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Mangalore, Oct 5 (DHNS): Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer (CEO) P Shivashankar has strictly instructed the Panchayat Development Officers (PDOs) in the district to hold gram sabhas on time and prepare agenda before holding such meetings. 

Addressing a programme organised by the ZP in association with the Directorate of  Field Publicity to sensitise PDOs on Panchayati Raj here on Monday, Shivashankar said that conducting gram sabhas without agenda will be of no use.

“Caste, religion, politics and nepotism rule gram sabhas in most of the villages.
Panchayats should provide opportunity for the people to express their genuine problems at the gram sabhas irrespective of their caste, religion and political affiliation. This can be done by bringing objectivity to gram sabhas through creating awareness among the people,” he added.

“People are losing faith on gram sabhas and the system. This trend will have serious impact on the society. Measures should be taken to instill confidence among the people on the system,” the CEO said.

Gram sabhas should be held compulsorily four times a year as per the Panchayati Raj system.  The CEO pointed that most of the gram panchayats are forced to cancel gram sabhas because of absence of officials. “People should not boycott gram sabhas even if officials fail to attend the meet. The resolution adopted in a gram sabha is valid at the Supreme Court too,” he explained.

He said that the GPs can hold special gram sabhas other than regular meets if 10 per cent of the voters in the village make a request. However, he said, “it is unfortunate that none of the villages in the district have received demand for special gram sabha. We need to institutionalise the Panchayati Raj system on lines of Kerala State, which have achieved tremendous progress.”

Funds returned

GPs should have powers to identify beneficiaries for government schemes, select them according to the rank, implement and monitor the progress of it, he said and pointed out that since most of the GPs have failed to select beneficiaries, ZP had to return the fund, which was meant for the construction of 12,000 houses under housing schemes in the district.

Speaking as a resource person, Ombudsman for the implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) Sheena Shetty said that a grama sabha is as important as Vidhana Sabha and Lok Sabha.

“Problems of the people at the grassroots level can be solved only in gram sabhas. GPs have the power to implement government schemes directly. However, schemes can be implemented properly only through co-ordinated efforts by the people and officials,” he added.

ZP President Santhosh Kumar Bhandary presided while Journalist Guruvappa Balepuni spoke as a resource person.