Ponda:The Borim village panchayat has hit out at the government for its new circular which has asked that all the files be cleared through the Directorate of Panchayat (DoP).
Borim Sarpanch Bhavana Naik and Deputy Deputy Sunil Sawakar termed this as an act of ‘stripping away the powers of the panchayats and Block Development Offices (BDOs) and thereby keeping all the powers in the hands of the government.’
Sawakar demanded that the development work files/ tenders of panchayats should be cleared through the BDO and Engineers at the taluka level, to ensure that there are no complicated processes when it comes to the development of the panchayat area.
He explained how difficult the new proposed system will be and the potential backlog in clearing files.
He said earlier, the development files were cleared through the BDO’s office but the new circular dated 31 July would mean all files are processed through the DoP, EE and AE at Panjim. He added that this would delay the development works as all the files of all panchayats will now be looked at by the Panjim office.
“This would be tedious work at the panchayat and it would take time to carry files to Panjim. Further due to the lengthy procedures, it would take a year’s time for approval of these development files from the Panjim office,” Sawakar added.
He pointed out that earlier it would take two months to clear the files.
