Editorial In Favour of Panchayats Published on: July 4, 2012 - 22:48 More in: Opinion The observation of the Supreme Court that panchayats enjoy constitutional status and can formulate their own programmes of economic development and social justice is a moral boost for panchayats.
However, for any real change to happen state governments will have to ensure transfer of real power as envisaged under the 73rd amendment. Without doubt, the order passed by the court on a petition filed by the Calangute panchayat has tilted the balance in favour of panchayats. It has however left the substance of the matter to be decided by the High Court on merits. One crucial issue that is now settled is that panchayats can challenge orders issued by the executive. This is a huge gain because it curtails the powers of the Directorate of Panchayats which is controlled by the state government. Citing Articles 243 to 243-O, the Supreme Court said the framers of the Constitution had envisaged the village panchayat to be the foundation of the country’s political democracy where each village was to be responsible for its own affairs. Unfortunately, this decentralised form of government was hijacked by politicians at the state and central level and today the 73rd Amendment is yet to be implemented in letter and spirit in most states, including Goa. This Amendment recognised the weaknesses of the panchayati raj system and aimed at giving it dignity and importance. The net result is that elections are now held in time, reservations for SC, ST and women candidates are now a reality and panchayats have a little more say in matters pertaining to their jurisdiction. However, the real power which comes through transfer of funds from the state government has not happened. The amendment envisaged a finance commission which would advise the state government on distribution of revenue. It also listed 29 powers that should have been transferred to the panchayats almost 20 years ago, but which has not happened. Instead an amendment was sought to be made to the Panchayati Raj Act to give more powers to the secretary who is appointed by the government. In reality the real boss is the block development officer who wields considerable power and elected representatives at the grassroot level are beholden to him or her. The biggest break for panchayats in the state came when the previous Congress government took the decision to involve people at the village level in the planning process. In the end this resulted in a lot of disappointment when panchayats discovered that the plans forwarded by them had been changed. The process started nearly five years ago is yet to reach fruition as the new government has decided to review Regional Plan 2021. Would transfer of power to the grassroots result in better governance? Panchayats are often put down as institutions of corruption and mismanagement and hence not to be trusted with funds. Although panchayats in the state are not paragons of virtue, the finger of accusation can easily be pointed with conviction at any state or central government. The crux of the matter is that state governments are wary of sharing power with panchayats and as a consequence, panchayats, barring the rich ones, have remained stunted. Until revenue is shared with panchayats as a matter of right instead of a favour, these grassroot-level bodies will find it difficult to assert themselves. The case of Calangute is different because it is the richest panchayat in the state, thanks to development of tourism in the village. It had the funds to take this case up to the Supreme Court. A poorer panchayat would have accepted the High Court order and bowed out of the fight. This legal victory is a lesson that panchayat leaders must continue the fight for total implementation of the 73rd amendment. http://www.navhindtimes.in/opinion/favour-panchayats
