The Munnar grama panchayat is hoping for a rare stretch of stability. The last five years have been marked by political turbulence, with five different presidents taking turns at the helm.
Munnar is a popular tourist destination, but the panchayat regularly witnesses hours-long traffic jams and lacks parking facilities. The absence of a bus stand and inconvenience to tourists are among the major concerns.
“Even though there are hundreds of hotels and resorts here,there are no proper waste treatment plants or sewage plants. Wild elephants eating plastic-mixed waste at a panchayat-managed waste treatment plant at Kallar is a regular occurrence,” says a tourism stakeholder. The waste treatment plant at Kallar is not yet full-fledged.
The number of wards in the panchayat has decreased to 20 from 21 after delimitation. Most of the voters here are tea plantation workers, with Tamil voters being the decisive factor.
In the 2020 local body elections, the United Democratic Front (UDF) secured the majority by winning 11 of the 21 seats, and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) 10 seats. However, in January 2022, two UDF members, Praveena Ravikumar and M. Rajendran, defected to the LDF tipping the balance of power. Ms. Ravikumar then became president and Mr. Rajendran vice-president.
