The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : "Ulterior motive behind re-converting panchayats"

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 22, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

"Ulterior motive behind re-converting panchayats"

Special Correspondent

Local Administration Minister denies Jayalalithaa's charge

CHENNAI: All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Jayalalithaa on Friday said the State Government had sounded the death knell for rural infrastructure development by re-converting 561 special village panchayats into town panchyats.

In a statement here, Ms. Jayalalithaa said the Second State Finance Commission in its recommendations suggested that the local bodies be classified on the basis of their revenue and that a majority of town panchayats be converted into special village panchayats.

Based on the recommendations, the then State Government classified 561 out of 611 town panchayats into special village panchayats and the rest of the 50 as third grade municipalities.

The aim was to enable them to get special funds from the Centre.

The present Government by re-converting the special village panchayats into town panchayats had denied them allotment of special funds from the Centre and the State.

Ms. Jayalalithaa also alleged that there was an ulterior motive behind the Government's decision for the reclassification. At present, elections to special village panchayats were conducted on non-party basis. But after the classification, election to the town panchayats would be held on party basis, which Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi felt would help his party men to get more posts.

Refuting Ms. Jayalalithaa's charge, Local Administration Minister M.K. Stalin said though 561 town panchayats were classified as special village panchayats in the previous regime, they did not get additional financial allocation from the Centre as claimed by her.

In fact, the village panchayats were forced to part with a portion of their allotment with the special village panchayats. This apart, the urban areas suffered a loss of plan funds to the tune of Rs. 20 crore from the Centre. Moreover, out of 568 town panchayats only 182 desired to convert into village panchayats and 385 wanted to remain as town panchayats.

Resolution passed

Now, 506 special village panchayats passed a resolution requesting that they be converted into town panchayats. Based on the recommendation only, the Government reclassified them as town panchayats.

He said while the previous Government's decision was taken "autocratically," the present move was taken through a democratic process.

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