The Cabinet on Wednesday decided to place local bodies scheduled for elections this year under the rule of administrative committees after November 11 since the polls would be delayed on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision to form three-member administrative committees in the three-tier panchayats, municipalities and municipal Corporations is based on the relevant sections of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994, and the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994, the government said.
In district panchayats, the panels will have the District Collector, the secretary of the district panchayat concerned, and the project director of Poverty Alleviation Unit, as members. In the block panchayats, the committees will consist of the block panchayat secretaries, the assistant executive engineer of the block, and the assistant director of agriculture.
Likewise, the grama panchayat committees will consist of the secretary of grama panchayat, the assistant engineer and the agriculture officer.
Municipalities will be administered by committees made up of the municipality secretary concerned, the municipal engineer, and the officer in charge of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS).
The Corporations will be administered by a committee which includes the District Collector, the Corporation secretary concerned, and the Corporation engineer.
The terms of the elected councils of all the local bodies, except Mattannur municipality, ends on November 11. Although it is mandated that the elections should be held before this date so that the new councils can assume charge on November 12, the pandemic had forced the State Election Commission to put off the polls.
The Kerala Panchayat Raj Act and the Municipality Act states that wherever a new elected council has not yet been constituted when the term of the old one has ended, the government should appoint ''a special officer or an administrative committee consisting of not less than three officers of the government'' for interim governance. Appointed through a gazette notification, the committees/special officers cannot hold office for more than six months.
While the election schedule is yet to be announced, the State Election Commission had issued orders stating that the election process would be wound up by December 31.
