Section 48 ·

Repeal of Ordinance No. 6 of 2016- The Andhra Pradesh Tourism, Culture and Heritage Board Ordinance, 2016 is here by repealed. FIRST SCHEDULE (see Section 3) PROCEEDINGS 1. Temporary Chairman or Vice Chairman. -- The Chairman may appoint Vice Chairman to be temporary Chairman or any member to be temporary Vice Chairman during the temporary incapacity from illness or otherwise, or during the temporary absence from India of the Chairman or the Vice Chairman, as the case may be. 2. Vacation of office of member. The office of a member shall be vacated if the member becomes in any manner disqualified for membership of the Board; 3. Disqualification from membership. No person shall be appointed or shall continue to hold office as a member if he- (a) is mentally disordered and incapable of managing himself or his affairs; (b) is an un-discharged bankrupt or has made any arrangement or composition with his creditors; or (c) is convicted of an offence. aCoomadı 4. Member's interest to be made known .- (1) A member who is in any way, directly or indirectly, interested in a transaction or project of the Board shall disclose the nature of his interest at the first meeting of the Board at which he is present after the relevant facts have come to his knowledge. (2) A disclosure under sub-section (1) shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting of the Board and, after the disclosure, that member - (a) shall not take part in any deliberation or decision of the Board with respect to that transaction or project; and (b) shall be disregarded for the purpose of constituting a quorum of the Board for such deliberation or decision. (3) No act or proceedings of the Board shall be questioned on the ground that a member has contravened this section. 5. Meetings of Board .- (1)The Chairman shall summon meetings as often as may be required but not less than once in 6 months in case of the Board and 3 months in case of the Executive Committee/ Authority/ Commission at such place within the jurisdiction of the Board and at such time as the Chairman may decide. (2) The quorum at every meeting shall be one-third of the total number of members or 3 members, whichever is higher. (3) Decisions at meetings shall be adopted by a simple majority of the votes of the members present and voting; and in the case of an equality of votes, the Chairman or in his absence the Vice Chairman shall have a casting vote. (4) The Chairman or in his absence the Vice Chairman shall preside at meetings. (5) The Board may act notwithstanding any vacancy in its membership. (6) The notice period for convening the Board shall not be less than 7 days and in case of short notice meetings not less than 2 days. (7) The agenda shall be approved by the Member-Secretary. (8) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Board or Director General may make standing orders to regulate its own procedure, and, in particular, the holding of meetings, the notice to be given of such meetings, the proceedings thereat, the keeping of minutes and the custody, production and inspection of such minutes. (9) Where the Member - Secretary consider it necessary a decision on any important or urgent matter that should be taken in circulation to all the Members including the Chairman, the action shall be taken as per the decision of majority of the Members. In' 6. Validity of acts of members-The acts of a member shall be valid notwithstanding any defect that may afterwards be discovered in his appointment or qualifications. SECOND SCHEDULE (See Section 27) FINANCIAL PROVISIONS 1. The financial year of the Authority or Commission shall begin on 1st April of each year and end on 31st March of the succeeding year, except that the first financial year of the Authority or Commission shall begin on the date of commencement of this Act and shall end on 31st March 2017. 2. The Authority or Commission shall keep proper accounts and records of its transactions and affairs and shall do all things necessary to ensure that all payments out of its moneys are correctly made and properly authorised and that adequate control is maintained over the assets of, or in the custody of, the Authority or Commission and over the expenditure incurred by the Authority or Commission. 3. (1) The accounts of the Authority or Commission shall be audited by the Accountant-General or such other auditor as may be appointed annually by the Government in consultation with the Accountant-General. 2) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as an auditor under sub-paragraph (1) unless he is an approved company auditor under the Companies Act, 2013 4. The remuneration of the auditor shall be paid out of the funds of the Authority or Commission. 5. The Authority or Commission shall, as soon as practicable but not later than 31st July in every year, prepare and submit the financial statements in respect of the preceding financial year to the auditor who shall audit and report on them. 6. (1) The auditor shall in his report state - (a) whether the financial statements show fairly the financial transactions and the state of affairs of the Authority or Commission; (b) whether proper accounting and other records have been kept, including records of all assets of the Authority or Commission whether purchased, donated or otherwise; (c) whether the financial statements are prepared on a basis similar to that adopted for the preceding year; (d) whether the financial statements are in agreement with the accounting and other records; (e)whether the receipts, expenditure, investment of moneys, and the acquisition and disposal of assets by the Authority or Commission during the financial year have been in accordance with this Act; and (f) such other matters arising from the audit as he considers should be reported. (2) The auditor shall send an annual report of his audit to the Authority or Commission and Board not later than 30th September in each year. 7. The auditor may at any other time report to the Government through the Board upon any matter arising out of the performance of his audit. 8. The Accountant General or any person as may be appointed by him in connection with the audit of accounts of the Authority or Commission shall have the same rights, privileges and authority in connection with such audit as the Accountant-General has in connection with the State Government accounts and in particular shall have the right to, at all reasonable times, full and free access to all accounting and other records relating, directly or indirectly, to the financial transactions of the Authority or Commission. 9. The auditor or a person authorised by him may make copies of or extracts from any such accounting and other records. 