Chennai, Oct 21 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu Government led by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, has extended the tenure of special officers administering rural local bodies in 28 districts by another six months, until April 19, 2027, and appointed special officers in nine other districts for the same period.
The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department issued a government order providing for the continuation of administrative arrangements across all 37 districts following the expiry of elected local bodies’ terms.
The decision comes as the government finalises the merger of 46 rural local bodies with urban local bodies, a process that will require changes to the boundaries of the affected rural institutions.
In a communication to the government, the Commissioner of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj said elections to rural local bodies across the 37 districts could not be conducted before October 19, 2026, because the merger exercise was still being completed.
Notifications relating to the expansion of Urban Local Bodies would consequently alter the boundaries of village panchayats, panchayat union councils and district panchayats.
These changes have implications for the territorial limits within which rural local body elections would be held. The terms of elected representatives in 28 districts expired on January 5, 2025.
Special officers were initially appointed for six months from January 6, 2025, to administer village panchayats, panchayat union councils and district panchayats in these districts.
Their tenure has since been extended at six-month intervals, with corresponding amendments made to the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994, to enable the continuation of the arrangement.
The latest order extends this system of administration until April 19 next year.
In the remaining nine districts, the tenure of elected rural local body representatives ended on October 19, 2026, necessitating the appointment of special officers.
These districts are Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupattur, Tirunelveli and Tenkasi.
The appointments bring rural local bodies in these districts under the special officer arrangement until the same deadline fixed for the other 28 districts.
The order establishes a common endpoint for the tenure of special officers across the State’s rural local bodies, while boundary changes arising from the proposed urban mergers are finalised.
The government’s stated reason for continuing the arrangement is the inability to complete elections within the timeframe identified by the Commissioner, given the pending changes to rural and Urban Local Body boundaries.
—IANS
aal/rad
