Village body leaders cry foul over amendments to TN Panchayats Act

The Tamil Nadu government recently made amendments to the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994, which curtails the powers of panchayat presidents, especially in relation to their panchayat secretaries.

According to panchayat presidents, with these new amendments, the state is taking away their powers in terms of transfer and punishment of panchayat secretaries and delivering a severe blow to the executive authority of gram panchayats. To register their opposition against these new amendments, the presidents have called for a protest in Chennai on June 25.

The state government has amended section 104 (Transfer of officers and servants of village panchayats and panchayat union councils) and section 106 (Power to punish officers and servants) of Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994 and notified them in the gazette.

There are 12,524 village panchayats in the state. After a three-year hiatus, the then AIADMK government finally conducted the rural local body elections in December 2019. The panchayat presidents, panchayat council and the panchayat secretaries are the three key pillars in rural local body governance and it is the secretaries who largely deal with the finance and accounts of the panchayats.

“Until now, the panchayat secretaries have been appointed by panchayat presidents, who have the power to transfer and punish erring secretaries as well,” said S Nandakumar, general secretary, Thannatchi, an organisation working towards creating awareness on Panchayat Raj.

Also read: In major reshuffle, Phanindra Reddy appointed TN Home Secretary

Moreover, the secretaries who get their salaries from their respective panchayats are largely selected and appointed by their panchayats. So, they have a good understanding of the problems and needs of the panchayats, added Nandakumar.

“There is also a cordial relationship between the presidents and the secretaries, which leads to the better administration of the panchayats. But the recent amendment will disrupt all these things,” felt Nandakumar, adding that the basic principle of Panchayat Raj is decentralisation of powers but through this amendment, the state government is further increase its power and centralising the system. And, he believed that this will affect the independent administration of gram panchayats.

“When there were no elected local bodies, the special officers (mostly the block development officers) had full control of the panchayat administration. At that time, we had received many allegations and complaints from the panchayats alleging that there was a lot of corruption when special officers managed the funds. This was reportedly done in connivance with the panchayat secretaries,” said Nandakumar.

“So, we fear that if the government starts appointing the secretaries, the latter may pay obeisance to the government and not heed the demands of the panchayat presidents,” said Nandakumar.

‘Secretaries bridge panchayats and govt’

Also read: TN gears up for Census exercise though Centre yet to announce dates

While many panchayat presidents echoed the views of Nandakumar, grassroot leaders like R Elango, a two-time president of Kuthambakkam panchayat in Tiruvallur district however supported the amendment. He felt secretaries can act as a bridge between panchayats and the government.

“In those days, when the presidents appointed the secretaries, it became difficult for the government to get any data from the panchayat. There was no transparency in the administration and the secretaries lacked sufficient knowledge. They don’t have any communication with the government. Later, howevewr, the government made the secretaries quasi-government employees and made them accountable,” said Elango.

He added that in Tamil Nadu, people wrongly perceive that presidents have all the powers. But in reality, though they are acknowledged as an executive authority, it is the panchayat that has the powers and not the individual.

But if the government tries to transfer or punish a good secretary, the particular panchayat president must interfere and fight with the district collector (who are the inspectors of panchayats) and retain the secretary. “There must be such an understanding between them despite the new amendments,” Elango stressed.

‘Will strengthen the panchayat president’

Originally conceived in 1959, by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the Panchayat Raj Act, came to effect through the Constitutional (73rd amendment) Act of 1992, in 1993. While the 73rd amendment was related to rural local bodies, the 74th amendment in the Act focussed on urban local bodies. In 1994, Tamil Nadu had enacted its state Panchayat Raj Act, 1994.

From 1959 to 1996, the respective state governments used to appoint clerks and village assistants to assist panchayat presidents of a group of panchayats instead of appointing a separate assistant to each panchayat.

Johnbosco Prakash, state president, the Tamil Nadu Panchayat Secretaries Association told The Federal that in 1996, the then DMK government started to appoint part-time clerks and full time village assistants in each panchayat for a consolidated pay of ₹1,800. This was paid by the panchayats and they were appointed by the panchayat presidents.

“This was the condition till July 2013. Then in the same year, a GO was passed that took away the powers of gram panchayats to appoint panchayat secretaries. They were selected on the basis of their seniority as registered in the state employment exchange and appointed through a committee that included the district collector, assistant director – panchayats and block development officers. Opposing this, a case was filed in the Madras High Court by a gram panchayat president and they managed to get a stay on the GO,” explained rakash.

In 2018, the then AIADMK government brought the panchayat secretaries under a pay scale on par with other government employees and they were paid ₹25,000 as a monthly salary.

“Due to procedural delays, the funds for the panchayats have not been released by the state government. Only after the grants are received, the panchayats are able to pay the salaries to the secretaries. Instead, if the government directly appoints the secretaries, their salaries will be distributed directly from the treasuries. This is one of the many advantages of this amendment,” Prakash pointed out.

When asked about allegations of corruption against panchayat secretaries, Prakash said that if the claims are proved, the government has a mechanism to retrieve the amount that erring secretaries have taken, even after their retirement.

“But this retrieval is not possible if the presidents are involved in corruption. The perception that the government-appointed secretaries will not cooperate with the presidents is unfounded. When the secretaries are appointed through the government, there will not be any kind of nepotism, which is evident in the current system of appointments. The government-appointed secretaries will strengthen the panchayat presidents instead of wresting powers from them,” he said.

Also read: More stress on TN finances with 20,000 govt employees retiring in 2022

‘A step towards administrative streamlining’

Talking to The Federal, G Palanithurai, former professor, department of political science and development administration, Gandhigram University and an authority on Panchayat Raj said that the amendment is not a devolution of power but it was more a matter of streamlining the administration.

“Except Tamil Nadu, in other states, it is the respective state governments that appoints panchayat secretaries. The panchayat presidents can demand the government to appoint more administrative staff. In states like Karnataka, in every gram panchayat, they have staff which is equivalent to the block development office,” he said.

Palanithurai added that, if the appointments of secretaries are carried out by the presidents, the secretaries who are now recognised as government employees will serve till a president’s retirement in one particular panchayat.

“Ideally, the secretaries should be transferred once every three years. Any punishment or disciplinary action initiated against the secretaries should be done only by the government,” suggested Palanithurai.

“With the 50 per cent reservations given to women and many Dalits having been elected as panchayat presidents for the first time, there is a possibility that the experienced secretaries can have an upper hand in the administration and sabotage the presidents in connivance with the block development officers. The main objective of this amendment is to enhance the service delivery. However, the government must exercise caution in this regard,” he further added.

As the new amendments are being viewed with mixed feelings, the state government is all set to recruit panchayat secretaries through Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission and the qualification for this post is a pass in Class 10.