Rajasthan Municipality (Powers, Duties & Functions of Committees) Rules 2009 — RPSC EO/RO Study Notes

Paper Prelims

1. The 2009 committee-function rules are a separate EO/RO Part B source and must be studied apart from general municipal provisions.
2. Section 55 is the main Act anchor for the Executive Committee and the named subject committees.
3. Section 61 is the delegation anchor: municipal powers, duties and executive functions may be delegated subject to restrictions, limitations and conditions.
4. Section 337 authorises State Government rules on committee powers, duties, functions, meeting procedure and delegation limits.
5. Every municipality has an Executive Committee; the Chief Municipal Officer is its ex-officio Secretary.
6. Subject committees under section 55 generally consist of not more than ten members.
7. Committees must be constituted within ninety days of the constitution of the municipality, failing which the State Government may constitute them.
8. Additional committees are capped by municipality class: eight for a Municipal Corporation, six for a Municipal Council and four for a Municipal Board, unless increased by the State Government.
9. Non-members with special qualifications may be appointed to section 55 committees except the Executive Committee, but cannot exceed one-third of that committee's membership.
10. No ordinary committee business can be transacted unless one-half of the committee members are present.
11. Ward Committees are territorial participatory bodies under section 54, not the same as subject committees under section 55.
12. Ward Committees assist in local functions such as sanitation, waste management, beneficiary identification, parks and street-light maintenance.
13. Committees remain subordinate to municipal instructions and cannot approve expenditure from the municipal fund unless already budget-approved.
14. Committee resolutions are subject to revision by, and appeal to, the municipality under rules framed for that purpose.
15. The safest function map is finance to budget and revenue, health to sanitation, works to building permission and municipal works, rules committee to bye-laws, and offences committee to compounding and compromise.

Key facts

The 2009 committee-function rules are a separate EO/RO Part B source and must be studied apart from general municipal provisions.
Section 55 is the main Act anchor for the Executive Committee and the named subject committees.
Section 61 is the delegation anchor: municipal powers, duties and executive functions may be delegated subject to restrictions, limitations and condit…
Section 337 authorises State Government rules on committee powers, duties, functions, meeting procedure and delegation limits.
Subject committees under section 55 generally consist of not more than ten members.

Key Points at a Glance

1
The 2009 committee-function rules are a separate EO/RO Part B source and must be studied apart from general municipal provisions.
2
Section 55 is the main Act anchor for the Executive Committee and the named subject committees.
3
Section 61 is the delegation anchor: municipal powers, duties and executive functions may be delegated subject to restrictions, limitations and conditions.
4
Section 337 authorises State Government rules on committee powers, duties, functions, meeting procedure and delegation limits.
5
Every municipality has an Executive Committee; the Chief Municipal Officer is its ex-officio Secretary.
6
Subject committees under section 55 generally consist of not more than ten members.
7
Committees must be constituted within ninety days of the constitution of the municipality, failing which the State Government may constitute them.
8
Additional committees are capped by municipality class: eight for a Municipal Corporation, six for a Municipal Council and four for a Municipal Board, unless increased by the State Government.
9
Non-members with special qualifications may be appointed to section 55 committees except the Executive Committee, but cannot exceed one-third of that committee's membership.
10
No ordinary committee business can be transacted unless one-half of the committee members are present.
11
Ward Committees are territorial participatory bodies under section 54, not the same as subject committees under section 55.
12
Ward Committees assist in local functions such as sanitation, waste management, beneficiary identification, parks and street-light maintenance.
13
Committees remain subordinate to municipal instructions and cannot approve expenditure from the municipal fund unless already budget-approved.
14
Committee resolutions are subject to revision by, and appeal to, the municipality under rules framed for that purpose.
15
The safest function map is finance to budget and revenue, health to sanitation, works to building permission and municipal works, rules committee to bye-laws, and offences committee to compounding and compromise.

What is the legal identity of the Rajasthan Municipality committee-function rules, 2009?

The Rajasthan Municipality (Powers, Duties and Functions of Committees) Rules, 2009 are subordinate rules under the Rajasthan Municipalities Act, 2009 that map municipal committee powers, duties and functions, and RPSC treats them as a separate EO/RO syllabus source. The rules must be read as a small but exam-heavy layer under the Rajasthan Municipalities Act, 2009. The Rajasthan Public Service Commission's EO/RO syllabus assigns 40 marks to Part B, which covers the Rajasthan Municipalities Act, 2009 and related municipal rules and schemes. The official EO/RO syllabus treats these rules as a separate source in Part B, so the topic cannot be reduced to a general note on urban local bodies. Its examination value lies in three linked questions: which municipal committees exist, what work is attached to each committee, and how far the municipality can delegate its powers, duties and executive functions to them. The rules do not create a parallel municipality. They operationalise the Act's committee provisions and keep committees inside the municipal chain of authority.

The Act frame begins with section 55. It provides for an Executive Committee in every municipality and also requires subject committees such as finance, health and sanitation, lighting of public streets, buildings permission and works, slum improvement, women and children development with poverty alleviation and public distribution responsibilities, rules and bye-laws, and compounding and compromising of offences. Section 55 also states the important principle that these committees may exercise, perform and discharge the powers, duties and functions prescribed for them. That is the direct bridge between the Act and the 2009 committee-function rules. For objective questions, section 55 is therefore the formation and list anchor.

Section 61 supplies the delegation anchor. It says that any powers, duties or executive functions exercisable by or on behalf of the municipality may be delegated to committees under the Act, but only subject to prescribed restrictions, limitations and conditions. The phrase is important. Delegation is not an uncontrolled transfer of municipal authority. It is a method of distributing work among committees while retaining the municipal body's statutory responsibility. The rules therefore matter because they tell the candidate which committee is the normal home for which subject and because they sit inside the restrictions prescribed by the Act and subordinate rules.

Section 337 supplies the rule-making anchor. It authorises the State Government to make rules for carrying the Act into effect, including rules on the powers, duties, functions and meeting procedure of committees constituted under section 55, and on restrictions and conditions for delegation to committees. This is why a question asking the enabling sections should be answered through the Act's committee, delegation and rule-making provisions rather than through unrelated meeting or member-privilege provisions.

The short-title layer is also testable. The rules are identified as the Rajasthan Municipality rules on powers, duties and functions of committees, 2009, and they came into force through publication in the Official Gazette. Earlier committee-formation rules are relevant only as a repeal-and-saving background; the live examination issue is how the 2009 framework maps municipal work after the Rajasthan Municipalities Act, 2009. A good memory formula is: section 55 forms and lists committees, section 61 delegates work to committees, and section 337 authorises the State Government to prescribe the rules.

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