There is no dearth of candidates for the panchayat polls. Over 7000 nominations have been filed for the 1522 wards in 186 panchayats in the State, making it an average of five nominations per ward, some of which have just about 300 voters. While this gives the voters a wide choice in their selection, it also indicates, in general, a heightened interest in political awareness and a desire in building up the village and the community.
Yet, with sitting and former panchas and sarpanchas claiming on various occasions that powers have not been devolved to the local governing bodies and funds meant for them do not reach the panchayats on time holding up development works, the aspect of building up the village and community is questionable. But this, the non-devolution of powers and financial setbacks, however, do not appear to have deterred prospective candidates from entering the panchayat poll fray. There have been queues of candidates waiting to file their nominations outside the Returning Officers cabins displaying an eagerness seldom seen before.
With the last date of filing nominations over, and the campaign ready to start, the big task after the polls is for the panchas who are going to be elected to prevail upon the government to give them all the powers under the Panchayti Raj Act so that the spirit of the Act that envisages power to the people is realised. On the other hand, it would be for the government to also voluntarily part with some of the powers it is holding to, so as to strengthen the panchayat system in the State. But that is unlikely to happen unless the grassroots leaders prevail up the government to act.
As envisaged, the panchayats were to be grassroots bodies that would empower the people through governance, giving them what they most required. It was the belief that the people in the villages knew what was best for them that boosted the idea of Panchayti Raj leading to the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution giving them more powers. But, even 24 years after the amendment to the Constitution, in Goa this has not happened. While a two-tier system is in place, panchayats today are looked upon as mere bodies that will bend to the will of the local MLA or the party in power, with Panchayati Raj activists calling them ‘extension booths’ of the government and not local self-governments.
Power to the people, as envisaged by the Panchayati Raj system will happen when the elected representatives to these village bodies begin to collectively act like the local self governments they are meant to be, rather than the ‘extension booths’ of the government that they are called today. It is not enough to merely complain of powers not being devolved, the elected panchas too require to assert their rights as representatives of the people and demand that they be treated as partners in the State’s development, rather than as agents of the government in getting government projects implemented at the village level.
The panchayat system needs to be strengthened. A weak local self governing body dependent on the government for funds and for programmes, places the reins in the hands of the government. With panchayat elections now just a few days away, can candidates, besides promising development in the villages, also pledge to take up with the government the devolution of powers to the panchayats? It is not just the village bodies that are constrained by this non-devolution of powers, but the district bodies – the Zilla Parishads – also face the same predicament. Together, the village and district bodies needs to get what is due to them, if Panchayati Raj as envisaged is to prevail in the State.
