MARGAO: Taking serious note of adjournment of Curtorim gram sabha, several local resident and local leaders of Curtorim constituency charged that it was big mistake on the part of Panchayat Secretary for not checking whether the notice of the gram sabha was served to panch members or not.
Many are of the opinion that gram sabha should have been conducted in the absence of the sarpanch.
It is pertinent to note that the Curtorim gram sabha called to discuss several important issues including the draft agricultural policy was adjourned as most of the panch members, including the Sarpach, refrained from attending the meeting. Villagers were in total shock to witness only two panch members in attendance, including the deputy sarpanch.
Reacting on the issue, Anthony Barbosa, Vice-president of BJP ST Morcha
alleged that it was a mistake on the part of the Panchayat Secretary.
“The secretary should have checked if notices pertaining to the meeting were served to all the panch members or not. It was his duty to see that notices were served before the scheduled date,” he said. A local resident said that gram sabha is a must in order to discuss the issues pertaining to development and betterment of the village.
“Nobody can deny the rights of the villagers. We are hearing that nothing is going well among the panch members and the result of this mess is seen on Sunday; adjournment of the gram sabha,” he alleged.
Meanwhile, Barbosa expressed confidence that the STs will get the political reservation in the 2027 Assembly elections.
“All, including the government and the opposition MLAs, want political reservation to be given to the ST community. We have high hopes that the delegation will be able to convince the Central government to declare the reservation. However, all the ST community groups need to come together and fight for the cause, instead of demanding reservation individually,” he said.
