CHENNAI: Saying that the State government has taken away the power of local bodies in sanctioning industrial projects, PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss urged the government to withdraw an order that dilutes the power of civic bodies.

He said that it is not right of the government to snatch away the power to provide new licences and renew licenses of industries from local bodies. The powers have been now given to district collectors, Anbumani said. An amendment has been made in the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994 to this effect, and an order was passed last November, Anbumani said in a statement.

Civic bodies are now left to mutely watch industries plundering the environment as the rights they had have been taken away and handed over to the district Collector, who is an extension of the government machinery, Anbumani said. "It is unfair to take away the powers of the local bodies. From its inception in 1949, DMK has fought for autonomy. But, after it came to power in 1967, the party refused to give powers to local bodies. This is the double standard of the DMK," he said.

In a separate statement, party founder S Ramadoss criticised the decision of the government to allow the Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB) to conduct the State Eligibility Test (SET) for appointing assistant professors in higher education institutions.

"TRB does not have the expertise or manpower to conduct the exercise. The National Eligibility Test is being conducted by the UGC, and the SET is being conducted by UGC-affiliated Universities on a rotational basis," he said.

Warning that the UGC will not approve SET exams conducted by TRB, Ramadoss urged the government to conduct the exam through Universities.