West Bengal Assembly Passes Bill to Curb Panchayat Pradhans' Financial Powers
The West Bengal Legislative Assembly on Saturday (July 26, 2026) passed the West Bengal Panchayat (Second Amendment) Bill, 2026, which strips elected panchayat representatives of their financial powers. The Bill was passed with 169 votes in favour and 13 against, while 32 MLAs abstained from voting.
The proposed legislation seeks to amend the West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973. According to the Bill's statement of objects and reasons, the amendment is intended to ensure administrative stability, uninterrupted public service delivery, and smoother functioning of rural local bodies. It also aims to prevent delays caused by absent elected officials.
The Bill empowers the prescribed authority to appoint an extension officer or an officer of higher rank as an Administrator for up to 30 days if both the pradhan and deputy pradhan remain absent for more than 15 days and no elected member is willing to take charge. Additionally, if no gram panchayat meeting is held for two consecutive months due to the absence of the pradhan and deputy pradhan, the panchayat secretary, with the approval of the Block Development Officer (BDO), may convene the meeting.
During the debate, Panchayat Affairs and Rural Development Minister Dilip Ghosh stated that the Bill does not intend to curtail constitutional powers of elected panchayat heads. He said it aims to curb corruption and irregularities in rural civic services. “Henceforth, the elected panchayat heads will only approve any proposal. But the Bill will be cleared and sanctioned by the bureaucrats,” Ghosh explained. He alleged that in many instances, pradhans have refused to sign work-related documents due to demands for kickbacks, and the amendment is designed to stop such practices.
Ghosh further claimed that West Bengal is the only state where panchayat pradhans possess such extensive financial powers, and that economic interests have been a major factor behind violence during panchayat elections. Days earlier, the state government issued a notification depriving panchayat pradhans and elected representatives of the power to issue birth and death certificates.
Despite the change in government from Trinamool Congress to Bharatiya Janata Party, most panchayats and local bodies remain under TMC control. The BJP government argues that many panchayat pradhans have stopped performing their duties, necessitating these legislative changes.
