Raipur Bill: local body posts only after basic education

As per the proposed legislation, you can run for sarpanch or panch only if you have completed primary education or studied till Class V. To become a Janpad representative, clearing Class VIII is must. And to be a zila panchayat representative, a higher secondary certificate is minimum.

For tribals and Scheduled Castes, the Bill8217;s requirements are lenient. Representatives from the two communities need to be literate able to read or write to contest at the panchayat level. Completing primary education makes them eligible for Janpad and zila panchayat posts.

Persons above 30 years of age, however, are exempt from the clause on education. The idea is to motivate educated young people to come forward and contest at the grassroots.

8216;8216;No other state has even thought of this,8217;8217; says Panchayati Raj Minister Ajay Chandrakar, who piloted the Bill in the Assembly. It has been framed by the government on the basis of the recommendations made by a committee headed by BJP MLA Pritam Singh Diwan.

8216;8216;The Bill will enable the government to promote literacy and ensure that new panchayati raj institutions in the state are headed by an educated class,8217;8217; says Chandrakar.

It8217;s estimated that over 40 per cent of panchayats in the state have illiterate sarpanchs. While most can now sign, a fair number still use thumb impressions.

8216;8216;Our intention is to ensure that the stigma of thumb impression ends,8217;8217; says Panchayat and Rural Development Secretary M K Raut.

The other highlight of the Bill is to keep out persons accused of encroaching on government or forest land. If they are later found to be encroaching or making illegal construction, they will be removed from their posts.

The legislation also hopes to involve elected panchayat representatives in a rural sanitation campaign. Every elected panchyat representative will be required to construct a toilet within three months of his election.

On the first day of the debate in the House, the Congress offered stiff opposition to the Bill.

8216;8216;It8217;s a good move but seems impractical in a state as young as Chhattisgarh. A sizeable proportion of its tribal population is totally illiterate. Many started sending their children to school only a few years ago, that too attracted by the mid-meal scheme. Why don8217;t you give them some time to become literate?8217;8217; suggested Mohinder Karma, CLP leader, a tribal himself.

Home Minister Brij Mohan Aggarwal intervened twice to try and convince the Congress benches. 8216;8216;It8217;s a forward-looking step, don8217;t let it fail,8217;8217; he pleaded.

Seema Verma, zila panchayat member from Raipur who8217;s a post-graduate with a diploma in computer education, hailed the move. 8216;8216;If a sarpanch is illiterate, he or she cannot take independent decisions. He or she banks on support from the panchayat secretary and is easily misguided by people around. Thus, the whole spirit of the Panchayati Raj Act, that is rural empowerment, gets defeated,8217;8217; she said.