By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 13 Dec: The Pushkar Singh Dhami-led BJP Government has finally relented in respect of the demands made by the Gram Pradhans and Kshetra Panchayat Pramukhs (Block Panchayat Heads) and has allowed their appointments as administrators in the Gram Panchayats and the Block Panchayats, respectively. In this connection, the government has amended its earlier orders under which Village Panchayat Officers were appointed as administrators following the end of the tenure of the panchayats last month, Aat the level of Gram Panchayats, and Assistant Development Officers at the Block level were appointed as the administrators at the level of Kshetra Panchayats. The fresh orders are in line with the policy adopted in the case of outgoing District Panchayat Presidents.
It may be recalled that the outgoing Kshetra Panchayat Pramukhs and the outgoing Gram Pradhans had severely objected to the “duality” in the orders issued by the Dhami Government under which the government had retained the outgoing District Panchayat Presidents as administrators after their term ended till the fresh elections but chose to appoint Assistant Development Officers as the administrators of the Block Panchayats and the Village Panchayat Officers as administrators of Gram Panchayats.
It may be recalled that, in November, the tenure of the Three Tier Panchayats in 12 out of 13 districts of the state had ended. The exception is the district Haridwar, where the Panchayat elections have been held separately for the past two terms as the Panchayat elections were delayed a few terms ago due to court cases.
As the tenure of the Gram Panchayats, Block Panchayats and the District Panchayats ended in 12 districts of the state in November, the Gram Pradhans and the Block Panchayat Pramukhs had demanded an extension of the tenure by two years on the ground that they had been unable to function for two years due to the COVID pandemic. However, this demand was summarily rejected by the government, claiming that the Panchayat Act does not have any provision for extension of the term and then the administrators were appointed. However, considering the fact that District Panchayat Presidents hold considerable political influence, the government allowed their appointment as administrators till the fresh elections are held but in the case of the level of Block and Gram Panchayats, it appointed administrative officials as administrators. This had enraged the outgoing Gram Pradhans and the Block Presidents, and they called out the duality in the policy of the government and demanded that they also be appointed as administrators.
Delegations of the outgoing pradhans and pramukhs had even called on Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in pursuit of their demands, who had then assured positive consideration of their demands. Later, the government formed a committee to address the issue. The government finally relented and has issued orders appointing the outgoing Gram Pradhans as the administrators of the Gram Panchayats and the appointment of Kshetra Panchayat Pramukhs as the administrators of the Kshetra Panchayats (Block Level Panchayats) in 12 districts of the state with the exception of Haridwar district. Following the committee’s report, the government has amended the order, appointing 7476 outgoing Gram Pradhans and 89 Block Pramukhs as administrators in 89 blocks, excluding six development blocks in Haridwar.
Orders to this effect have been issued under the signatures of Secretary, Panchayati Raj, Chandresh Kumar Yadav. The fresh orders amending the earlier orders have made the outgoing Kshetra Panchayat Pramukhs and the Gram Pradhans happy. They have thanked the Chief Minister for meeting their demands. Following the government’s decision, the earlier notifications which had authorised the District Magistrates to appoint outgoing Pradhans as administrators for up to six months or until the formation of new Gram Panchayats, stand superseded. Administrators will perform routine tasks and policy decisions will be referred to the District Magistrate through the District Panchayat Raj Officer.
Meanwhile, sources in the government have also confirmed that, yesterday, the government issued rules regarding OBC reservations in the Urban Local Bodies following which the District Magistrates will seek suggestions and objections on the reservation notification. Following this, the State Election Commission is likely to issue notifications regarding municipal elections in January 2025.
