Gram sabha meetings in Goa can now be video-recorded

Goa government today approved the amendment to Goa Panchayat Raj Act 1996, allowing the gram sabha meetings to be video recorded for the purpose of documentation.
"The state cabinet, in one of its landmark decisions, approved the Goa Panchayat (Gram Sabha Meetings) (First Amendment) rules 2016," Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said today.
Parsekar said that the amendment was executed following requests from the panchayats as unruly incidents were reported during the gram sabhas.
"With the amendment, it will be mandatory for all the panchayats to have video recording of the proceedings, which will be kept for documentation purpose," he said.

The Chief Minister said video recording and minutes book of the gram sabha would be preserved as official record of the panchayat.
"This will help in having a fair and smooth conduct of gram sabhas," he added.