State budget may delay urban body polls

The annual budget is usually presented by the Finance Minister between the second week of February and the first week of March. This year the budget is likely by the third week of February, informed Secretariat sources said and added that the date is yet to be finalised. The budget works have already commenced and the department secretaries are now working on the project completion datasheet. 

The budget will be followed by the Assembly session and this means the pending civic polls for all urban local bodies will not be in February as the MLAs and the Ministers will be participating in the budget session, sources explained.

Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, who handles the finance portfolio, will present the budget for 2020-21. The budget is likely to focus on urban housing, electric buses, construction of government hospitals and ongoing state schemes.  

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu State Election Commission which is mum on the status of conducting polls to urban local bodies has started reviewing the legal status related to all the election-related petitions. It may be noted that the TNSEC has been facing multiple legal petitions pending against the autonomous body for not conducting the civic polls citing various reasons. The opposition DMK had also filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking early completion of civic polls to the vacant local body posts in the state.

In a related development, DMK leader Duraimurugan on Friday urged the newly elected DMK councillors to ensure that the state government sanctions adequate funds to the local bodies. “In case, if the funds are not sanctioned by the AIADMK government to the DMK-led local bodies, keep us posted and the issue will be raised in the Assembly during the ensuing budget session,” Duraimurugan said.