10. The auditor may require any person to furnish him with such information in the possession of that person or to which that person has access as the auditor considers necessary for the purposes of his functions under this Act. 11. Any person who fails without any reasonable cause to comply with any requirement of the auditor under paragraph 10 or who otherwise hinders, obstructs or delays the auditor in the performance of his functions under this Act shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding rupees ten thousand and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding rupees one thousand for every day during which the offence continues after conviction. 12. As soon as the accounts of the Authority or Commission and the financial statements have been audited in accordance with the provisions of this Act but not later than 30th September in each year, a copy of the audited financial statements signed by the Director and certified by the auditor, together with a copy of any report made by the auditor, shall be submitted to the Government. 13. Where the Accountant General is not the auditor of the Authority or Commission, a copy of the audited financial statements and any report made by the auditor shall be forwarded to the Accountant General at the same time they are submitted to the Authority or Commission. 14. The Government shall as soon as practicable cause a copy of the audited financial statements and of the report of the auditor to be presented to State Legislature. In® THIRD SCHEDULE (See Section 47) TRANSFER OF ASSETS, LIABILITIES, FUNCTIONS AND EMPLOYEES 1. Transfer of assets and liabilities -As from the date of commencement of this Act all the lands, buildings and other property movable and immovable, vested in the erstwhile department immediately before that date and all assets, rights and interests vested in, and all outstanding debts, liabilities and obligations incurred by, the erstwhile department in connection therewith, shall be transferred to and shall vest in the Authority or Commission without further assurance. 2. Existing agreements, etc. All deeds, bonds, agreements, instruments and working arrangements, subsisting immediately before the date of commencement of this Act, affecting any of the property, rights, interests, liabilities and obligations transferred to or vested in the Authority or Commission under this Act shall continue in force on and after that date and shall be enforceable by or against the Authority or Commission as if, instead of the erstwhile department or a person acting on behalf of the erstwhile department, the Authority or Commission had been named therein or had been a party thereto. 3. Pending legal proceedings-(1) Any proceedings or cause of action pending or existing immediately before the date of commencement of this Act by or against the erstwhile department or any person acting on its behalf, may be continued and shall be enforced by or against the Authority or Commission. (2) Sub-section (1) shall not apply to any proceedings or cause or action relating to any sums of money paid, or payable by way of instalments, to the erstwhile department. 4. Transfer of employees -- (1) As from date of commencement of this Act, every person who immediately before that date is employed by the erstwhile department, may be transferred to the Authority or Commission as the case may be. (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), Government shall have right to redeploy persons under the employment of the erstwhile department to any other government department or agency. 5. Conditions of service de The terms and conditions of service of the erstwhile department shall continue to apply to every person transferred to the service of the Authority or Commission under this Act as if he were still in the service of erstwhile department. Ind's 6. Pension benefits (1) Nothing in the terms and conditions to be drawn up by the Authority or Commission shall adversely affect the conditions that would have been applicable to persons transferred to the service of the Authority or Commission as regards any pension, gratuity or allowance payable to them. (2) Where any person in the service of the Authority or Commission whose case does not come within the scope and effect of any pension or other schemes referred to under this section, retires or dies in the service of the Authority or Commission or is discharged from such service, the Authority or Commission may grant to him or to such other person or persons wholly or partly dependent on him, as the Authority or Commission may think fit, such allowance or gratuity as the Authority or Commission may determine. 7. Continuation and completion of disciplinary proceedings (1)Where on the date of commencement of this Act any disciplinary proceedings were pending against any employee of the erstwhile department who has been transferred to the service of the Authority or Commission under this Act, the proceedings shall be carried on and completed by the Authority or Commission under and in conformity with this Act as far as practicable; but where on that date any matter was in the course of being heard or investigated or had been heard or investigated by the erstwhile department and no order or decision had been rendered thereon, the erstwhile department shall continue to exist, notwithstanding this Act, for the purpose of completing the hearing or investigation and the making of an order or rendering a decision, as the case may be. (2)For the purposes of completing a hearing or investigation before it, or making an order or rendering a decision on a matter heard or investigated before the date of commencement of this Act, the erstwhile department shall complete the hearing or investigation in accordance with the authority vested in it immediately before that date and make such order or direction as the erstwhile department could have made under the authority vested it immediately before that date. (3) Any order, rule or direction made or given by the erstwhile department pursuant to this section shall be treated as an order or direction of the Authority or Commission and have the same force or effect as if it had been made or given by the Authority or Commission pursuant to the authority vested in the Authority or Commission under this Act. 8. Misconduct or neglect of duty by employee before transfer- The Authority or Commission may reprimand, reduce in rank, retire, dismiss or punish in some other manner a person who had, whilst he was in the employment of the erstwhile department, been guilty of any misconduct or neglect of duty which would have rendered him liable to be reprimanded, reduced in rank, retired, dismissed or punished in some other manner by the erstwhile department or any other person acting under its authority or direction or otherwise, as if this Act had not been enacted. M. SRIHARI BABU, Secretary to Government (I/c) Law Department.