Jaipur: Rajasthan Panchayati Raj department said Monday that sub-divisional officers (SDOs) will be appointed as administrators for panchayat samitis whose terms end on Dec 11, a decision the govt attributed to the delay in conducting elections. District collectors will issue the necessary orders, the Panchayati Raj order order said. Additionally, district collectors will serve as administrators for Zila Parishads facing similar election delays. “The state govt authorises concerned district collector… to appoint the sub-divisional officer as administrator in all such panchayat samitis of the state from the date of expiry of the tenure of the panchayat samiti concerned,” the order read. “The tenure of the administrator is fixed till the day preceding the date of the first meeting of the panchayat samiti constituted after the fresh elections,” it added. The govt did not concede the demands from village heads, pradhans, and Zila Pramukh heads to be appointed as administrators after their terms end. “The govt’s decision is a murder of democracy and a ploy to hinder rural development work in the state. This govt is against farmers and soldiers, who constitute the large population of villages in Rajasthan,” said Pradhan Sangh State President Dinesh Sunda. The decision, based on various sections of the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, authorises district collectors to appoint SDOs as administrators for panchayat samitis from the end of their current tenure. The administrators will serve until the first meeting of the newly elected panchayat samiti. Similarly, district collectors will be appointed as administrators for Zila Parishads from the expiration of their current terms, as per the same legal provisions.
