Finance Standing Committe

Finance Standing Committee: The primary responsibilities include preparing the Panchayat budget, collecting taxes, and scrutinizing revenue and expenditure accounts. (The Vice President of the Panchayat serves as its Chairperson).

Standing Committees (Sections 162, 162A) Under the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994, standing committees are constituted in every Panchayat as outlined below. Standing committees serve as the support mechanism for the Panchayat to discharge its responsibilities in the development, welfare, and infrastructure sectors effectively, efficiently, and in a time-bound manner.

Before taking a decision on any matter, the Panchayat must examine and scrutinize it thoroughly. This preliminary scrutiny must first be carried out by the respective standing committee. Only after deliberations and decisions are reached in the standing committee meeting should subjects be included in the Panchayat meeting agenda. Once the Panchayat adopts a decision on such an item, the concerned standing committee is also responsible for ensuring its efficient implementation. Resolutions passed by a standing committee must be placed before the subsequent meeting of the Panchayat. The Panchayat holds the power to modify them if necessary. The Secretary must attend all standing committee meetings and establish the necessary arrangements to record minutes and decisions.

Structure of the Standing Committee

  • Only elected representatives serve as members of standing committees. Except for the President and Vice President, every member is an elected member of a standing committee.
  • A member cannot serve on more than one standing committee.
  • Each standing committee must compulsorily include at least one woman member.
  • Except for the Finance Standing Committee, every standing committee must have a Chairperson elected from among its members.
  • The Vice President serves as the ex-officio Chairperson of the Finance Standing Committee.
  • The President is an ex-officio member without voting rights in all standing committees. However, the Vice President is an ex-officio member with voting rights and serves as the Chairperson of the Finance Standing Committee (Section 162(6)).

Powers and Responsibilities of Standing Committees Assigning every member to a standing committee distributes the duties and responsibilities of the Panchayat among all members. The ultimate responsibility rests with the Panchayat as an institution, not with any single individual or committee. Several mechanisms are incorporated into the administrative system to discharge these duties, the most vital being the standing committees.

All responsibilities vested in the Panchayat are divided among the various standing committees. Consequently, the Panchayat executes its statutory functions through these committees. Standing committees are not autonomous bodies, nor do they possess independent executive authority. Efficient administration, citizen participation, and decentralization are achieved when each standing committee carries out its assigned responsibilities on behalf of the Panchayat.

All decisions taken by standing committees must be presented at the subsequent Panchayat meeting. The Panchayat retains the authority to amend these decisions if necessary (Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994, Section 162A(3)).

Meetings of Standing Committees (The Kerala Panchayat Raj [Standing Committee] Rules, 2000)

  • Committees must convene at least once a month.
  • Meetings must be held at the Panchayat office on the date and time fixed by the Chairperson.
  • The respective standing committee must consider matters related strictly to the Panchayat's functions. If different standing committees adopt conflicting resolutions on the same matter, it must be referred to the Panchayat for determination.
  • The quorum for a meeting is three. If the total number of voting members is four or fewer, the quorum is two.
  • Decisions on agenda items are resolved by a majority vote of the members present.
  • The Chairperson holds a casting vote in the event of a tie.
  • The meeting date and agenda items must be communicated to the President (as an ex-officio member) and published on the notice board.
  • A decision of a standing committee may be amended or revoked only through a resolution supported by more than half of the sanctioned strength of the committee at a specially convened meeting. Such amendments must be executed within three months.

Standing committees play a decisive role in local self-governance. Local administrative management becomes effective, rational, and scientific only when standing committees execute their assigned duties efficiently.

Subjects Under the Purview of the Finance Standing Committee Finance, taxation, accounts, audit, budget, general administration, tax appeals, and matters not assigned to other standing committees.

Members of the Finance Standing Committee

  • Chairperson: Sri. Adv. Biju Chacko (Vice President & Member, Ward 2 – Chettiyamparambu)
  • Member: Smt. Sindhu Munjanattu (Member, Ward 6 – Santhigiri)