31st. May, 2003 To, Convenors 1) Peaceful Society 2) Goadesc Resource Centre.
Dear Sirs, Subject: Workshop on Gram Sabhas after 73rd. Amendment. We extend our deepest apologies to you for not having been able to attend the above workshop due to most unfortunate and unforeseen circumstances. We were indeed looking forward to participate in this workshop. However, we would like to make known to you the gist of our prepared speech which was to be delivered at the workshop. We thank you for extending us the invite and we are hopeful that you will condone our non participation. Thanking you Yours faithfully, for Goa Su-Raj Party sd/- Floriano Lobo President. 73RD CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT & GRAM SABHAS On behalf of the Goa Su-Raj Party, I thank the organizers, the Peaceful Society & the Goadesc Resource Centre for having extended us this invitation for this workshop. At the outset, let me say that it is a visionary thought which has gone into the framing of the 73rd. Amendment to the Constitution of India, 11 years ago. The Statement of Objects and Reasons clearly expresses the fears of the framers that the Panchayati Raj has failed to take off as desired for the past preceding 40 years and therefore the need for this Amendment. And it is difficult to say that any headway has been achieved in the implementation of this Amendment since 1992. We are here for just that reason. For the reason that Panchayati Raj has failed and failed miserably. Under article 243G the State Legislature is duty bound to endow the Panchayats with powers to conduct their own business such as mentioned in sub clause (a) the preparation of plans for economic development and social justice with access to developmental funds. And the entire Eleventh Schedule is a colourful and vibrant document. Now, to come to the conclusion that the Panchayati Raj has failed to take off as envisioned and hence this 73rd. Amendment, what the Liberation of Goa has given Goa is an untried, unviable, and unreliable system of local self governance at the cost of destroying the time tested and vibrant local self governing institution of Comunidades of Goa that existed and worked successfully from the 11th century, that we know of, and perhaps much before that, prior to the coming of the Portuguese colonial rule in Goa. Today, what the Eleventh Schedule is seeking to do had been done satisfactorily by the functioning of Communidades of Goa. Look at Goa today. The Panchayati Raj has destroyed our carefully nurtured agriculture. We have destroyed our agricultural lands by not maintaining our bunds and sluice gates. And above all, the Panchayati Raj today is a shame, nothing better than our legislative assembly. It is only giving us aspirants for the august chairs of the legislative assembly trained in the job of circumventing the rules and laws of the land and building up confidence and brazenness in themselves to belittle and redicule the meek and mild authority, the custodian of the laws if there are any left. And if it is not, then just take a look at the functioning of the office of the director or Panchayats. Any person who occupies the chair of the Director of Panchayats, however good he/she may be, becomes a rubber band to be stretched and twisted by the political masters to enhance their chances of re-election. A classic example is in the Parra junction affair where the Gram Sabha resolved to have a traffic island and the Panchayat gave building licence for a storied building instead with full and contemptible disregard to the Gram Sabha resolution. And the directorate of Panchayat is impotent to do anything about it. Never has a person, however wrong or deficient he might have been in his paper work , and who has approached the director of Panchayats for a stay, has not come empty handed. In many cases, Panchayats who have been trying hard to do justice (which is rare of course) have been demoralized by the non action of the directorate of Panchayats. Today, Gram Sabhas are shams. A lot of resolutions are passed in good faith by the conscious Gram Sabha members. But the implementation of those resolutions remain the sole prerogative of the elected members of the Panchayat, who are now paid fat salaries to contemptibly ignore what the Gram Sabha members suggest and want done. Goa is today only the second state in the Indian Union to spit on the 73rd. amendment and make provisions to hand over the golden pot of 20 lac rupees or more of development funds in the hands of each MLA to do what he/she feels right. Basically, this is the pocket money for each MLA to invest in his re-election and be friends with the ruling party to keep it going. If this 73rd. amendment will work at all, the golden pot that the legislature is (read developmental funds) sitting close to, and for which reason there is a rat -race to get into that position, must be channelised to the grass-root self governing bodies under the 73rd and 74th amendment. What will happen then is that when money is no longer handled by the state legislature level, the mad rush will come down to seeking positions in the panchayats and municipalities. No one will want to contest the Legislative assembly elections because the captains who are motivated by the flow of money will want to be in the Panchayats and Municipalities rather than in the legislature. Who, then, will go to the legislative assembly? It will be those who have retired from active service. Those who are the academics and technocrats who have a lot of experience in administration and who have a lot of time to spare and want to do little something concrete for Goa and also, in the bargain, enjoy the aura of being the honourable legislators, ministers or the chief minister. The assembly election having come down to a low profile, the real sense legislators who sit in this august chambers will do just what they are supposed to do. Legislate. If there is no money to be eaten at this level, these legislators will frame rules, regulations and laws as to how this money is to be spent by the Panchayats and Municipalities, and on what and within what time frame. The thinking would be "If I cannot eat the money, I will not allow you to gobble it" A strict fiscal discipline will emanate from the inspections and audits raj of the type never before seen in Goa since liberation. Now, those in the rat race at the Panchayat and Municipal level will realize that with the strict controls set by the legislature, it will be difficult to make money here also. Therefore it would be better to be on one's own feet, in service, or in self employment rather than be the hononary social worker for the locality. Here again, those who are really self-less and dedicated toward bringing in the development to their own localities will seek to be elected to these bodies and the show will go on to the benefit of all concerned. And most importantly, it will play down the power craze that we see exhibited in W. Bengal's type of Panchayat elections with countless people dying in the fracas. The question is "Dying for What"? Goa Su-Raj has a vision of this happening. But if this does not, then we Goans should throw out the Panchayati Raj system of local self governance through the window and seek to revive our ancestral system of governance through communidades or co-operatives or whatever name suitable if the name 'communidade' rings the unsavoury bell of the past colonialism. which , by the way, many think was the system introduced by the Portuguese, in Goa. The Portuguese only admired this indigenous system which was in practice and encouraged it rather than kill it like the British have done in the rest of India. What we need is a good, simple, effective governance without entering into sentimentalities and prejudices. The criteria should be its effectiveness. Thank you. ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
