TAMIL NADU GOVERNMENT GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY 21
BILLS INTRODUCED IN THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TAMIL NADU
Under Rule 130 of the TAMIL NADU LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY RULES, the following Bill which was introduced in the Legislative Assembly of the Tamil Nadu on 10th January, 2025 is published together with Statement of Objects and Reasons for general information: —
L.A Bill No. 4 of 2025
A BILL FURTHER TO AMEND THE TAMIL NADU PANCHAYATS
ACT, 1994.
Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Tamil Nadu in the Seventy-fifth Year of the Republic of India as follows: —
1. (1) This Act may be called the Tamil Nadu Panchayats (Amendment) Act, 2025.
(2) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 6th day of January 2025.
2. For section 261-A of the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), the following section shall be substituted, namely: —
“261-A. Appointment of Special Officers.— Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, or in any other law for the time being in force, the Government may, by notification, appoint Special Officers to exercise the powers and discharge the functions of the village panchayats, the panchayat union councils or the district panchayats, as the case may be, until the day on which the first meeting of the said village panchayats, panchayat union councils or the district panchayats, as the case may be, is held after ordinary elections to the panchayats other than the panchayats in the districts of Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupathur, Tirunelveli and Tenkasi, after the date of commencement of the Tamil Nadu Panchayats (Amendment) Act, 2025, or upto the 5th day of July 2025, whichever is earlier.”.
3. Notwithstanding anything contained in the principal Act, the Special Officers appointed by the Government to exercise the powers and discharge the functions of the village panchayats, panchayat union councils or the district panchayats other than the panchayats in the districts of Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupathur, Tirunelveli and Tenkasi with effect on and from the 6th day of January 2025, shall be deemed to have been appointed as such Special Officers under section 261-A of the principal Act, as amended by this Act, and anything done or any action taken by the said Special Officers during the period commencing on and from the 6th day of January 2025 and ending with the date of publication of this Act in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette, shall be deemed to have been validly done or taken under the principal Act, as amended by this Act.
22 TAMIL NADU GOVERNMENT GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS.
Certain municipal councils have been constituted as municipal corporations by including certain adjoining village panchayats under clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998 (Tamil Nadu Act 9 of 1999), with effect on and from the 12th August 2024. Consequent on the said inclusion of village panchayats in the municipal corporations, there is a decrease in the total number of village panchayats in the respective panchayat union councils and district panchayats. Consequently, the process of delimitation and reservation of wards of panchayats to Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes / Women have to be done afresh. The above process should precede ordinary elections to those panchayats. Apart from this, proposals for expansion of many municipal corporations, municipal councils and town panchayats by including certain adjoining village panchayats in 28 districts are also under active consideration of the Government. Completion of the aforesaid reorganisation process, delimitation of wards and reservation of wards of panchayats will require more time.
2. The Hon’ble High Court of Madras in its order dated 21.12.2024 in W.P.No.39526 of 2024 and W.M.P.No.42808 of 2024 has disposed the said Writ Petition after recording the submission of the Additional Advocate General that without completion of delimitation and the process required for announcing reservations, the election for panchayats will not be notified.
3. In the meantime, the tenure of elected representatives of panchayats in 28 districts other than the panchayats in the districts of Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupathur, Tirunelveli and Tenkasi expired on the 5th January 2025. Ordinary election to the said panchayats in 28 districts could not be conducted before the 5th January 2025 since the process of delimitation/reservation of wards has not been completed.
4. The Government have, therefore, decided to amend the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994 (Tamil Nadu Act 21 of 1994) so as to enable the Government to appoint Special Officers for the panchayats in the said 28 districts to administer the aforesaid panchayats till ordinary elections to the said panchayats are held or till the 5th July 2025, whichever is earlier. However, in the meantime, in order to administer the day to day affairs of the panchayats in the said 28 districts from the 6th January 2025, the Government have appointed Special Officers to those panchayats. The Government have, therefore, decided to validate the aforesaid appointment of the said Special Officers and all actions taken by them.
5. The Bill seeks to give effect to the above decision.
I. PERIYASAMY,
Minister for Rural Development.
MEMORANDUM REGARDING DELEGATED LEGISLATION.
Clause 2 of the Bill authorises the Government to issue notification for the purpose specified therein.
2. The power delegated is normal and not of an exceptional character.
I. PERIYASAMY,
Minister for Rural Development.
Secretariat,
Chennai-600 009,
10th January 2025.
K. SRINIVASAN,
Principal Secretary.
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