03 Jul 2022  |   06:46am IST

Goa’s local self-governance has been damned and there’s no accountability

The Bombay High Court at Goa has dismissed the Goa government's repeated attempts to postpone the Panchayat elections and given the State Election Commission (SEC) 45 days to complete the entire election process. The high court came down heavily on what it saw as the government's deliberate attempt to literally subvert the constitutional mandate to conduct elections on time. Is the administration undermining our local self-governance, which is so critical to the functioning of Goan Polity? What does the High Court ruling signify? SUJAY GUPTA finds out answers to these critical questions by speaking to experts from civil society in the weekly Herald TV debate, Point-counterpoint.
Goa’s local self-governance has been  damned and there’s no accountability

The attempt by the Goa government to postpone the panchayat elections is a larger issue of undermining local self-governance in the way it should be carried out. Article 243 (E) 1 of the Indian Constitution very specifically states that every Panchayat shall continue to function for five years and no longer. The words ‘no longer are very clear. Article 243 (E) 3 also says that elections to constitute upon charge shall be completed before the expiry of 

its duration.

That the elections that had to be constituted at a particular point of time were not done and efforts were made to postpone it and the buck was passed on to SEC by saying that the latter was not keen to do it, smacked of malaise on part of State government.

The government-appointed administrators are lower division clerks, UDCs who are not fit to carry out the affairs of local self-government even for one month, leave alone three months.

So, the underlying point here is, are we undermining our local self-governance which is so critical to the functioning of Goan Polity?

Advocate Cleofato Coutinho Almeida lauding the court said that this was not the first time that Panchayat elections or municipal elections were sought to be postponed on some ground or the other. 

“If you look at the present Panchayat election postponement by the government, it looks like a scandal. See, all of us thought that the elections were getting postponed because the government had not prepared the OBC reservations in line with the Supreme Court judgment. The panchayat minister and the chief minister told us a number of times that they want to go ahead with elections as per the direction of the Supreme Court. They could not implement the directives and that is why they had to postpone the elections,” Almeida stated.

But when it came to the court, they said the month of June-August it's the rainy season and the government couldn’t hold elections in the rains. 

“But I think this is something which the court was not buying, none of us were buying. In fact, when the high court was told because of rains we cannot hold elections I think we were all shocked. But then if during rains you cannot hold elections right, why did you not hold the election before the rains,” Almeida asked.

Almeida also added that the MLAs are busy executing civic work. All this work which otherwise should be done by local bodies like panchayats, municipalities, Zilla panchayats, etc is being done by the MLAs.

“I don't think our government and our MLAs must burden themselves with this type of work. They should be serious with legislative work, they should be serious with work of policy formulation, they should be ready with asking questions, ready with supplementary, maybe Private Members Bills. As I look at the next Assembly session, according to me it would be road, electricity, and toilets that they would be discussing in the house.I don't think the government or the MLAs are serious about policy formulation. And as far as our government is concerned, they have never taken the local government local bodies seriously,” Almeida observed.

Former sarpanch of Socorro Sandeep Vazarkar, speaking about why he filed the petition challenging the postponement of panchayat elections, said if the election is not held on time, then there would be a lot of problems in panchayat areas. 

“The main problem is the issue of garbage. The second issue is stray dogs. If a stray dog dies, who will remove it? If a cattle die on the road, then Panch members have to clear it,” he said.

The issue is that this whole attempt to postpone panchayat elections is not just about undermining democracy or the Indian Constitution but it's a pattern of undermining local self-government or local self-governance as a whole.

Kumar Kalanand Mani, referring to the statement made by the Chief Justice of India at a conference of the judges of high courts and Supreme Court in the presence of State chief ministers and the prime minister, said that the government has become the biggest litigant in India and he further said that that it is very visible that government is not acting as per the land of 

the law.

