The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Report on state of panchayats to be tabled

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Saturday, Mar 29, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Report on state of panchayats to be tabled

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: Local Administration Minister M. K. Stalin on Friday introduced in the Assembly a Bill seeking to table a report on the state of panchayats in Tamil Nadu.

According to the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994, district panchayats, which constitute the highest level of the pachayat raj set-up, have to prepare annual reports and send them to the government. The government places them in the Assembly along with its comments. But, according to the Act, the district panchayats in the State have only a planning and advisory role.

The statement of objects and reasons of the Bill introduced to amend the Act said: “The core functions of actual implementation and execution of schemes are done by the panchayat unions and village panchayats and not by the district panchayats. The reports presently placed on the Table of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly are only partial as these pertain to the district panchayats alone, which form only one of the three tiers of the panchayat raj institutions.

“These reports do not give an overall view of the release of funds, conduct of elections and the funding of all the three tiers of the panchayats in the State and hence are not substantial enough to be placed before the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.”

Hence, instead of laying the reports of individual district panchayats on the table of the Assembly, the government was for tabling “a comprehensive annual report on the state of panchayats in Tamil Nadu as a whole.”

Another Bill introduced by Mr. Stalin sought to accept a proposal of the Second State Finance Commission on the levy of local cess on land revenue payable to the government. The Commission had recommended enhancement of local cess from Re.1 to Rs.2 and the minimum amount of local cess surcharge from Rs.5 to Rs.7.

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