to the matters covered by these rules shall stand repealed;

(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, all the officers and other employees appointed under the existing rule of the Development Authorities concerned till date on promotion or through direct recruitment and continuing in office immediately before the commencement of these rules shall be deemed to have been validly appointed under these rules. Ongoing selection processes for the posts under Chapter-III of these rules and the other existing posts in the Development Authority on day of notification of these rules shall be deemed to be valid and under the purview of these rules.

(3) A Development Authority may proceed for recruitment of only those posts which are sanctioned for that particular Development Authority. Posts which may be created subsequently may be considered later on.

(4) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of these rules, the State Government may, as occasion may require, by order, not inconsistent with the provisions of these rules, do or cause to be done anything which may be necessary for removing the difficulty.

By order of the Governor,

Sd/- S. GUPTA
Principal Secretary to the Government of West Bengal

No. 2233-TCP dated 22.08.2019, Source