Team Herald
MARGAO: Panchayats in South Goa have questioned the government’s seriousness in carrying out district planning activities as envisaged under the Indian constitution, in view of the multiple delays on that front.
The villagers are also concerned that these local bodies may miss out on funds granted by the finance commission if the government fails to submit the district development plan (DDP).
The Goa Panchayati Raj Institutions Union (GPRIU) has also questioned the priorities of the elected Zilla Panchayat Members and the government given that successive South Goa Zilla Panchayats (SGZPs) had failed to take this issue to the logical end.
General secretary of the All-Goa Panchayats Democratic Forum and Rachol Sarpanch Joseph Vaz, shared an example to elucidate the sentiments of panchayats.
“The Rachol panchayat gave its village development plan long back to the ZP for necessary action but till date, we have received no response. I think the government has no will to do it, as it has failed to implement it in time. This will affect the development and functioning of the panchayats,” said Vaz.
While the SGZP members are on the District Planning Committee (DPC) and the SGZP Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the ex-officio member of the DPC, there has been little progress in preparing the DDP. MLAs and the MP are also part of the committee. While most panchayats have submitted their respective village development plans, there has been a gap from the municipalities in forwarding the plans of their respective towns, which were also required for the total compilation of the comprehensive DDPS.
