Chennai: As the term of the local bodies, including the Corporations, end tomorrow, special officers to discharge their functioning are likely to be named. With the Madras High Court cancelling local body elections in the state on October 4, the government has promulgated ordinances for appointment of special officers to discharge the functions of the civic bodies.

Sources said that a meeting of the state cabinet will be chaired by Finance Minister O Panneerselvam tomorrow at which the appointment of the special officers is likely to be discussed, apart from other issues, including the Cauvery issue.

In Tamil Nadu, the polls should be completed on or before 24 October. The High Court had set aside the September 26 notification issued by the SEC for the civic polls for October 17 and 19 and directed authorities to issue a fresh one for holding the election and complete the process before December. It was passing interim orders on a petition by DMK Rajya Sabha MP RS Barathy who challenged the election on the ground that rules were not followed and mandatory reservation for Scheduled Tribes was not provided in the civic posts.

The Tamil Nadu Panchayats (Third Amendment) Ordinance 2016, promulgated by Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao on October 17, for amending the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994, has been issued as the term of the present local bodies will come to an end later this month. In its appeal against the High Court single judge’s order, the State Election Commission (SEC) has submitted that as per Constitutional provisions, elections must be conducted for local bodies once in five years.

The Governor also promulgated the Tamil Nadu Municipal Laws (Third Amendment) Ordinance, 2016 to amend the Tamil Nadu District Municipalities Act, 1920. This ordinance, passed on October 17, covered Acts governing the Municipal Corporations of Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, Trichy, Tirunelveli, Salem, Tirupur, Erode, Vellore, Thoothukudi, Thanjavur and Dindigul for appointing special officers “to exercise the powers and discharge the functions” of the Corporations.