The Tamil Nadu government has extended the term of office of Special Officers (SOs) to administer Village Panchayats, Panchayat Union Councils, and District Panchayats by another six months.
This means the SOs will remain in place till January 5, 2026, according to an order issued by the State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RD&PR) department’s Additional Chief Secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi on Saturday (July 5, 2025). To formalise the extension, the State government is to have an ordinance promulgated, which will be replaced with a bill to be passed by the Assembly as and when it meets next.
The SOs were appointed in the wake of expiry of the term of office of elected representatives of the rural local bodies (RLBs) in 28 districts on January 5. At present, the affairs of 9,581 village panchayats, 314 panchayat union councils, and 28 district panchayats are being run by the SOs.
The reason cited in the government order for the extension of the SOs’ term is the non-completion of reorganisation of local bodies, including the merger of certain village panchayats with urban local bodies. The District Collectors, on receiving objections to the reorganisation proposal, have been forwarding them to the government. They continue to receive “representations from all corners,” the order adds.
Once the re-organisation process is over, the delimitation of wards of the reorganised local bodies will, at least, have to be done. Moreover, by the time the current extension of the six-month period comes to an end in January, the attention of the ruling party as also that of all other parties will be on the Assembly election, slated for April or May. Under such circumstances, it is doubtful whether the State government will have the elections to the rural local bodies held before the end of the tenure of the present Assembly.