“If the government will not honour the law, if the government will not respect the Constitution of this country, then how will democracy exist in the country? The Panchayati Raj Act 1994 is 26 years old. And the government has several layers of system to govern the panchayat or manage the panchayat from the grassroots level upwards, to the ministerial level. And therefore, for me the serious question is how government dares to violate the constitutional provisions? Mani asked.

Moreover, why no accountability is fixed on anyone for violating the constitutional provisions?

“Even in this judgment where the government has been directed to hold the election, but the accountability is not fixed for violating the constitutional provisions. Unless the concerned officers or ministers are punished for ignoring, undermining, and violating the constitutional provisions the game between the power brokers will continue. If a common people can be punished by the court of law  why not the ministers or chief minister or concerned election commission?” Mani questioned.

The MLAs look at panchayats only for the sake of their vote banks nothing beyond. But the overall philosophy espoused by Mahatma Gandhi that ‘greater power to the panchayat is better for the people,’ is still missing. This was the slogan at the time the 73rd amendment was passed.

Another very interesting point here is that the government’s initial narrative was a little different. The narrative was focused on OBC reservations. When it came to this whole petition and the response to the petition, the reasons for postponement changed completely. In fact, the court has actually observed this and they've actually said in para 25 of the later orders where they dismissed the application of the government to postpone it further.

“I would not blame the SEC at all because SEC is on affidavit said that ‘we are ready and willing to conduct elections.”The SEC may have dragged its feet as recorded by the high court on some occasions, like for instance, asking the government to take clarification from the court. But the fact of the matter is SEC said, it is prepared to conduct elections. They have filed an affidavit to that effect. While the government which told us all along about OBC reservations suddenly took a turn and reasoned about monsoons.

“So, I would look at it this way that the government somehow on some pretext or other wanted to postpone elections. Now, why they wanted to postpone, I also can't answer this question. Probably they have something to do with the help of administrators without people coming to know, and that is why postponement. Otherwise, I don't see any reason why election was being postponed,” Vazarkar said.

On the equally serious issue of corruption, Vazarkar added that there is no absolute corruption in panchayats. He added that “there is some corruption going on” but not every sarpanch or every Panch is corrupt. “But then this is also a fact that you cannot give any license without the consent of MLA or minister,” he underlined.

Almeida said that the problem is that every department is corrupt. “You start with, say, licensing from the town and country planning department and look at the panchayats. They are almost robbed of all power. The only power which they exercise is the right to grant a license. Now even that license is subject to the town and country planning department. And, I am not condoning what they are doing. I am saying the whole system is corrupt and they are part of that corrupt system. They are part of that corrupt system,” he said.

Kalanand Mani said, “I have seen(studied) panchayats in Goa since the 1980s.I can say that till 1990, the panchayats were fairly, you know, honest in their functioning. Since the funds for welfare schemes started pouring in, the corruption became rampant.”

Corroborating with Mani’s remarks, Almeida added: “He’s right. In 1990, the real estate boom also started. This real estate boom has created havoc with our land. Number two, the amount of corruption is directly proportional to the development, and when I mean development, I mean the construction in those, ‘so-called developers’ and ‘so-called development’, in those areas. It is directly related to that. And finally, look at our MLAs today. If you look at the list of MLAs how many of them are real estate dealers? Just make a list of them and see if so many MLAs are real estate dealers.”

What is the effect on village governance if you do not have Gram Sabha? How does the absence of the Gram Sabha affect village function?

“The Gram Sabha sees people’s participation. If Gram Sabha does not happen, then the panchayats can get away with illegalities. If there is a Gram Sabha people come and attend these meetings as issues are discussed openly. If the villagers suspect any anomaly, they immediately flag it. So (holding) Gram Sabhas is a must. I mean if there is no Gram Sabha then I don't know what would have happened to Goa,” Vazarkar said.

Gram Sabhas act as a filter to the functioning of the Panchayats themselves. Very often, the voice of the Gram Sabha makes the Panchayat check itself in case they're doing any corrupt activity. And that's extremely important.

