Team Herald
PANJIM: Panchayats Minister Mauvin Godinho on Tuesday said that the State government during the coming Assembly session will work out legislative methods to grant more autonomy and financial strength to panchayat bodies.
Speaking to Herald, Godinho said, “Granting autonomous status to panchayats will result in the local governing body having more powers in decision making and more funds too for developmental purposes. Also, there would be minimum interference of the government. Government control over the panchayat would be restricted.”
The minister also raised concerns of under utilisation of funds provided by the Centre for various panchayats during the last fiscal. Addressing the State level convention for elected representatives and functionaries of panachayat raj institutions, Godinho said, “The State had got sanction for the funds to the tune of Rs 27 crore for the current financial year, of which only Rs 4.5 crore were utilised by the panchayats. I can assure you that if you have a good proposal, the funds will never be a constraint.”
He added, “If we draft proposals and submit them to the Centre, we can get fund to the tune of Rs 150 crore for this tenure of panchayats which can change the face of our villages. But for that all panchayats should pull up their sleeves and draft proposals. Today I can see only some panchayats doing it.”
The minister said that proposals such as of beautification, anti-flooding measures, creation of gardens, recreational spaces for senior citizens and others can be prepared and be funded through Central government’s schemes.
“The elections for panchayat bodies, which were held in 2017, have got a mix of new and experienced faces. We should be able to make utmost use of enthusiasm by new faces and experience of the elder ones,” he suggested.
The government is planning to apply a common cadre to all panchayats, as 90 percent of them want a common cadre. The salary of the panch and sarpanchas will also be raised from April this year.
Reacting to the ODF ranking, Godinho expressed displeasure claiming that we feel that Goa is a world brand, but the reality is that the State does not have proper toilet facilities.
“When a survey was conducted by Directorate of Panchayats it came to our knowledge that 70,000 toilets were needed. We are trying to build 70,000 toilets by October 2018 and we are also trying to make Goa garbage free and for that more garbage treatment plants would come up, one at Quepem and the other at Verna.”
