MANGALORE: The Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, at its general meeting here on Wednesday, refused to approve the Rs. 4.65-crore action plan prepared by the Chief Minister's Rural Roads Development Fund Committee. In its place, the panchayat adopted a resolution seeking the implementation of works worth Rs. 1.1 crores, the action plan for which has been approved by it.

The members were agitated by the fact that the action plan prepared by the committee, for which the respective district in-charge Ministers have been appointed chairmen by the Government, has accepted proposals from all and sundry. This will have a major impact on the development of rural roads in their constituencies, they said.

While 40 per cent of the Rs. 1.1 crore has been earmarked for the maintenance of rural roads, the balance amount has been allocated for the development of roads.

Limited funds

Sadananda Poonja, former President of the zilla panchayat, said the panchayat members have to take up various development works in their respective constituencies in the limited funds they receive. The committee set up by the Government impinges on their rights to take up development works of their choice and this should be discouraged.

Bharath Mundodi, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Health and Education, alleged that the panchayat officials have accepted proposals from everybody including MLAs, the district in-charge Minister, panchayat members and others, leading to confusion. All this could have been avoided if the panchayat authorities had gone by the original proposals submitted by members and those approved in the link document.

When M.S. Mohammed, S. Abbas, Sadhu Sanil, Radhakrishna Alva and S.K. Sorake, members, voiced their concern over these developments, the Executive Engineer and convener of the committee, N. Narasimharaju, explained the modalities of implementing the projects taken up under the fund. Only those works approved by the committee headed by the district in-charge Minister have been taken up, he said.

Mr. Mohammed sought to know from the President of the zilla panchayat, Somanath, if the officials are willing to convene a meeting under his chairmanship to discuss the issue. G.L. Vittal, Deputy Secretary, said the guidelines are silent on this aspect. Mr. Mundodi said the rule of the Vice-President chairing meetings in the absence of the President holds good here also.

Jagdish Adhikari, member, insisted that Mr. Somanath seek the opinion of the district in-charge Minister, Jabbar Khan Honnalli, to convene a meeting in this regard. Mr. Somanath spoke to Mr. Honnalli over the phone and informed the House that the latter had directed him to convene a meeting to discuss the issue.

The members who participated in the debate insisted that works worth Rs. 3.4 lakhs, including Rs. 1.9 lakhs to be spent on laying new roads, be taken up in their respective constituencies as agreed upon. They urged the authorities concerned to expedite works and restore rural roads under the zilla panchayat.

In a note circulated among presspersons, Mr. Narasimha Raju said funds have not been released under the non-plan heads for maintenance of nearly 4,412,12 km of roads under zilla panchayat this year.

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