The Tamil Nadu government has appointed special officers (SO) for 9,624 village panchayats, 314 panchayat unions, and 28 district panchayats in the State.
The decision followed the expiry of the term of office of elected representatives of the rural local bodies (RLBs) on January 5.
The Block Development Officers (BDO - village panchayats) of the respective Panchayat Unions had been made SOs for all the village panchayats.
Likewise, Assistant Directors (Panchayats) and (Audit) in the RD&PR department in the respective districts would be SOs for the panchayat unions.
The Additional Collectors or Additional Directors or Joint Directors or Project Directors of District Rural Development Agencies will be for district panchayats.