Assam: Term for 24 Zilla Parishads expires; DCs to be custodians

 Staff Reporter

Guwahati: With the delay in holding the Panchayat election in the state this time, the 5-year term of 24 Zilla Parishads and most of the Anchalik Panchayats and Gaon Panchayats is now over. The state government has, therefore, instructed the district commissioners or their authorized officers to officiate as the custodians of the property of the Gaon Panchayat, Anchalik Panchayat, and Zilla Parishad of their respective districts for the gap period, until the completion of the Panchayat elections.

The Panchayat election was supposed to be held in the last part of 2023, but due to the state government's decision to delimit the Panchayat constituencies, the election could not be held. According to provisions of the Panchayat Act, the term of elected Panchayats cannot be over 5 years.

There are 27 Zilla Parishads in the state. Of them, the term of 24 Zilla Parishads has recently expired. These Zilla Parishads are: Barpeta, Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Cachar, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Goalpara, Golaghat, Hailakandi, Hojai, Jorhat, Kamrup, Kamrup (Metro), Karimganj, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, and Tinsukia. Notably, there are no Zilla Parishads in Sixth Scheduled districts in the state.

According to an official source, the delimitation of panchayat constituencies will be done after the Lok Sabha election. As the delimitation will be a huge exercise, the Panchayat elections are likely to be held towards the end of this year or the start of next year.

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