Celebrations Only When Power Is Bestowed To The Gram Sabha
On the 23rd of April as I was reading the news papers on the net, one advertisement caught my eye, it was a half page advertisement, with the picture of our Prime Minster at the centre and it said, power to the people celebrate 24th April as the Panchayati Raj Day. Is this for real or is it a joke ? The Panchayats in Goa are become chess boards for our politicians, manipulative tools in creating fiefdoms of their own, power modules to establish power and extract revenue. The prime purpose of Panchayati Raj was to make it an autonomous body and for the devolution of power to the people, wherein the people were suppose to decide what is good for their village as a community. This aspect, the very essence of Panchayati Raj has been choked and ignored, the voices and the wishes of the people are suppressed, so do we have Panchayati Raj, worthy of a celebration in Goa ? Some time back there was a bill introduced in the Assembly which was approved by the Assembly and sent to the Governor for his final approval, which in fact was contrary to the norms and the principles of Panchayati Raj, where the Secretaries who are the puppets of the corrupt politicians, were suppose to have all the power. Thank God the Governor was enlightened at last and rejected it. The Secretaries have been very manipulative and have taken advantage of some of the illiterate Panches and Sarpanches and some of the educated as well. A good number of the Secretaries have been the cause of all evil in the Panchayats, corrupt to the core and get away with it, because of the protective hands of our corrupt politicians. Gram Sabhas all over Goa are up in arms against the corrupt practices of the Panchayats, corruption is the main cause of descent, as illegalities are carried out in large numbers to facilitate the powerful builders backed by our corrupt politicians, without adhering to the resolutions of the Gram Sabha. So what is it that our Prime Minister was asking us to celebrate Panchayati Raj Day for, in Goa, where our rights and the very essence of Panchayati Raj is being debouched ? People have been fighting for the 73rd and 74th amendments for a long time, which in fact gives power to the people through the Gram Sabha, but nothing is being done about it, as it will clip the wing power of our politicians. All that is being done by our corrupt politicians is to subjugate the power of the people and oppress them with their might, using their political clout, money power and the police brutality, people who fight for their rights are harassed, beaten up and imprisoned, and the police on their part are only too happy to oblige the builders and the politicians, for their share of the spoils. It is obvious why our politicians are not at all interested in passing the 73rd and the 74th amendment. In Goa everyone in the political sphere is out to make fast money, none of them are really interested in the wellbeing of Goa or the Goan people, as long as they get the maximum benefits for themselves, which they do with great exuberance digging themselves deeper into the quagmire of corruption. People of Goa will only be able to celebrate Panchayati Raj and reap it's fruits when our Panchayats are freed from the political clout and made autonomous and power bestowed to the Gram Sabha by the 73rd and 74 Amendment. Nothing less will empower the people at the grass root level. Freddy Agnelo Fernandes -------------------------------------------------------- The content of this electronic communication is intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed and any others who are specifically authorized to receive it. It may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or otherwise placing reliance on the contents of this information is prohibited and may be unlawful in certain legal jurisdictions. If you have received this communication in error please notify the sender immediately by responding to this email and then delete it from your system. -------------------------------------------------------- ______________________________________________________________________ This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System. For more information please visit http://www.messagelabs.com/email ______________________________________________________________________
