Karnataka - Bangalore

Ugrappa demands white paper on curtailment of powers to GPs

Bangalore: The Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council, V.S. Ugrappa, at a press conference on Tuesday, charged the B.S. Yeddyurappa Government with attempting to snatch the rights of the gram panchayats by centralising power in the hands of a few.

In a statement here recently, the Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Shobha Karandlaje had referred to the appointment of supervisory committees to monitor the implementation of various development schemes in the gram panchayats. The Minister had also spoken on various matters concerning the panchayati raj institutions.

The Opposition leader — who demanded a white paper on the reasons to appoint supervisory committees to monitor the functioning of the gram panchayats and the restrictions placed on hiking wages to daily-wage earners under the rural employment guarantee scheme — said the actions of the incumbent Government were tantamount to violating the provisions of the Constitution (article 243) relating to powers of the local self government [gram panchayats].

Mr. Ugrappa said the Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj had been working overtime in drastically reducing the powers of the gram panchayats, and towards this end, she had recently approved the constitution of supervisory committees for each of the nearly 5,800 gram panchayats in the State. The supervisory committees, among others, comprise members of Stree Shakti groups and teachers and headmasters of Government schools.

The gram panchayats have nearly 91,400 elected members, and their powers in monitoring the works being executed in their given area has thus been relegated to the background. There were also instances where officials in the panchayats were being controlled by the members of the supervisory committees. The recent steps of the Government would prove to be detrimental to the independent functioning of the panchayat raj bodies, he said.

He added that the Minister has also turned down the plea to hike the wages of the daily-wage earners under the national rural employment guarantee scheme (NREGS). Compared to Kerala, where the minimum wage was Rs. 128 a day, in Karnataka the daily wage was just Rs 84 a day. “The Minister has ruled out any increase since it would have an adverse effect on the daily wages paid in other sectors, particularly plantations. Does it mean that the Minister wants the poorer sections of the society to remain poor at the cost of the rich? This is very unfortunate and unbecoming of an elected representative. I demand a white paper wherein the Government shall specify as to how a hike in the minimum wages will have an adverse effect on other sections,” Mr. Ugrappa said.

With reference to the byelections to the Legislative Council in which the Bharatiya Janata Party had emerged victorious in all the three seats, Mr. Ugrappa said the BJP had adopted “dubious means” to win the elections. In certain pockets, the BJP had threatened the voters and in certain others, it had offered inducements. “It is not a straight forward election. The BJP is increasingly adopting dubious ways in electoral politics. It is unfortunate that a national political party is resorting to such steps. Winning the three Legislative Council seats is definitely not a mandate of the people,” he said.

He said, if the BJP is keen on exhibiting its strength and popularity, then it should immediately agree for elections to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, which has been pending for a long time. “Let it test its popularity in Bangalore,” he said.

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