The Hindu : Karnataka News : Activity mapping remains only on paper

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Oct 15, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Activity mapping remains only on paper

By M. Madan Mohan

HUBLI, OCT. 14. Last year, the Karnataka Legislature passed a Bill to amend the Karnataka Panchayat Act, 1993. The Government issued a notification on the implementation of the provisions on "activity mapping," in which the functions of each of the three tiers of the panchayat raj had been delineated and work allocated. The allocation of funds among the three tiers, with the gram panchayat getting the lion's share, was to follow.

Transfer of schemes

But, though it is more than a year since the activity mapping was notified, schemes and funds are yet to be transferred to the panchayat raj system. While one can understand the difficulty in allocating funds and schemes immediately after the notification of activity mapping, midway through the last financial year, it is surprising that it has not been done in the current year. It is also not clear whether the Government will put things in place before the panchayat polls next year.

The development schemes for implementation in the interior are mainly divided into district and State sector schemes, and the new arrangement envisages the transfer of all the State sector schemes to panchayat raj institutions along with funds.

For 2004-2005, Rs. 2,872.79 crores is required to be transferred from the State sector to panchayat raj institutions.

This is in addition to the allocations made to the district sector of Rs. 1,519.76 crores under the Plan and Rs. 3,646.38 crores under the non-Plan allocations, according to official figures.

Additional funds

The additional funds that would accrue to panchayat raj institutions from 11 departments of the Government will be a minimum of Rs. 13.07 crores for the area development and special economic programmes of the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR); Rs. 18.67 crores of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries; Rs. 659.68 crores of the Agriculture and Horticulture departments; Rs. 447.48 crores under roads and bridges (Public Works and RDPR departments); Rs. 312.43 crores under rural water supply and sanitation (RDPR Department); Rs. 242.71 crores under social welfare; Rs. 114.01 crores under the Department of Health and Family Welfare; Rs. 108.85 crores under the Housing Department; and Rs. 97.52 crores (minor irrigation, under the RDPR Department); Rs. 78.96 crores (Women and Child Development Department); and Rs. 65.04 crores (Forests, including social conservation).

No Minister in charge

The amendment to the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act, 1993, was passed when M.Y. Ghorpade was Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, and it was during his tenure that the activity mapping scheme was notified. Now, no Minister has been given charge of the RDPR Department.

Most of the panchayat raj institutions, which stand to benefit from activity mapping, appear to be hardly aware of the functional and financial responsibilities that are to be given to them.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka