History of Block Panchayat
The formation of Alappuzha district took place on March 27, 1957. Prior to that, the administrative supervision of the people of Kuttanad was vested with the Kottayam District Collector. Apart from agriculture, cattle rearing, poultry farming, industry, women and child welfare, and co-operation, matters related to the Land Tribunal were also under the Development Block at that time. Understanding the hardships faced by the people of Kuttanad, who had to travel miles to Kottayam to fulfill their needs, they began raising a demand before the authorities for a Block Office in this region. Since the powers of the Land Tribunal were also vested in the Block Development Officers, the difficulties faced directly by the people were numerous. Realizing this, a committee formed under the leadership of prominent citizens decided to acquire land to construct the first Block Office building. By then, in 1954, the Block Office had already started functioning in the Oottupura belonging to the Kumaramkary Devaswom.
In order to apprise the District Collector of the unique characteristics of this region, which was under the jurisdiction of the Kottayam Collector, it was decided to welcome Collector Shri. Devasahayam with an escort of three chundan vallams (snake boats) to make him aware of the issues. According to the agreement reached then, the Kottayam District Collector himself, vide LA Order No. 275/1995 dated 10-12-1995, acquired two acres of land from the temple property from the office-bearers of Kumaramkary Devaswom as an administrative grievance redressal measure. A building was constructed on it independently, and the Veliyanad Block Office started functioning in this building in 1955.
During the initial phase of the Block's operation, Block Development Committees were formed, and the said committee supervised all activities. In the first stage, the government directly nominated individuals who had proven excellence in each sector to these committees, and a Chairman and Vice-Chairman were elected from among them. Shri. Joseph Kunchu Padiyara, Shri. M.K. Purushothaman Das, and Shri. V.G. Kuttappan served as Chairmen during various periods. Development activities, where and how they should be implemented, were decided by the Block Development Committees.
In the beginning, the panchayats of Kurichi, Vazhappally, Neelamperoor, Muttar, Ramankary, and Veliyanad were included in the Block. With the formation of Alappuzha District, Pulincunnoo Panchayat from Kuttanad Development Block and Kavalam Panchayat from Aryad Block were included in the Veliyanad Block, while Kurichi and Vazhappally panchayats, which were included in Kottayam District, were excluded. Currently, the six panchayats of Pulincunnoo, Kavalam, Veliyanad, Neelamperoor, Muttar, and Ramankary are within the limits of this Block. Shri. Thomas Kappanayil, Shri. Muhammed Kunju Rawther, and Shri. O. Joseph were the BDOs (Block Development Officers) in the beginning. During the tenure of Honorable Minister Shri. K.M. Kora, a committee consisting of Sarvashri A.J. Joseph Puthenpura, Imboola Gopalakrishnan, Madathani M.E. Neelakandapillai, and Prof. P.K. Narayana Pillai took the lead in the construction of the Block Office and other matters. Schemes implemented right from the initial period included arranging boats, ferry boats, and ferry canoes; constructing canals, walkways, and bridges; distributing seedlings; and providing assistance for poultry and cattle farming.
For the general public and employees, traveling to reach the Block Office located in Kumaramkary was a major problem. A boat service from Changanassery was the only mode of travel. Floods also affected the operations of the Block Office. Due to these reasons, it was decided to shift the Block Office headquarters from Kumaramkary. The relocation of the headquarters was very arduous. With the advent of the M.C. Road, a general decision was made to shift the Block Office headquarters to a roadside location with better travel facilities, specifically to Ramankary. Accordingly, the Block Development Committee decided in August 1975 to shift the Block Office to Ramankary. The role played by the then BDO, Shri. K. Joseph, in this final move was invaluable. In light of the information that the administrative leaders of the Ramankary Village Service Co-operative Bank No. 4041 would construct and provide a Block Office building of their own, the Block Office temporarily started functioning on August 6, 1976, moving from Kumaramkary to building number 377 in the present 3rd ward of Ramankary Panchayat and from there, it was shifted and established in the building at Ramankary. Subsequently, the Block Office has been functioning since September 15, 1985, in a new building constructed on land provided by the Ramankary Service Co-operative Bank at Survey No. 217/1 near AC Road in Manaladi, Ramankary Village.
With the implementation of the Panchayat Raj Act, the three-tier panchayat system was implemented in Kerala as well. Elections were held to the Veliyanad Block Panchayat along with other panchayat committees. Eight divisions namely Mampuzhakkary, Pulincunnoo, Kavalam, Narakathara, Neelamperoor, Veliyanad, Ramankary, and Muttar were included in this Block Panchayat. In the election held on September 25, 1995, Shri. Alex Mathew from Mampuzhakkary division, Smt. Brinto Chacko Verghese from Pulincunnoo division, Adv. T.S. Sureshkumar from Kavalam division, Smt. Maniyamma Damodaran from Narakathara division, Shri. G. Sharangadharan from Neelamperoor division, Shri. Joseph K. Nelluvelil from Veliyanad division, Shri. Thankappan Karuppan from Ramankary division, and Smt. Mollykutty Joseph from Muttar division were elected. On October 2, 1995, the members of the Veliyanad Block Panchayat took their oath and assumed office. Shri. Thankappan Karuppan was elected as the Chairman of the Finance Standing Committee and Smt. Maniyamma Damodaran as the Chairperson of the Welfare Standing Committee on December 16, 1996. The BDO also functions as the Block Panchayat Secretary.
The Block Panchayat Committee consists of the elected members as well as the presidents of the 6 Grama Panchayats. The first administrative committee meeting took the decision to build the Block Panchayat Office. An amount of 8.86 lakh rupees was received from the Government for this purpose, and the first building was constructed using this fund.