District reorganisation in Telangana | Hyderabad, Jan. 14: District reorganisation in Telangana has emerged as a major political and administrative issue following Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s recent announcement on rationalisation of districts.
The Chief Minister said a judicial commission will be constituted to examine district reorganisation and that the issue will be discussed during the upcoming Assembly budget session to gather views of all political parties.
After the announcement, uncertainty has surfaced over the conduct of MPTC and ZPTC elections in the state.
Political leaders and local representatives have expressed doubts over whether elections will be held now or deferred until the reorganisation process is completed. As a result, the Chief Minister’s statement has become a hot topic across political circles.
Officials estimate that if the government initiates and completes district reorganisation, the process may take until the end of this year.
Therefore, discussions have begun on whether local body elections will be postponed until then or conducted based on the existing district and mandal structure.
District Reorganisation in Telangana and Legal Position on Local Body Polls
Officials recalled that during the previous BRS government, MPTC and ZPTC elections were held first, followed by the creation of several new mandals.
However, elections were not conducted for those newly formed mandals. Instead, they functioned only as revenue mandals.
At that time, no separate MPDO posts, staff, or offices were sanctioned. Elected representatives from the original mandals continued to hold charge.
Only after the term of the existing MPTCs and ZPTCs ended did the government sanction MPDO posts, staff, and offices for the new mandals.
Until then, the new mandals remained limited to administrative purposes. Officials point out that a similar situation may arise now if elections are held before district reorganisation.
Experts stated that if elections are conducted now, they must be held based on the current districts and mandals. Even if reorganisation takes place later, the existing elected bodies will continue for their full five year term. They clarified that only revenue and departmental boundaries may change, while the Panchayati Raj structure will remain unchanged.
They further noted that the Panchayati Raj Act clearly states that once local body elections are held, any division or merger becomes effective only after five years.
Therefore, elected representatives are legally entitled to complete their full term. If challenged in court, officials believe the verdict may favour the elected bodies.
Administrative Complications
Officials also warned of administrative complications if elections are held before reorganisation. Mandals from one district may merge into another district, or villages from one mandal may move into another.
However, governance will still remain under the old elected leadership until the term ends. As a result, the intended benefits of district reorganisation may not fully materialise.
Meanwhile, officials noted that even if the number of districts is reduced, the existing 31 Zilla Parishad chairpersons will continue in office until their term concludes.
The situation has added to the suspense over the timing of MPTC and ZPTC elections in Telangana.
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