The government is set to consider soon a proposal for carving out 80-odd grama panchayats through delimitation of wards ahead of the local body elections due next year.
Local Administration Department sources told The Hindu that a five-member committee headed by the Principal Director, Local Administration Department, that was tasked to submit recommendations on redrawing the boundaries of local bodies as per the 2011 census report, has submitted the proposal and a policy decision from the government is expected within the next two days.
Given the current financial crisis, the government is unlikely to go in for a thorough delimitation process that would incur a huge financial burden and a political clearance for forming new panchayats would be accorded only after considering its financial implications.
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Earlier, the committee had recommended delimitation of panchayats having a population above 27,430 with a 20% margin, having an area above 32 sq km with an own fund of ₹50 lakh, among other parameters.
But the government may opt for only a much lesser number considering the huge cost it would have to bear for setting up infrastructure facilities in the proposed local bodies.
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Already a decision has been made against forming new Corporations and municipalities.
This decision was made considering the inadequacies in a number of panchayats as well as 28 municipalities that were formed under the watch of the United Democratic Front (UDF) government before the 2015 elections without considering the financial and administrative issues it would throw up in due course.
Functioning of a majority of the 28 municipalities and panchayats continue to remain crippled for want of funds and functionaries and now a political decision has been made to tread cautiously to avert such an administrative crisis in future, sources said.
The thrust at present is on conducting the local body elections in time, and completing the delimitation procedures in haste may lead to legal and political tangles that would upset the poll process.
Dress rehearsal
The 2020 local body elections that precede the Assembly elections is a dress rehearsal and is crucial for the ruling as well as the Opposition fronts.
Due caution is being exercised to avoid a row over delimitation between the government and the State Election Commission before the 2015 election and the focus is on completing the process in time without giving room for any confusion, sources said.