The Hindu

The Hindu

(Thursday, Jul 19, 2007)

Karnataka - Bangalore

MLCs petition Governor on PR Bill

Staff Reporter

Chaturvedi urged not to give assent to it

The Bill was passed in both Houses despite stiff opposition

Governor promises to look into plea

BANGALORE: Several MLCs from the Congress, Janata Dal (U) and Independents on Wednesday petitioned Governor T.N. Chaturvedi, urging him not to give assent to the Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill 2007, passed by the legislature in April saying that the amendment to allow legislators to have a say in the decisions made by gram panchayats was against the principles of decentralisation.

The delegation of over 20 MLCs met the Governor and voiced its apprehensions about the consequences of amendment to Section 3 Sub-section 3(b) and (c) which will effectively withdraw the powers vested with the panchayats to select beneficiaries for various schemes, or nullify the decisions made at gram sabhas, if the Government finds that the gram panchayats are “not functioning properly”.

The Bill was opposed by several members in both Houses, but it was passed, and in the Upper House, it was passed by the tie-breaking vote of the Chairman.

The Janata Dal (U) MLC, Basavaraj Bommai, said the delegation told Mr. Chaturvedi that instead of tinkering with the decentralisation and empowerment of panchayati raj institutions, the Government should concentrate on providing infrastructure and dedicated staff, so that the question of the panchayats “not performing properly” did not arise.

The letter they submitted to the Governor points out that the Government, with all it men and machinery at its disposal, has been struggling to identify the beneficiaries of BPL ration cards.

Sitting in judgment on the gram panchayats and trying to whittle down the powers of the gram sabhas, was a poor reflection on the track record of the State as a pioneer in panchayati raj, the letter pointed out.

The MLCs also suggested that the vigilance committees set up in 2005-06, at the taluk level under the chairmanship of the MLAs could look into the performance of gram sabhas, and there could be some “benign interference” wherever required, to help in better and effective delivery of welfare schemes.

The Governor assured them that he would examine the issues in detail, before giving his response. Some of the MLCs who were part of the delegation were V.S. Ugrappa, Saleem Ahmed, Mallajamma, Naseer Ahmed, Kaji Arshad Ali, K.C. Kondaiah, Motamma, A.M. Hindasgeri (all from Congress) and Independents Marithibbe Gowda and Y.A. Narayanaswamy.