The Madras High Court emphasized the purview of local bodies remarking that activities in such schemes inherently fall within their jurisdiction, asserting that Panchayat Presidents must not be sidelined.
Case Title: Tamil Nadu All Village Panchayat President Welfare Association v State of Tamil Nadu
Case No: WP(MD)No.24183 of 2023
Decided on: 05th October, 2023
CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE G.R. SWAMINATHAN
Introduction
The Madras High Court while dealing with the petition filed by Tamil Nadu All Village Panchayat President Welfare Association with a proposition to authorize them to both invite and accept tenders within the framework of the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme emphasized the purview of local bodies remarking that activities in such schemes inherently fall within their jurisdiction, asserting that Panchayat Presidents must not be sidelined or diminished to mere rubber stamps.
Facts of the Case
In the present case, the petitioner argued that the Block Development Officers, who are under the control of Village Panchayats, had been expressly given the power to request and accept bids for doing these tasks. Moreover, the District Collector is designated as the authority to accept tenders in case of necessity. It was argued that Panchayat Presidents need to have the power to invite and approve tenders for this kind of work because it is distinctive to a village.
The respondent on the other hand disputed the admissibility of the plea, arguing that the case had already been resolved in the government’s favour by a single judge’s 2020 order, which was then upheld in a subsequent petition. The association did not have standing, he claimed, to continue the petition. In addition, he emphasized that the current actions were in line with a government order that the RD &PR Department had issued on June 16, 2020, and that the government order had not been lawfully challenged.
Courts analysis and decision
In this instance, Justice GR Swaminathan presented an alternative viewpoint to a previous ruling on the same case by a solitary judge. Even though Justice Swaminathan acknowledged that one judge had previously rejected a plea on this very topic, he indicated it would not be fitting for him to consider the petition. As a result, he gave the registry instructions to submit the case materials to the Chief Justice for a ruling. The court stressed that both the Constitution and the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994 expressly state that local authorities must carry out projects relating to drinking water, even though the activities mentioned in the petition fell beyond their purview.
According to Justice Swaminathan, local bodies are the only recipients of monies allotted by the Central Government for the Jal Jeevan Mission Scheme. The judge emphasised the importance of elected entities, saying that they should not be disregarded and that Panchayat Presidents cannot be reduced to being nothing more than rubber stamps. He also made remarks about the positions taken by regional parties that support federalism and decentralisation, highlighting the contradiction in wanting decentralised authority to be concentrated in State capitals.
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Written by- Rupika Goundla