“According to me, the Gram Sabhas have played a role in protecting what we call our village demography. Like a village Gram Sabha may not have much control over the Regional Plan 2021, but still, they would take a stand on it. Every Gram Sabha would take a stand on it. We find that on the three linear projects, the double-tracking, the coal issue, even in panchayats where the issue is not relevant, they would raise this issue. So, I would say particularly in the coastal belt the Gram Sabhas have played a very aggressive role and what is left of Goa it is because of the role played by them,” Almeida opined.

Now many Grams Sabhas are functioning in a manner that may not be correct in terms of law, but still, they are functioning, which has helped save what is left of Goa.

“If you go to Mopa Greenfield Airport area, you will find the Investment Promotion Board (IPB) is clearing so many projects which may not be within the purview of the Gram Sabha. But still, the people from Mopa are raising voices over what is happening. Now, in this current scenario, without panchayats, without Gram Sabha, certain things could work out very easily for the government and I don’t know if that is the main reason why the government did not want elections for three or four months. Possibly that is some hidden agenda. We do not know,” Almeida observed.

Mani said that the Panchayats’ powers were reduced by the previous government as well and surprisingly panchayats did not raise their voices against curtailing their power.

“For example, the village panchayat is the sole authority of a village, and no way should government undermine the functioning of panchayats. Therefore, the existence of Gram Sabha is very important to take care of the welfare and also the existence of the panchayats. Panchayats should also be alert and fight for their autonomy. At the same time the government, if it is committed to the Goan cause and Goan welfare, should then take Gram Sabha and Panchayat into confidence every time,” Almeida said.

The infrastructure projects that have been coming to Goa in last 20-25 years have been quite damaging for the community.

“If voices of dissent have emerged against such large projects, it has been from panchayats. Take for instance the Nylon 6,6 project (proposed in Keri Ponda). It was the Gram Sabha that opposed the Nylon 6,6. In Cotigao where the wildlife sanctuary was coming and the government wanted to displace the people, it was the Gram Sabha that opposed the displacement,” Mani said.

So, because of the Gram Sabha, the people of the village know the reality of local resources in their life and they are more concerned to conserve their life and their resources than any authority from outside and that is the relevance of the village Panchayats. So, if any agency wants to do anything within the geography of the village panchayat, Gram Sabha and the panchayat must be taken into confidence.

Mani added that may be one of the reasons why this government is not very keen to have strong panchayats in Goa is because the hidden agenda or “agenda of the corporates are getting blocked by the panchayats. Panchayats are not against development, but they are first supporting the protection of the panchayat.”

Almeida said Special Economic Zone (SEZ) was thrown out because the policy was creating an island within the State. “That’s how, if you look at the investment promotion board, it is almost doing the same thing. People threw out the SEZ from Goa and the government was forced to commit that it won’t be associated with Goa. And keep in mind at that time we had a Congress government. The Congress government here had to reject it. That was because of the pressure various groups had put on the government,” Almeida said.

Vazarkar, who has been a panch member since 2007, said that in earlier times, the government approach used to be lot different than what is seen now. “That time if the people raised voice against a certain issue in the Gram Sabha, then the government would listen. But now Panchayats are controlled by MLAs People are afraid of the MLAs. Why? They want jobs, work…,” he opined.

Almeida added that today the panchayats are too much dependent on the MLAs for jobs, schemes, and passing of the plans. For every next step, you are dependent on the MLAs.

When asked if it was an absolute mandate under the Panchayat Raj to reserve wards for OBCs or was it only for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, Almeida said, “See, as far as the Constitution is concerned, there is provision for SC and ST. Now, this OBC reservation is mandated under the judgment of the Supreme Court. But the fact of the matter is, in the Madhya Pradesh matter, yes, nowhere I could find that unless you have an OBC reservation you shall not hold elections. Such a mandate is not there anywhere.”

