High Court restrains disbursement of money to Nava Kerala Sadas from panchayat fund

KOCHI: The High Court has temporarily restrained the disbursement of money to the Nava Kerala Sadas from the panchayat fund without the permission of the governing body. Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas issued the order on the petition filed by Malappuram Pookkottur Panchayat President K Ismail, Kozhikode Peruvayal Panchayat Vice President PK Sharaffuddin and Malappuram Block Panchayat President Abdur Rahman Karat questioning the allocation of money by the secretaries under the guise of the Local Self-Government Additional Chief Secretary's order.

The order is applicable only to these panchayats. The court, which ordered to issue a notice to panchayat secretaries through special messenger, also restrained the secretaries from disbursing the money. The court will hear the plea again tomorrow.

The panchayats of the petitioners had passed a resolution not to allocate funds to the Nava Kerala Sadas. The petitioners approached the court alleging that the secretaries were trying to allocate funds by ignoring this.

In an order dated October 27 related to the organisation of the Nava Kerala Sadas, the government had directed the local self-government department to give permission to local bodies to disburse funds. The Additional Chief Secretary issued the order based on this. According to the petition, such orders are encroachment on the autonomy of the local government bodies.