Villagers stand in queue as they wait to cast their vote in the Odisha panchayat elections at the Sisupalagarh village school in Khordha district, Bhubaneswar.
| Photo Credit: BISWARANJAN ROUT
The story so far: The Mohan Majhi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Odisha announced the new Odisha Panchayat Samiti Accounting Procedure (Amendment) Rules, 2025, after state cabinet approval last month. However, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Congress have strongly criticised the amended rules, stating that it undermines people’s representatives of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs).
What are the amended rules?
As per the amended rules, officials at the ground level will now enjoy greater financial authority to pass bills without requiring the counter-signature of elected representatives. Previously, Block Development Officers (BDOs) could clear bills only up to ₹2 lakh, with any amount above that needing the approval of the Panchayat Samiti chairman, an elected representative. Under the new provision, BDOs can independently sanction bills up to ₹10 lakh. Similarly, the power to grant administrative approval for Panchayat Samiti plans and estimates has been delegated to the Chief Development Officer-cum-Executive Officer of the Zilla Parishad, a senior district-level bureaucrat, even though Zilla Parishads are headed by elected chairpersons. The amendment also expands the authority of engineers to accord technical sanction for larger development projects. Depending on their ranks, engineers can now clear projects ranging from ₹5 lakh to ₹4 crore — a sharp rise from their earlier financial limits. Similarly, financial authority has been transferred to engineers in implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi Natural Rural Employment Act (MGNREGA), a central government scheme. Administrative approval powers have also been revised for general developmental schemes. BDOs can now approve projects up to ₹20 lakh, and Panchayat Samiti Chairpersons (elected representatives) up to ₹50 lakh.
What has the opposition said?
According to the government, these amendments will expedite bill processing, ensure timely approvals, and facilitate smooth implementation of developmental programmes across all Panchayat Samitis while retaining the supervisory role of the chairpersons.
However, the BJD has alleged that the recent amendment was a conspiracy to downgrade the authority of elected representatives in PRIs on purely political grounds. In the 2022 rural polls, the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD had secured an emphatic victory, winning 766 of 853 Zilla Parishad seats with 52.73% of the vote — nearly 90% of the total. Although panchayat elections are not contested on party symbols, BJD-backed candidates had virtually swept the polls across the State. The next panchayat elections are due in 2027. The BJP, buoyed by its unexpected triumph in both the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections of 2024, is under tremendous pressure to replicate that success at the grassroots level to consolidate its influence. Observers note that the BJP, through its control of the bureaucracy, can now implement development programmes without depending on PRI members — most of whom are aligned with the BJD.
Why is the BJD angry?
For the BJD, the issue goes beyond financial control or political leverage. The party contends that the BJP has sought to tamper with a legacy: the strengthening of the three-tier PRIs, a system nurtured by both the late Biju Patnaik and his son, Naveen Patnaik.
Biju Patnaik was credited as the first Chief Minister in India to introduce 33% reservation for women in PRIs, later extending it to chairperson posts. Naveen Patnaik further raised this quota to 50% in 2012.
The BJD has also objected to the rebranding of its flagship scheme Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha as Bikashita Gaon Bikashita Odisha, with provisions substantially altered. Under the original scheme, each panchayat received ₹50 lakh, but allocations have now been reduced to just ₹7-8 lakh, the BJD said.
Published – October 03, 2025 08:30 am IST
