Gujarat villagers to boycott panchayats

In a severe indictment of the functioning of the panchayat system here,gram panchayats in at least 62 villages in the...

In a severe indictment of the functioning of the panchayat system here,gram panchayats in at least 62 villages in the Sihor taluka of Bhavanagar district are facing a possibility of a boycott by villagers in protest against their poor performance. The panchayats have drawn the ire of the villagers for failing to act on development resolutions passed more than two years ago.

Over 62 villages in our taluka have been facing a similar situation where resolutions have been lying at either the Mamlatdars office or at the Taluka Vikas Adhikari office for over two to three years, says Savita J Rathore,Sarpanch of Kantodiya. Most of the decisions related to BPL and Antodaya ration cards remain unaddressed in the process,which is infuriating villagers, said a panchayat member from Ambla village.

In a similar incident last month,58 gram panchayats across Anjar and Gandhidham talukas of Kutch district had refused to convene gram sabhas in their areas labelling it as a futile exercise in view of most resolutions lying unimplemented. The villagers had formed the Anjar Gandhidham Gram Panchayat Pratinidhi Manch (AGGPPM) and under its aegis submitted a memorandum to the Taluka Development Officers of Anjar and Gandhidham.

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While the government has received no official complaint from these villages,the authorities indicate that similar problems at the village-level had happened in the past too,but such collective action by villagers was clearly a first. State Development Commissioner Vipul Mitra said,Villages have aired grievances about the performance of the panchayats,but such panchayats form a minuscule part of the over 1,30,000 gram panchayats. They had never indicated a system failure; there were village-specific isolated cases. He said that he would have to study the current situation before commenting on it.

Bhavnagar District Development Officer D P Joshi said,This is the first time that a collective undercurrent of resentment has been brought to our notice and we will try to solve the issue.