CHENNAI: A day after the expiry of the tenure of elected representatives of Rural Local Bodies (RLBs) in 28 districts across Tamil Nadu, the state government on Monday appointed special officers (SOs) to 9,624 village panchayats, 314 panchayat unions, and 28 district panchayats in these districts.
Simultaneously, the government has issued detailed guidelines and instructions for the functioning of these officers who will be holding the office till July 5. Official sources said a bill in the current session of the Assembly is likely to be introduced for administering the Rural Local Bodies for next six months.
The G.O. attributed many reasons for appointing these officers and why conducting general elections to the rural local bodies before January 5 was not feasible.
GO refers to HC order on delimitation to hold civic polls
According to the G.O. issued by Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department Secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi, the Block Development Officers (village panchayats) of the respective panchayat unions have been appointed as SOs of the respective village panchayats.
Assistant Directors (panchayats) or Assistant Directors (audit) of the rural development and panchayat raj department are appointed as the SOs of the panchayat unions in their respective districts. The Additional Director or Additional Collector or Joint Director or Project Director of the District Rural Development Agencies of the respective districts will act as the SOs of the respective district panchayats.
Tiruvannamalai, Karaikudi, Pudukottai, and Namakkal Municipal Councils have been constituted as municipal corporations by including certain village panchayats from August 12, 2024.
The order said the amalgamation of such village panchayats with the municipal corporations will lead to a decrease in the total number of village panchayats in the respective panchayat union council and district panchayat and it will reflect in the overall process of delimitation.
Thereafter, the reservation of seats and office for the persons belonging to Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes and women, which are prerequisites for the conduct of the RLB elections, have to be done, the G.O. added.
The G.O. pointed out that notifications have been issued for the expansion of many corporations, municipal councils and town panchayats by incorporating certain village panchayats adjoining these urban local bodies in 28 districts.
“Notification of expandewwd urban local bodies will also alter the boundaries of village panchayats, panchayat union councils, and district panchayats,” the G.O. said. The government order also referred to the recent verdict of the Madras High Court, directing that the local body elections can be conducted only after the delimitation process for rural local bodies is completed.