------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Documented by Goa Desc Resource Centre Ph:2252660 Website: www.goadesc.org Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Press clippings on the web: http://www.goadesc.org/mem/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Panchayat director lauded for 'clipping' wings of VPs ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Panchayat Raj Cell of Peaceful Society, Kundaim, has felt thatthe directions to panchayats on 'minutes of meetings' and 'special grants utilisation guidelines' would put an end to mischiefs by the members of the village body.In a press note issued here it said that the Society welcomed the directions issued to panchayats by the Director of Panchayats on 'minutes of meetings' and 'special grants utilisation guidelines'.
These directions will be widely appreciated by the public who are being cheated and deprived of development in their wards for political considerations, states the press note.
Even after the gram sabha members present their proposed resolutions in writing they are cleverly manipulated by the secretary when writing them in the minutes register, it states.
Further it says that there are four other areas which need immediate attention and directions to curb on-going irregularities, viz the details of matters to be placed before the forthnightly meetings and gram sabha meetings should be clearly specified in the 'Form A' of the meetings and only the matters specified in the notice/agenda should be taken up.
Only proposals on development work by a ward member may be allowed on the spot which, the Society said, will prevent panchayat members and the public from being caught unawares by the sudden introduction of important applications for construction permissions, tenders, NOCs, the Peaceful Society suggested.
The secretary should be instructed to make available to the panchayat members all files and correspondence to be placed in the ensuing meeting on any day after the notice for the meeting has been issued, it demanded.
The society said that it has received complaints saying that the sarpanch is allowed to keep all the files and correspondence of the meeting in his custody and the secretary pretends to be helpless. Any person who does not support the sarpanch is often deprived of information even in the meeting.
At the time of confirmation of the minutes of previous meeting if any changes are pointed out there should also be a reference of the same in the previous minutes preferably in the remarks column, the press note said.
At present sometimes certain details are deliberately omitted or added in the minutes. When the same is pointed out it is reflected in the next meeting, it is noted in the present minutes but there is no mention of the same in the previous minutes. Anyone reading the minutes later are not aware of the additions or deletions and are misled, the press note pointed out.
The guidelines issued for utilisation of 'special grants' should also be made applicable to other grants and development expenditure of the panchayat wherein some wards are deliberately deprived of development so that the ward member feels pressurised to support the sarpanch lobby, the society demanded.
The Block Development Officers and the Extension Officers should be held accountable for the malfunctioning of the panchayats and disciplinary action should be initiated against them for not supervising the working of the panchayats, the Peaceful Society demanded. ------------------------- HERALD 22/8/03 -------------------------
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