The Grama Panchayat Hakkottaya Andolana has urged the state assembly that the Karnataka Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2013, be revoked and also further urged that Legislative Council and its members, led by the 24 local self-government representatives to oppose the bill unanimously and reject it summarily.
The organisation has said, a cruel blow was dealt to the Panchayat Raj System in Karnataka recently by the newly-formed Karnataka Legislative Assembly when they passed the Karnataka Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2013.
"It is deplorable that despite strong opposition from all opposition parties and the Speaker of the House, the party in power showed great haste in passing this bill that clearly undermines the democratic mandate of the grama panchayats, the very foundation of participatory democracy in this country," Grama Panchayat Hakkottaya Andolana said in a statement.
While the importance and sanctity of the grama sabhas and ward sabhas in the panchayat raj system are unquestionable, the disqualification or removal of the president concerned or a member by the regional commissioner for not holding two successive meetings as proposed in this bill is unconstitutional and totally unacceptable, the body highlighted.
The body added that this bill is clearly a means to usurp the powers of the grama panchayats whose presidents and members include women representatives and representatives from marginalised communities who presently face many real challenges in performing their duties, including holding meaningful ward and grama sabhas.
"There are already provisions in the act for ensuring the conduction of the grama sabhas and ward sabhas. Instead of streamlining them and enabling the panchayat president and members to fulfil their mandate; and empowering the members of the grama sabhas to hold their own elected governments responsible, this bill aims to strengthen the hands for the bureaucracy that is accountable to the state government. This bill also has the potential to be used as a tool by vested interests within a panchayat who may deliberately hinder the conduct of ward sabhas and grama sabhas to undermine the elected panchayat members, especially when they belong to the marginalised communities. In this light, the claim of the RDPR minister that the aim of the government, through this bill, was to 'empower the grama panchayats' stands exposed for its double-speak. It is also ironic that while the MLAs are not held accountable their participation in the legislative sessions or in the Karnataka Development Programme (KDP) meetings, they claim to impose accountability on the grama panchayats," Grama Panchayat Hakkottaya Andolana added.
