Letter to the Governor

To:

Sri. T. N. Chaturvedi,                                                                                                     Date: 14.4.07

The Honourable Governor of Karnataka

Bangalore

Respected Sri. Chaturvedijee,

We read with deep concern that the Karnataka Legislature passed the Karnataka Panchayati Raj Amendment 2007 yesterday (April 13^th 2007).

This Amendment is a damagingly regressive move that undermines the powers, authority and mandate of the Gram Panchayats in Karnataka, a State that has been hailed as a 'trail blazer' in decentralisation and self-governance. It is a flagrant violation of the 73 ^rd Constitutional Amendment and several legislations and orders that have been passed by the State - that mandate the actual transfer of powers and functions to the Panchayats; as it imposes conditionality on the powers of the Panchayats to identify beneficiaries and reassigns this role to an 'officer of the Government' or a 'MLA Committee appointed by the Government'.  

We also believe that the Secretary Law, Government of Karnataka wrote a strong note against this Bill, stating that it was unconstitutional.

We therefore request you Sir, to consider the unconstitutionality and serious demerits of this Bill and refuse your assent to it, or recommend this Bill for Presidential Assent.

We trust that this amendment will not be allowed to become law so that the commitment we have made as a State and a Nation to devolve powers to the Panchayats continues to be respected.   

With respectful regards,

Nandana Reddy

Director Development