Local administration in Tamil Nadu

Local Bodies in Tamil Nadu constitute the three tier administration set-up in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a system of local government which forms the last level from the Centre.Chennai Corporation (now in Tamil Nadu) in the then Madras Presidency, established in 1688, is the oldest such Local Body not only in India but also in any commonwealth nations outside United Kingdom.

The history of local bodies in Tamil Nadu could be dated back to the Ancient period wherein the village administration was taken care by a Village assembly known as Sabai (Tamil: சபை) in every village. Further, each village was divided into several wards known as mandalams (Tamil: மண்டலம்). This is evident from the epigraph inscriptions found in Vaikuntha Perumal Temple near Uthiramerur. They used the Pot-ticket system of election (Kudavolai Murai) (Tamil: குடவோலை முறை) to elect the representatives to the assembly.

Later came the British rule in India in which the centralisation of governance was enforced. People in the interior of the villages had to walk up to the central authorities for their obligations and grievances. Anyhow this system faded out as the British government realised the pitfalls in this system. Laudable efforts of Lord Ripon brought legislation in this aspect which created unions in small towns and villages, to facilitate proper sanitation and lighting. Later, councils were constituted in this regard for which the members are directly elected by elections. Councils were made accountable to an Inspector and Chairman. Though urbanisation was less prevalent those days, Chennai (erstwhile Madras) had the honour of having such Municipal Corporation status even in 1688. Urban local bodies known Municipalities were in existence. A department named Local and Municipal Department was functioning in the then Secretariat from 1916 and it had Local, Municipal, Plague, Medical and Legislative Branches.

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