The Mayors for corporations like Chennai, Madurai, and Coimbatore will no longer be elected directly by the people, if the changes proposed by the Government of Tamil Nadu are implemented.

According to the Bill presented in the Assembly by Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani, the councillors, instead of voters, will henceforth elect the Mayors. Suitable amendments will be made to the Chennai City Municipal Corporation Act 1919, Madurai City Municipal Corporation Act 1971, and the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation Act 1981 to effect these changes.

The proposal comes after it was felt that some municipality corporations were unable to function effectively since the Mayor did not enjoy “the support of the councillors.”

As per the proposed changes, the councillors shall elect one among themselves as Mayor, during the first meeting after their elections. The Mayor shall hold office for a term of five years. He will have to resign his post if he, for some reason, is disqualified as a councillor.

The five-year term for the local bodies come to an end in the third week of October this year. The election dates for the 12 corporation bodies, 529 town panchayats and more than 12,000 village panchayats have not been announced yet.