CHENNAI: The state govt has decided to hold simultaneous elections to rural and urban local bodies after March next year, govt sources told TOI. Reorganisation of local administrative units, delimitation of wards and reservation of seats are going on.On Monday, the govt appointed special officers to administer rural local bodies in nine districts — Kancheepuram, Chengalpet, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupattur, Tirunelveli and Tenkasi — where the terms of elected representatives ended that day. The tenure of special officers in 28 other districts, where the terms ended in Jan last year, was also extended until April 19, 2027.“There is delimitation work pending in newly created urban and rural local bodies as there will be monsoon-related work and by-elections until Dec. Then comes the census in Feb. Local body elections won’t be held before March,” a senior official said. The five-year term of Tamil Nadu’s urban local bodies is due to end in March.The commissioner of rural development and panchayat raj informed the govt earlier this month that elections to rural local bodies in 37 districts could not be held before Oct 19, pending merger of 46 rural local bodies with urban local bodies and notification of expanded urban local bodies, which would alter the boundaries of panchayats, panchayat unions and district panchayats.“Following the merger and creation of new panchayats, delimitation and reservation processes have to be undertaken in 23 districts. Elections to rural local bodies cannot be held without completing these processes,” the officer said.The govt has also given an undertaking before the court in a writ petition filed in 2024 that rural local body elections would be held only after the reorganisation process is completed. Till then, the administration of villages will remain in the hands of special officers. Zonal block development officers will oversee village panchayats, assistant directors of panchayats and audit will supervise panchayat unions, and additional directors of district rural development agencies will administer district panchayats.
