36. For the purpose of the discharge of its duties under this Ordinance, a Village Council (without prejudice to any other powers specially conferred upon it) shall, subject to the other provisions of this Ordinance and to any rules made thereunder, have the following powers : -
| (a) to create all such posts or offices as it may deem necessary ; |
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| (b)
| | (i) to assign to any post or office in the service of the Council, other than a scheduled post within the meaning of the Local Government Service Ordinance, such salary, allowances or remuneration as the Council may think fit; | | |
| | (ii) to make, with the prior approval of the Assistant Commissioner, advances of salary to officers and servants of the Council for such purposes and subject to such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by rules which the Minister is hereby authorized to make under section 52 ; | | |
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| (c) to remove any officer or servant of the Council, other than a member of the Local Government Service ; |
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| (d) to abolish any post or office in the service of the Council which is not a scheduled post within the meaning of the Local Government Service Ordinance ; |
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| (e)
| | (i) to grant pensions to officers and servants of the Council who are not members of the Local Government Service on their retirement from service ; | | |
| | (ii) to establish and regulate a provident fund for the benefit of the officers and servants of the Council who are not members of the Local Government Service and who will not receive a pension from the Council under sub-paragraph (i), and to make contributions to such fund from the communal fund ; | | |
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| (f) to grant leave of absence to officers and servants of the Council who are not members of the Local Government Service ; |
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| (g) to spend any part of the communal fund in the payment of subsistence and travelling allowances to officers and servants of the Council by way of reimbursement of expenses incurred in the performance of any duty ; |
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| (h) to enter into any arrangement with any other Village Council or other local authority for the joint execution of any work or for the employment and remuneration of any officer or servant, not being a member of the Local Government Service, for the several purposes of each Council or local authority ; |
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| (i) to spend any part of the communal fund on maternity and child-welfare services, the training of midwives for the purposes of any maternity service established by the Council, housing schemes, such charities or such measures for the relief of distress caused by rain, floods, fire, earthquake, famine or epidemics, or such other purpose as may be approved by the Minister ; |
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| (j) to purchase or take on lease any land or building ; |
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| (k) to sell, exchange or let or give out on lease, any land or building which is deemed to be vested in the Council by virtue of section 31 ; or which has been purchased or otherwise acquired by the Council; or in the case of any land or building vested in the Council by a vesting order under section 32, to let or give out on lease such land or building to any person subject to the conditions of the vesting order, or to surrender such land or building to the Crown ; |
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| (l) to receive and hold property in trust for the inhabitants of the village area, or any section of such inhabitants, or for the purposes of any public service administered by the Council, and to otherwise act as trustee for any public purpose ; |
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| (m) to enter into any contract with any person for any work to be done, service to be rendered, goods or materials to be supplied ; |
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| (n) to spend any part of the communal fund for the construction or alteration, improvement or maintenance of village works, and for the purpose of administering any property vested in or acquired by or otherwise transferred to the Council, or of carrying out the provisions of this Ordinance or any by-law made or deemed by virtue of any written law to have been made thereunder ; |
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| (o) to establish ferries, to impose and to levy or to lease the right to collect tolls at any ferry established or maintained by the Council, and for the protection of such ferry, to prohibit or restrict private ferries by by-laws made in that behalf ; |
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| (p) in the case of a ferry established or maintained between any place within the village area and any place within any other village area or within the administrative limits of any other local authority, to distribute the tolls that may be imposed or levied in respect of any such ferry, in such manner or proportion as may be fixed by agreement entered into with the Council of the other village area or with such local authority, as the case may be, and to spend any part of the communal fund for any work of construction or maintenance to be carried out beyond the limits of the village area in connexion with any such ferry ; |
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| (q) to spend any part of the communal fund in the conduct of experiments in agriculture and the breeding of domestic animals, and in the maintenance of experimental farms and studs for that purpose ; |
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| (r) to make by its officers authorized in that behalf and the servants or workmen accompanying them, all such entries into lands and buildings and inspections thereon as may be necessary for the detection and abatement of nuisances, the detection, prevention and abetment of all contraventions of this Ordinance or of by-laws or rules made thereunder, or for the performance of acts required to be done under this Ordinance in respect of which the owner or occupier is, or may be deemed to be, in default: |
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| (s) by its Chairman or other officers authorized by him, to hold all inquiries which the Chairman may deem necessary for any of the purposes of this Ordinance, and for the purpose of all such inquiries, to administer oaths and summon witnesses ; |
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| (t) to set apart such contributions from the communal fund as the Minister may approve towards the cost of any association of local authorities for the consideration of matters relating to local administration ; |
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| (u) to spend any part of the communal fund in the payment of travelling allowances to members of the Council for attendance at meetings of the Council, or to members or officers of the Council attending, with the approval of the Council, any meeting or conference of members or officers of Village Councils for the consideration of matters relating to local administration ; |
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| (v) *[* For provision validating certain expenditure, &c, prior to May 9, 1958, see section 5 of Act No. 14 of 1958.] to apply any part of the communal fund to the payment of such expenses not exceeding in the aggregate one thousand rupees in any year as may be incurred by the Council, and such other expenses as may be incurred by the Council with the prior sanction in writing of the Minister, in connexion with civic receptions or the celebration or observance of any events or occasions of public interest, or any religious, charitable, cultural, health, recreational or educational purposes ; |
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| (w) *[* For provision validating certain expenditure, &c, prior to May 9, 1958, see section 5 of Act No. 14 of 1958.] to make from the communal fund such contributions not exceeding in the aggregate five hundred rupees in any year as may be voted by the Council and such other contributions as may be voted by the Council with the prior sanction in writing of the Minister, towards the cost of public entertainments or recreations, or towards the support of any libraries, or any educational, scientific, charitable or benevolent institutions, or any religious, charitable, cultural, health or educational purposes ; |
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| (x) to institute or defend any legal proceedings which the Council may deem necessary to institute or defend for the purpose of enforcing or protecting the rights of the Council or of the public or of protecting its members or officers in the execution or intended execution of their duties ; |
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| (y) to enforce by-laws made or deemed by virtue of any written law to have been made by it under this Ordinance and to enter prosecutions in the Rural Court for breaches of such by laws ; |
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| (z) generally to do all things necessary for the effective exercise of the powers and duties of the Council. |
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Sri Lanka Consolidated Acts