Odisha HC Upholds Rule Raising BDOs Spending Cap to ₹10 Lakh

The Orissa High Court backed the state government’s move to let Block Development Officers (BDOs) sign bills and payment orders up to ₹10 lakh without needing the panchayat samiti chairperson’s countersignature. The judges said this change doesn’t weaken or undermine the authority of local elected leaders.

The court rejected a petition that claimed the new rules were illegal and undermined local self-governance. The court didn’t agree. The bench pointed out that the petitioner’s worries weren’t really fair. The judges sided with the government, saying the higher financial limit helps ease the workload of chairpersons, makes local projects move faster, and improves transparency and accountability.

The court stressed that the new rules don’t take control away from elected representatives. The judgment mentions that the law already has safeguards in place. Even with BDOs getting more freedom for smaller payments, the chairperson can still step in, block payments done by a BDO, and make sure no money goes against the statutory guidelines.

The dispute kicked off after the government changed the Odisha Panchayat Samiti Accounting Procedure (Amendment) Rules and raised the BDOs’ independent spending limit from ₹2 lakh to ₹10 lakh. That triggered a legal challenge from the chairperson of the Niali block panchayat samiti, who argued that skipping the chairperson’s signature for amounts up to ₹10 lakh would keep elected officials out of the loop and stop them from doing their jobs properly. But, with the High Court’s decision, the ₹10 lakh spending limit for BDOs holds firm.