Overview
- The West Bengal Legislative Assembly approved the West Bengal Panchayat (Second Amendment) Bill by 169 votes to 13, with 32 MLAs absent, in a vote held on Saturday.
- Under the amendment elected panchayat pradhans will only approve proposals while bureaucrats will clear and sanction payments, effectively removing day-to-day signing authority from local heads.
- The law allows appointment of an extension officer or higher-ranking official as an administrator for up to 30 days if both pradhan and deputy pradhan are absent for more than 15 days and lets the panchayat secretary, with BDO approval, convene meetings after two months of inactivity.
- Panchayat minister Dilip Ghosh framed the changes as anti-corruption and efficiency measures, citing alleged refusal by some pradhans to sign work orders over ‘cut-money’ disputes and extensive absenteeism at gram panchayat offices.
- Opposition MLAs, local panchayat leaders and civil society figures warn the move weakens elected local authority and could politicize administration; the amendment follows a recent notification that stripped pradhans of the power to issue birth and death certificates and may face legal or administrative challenges.