Haryana govt to entrust services to District Councils: Khattar

In a bid to empower Panchayati Raj Institutions, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today said the state government would entrust certain services including budgetary provisions to District Councils and Blocks in a phased manner.
Addressing Zila Parishads' (District Councils) and Block Samitis' (Blocks) Chairpersons at a workshop on 'Panchayati Raj Sansthaon Ka Sashaktikaran' (Empowerment of Panchayati Raj Institutions), he said once the government functionaries believed that all is safe in their hands and they could manage the services and monitoring, the services would be handed over to them.
The Chief Minister also addressed their separate brain storming sessions to seek their suggestions on further empowerment of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs).

The State government is making the PRIs 'Saksham' (capable) to translate Mahatma Gandhi's vision of Gram Swaraj in its true spirit, he said, adding that after handing over certain services to the Zila Parishads and Block Samitis, the government would review their working and if feedback was satisfactory, it would transfer more services.
All necessary steps for the same would be taken before April 1, Khattar said as he sought their suggestions about the kind of services and works which can be transferred to them.
Being the representatives of the people, they were much closer to the public rather than the government functionaries, he said.

"When we will ensure more participation of the people, there would be least scope of corruption and wrong-doings in the development process," Khattar said.

The government would also start social audit system with the help of experienced persons of the villages which would be another step forward to check corruption and ensure transparency in the development process, he said.
While describing the development of villages as the key- point of today's workshop, the Chief Minister said that apart from the government programmes, the representatives of the people could also contribute a lot in development of villages under the Swa-Prerit Adarsh Gram Yojana.

The state government is spending about Rs 22,000 on education of a child every year, but the results are not as per the aspirations, Khattar said, adding that PRIs could do it and ensure improvement in all government services by way of better monitoring at the grass-root level.
He also suggested them to prepare budgetary provision out of their own resources, saying the units of the PRIs could mobilise more resources.