Celebrate democracy, devolve power
Over the past 19 years, even since states were mandated to pass conformity legislation to the 73rd Amendment passed by the Centre in 1993, various states have devolved powers to the local governments, some in good measure and others not so. However, except for a few pockets and some 50 vibrant village panchayats across the country, 66 years after Independence, India is still struggling with democracy especially in delivering it to its villages.
Goa tryst with democracy began in 1961, 14 years after India’s Independence, and village democracy took root in Goa before Parliamentary democracy in 1962. But ironically, Goa figures in the hall of shame together with Pondicherry and Jharkhand which until recently did not devolve a single power out of the 29 powers/functions listed out in Schedule 1. In other words, governments in Goa have been scared to utter the F-words of empowering local governments ~ Funds, Functionaries and Functions.
The Government of Karnataka has devolved all 29 functions to village panchayats. In fact, it was the Karnataka model of local government which was taken up by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and sought to be replicated through the 63rd and 64th Amendments which were defeated in Parliament. The same legislations were brought in the guise of the 73rd and 74th amendments under the Narasimha Rao regime to unleash the second wind of democracy after Independence. It ruptured the glass-ceiling of the feudal and well-heeled elite’s hold over power by bringing in women, Scheduled Castes and OBCs into the power loop in a highly fractious, caste-ridden and orthodox rural India. But what is really the cause for alarm is that Goa, with a high literacy rate of over 85% and a comparatively educated political class when compared to vast swathes of India, lags near the bottom when it comes to devolution of powers. Even Bihar, for example, has devolved powers to the panchayats.
The Congress regime despite its pious platitudes to Rajiv Gandhi on his birth and death anniversaries only paid lip-service to village empowerment despite Rajiv’s unstinted commitment to panchayati raj. Even Rajiv acolyte Mani Shankar Aiyar agreed at an Indian Federalism conference in Kashmir in 2007, that Goa under the Congress had done nothing to empower its villages.
Manohar Parrikar, in his previous regime between 2000 and 2004, had offered hope of devolving powers to grassroots. But government policy on the powers of the gram sabha and specifically on mega projects till date is unclear. In his latest pronouncements, Goa Panchayat Minister Laxmikant Parsekar spoke of “amending the Act” while interacting with Salcete Block panchayat members. He expressed concern that Goan villages are becoming semi-urbanised, expectations of people are growing and this has thrown up a challenge before the government. He also said the issue of mega projects has to be handled carefully, appearing to offer an olive branch to panchayats.
The Salcete panchayats and the South Goa Zilla Panchayat have upped the ante in demanding powers to panchayat and ZPs, while demanding a common cadre for panchayats, salaries to be paid by the State government and demanded functions, funds and functionaries. States such as Kerala have devolved 40% of their revenue to local governments irrespective of the party in power. It is such systemic change that Goa needs.
As India marks its 67th Independence Day, it would be fitting if Goa resolved to devolve at least 10 powers this year to the panchayats and similar powers to the ZPs, otherwise the gigantic exercise of electing nearly 1,500 panchayat representatives, 50 ZP members and then paying salaries to them for doing nothing democratically meaningful is a colossal waste of public money. The State, regardless of which political party is in power, has to devolve functionaries such as technical personnel such as town planners, architects, engineers, draftsmen, agriculturists, electrical engineers, civil engineers, water works and all such technical and support personnel to the Zilla Level and not ask that approval be routed to the Town and Country Planning Department in its bid to retain power. Panchayats have been branded as corrupt and nepotistic as an excuse for not devolving powers, but by this yardstick no powers ought to have been devolved to various state governments by the Centre after 1947! The need of the hour is to let go of power, not concentrate it, and allow the democratic wave to engulf the grassroots.
