Gram Sabhas and their future
It is way too often that the experiment of direct village democracy in Goa, through participation of the people, ends in sparks, heated discussions and abrupt adjournments. The village parliament, as it were, which is intended to help the village adults to deliberate on issues concerning their collective destiny amicably, too often becomes a farce, given the political, class, caste, group or moneyed interests at play within each gram sabha, which in turn is a reflection of the same in the village.
Sometimes even mundane discussions on constructing playgrounds or parking end up in high-decibel sparring as witnessed at Colva and Calangute panchayats this Sunday. Small stimulus is enough for the gram sabha members to promptly gherao the sarpanch and members. At other times the sarpanch and elected members are accused of biased decisions, influenced by political, moneyed or their own vested interests. Then there is the trend of village groups being accused of much the same when it comes to opposing plans with all legal permissions.
The question as to who is right and wrong on each occasion is of marginal interest, but the tottering of village democracy as a result of these shenanigans is of prime concern to observers, in a highly literate state such as Goa. Often it is the issues of environment versus development that generate the maximum heat, but the purpose of the gram sabha is to develop a consensus and debate solutions. For instance, even as there is a consensus at the Nagargao gram sabha over opposing the Tiger Reserve since it impinges upon the locals’ habitat in Sattari, the gram sabha needs to prepare studied arguments to make a case in the people rights versus habitat debate.
Very often the clash between and within gram sabha groups and elected representatives occurs since priorities have not been determined for the village collectively. Ideally, the village panchayat has to do natural, human and financial resource mapping, through volunteer committees and enlist all state and central government schemes. This data is a sine qua non for formulating a 20-year participatory village plan. While formulating the plan, various discussions on principles of planning, village priorities in terms of human and infrastructural development, et al have to be defined. And this can be done by mobilizing experts for technical inputs, mobilizing finances and doing the plan with dedicated zeal since the village destiny cannot be run through a part-time body. But this is a far cry today. Gram sabhas, with honorable exceptions, are reduced to playing one prejudice against another.
Once the priorities are agreed upon by widespread consensus, the village plan and priorities have to be legitimized by taking on board the Zilla panchayat, the District planning committee, local MLA and finally the government. Very often both local panchas and people play ball with the local MLA for petty individual interests to override the greater common good. On horizontal platforms, sarpanchas and panchas cry hoarse that they are not devolved powers and finances, but when it comes to electoral patronage and party leanings, they run with the hare and hunt with the hound.
The village plan should be an issue in Assembly elections and candidates who do not support the village plan should not get the people’s vote. And once all permissions and legalities are fulfilled, nobody should try and blackmail anyone. The plan should define areas for small to medium sized residential development as well as conservation of nature, and development such as stadia, roads, market places, and even government offices should be located on rocky, barren, uncultivable land and not in fields cultivated over centuries of hard work by our ancestors. The principles of natural justice should have primacy at gram sabha discussions. States such as Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and even Rajasthan with drawbacks of large population and geographical area have shown many how village democracy can be worked to transform the lives of people. In particular, the village panchayats of Elappully, Akathethara and Adatt in Kerala, Raleigaon Siddhi in Maharashtra, Kuttumbakam Panchayats in Tamil Nadu and Ittamadu, Ghat Boral and Madamakki in Karnataka have shown the power of village democracy and balancing the needs of economic growth with preserving nature’s bounty.
Gram sabhas in Goa if they continue just releasing hot air without due diligence to mapping out a transformative narrative for the lives of the people and don’t desist from settling personal scores will cease to be taken seriously.