And in any case, if an OBC reservation is required, why didn’t the government prepare for it? It is the same government that is in power today, the same government that was in power earlier. Why did it not prepare the OBC list?

Mani said that there are instances where interested groups go to the court and somehow, they get a kind of order which blocks the functioning of the constitutional systems.

“The Constitution is very clear. That there is a reservation only for two categories --one is an SC and ST and another is women. There is no mention of OBC under the Panchayat Raj Act. So how will, even a High Court, will give a judgment on something which is not even part of the Act?” he asked.

Is there a movement in Goa where more and more people can come in? Are there many people across Goa who feel the civil society groups will go to any extent to see the elections happen?

“A lot of people – individuals and groups - are saying, “Yes, we are with you. We want an election. “And we have a group of panch members of Bardez, who are also saying that they want elections. So, because we are the panch members, we are working round-the-clock to give people what they need because we know how desperately people want the elections to happen,” Vazarkar said.

Almeida added by saying that he was happy that the high court has risen to the occasion and helped resolve a crisis created by the government. 

“Not always courts rescue citizens in such issues. So, I would say in such matters, Kalanand Mani was right in saying that after the elections were postponed there was no movement from the people and from the panchayats. See, according to me, there is a failure there. That somehow, we are taking everything lying down because our MLAs are okay with this system,” he said.

There are 186 panchayats under which about seven to eight lakh people live, if not more. Now the issue is that postponement of elections actually affected the progress, the development, and the rights of seven to eight lakh people. How long will we always have to knock at the doors of the court, by spirited individuals and groups when it comes to the environment and other issues concerning the lives of people?

“I see duality on the part of civil society organizations in Goa. When civil society organisations in Goa need panchayats’ help or Gram Sabha's help in resolving their issues or supporting their issues that time they go to Gram Sabha or they mobilize the Gram Sabha, they mobilize the support of the Gram Panchayat. But when it comes to the existence or strengthening of the Gram Sabha, in this kind of affair, civil society organizations in Goa are least interested. So, you want their support but you are not supporting them. See the people in panchayats do not have that kind of spark from within to strive for their authority as local self-government,” Mani said.

But although we saw that during the regional plan, there was a very big agitation. “But even in that, the civil society organizations were working directly-indirectly with the panchayats. But when it comes to the panchayats’ own interest, at that time I don't find many examples where the civil society organizations have stood or supported the village Panchayats,” Mani said.

There's one interesting point in this debate, which is the role of the administrators and whether these administrators have any role or not. And the kind of people who've been appointed as administrators makes one wonder whether they have been appointed to conduct serious business or not? What is the profile of people who've been made administrators?

“Government appointed the administrator but before that the Sarpanch is there and full body is there. These administrators are not fit for the Sarpanch's post or the government administrator's post. They are locals or clerks. There’s nothing against clerks. No disrespect to them but they may not be equipped or qualified. There should be proper criteria set for the appointment of administrators. Basically, an administrator should be somebody who has some knowledge of local government,” Varazkar said.

Almeida said that one good thing that has emerged from the litigation is that the court has said it will not take any policy decisions. So, if the court says they shall not take policy decisions, then it is good. But that was not the idea, they wanted policy decisions to be taken. But at least the court has put an end to this.

Mani then asked why the government did not think of continuing with the existing panchayat members as caretakers till the elections were held? There was no need for appointing administrators. 

Almeida said that they could have continued. “If you couldn’t have had the elections in time, then the same set of panch members could have continued with an extension another six months.”

Mani said that but an extension could have been given till the elections because they know the affairs. 

The spirit of local self-governance, which is so strong in Goa, needs to be preserved. The voice of the Gram Sabha cannot be quashed, but the irony is that there is not enough of a push from the people when these voices are getting crushed. So, there is something wrong with society itself and people themselves. So, these are various strands to unpack and take home but as long as we seriously think about it, we will understand that without local self-governance Goa cannot be governed.

IDhar UDHAR

Idhar Udhar