The Tamil Nadu Municipal Councils (Appointment of Special Officers) Act, 1976

What the Act governs

The Tamil Nadu Municipal Councils (Appointment of Special Officers) Act, 1976 created a temporary system for administering Municipal Councils through government-appointed Special Officers. It applied to all Municipal Councils in Tamil Nadu whose councillors were holding office when the Act commenced.

The Act uses definitions from the Tamil Nadu District Municipalities Act, 1920. Its definition of councillor refers to the Madras City Municipal Corporation and Tamil Nadu District Municipalities (Amendment and Extension of term of office) Act, 1971.

Change to municipal administration

The Tamil Nadu Municipal Councils (Appointment of Special Officers) Act, 1976 made the following changes:

• The terms of all serving Municipal Council councillors expired on 30 June 1976.
• Municipal chairmen, vice-chairmen and members of committees established under the Tamil Nadu District Municipalities Act, 1920 also vacated office on that date.
• The State Government of Tamil Nadu was required to appoint Special Officers to exercise the powers and perform the functions of the Municipal Councils, their chairmen and their committees.
• One Special Officer could be appointed for one or more Municipal Councils.
• By notification, the State Government of Tamil Nadu could authorise a Special Officer to exercise powers or perform functions belonging to an executive authority or another officer or authority.
• Municipal executive authorities remained subject to the control and supervision of the Special Officer.
• Payment for a Special Officer's services came from the municipal fund.

Term and later amendments

The supplied version records repeated amendments extending or changing the period for which Special Officers held office. The displayed principal text refers to a period of seven years and nine months from 1 July 1976 and allows the State Government of Tamil Nadu to reduce the term for sufficient cause by a notified period not exceeding six months.

The appended Tamil Nadu Municipal Councils (Appointment of Special Officers) Amendment Act, 1986 changed references from nine years and six months to nine years and nine months. It was deemed to have come into force on 27 November 1985 and preserved actions taken under the ordinance that it repealed.

Relevance to property matters

The Tamil Nadu Municipal Councils (Appointment of Special Officers) Act, 1976 concerns who exercised municipal powers. It does not state that ownership, land classification, title, tax rates or property rights were changed. Its possible relevance to owners and buyers is administrative, because municipal functions during the covered period could be exercised under the authority of a Special Officer rather than an elected council.