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Kerala high court stays formation of new local bodies

Confounding the uncertainty over the conduct of the local body polls due in October, the Kerala high court on Monday stayed formation of new panchayats (village councils) in the state.
Justice A V Ramakrishna Pillai nullified the government notification on the bifurcation of the village bodies pointing out serious lapses in the procedure followed for carving out the new panchayats. The court noted that the division of many villages for forming new panchayats was legally not sustainable.
The judge pointed out that the permission of the Governor was mandatory for forming new panchayats, but the government undertook the exercise without it. The court said that the government could issue a fresh notification by following the legal procedure. The opposition parties have viewed the court verdict as a vindication of their allegation that the government had sought to form new panchayats and municipalities with political motives. The court had earlier nullified the formation of 30 new municipalities by splitting municipal corporations.
Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, state secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marist), which heads the opposition Left Democratic Front, alleged that the government had formed new local bodies in a manner creating vote bank of a particular community for the benefit of a constituent of the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF).
He has demanded appointment of a delimitation commission to form new local bodies in a scientific manner.
He wants the election to be held as per schedule based on the present local bodies. He has threatened an agitation if the government planned to postpone the election and bring the local bodies under the government control.
Reacting to the HC order, Minister for Local Self-Government K C Joseph said that the government will take a decision after examining the court observations. He also said that the issue will be discussed in a meeting convened by Chief Minister on Tuesday.
Earlier, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that the government was not in favour of postponing the election, which will set the tone for the Assembly elections to be held in April-May next year.
"My government wishes to see that the elections to the local bodies are held as per schedule. It should not be delayed. We will hold a high-level meeting with the State Election Commission on Tuesday," he said adding that the government will make all arrangements for the Commission to hold elections as per schedule.
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