PANJIM: With elections to 186 village panchayats fast approaching, the biggest question before the new elected body would be whether powers under the 73rd Constitutional Amendment will be devoted to them.
What is interesting is that Goa is the only State in the country where the successive State governments have failed to empower its panchayats and gram sabhas to take decision in 29 matters that include agriculture, education, health, land reforms and many more.
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This has been admitted by the Union government in Parliament. The then Union Minister for Panchayati Raj Narendra Singh Tomar in a submission in Lok Sabha had said that Goa is the only State where all powers are not devolved to village panchayats.
Sources from the panchayat department confirmed that Goa has failed to devolve all 29 powers to the village panchayats under the 73rd Constitutional amendment. “Government is working on it. But you know there are political pressures,” sources said.
The experts from the field too believe that in the absence of attempt from the government to empower village panchayats and Zilla Panchayats (ZPs), they are unable to take decisions and have to depend on Block Development Officers (BDOs) or concerned departments.
Former Socorro Panchayat member Soter D’Souza said in absence of devolution of powers, the village panchayats have to be dependent on the concerned departments to get their works done. He said that there are 29 powers under 73rd amendment but none are devolved. “This is a sorry state of affairs,” he said.
A panchayat member for 16-long years and former Chodan-Maddel sarpanch Premanand Mhambre said the government is not keen to give powers to the grassroot-level bodies. He said during his term as panchayat member, they had even approached Court, who had directed the government to implement 73rd Constitutional amendment in toto but that never happened.
Civic Society activist Roland Martins said the powers presently vested with the village panchayats are still not being used. He said panchayats have failed to implement the Gram Panchayat Development Plans and there is poor utilisation of the finances. “So this election, people need to be vigilant to see that with powers there must be financial accountability and transparency in decision making,” he said.
Former Candolim sarpanch Tomazinho Cardozo said the powers are not devolved only because the MLAs are not in favour. “MLAs are so afraid that if these powers are implemented, they will be left with no work and will have no upper hand. This is not a good sign”, said Cardozo, who is also the former Speaker.
According to Goa Panchayat Raj Institute Union convenor J Santano Rodrigues, ‘It seems that the government is deliberately not giving powers and funds to the elected bodies as per the 73th and 74th Constitutional amendments. The State government had given assurance to the High Court a number of times regarding this issue, but it is now over a decade that nothing positive has happened. This is because the MLAs do not want to lose their control in the constituencies, when their main duty is to legislate and much less development.”
Former Camurlim sarpanch Basilio Fernandes said every successful government is not interested in giving powers to the local bodies. I feel that till the MLAs stop interfering in the matters of the village panchayat, devolution of powers to local bodies is not possible.
Fernandes further stated that the MLAs want the village panchayat to dance on their tunes. They want panchayats in their control.
Former Colva sarpanch Anthony `Mam’ Fernandes said he had been panchayat member for last many years and many times felt that the local bodies had no value as everything is decided from the top. He demanded that panchayat bodies should get their rightful powers.
Navelim BJP legislator Ulhas Tuenkar is also of the opinion that the local bodies in the State need to get more powers.
“Local bodies need to get more powers so that it helps for the betterment and overall development of the village,” he said adding, “I had raised this issue in the recently concluded Assembly session, more specially pertaining to Zilla Panchayats (ZPs).
The voice of the people should be respected in view of the right decision for the village, said Tuenkar, who had been the sarpanch and also the ZP member before getting elected as MLA.
