Governor Urged To Tell Odisha Govt To Involve Panchayati Raj Bodies In Implementation Of Schemes

Bhubaneswar: Accusing Odisha government of denigrating the spirit of 73rd amendment to the Constitution for decentralisation of power, an organisation on Tuesday sought Governor Ganeshi Lal’s intervention to ensure involvement of panchayati raj institutions in implementation of major schemes.

In a memorandum to the Governor, a delegation of Rajiv Gandhi Panchayati Raj Sangathan (RGPRS), an outfit of elected members of local self governments, mentioned about ‘Ama Odisha – Navin Odisha’ scheme formulated by the state government.

Noting that Rs 50 lakh will be spent in each gram panchayat for different specific projects under the scheme, it  said the government has come up with guidelines for implementation of the projects.

Though the projects will be implemented in gram panchayats, the scheme is silent on the role of PRIs and their members, the memorandum said, adding that the 73^rd amendment to the Constitution has recognised the panchayats as the corner stone of decentralised democracy and effective tool for taking development to the people at the grassroots.

The projects under the scheme are designed to be implemented in panchayats, but the guideline empowers the Collector of the district and CDO-cum-EO of Zilla Parishad to implement these, the memorandum said, adding this not only ignores the importance of PRI members but also gives a scope of rampant corruption.

“Therefore, we seek your intervention to ensure that the scheme is implemented in accordance with the mandate of the Constitution. We request you to impress upon the government to involve the Gram Sabha, PRI and their members in implementation of the scheme,” it added.