PUDUCHERRY: The June 2011 civic elections has run into rough weather again. Reason: the State Election Commission (SEC) has been defunct for over four years now. The SEC had remained without a head from February 18, 2007, following retirement of T Narayana as State Election Commissioner. Further, there is no full-time senior officer or Group I junior scale officer in the commissioner’s office.
Preparatory work should have begun at least one year prior to the panchayat and municipal election dates. In the absence of a commissioner and other required staff, there is no scope for it to take off.
This, when the functioning of civic bodies has been affected as posts of panchayat members are lying vacant. Around 85 posts are vacant on account of death of members, employment in government jobs, resignation among others reasons. A petition from G A Jagannathan, president of Puducherry State Village Panchayat Presidents’ Coordination of Federation, to Lieutenant Governor Iqbal Singh on Thursday brought the problems faced by village panchayats to the fore. He stated that drinking water supply, road works and maintenance of streetlights have been affected due to the non-distribution of funds to village panchayats.
Puducherry has the dubious distinction of not conducting panchayat elections for 38 years from 1968 to 2006 and for 12 years after the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution came into force in June 1994.
There had been several reasons for not conducting the elections, including a Public Interest Litigation against the government when it got ready. However, it has been felt that the actual reason was lack of political will for decentralisation of powers as the Union Territory is very small.
V A Vasudevaraju, former IAS officer and president of Puducherry Panchayat Movement, alleged that a political conspiracy was being hatched for not holding the panchayat and municipal elections in June.
Also the Secretary to Government post should be filled, so that the same person could serve as Secretary of the Commission. This would enhance the status of local bodies and ensure its smooth functioning as per the provisions of Article 243 of Indian Constitution.
