GOA'S PANCHAYATI RAJ NEEDS URGENT REFORMS

[Published in 'Herald' dated 29th July 2009]

The Goa Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2009 is once again being reintroduced with an insignificant modification in the earlier Bill that was presented. In this regard, the people of Goa and for that matter even some MLAs may be in the dark about a Draft Model Panchayat And Gram Swaraj Act that was circulated to all the States by the Union Ministry of panchayati Raj in the month of April 2009 requesting for sugggestions / comments within three weeks. The excitement around the Lok Sabha elections seems to have been capitalised upon to slip in such a model Act that has gone unnoticed by the public. The despatched circular to the State Governments from the Secretary, Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj mentions that the intent of this Model Act would be to provide a reference for the existing and future Panchayat laws besides bridging the gaps and removing inconsistencies which exist in many of the enactments. Given this situation wherein the Union Government is recommending a relook at the State's Panchayat Raj laws would it not be fair for the Government of Goa to wait for the final version of the Model Act and only then carry out necessary amendments to further improve upon the existing Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1994?
The Model Act is definitely a positive step forward as it will help generate some basis for a debate and bring about a uniform pattern of Panchayati Raj governance in all States. The absence of this uniform process at the Panchayat level has prevented the real power to the people from emerging. While a handful of States like Kerala, Karnataka and West Bengal have empowered the Local Self-Governments to a certain extent, others have just been paying lip sympathy to the whole issue.
The draft Model Panchayat Act has introduced yet another forum in the Village Panchayat called 'Ward Sabha' which is in addition to the village level 'Gram Sabha'. While at least two meetings of the Ward Sabha have been prescribed in a year, Gram Sabha meetings have been recommended once every two months. The much controversial role of government officers that often tends to be biased and unfair in redressal of disputes has been addressed by the introduction of an Ombudsman. Failure to initiate speedy corrective measures and biased or unfair decisions on disputes by the government authorities due to political interference has been one of the main cause of prevailing chaos witnessed in the Panchayats around Goa.
Further, the Model Panchayat Act ensures accountability in Panchayats through introduction of an Audit Committee at the district level while the system of preparation of a Citizen Report Card and a Social Audit by the Committees of the Gram Panchayat also finds place. Petty disputes at the village level will be handled through persuasion, conciliation and mediation by the Nyaya Panchayat. Failure of the Panchayat Body to heed the opinion of members at meetings has been addressed by providing for note of dissent to be filed before the Secretary within 48 hours. To ensure fairness in the electoral processes the State Election Commission has been entrusted with the task of preparing electoral rolls, dividing the constituencies of Panchayat and fixing the boundaries. Further as part of a Service Delivery Policy every government department will have to specify roles and responsibilities of the Panchayats for carrying out the sectoral activities. Under this model Act the police will have the powers and responsibility to assist the Panchayats in respect of tackling offences and in addition to this the regulatory function of rural policing has also found mention. And what may be most resented by the ministers is the recommendation for a seperate Panchayat sector line in the State Budget which is defintiely being avoided by the State Government inspite of recommendations from the Planning and Finance Commissions of the Government of India. Introducing a panchayat window in the State Budget will minimise abuses as recently pointed out in one instance by the Comptroller Auditor Generals' Report. Another area that finds mention is the Panchayat right on spatial planning and the need for issuing of unique identity number for the Panchayat and citizens.
Though there are several innovative measures provided in the model Act, the denial of rights to the Gram Sabha members have not been addressed in any way. The issue of providing for an unbiased and neutral chairperson at the Gram Sabha has been ignored. A two page list describing the functions of the Gram Sabha has been annexed but there is no safeguards provided to ensure that the decisions / recommendations of the Gram Sabha are implemented. One could well imagine the chaos if the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister were entrusted with chairing the sessions of Parliament or State Assembly. But when it comes to the Gram Sabha the public are expected to demand accountability from the Sarpanch who is entrusted not only with chairing the meeting but empowered with such powers to disallow discussions or even use force to remove the public. In the present scenario, could a Chief Minister in the chair of the Speaker be expected to conduct the affairs of the House in a fair manner so as to allow the opposition to expose the failures of his government? Another lacunae in this model Act is that corruption and disqualification are limited to electoral offences while stringent penalities for corrupt elected representatives and officers of the Panchayats, which the present situation defintely warrants, is again glaringly missing. Therefore, provisions like section 50 in the present Goa Panchayat Raj Act for the removal of a Sarpanch or Dy. Sarpanch for persistent remiss in duty and section 6(4) about Gram Sabha decisions being binding on the Sarpanch need to be maintained.
In the backdrop of this draft model Act for Panchayats it would be appropriate that the Goa Government encourage public debate and suggestions on the Goa Panchayat Raj Act before any further amendments are incorporated. So also, given the constitutional role of the District Planning Committees in the spatial planning processes it would be just for the government to refrain from persisting with the preparation of the Regional Plan by the Town and Country Planning Department. The model Act for Panchayats mentions about Dedicated Centres to assist the DPC and the Panchayats in preparation of the plans. With all the decentralisation processes being put in place by the Union Government any move by the State Government to fianlise the Regional Plan and enact laws without acknowledging the due constitutional rights of the Panchayats would be unfair.
From the above it is becoming evident that the Goa Government has perhaps sensed that the rapid reforms being introduced across the country will limit its scope for intrusion in village administration in the near future. Therefore the government seems to be in undue haste to grab as much ground in Village Panchayat areas. It is in their own interests that Village Panchayats must wake up and assert their constitutional rights against any policies of the government that infringe upon the rights of the local self-government.