Panchayat bodies get 2nd extension, to hold office till elections take place

Ranchi: The state government on Tuesday issued a notification extending the tenure of working committees of the three-tier Panchayat Raj System till the next election takes place. This is the second such extension.
The step was taken as the panchayat polls could not take place due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The first extension was ordered in January this year and for the second extension, the government promulgated an ordinance as the rules did not allow further extension.
The notification issued by the panchayat raj department reads, “The elections of the panchayat raj institutions took place in 2015. However, the elected bodies were dissolved after the end of their five-year tenure (in 2020). As the elections could not take place, the government had formed working committees for six months on January 7, 2021, to ensure the functioning of the panchayat raj institutions. After the expiry of their tenure, the working committees have been formed again. It would be effective till the elections for the local bodies take place.”
As part of the extension process, all 24 deputy commissioners of districts have been empowered to re-constitute the institutions while the panchayat raj department would issue directions on removing bottlenecks related to the formation, working and process of the working committees.
It may be stated here that the elected mukiyas, deputy mukhiyas and ward members of gram panchayats of both general and the Scheduled categories, pramukhs, deputy pramukhs and members of panchayat samitis and chairmen, deputy chairmen and members of zila parishads have been retained in the new working committees.
The government stated that the working committees of gram panchayats, panchayat samitis and the zila parishads could exercise all powers and functions enumerated for them under the Jharkhand Panchayat Raj Act 2001. Similarly, block development officers and deputy development commissioners would discharge their responsibilities as in the past. The non-government members of the working committees would, however, not get privileges, which they enjoyed earlier.