The Hindu : PM to chair meet on panchayats

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 02, 2002

National

National

PM to chair meet on panchayats

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI APRIL 1. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, will inaugurate a two-day all-India Panchayat Adhyaksha Sammelan here on April 5. The Ministry of Rural Development has convened the conference to find out if the panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) were in place and empowered as envisaged under the 73th constitutional amendments. The leader of the Opposition, Sonia Gandhi, will deliver the keynote address.

As many as 2,000 delegates, including eminent social worker Anna Hazare, and Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Ministers from States are expected to participate.

The conference is being held after most States have conducted elections to the PRIs. Only Arunachal Pradesh, Pondicherry, Jharkhand and Uttaranchal are yet to hold elections. One of the issues under scrutiny would be the problem of holding elections every five years as is mandatory.

Giving this information here today, the Rural Development Minister, Venkaiah Naidu, said the conference would focus on building consensus on issues such as devolution of powers and funds to PRIs, resource mobilisation and planning at grassroots level, functioning of gram sabhas and social audit in matters of development process.

However, on the key issue of routing funds through the Block Development Officer (BDO), under District Collectors, Mr. Naidu said funds had to be routed through the State's executive machinery.

Asked whether this was not contrary to the spirit of devolution of funds and powers to panchayats under the Constitution, he said the Constitution was silent on this.

However, some States such as Kerala, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh have empowered panchayats to spend funds without taking clearance from the BDO or district officials.

The conference will review whether the States were implementing the mandatory provisions such as 33 per cent reservation for women and proportionate reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

The Ministry had set up a task force to suggest steps for decentralising funds, functions and functionaries to the PRIs with regard to 29 subjects under the Constitution, including collection of taxes, development of agriculture, minor irrigation, watershed development, animal husbandry, fisheries, rural housing, drinking water, fuel and fodder, roads, adult and non-formal education, cultural activities, women and child development, health and sanitation, public distribution system and maintenance of community assets.

The report of the task force had been sent to the States and their response would be discussed at the conference.

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