Municipality and Panchayat Raj amendment Bills referred to Subject Committee

The Kerala Assembly on Monday referred to the subject committee the Kerala Municipality (Amendment) Bill 2025 and the Kerala Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill 2025, aimed at bringing in an internal vigilance system as well as more clarity in the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in local bodies.

While the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) interpreted some of the clauses in the Bill as an attempt by the State government to further usurp powers of the local bodies, Minister for Local Self-Governments M.B. Rajesh, who piloted the Bill, said that it was aimed at further decentralisation of powers.

As per the amendment, the Internal Vigilance and Monitoring System will examine documents and other matters with respect to local administration, including the works and schemes done by the local body. It will also evaluate whether the developmental and welfare responsibilities vested with the local body and the financial and controlling powers entrusted to it are being exercised and implemented effectively and in accordance with laws.

Social audit

Congress MLA A.K.M. Ashraf said that the government’s attempt to replace performance audit in local bodies with the internal vigilance mechanism will lead to the government using the vigilance to target local bodies ruled by the Opposition party. However, Mr. Rajesh said that the internal vigilance mechanism of the department should not be mistaken with the Vigilance department. The social audit being introduced is not conducted by the government but by using the grassroots democratic mechanisms involving the ward sabha and grama sabha, thus further devolving powers to the people.

Reservation

Another amendment being proposed is related to the reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in local body elections. A clause has been added as per which if the population of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is equal, the reservation category of the seat for the first election can be determined by a draw of lot, while in the subsequent elections it can be determined by avoiding repetition.

An amendment prohibiting structures and fixtures causing obstruction in public streets says that no person can erect any wall, fence, rail, post, step or structures or set up fixtures by encroaching on any part of public street, well, pond, channel or drain or occupy any part of such public street, well, pond, channel or drain. For erecting such structures, written permission has to be obtained from the local body secretary by remitting a fee.

Replying to the discussions, Mr. Rajesh countered assertions by the United Democratic Front (UDF) MLAs that the State government’s allocations to the local bodies have gone down considerably. He said that the five-year average Plan fund allocation for local bodies in the 2011-16 period under the UDF was 24.11% of the State Budget. In the LDF’s tenure from 2021 to the present, the average of Plan fund allocation to the local bodies has been 27.26% of the State Budget, with the government increasing the allocation by 0.5% every year as per the allocation of the 6th State Finance Commission.