TN upgrades 7 town panchayats to municipalities

CHENNAI: In a strategic move to enhance urban governance and infrastructure, the Tamil Nadu government has upgraded seven town panchayats to municipalities.

According to D Karthikeyan, principal secretary, Municipal Administration and Water Supply department, the town panchayats of Polur, Chengam, Kanniyakumari, Sankagiri, Kothagiri, Avinashi, and Perundurai have been officially designated as municipalities, as part of the government's broader initiative to strengthen urban local bodies, ensuring better administration, increased funding, and enhanced public services for residents.

The government has been undertaking a systematic reorganisation of urban local bodies over the past few years.

In 2021, the state saw the formation of six new municipal corporations and 28 municipalities, significantly expanding the reach of urban governance.

Furthering this expansion, on August 10, 2024, the state government announced the formation of four new municipal corporations—Tiruvannamalai, Namakkal, Karaikudi, and Pudukkottai—by merging two nearby town panchayats and 46 village panchayats into these urban centres.

In continuation of this trend, on August 12, 2024, Government Orders (GO) were issued proposing the conversion of Mamallapuram, Sriperumbudur, and Tiruvaiyaru into municipalities, recognising their growing urban potential and infrastructural needs.

Taking urban expansion a step further, a GO issued on January 1, 2025, outlined plans for the creation of 134 new municipalities and 25 new panchayats, marking one of the largest administrative overhauls in recent years.