Maharashtra has 28,813 gram panchayats, of which 4,112 are in Amravati division, 2,885 in Pune division, 2,500 in Nashik division, 2,473 in Aurangabad division, 1,525 in Nagpur division, and 813 in Konkan division. All were slated to go to polls.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday, as an interim measure, directed the state government to first prefer the appointment of government officials as administrators to nearly 14,000 gram panchayats across Maharashtra, for which fresh elections could not be held due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and asked the government to provide a detailed explanation in case it appointed any private persons.
This came after the state government requested the Chief Justice of the High Court to assign a specific bench to hear together several petitions filed before its principal seat in Mumbai and benches at Aurangabad and Nagpur, challenging government resolutions (GR) dated July 13 and 14 through which the state government ordered administrators to close to 14,000 gram panchayats, to be appointed by zilla parishad chief executive officers (CEO) in consultation with district guardian ministers.
A group of petitions also challenged the ordinance dated June 25, which amended Section 151 of the Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act by allowing appointment of administrators in case the State Election Commission (SEC) could not hold elections due to a natural calamity, pandemic emergency, financial emergency or administrative emergency.
On July 13, a GR issued by Additional Chief Secretary Arvind Kumar stated that from the point of view of administrative convenience, ZP CEOs will be entrusted with appointing a suitable person as administrator for each gram panchayat in consultation with each district’s guardian minister. The order pertains to 1,566 gram panchayats whose term ended between April and June, and 12,668 gram panchayats whose term ends between July and November.
Maharashtra has a total of 28,813 gram panchayats. Of them, 4,112 are in Amravati division, 2,885 in Pune division, 2,500 in Nashik division, 2,473 in Aurangabad division, 1,525 in Nagpur division, and 813 in Konkan division, which are all slated to go to polls.
On Wednesday, a division bench of Justice Nitin M Jamdar and Justice Abhay Ahuja passed the order on two pleas by Pradeep Hulawale and Vilas D Kunjir, filed through Senior Counsel Milind Sathe and advocates Girish Godbole, Deepashikha Godbole, and Shivani Samel, challenging the June 25 ordinance and the July 13 GR and said the decision was “politically motivated”.
The bench led by Justice Jamdar said it could not see a reason why a government servant should not be the first choice as administrator. It observed, “Because of the pandemic, elections are not being held. If an administrator is not appointed, the working of the gram panchayat will be affected. At the same time, we have to note the concern raised by petitioners regarding appointment of private persons as administrators.”
In view of this, the High Court directed the state government to prefer government officials as administrators and noted, “We direct, as an interim measure, that the administrator to be appointed under the ordinance and impugned resolutions, should be a government servant or the officer from the local authority. If not available and the appointment of a private individual is to be made, then each such order shall record the reasons in writing setting out circumstances in which such officer was not available to function as an administrator for the said gram panchayat.”
The HC clarified that all appointments will be subject to the further orders passed in these petitions.