The alleged indecision on the part of the government in finalising the list of panchayats and municipalities to be upgraded is delaying the delimitation of local body wards which are set to go for a general election in September.
Official sources told The Hindu here that the Urban Affairs Department was keen on upgrading 20 municipalities and the Panchayat Department was insistent on enhancing the number of panchayats from the present 978 to 1,000. Even after deciding to include government Secretaries James Varghese, A.P. Mohamed Hanish, and K. Ellangovan in the delimitation commission headed by State Election Commissioner K. Sasidharan Nair, the process got bogged down in the dispute over fixing the number of local bodies to be upgraded.
Though the differences were expected to be ironed out at the last Cabinet meeting, it was deferred for the next meeting on Wednesday, sources said.
Panchayats’ opposition
Certain panchayats had expressed their dissent against the bifurcation and merger proposals that had been tossed up for discussions. A government decision to brush aside such protests and proceed with the proposals will only end up in a protracted legal row.
For, a resolution of the panchayats or municipalities was imperative for upgrading or bifurcating and also setting the delimitation process in motion, sources said.
The lingering financial crisis has also thrown yet another major hurdle. The Finance Department is understood to have stonewalled any proposal that would incur major additional liability to the government. Formation of a new panchayat or municipality would definitely cost the government dearly.
The approximate cost for setting up infrastructure facilities such as office building, staff, vehicles, and allied facilities in each new local body had been modestly pegged at Rs.40 lakh. Recurring committed expenditure such as salary and other benefits to staff too will have to be met. This would also call for creation of new posts. Hence, the Finance Department was not keen on an extensive delimitation process, sources said.
Options
Either the government would have to expedite the entire process or relinquish it for want of time. On arriving at a consensus, the government would have to complete the preliminary procedures such as fixing the strength of voters in each division and complete it without giving room for complaints.
It remained to be seen whether the government would be able to tackle such challenges within the time left at its disposal, the sources said.
Last Cabinet meet deferred the issue by a week
Financial crisis throws a spanner in the works
