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DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL

Dr. S.L. Omanakutten
Assistant Profesor of History, Rani Anna Governemnt College for Women, Tirunelveli.

Kanyakumari District on the southern tip of the sub-continent of India, has an area of 1684 square kilometers.1  The economic geography of the area created it as an agrarian society.  Therefore it was formerly known as the granary of Travancore.2  Since it was the part of the Travancore State, it became a separate district of Tamil Nadu in 1956.  Under Section 120 of the States Reorganisation Act of 1956 (Central Act 37 of 1956) the four taluks of Agastheeswaram, Thovalai, Kalkulam and Vilavancode were grouped together to form the new district namely “Kanyakumari District”4, with its head-quarters at Nagercoil on 1 November 1956.5

After merging with Tamil Nadu, the District Development Council in the district has been established as per the provisions of the Tamil Nadu District Development Councils Act, 1958 (Act XVIII of 1958).6

District Development Council
The District Development Council in the district has been established as per the provisions of the Tami Nadu District Development Councils Act, 1958 (Act XVIII of 1958).  As per the Act, the following officials and non-officials of the district are the members of the District Development Councils of each District in Tamil Nadu.7

  1. The District Collector – Chairman
  2. Elected members of the House of People and elected members of the State Legislative Assembly chosen to represent a constituency which consists of or comprises or related to the district or any portion there of or who reside in the district.
  3. Elected members of the Council of States representing the State of Tamil Nadu.
  4. Elected members of the State Legislative Council (In Tamil Nadu, the State Legislative Council was, however, abolished with effect from 1 November 1986).
  5. Nominated members of Parliament of this State and State Legislature who have intimated their desire to serve as a Member of the District Development Council.
  6. All Chairmen of Panchayat Union Councils in the District.
  7. All Chairmen of Municipal Councils in the district.
  8. Presidents of the Co-operative Central Banks in the district.
  9. High level officers of the Government connected with planning and execution of development schemes in the district as are nominated by the Government.
  10. The Government may also nominate the Chairman of the Tamil Nadu State Bhoodan Yagna Board, any officials of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board or any other Board or Committee constituted under any law for the time being in force as member of one or more District Development Councils as may be specified in such notification.
  11. The Collector shall, by notification, nominate before the commencement of each year, a Pesident of a Town Panchayat by rotation as a member of the District Development Council and the member so nominated shall enter upon office on the commencement of the year.

If a Parliamentary or Legislative Constituency forms part of more than one Development Council, the members concerned should intimate his desire to the Chairman that to which of the Development Council he wants to serve as member.

No elected Member of Parliament or State Legislature shall be members of more than one District Development Council.  In case if any elected member of Parliament or State Legislature or Chairman of any Panchayat Union or Municipal Council or President of any Town Panchayats ceases to hold such office, his membership in the District Development Council also shall stand cancelled.

Functions of the District Development Council
The District Development Council shall advice the Government on all matters concerning the activities of Panchayats, Panchayat Union Councils and Municipal Councils in the district as well as on all matters relating to the development of the economic resources of the district and the services maintained therein for promoting the culture and welfare of the inhabitants of the district.  In particular, it shall be the duty of the ‘District Development Council’ to perform the following functions, namely:

  • Advising the Government on all matters relating to the services maintained by and all development schemes undertaken by all local authorities in the district as well as those agencies in the district which are under the administrative control of the Government in the following departments namely:

i) Food and Agriculture
ii) Industries, Labour and Co-operation
iii) Public Works
iv) Health, Education and Local administartion

  • Watching the progress of the measures undertaken by the Government, local authorities and departmental agencies in respect of the resources and Development Schemes.
  • Advising the Government on all matters concerning the implementation of any provision of law or any order specially referred by the Government to the District Development Council such as,
    i) Classification of markets as Panchayat markets and Panchayat Union markets and fixing rates of contribution payable by one authority to other
    ii) Classification of fairs and festivals and classification of public roads as Panchayat Union roads and village roads
  • Advising the Government on all matters relating to development of road transport.

Conduct of Meetings and Constitution of various Committees
The District Development Council may meet as often as may be necessary, but not more than three months shall elapse between two meetings.  In the absence of the District Collector, who is the Chairman of the District Development Council, any member nominated by the Chairman shall preside over the meeting of the District Development Council.  All questions at a meeting of the District Council shall be decided absence, the person presiding shall have a second or casting vote.  A member of the ‘DDC’, who is an officer of the Government shall have a right to take part in the discussion, but shall not have a right to vote at a meeting of the Council and shall not be a member of the Council for any other purposes.  For purpose of assisting the District Development Council, in discharging its various functions and duties, Standing Committees may be constituted for dealing with,

  1. Food and Agriculture
  2. Industries and Labour
  3. Public Works
  4. Education
  5. Health and Welfare including Prohibition

It may also constitute additional Standing Committees whenever and wherever necessary.  Each such Committee shall elect its own Chairman from among its members who are members of the District Development Council.  The members of these Standing Committees nominated, chosen or appointed, shall cease to hold office at the end of each year and the members of the Standing Committees for the ensuring year, shall be nominated chosen or appointed before the expiry of the year, but shall not enter upon the office, until the commencement of the ensuring year.

District Development Council in Kanyakumari District
The entire district of Kanyakumari has been formed as one District Development Council for which the Collector is the ex-officio Chairman.  This Council consists of 23 non-official and 65 official members.

There are also Standing Committee functioning for Education, Public Works, Health and Family Welfare, Food and Agriculture and Industries and Labour, constituted from among the members of the Council.  These committees prepare the issues and agendas in their respective spheres, for being discussed in the Council meeting.  Besides these committees, other individual members also can place subjects to be discussed in the Council meetings.  The decisions taken in the Council meeting are communicated to the Government as well as to all the members.  Follow up action is also taken on the decisions taken and the resolutions passed in the Council.  In the Council meetings, the Collector, as the Chairman of the Council reviews the progress of implementation of the various State and National Development Programmes in the district and issues guiding instructions on the spot to expedite the remaining item of work, in a record time.

References

  1. Statistical Hand Book of Tamil Nadu, Department of Statistics, Madras, 1983, p. 110.
  2. Census of India, 1961, District Handbook of Kanyakumari, Vol. 1, Madras, 1966, p.19.
  3. The Fort St. George Gazetteer, No. 8, Madras, 3 July 1957, p. 76.
  4. Ibid.
  5. Abraham, U.S., Kanyakumari Mavatta Chirappu Yedu (Tamil), Thazhakudi, 1983, p. 11.
  6. Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu District, Development Councils Act, 1958.
  7. Sec. 4.1 (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f), 2.3 (a.I) (a.II), (b.I), (b.II), (v) 4; Sec. 4A(I) (II) & 4 B of the Tami Nadu District Development Councils Act, 1958.
  8. Report from the District Collector, Kanyakumari District, dated 12 June 1987.