Southern States - Tamil Nadu   

Keelavazhavu panchayat chief reinstated temporarily

By R. Ilangovan

Madurai Sept. 3. The Madurai Collector, S. Ramachandran, has ordered `temporary' reinstatement of the Keelavazhavu panchayat chief, T. Poongothai, following an August 6-High Court stay of her removal from office.

The 42-year old woman, a primary school dropout, was removed, for ``cutting and auctioning trees and thus causing financial loss to the panchayat'', by the Collector under Section 205 of the Tamil Nadu Panchayat Act. Denying the accusation and contesting the Collector's order, Ms. Poongothai moved the court.

The Collector, in his letter dated August 24, said the administration was reinstating Ms. Poongothai ``temporarily''. He also cancelled the order which empowered the vice-president, V. Bose, to act as the village chief.

The Collector said as per court instructions, the president should submit expenditure accounts to the Melur Block Development Officer (village panchayats) every Friday.

The BDO should verify the accounts and allow the president to execute her cheque powers before every Tuesday.

A second time president, Ms. Poongothai, denied the charges that she arbitrarily removed the trees from the list of village property.

At a meeting in December last, the village council, with eight out of nine members attending, passed a unanimous resolution allowing the panchayat to cut `velvael' trees grown in the local `kanmoi' (tank) and `ooranis' (ponds), mainly to augment the panchayat income.

A report from the Melur tahsildhar claimed that 36 trees were found cut, while a spot verification report from the Forest officials pointed out that 12 trees worth Rs. 3,940 were found felled.

Based on the report, the Collector ordered the removal of Ms. Poongothai.

The presidents of village panchayats in the State expressed their anguish at the way Section 205 of the Act was being used, and urged an immediate amendment on the lines of the recommendations of the second State Finance Commission. They claimed that most of these presidents were illiterates and ignorant of many procedures.

``A village president has to know about 84 government orders.

Hence, these presidents need a thorough orientation programme to make them aware of the `dos and don'ts,'' said Palanithurai, Director of the Rajiv Gandhi Chair on Panchayati Raj, Gandhigram Rural Institute.

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