Kiran Bedi bats for elected panchayat bodies in Pondy

Lt Governor Kiran Bedi has made out a strong case for elected Panchayat bodies in the Union Territory which are now bureaucratically administered.
She said in her twitter handle after visiting villages under her week end trips to rural areas today that "my week end rounds to rural areas reveal the need for Panchayat system in Puducherry, which is non existent now".
She said that the Panchayat bodies are needed "to address the civic and skill development issues".
Union Territory of Puducherry had its last civic polls in 2006 and that was the first civic poll under the Puducherry Municipalities, Commune and Village Panchayats Act 1963.

Puducherry has two municipal councils while Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam regions have one municipality each.
There are 10 commune panchayats (five each in Puducherry and Karaikal) besides 98 village panchayats in all the four regions.
After the term of office of the municipal bodies ended in 2011 the government appointed special officers to govern them.