In Uttaranchal, Mani down to Panchayati Raj basics

The woman pradhan, Bhagvati Arya, is a little diffident till she takes the mike, and lists the problems her village of over 230 households, is facing — very little water, just one primary health care, very few teachers on the rolls, and lack of employment opportunities. She had to make do with Rs 70,000 that came her way last financial year.

To test her commitment, Aiyer asks, “What will you do if you get Rs five lakh?”

Arya is quick to respond. Instead of the Rs 7,000 which is paid to every teacher of a primary school, she says she will manage with just Rs 2,000 and save the rest for a road and improving health care. Aiyar says he is impressed.

The functioning of the three-tier Panchayati Raj institutions, put in place in the mid-90s, is up for review. And since Aiyar took over, his ministry has held seven rounds of talks with ministers of panchayats in the last five months.

As part of the initiative, he is visiting a state every month, to convince people on participatory development. Coming to Uttaranchal for the first time, he says, “The model is still evolving. It is to send my officers well in advance to the states … to discuss with authorities the key elements on which work is to be done. A kind of draft memorandum is prepared in advance.”

The visits throw up mixed results. The visit to Block Panchayat at Ramgarh, later in the day, was disappointment for the Minister when the meeting turned out to be a battle of nerves. “They converted the gram panchayat into a debating floor,” says Aiyar.

On his first visit to Uttaranchal, after rounds of Karnataka and West Bengal, Aiyar was a bit disappointed. “What seems to have happened here is that money from the state is not passing through the Gram Panchayat. The Block Panchayat officers come as petitioners. There is a three-tiered system here, but without activity.”

His last stop at Bohrakot brings little cheer. But Aiyar says activity mapping (spelling out issues for each tier) will be worked out in the coming days.

Meanwhile, the Panchayati Raj Ministry is finalising an electronic fund transfer mechanism with help from the Union Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India which will help track devolution of funds at every level.