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Call for delegation of more powers to panchayats

Staff Reporter

Workshop for panchayat chiefs conducted at Sevapur

KARUR: Removing encroachments, establishing rural industrial estates, ushering in land reforms to provide land for landless labourers and appointing more teachers are some of the immediate needs that ought to be met in rural areas to progress on the right path, former Vice-Chancellor of Gandhigram Rural University N. Markandan said.

He was addressing the elected local body chiefs from select panchayats in Karur, Pudukottai, Sivaganga, Theni, Dindigul and Madurai districts, who had gathered for a workshop at Sevapur near here recently. The Inba Seva Sangam and a Chennai-based non-governmental organisation, CRUSADE, jointly organised the workshop.

Panchayat needs

Listing the other needs of the panchayats, Dr. Markandan observed that there was a need for at least one health worker in each hamlet and a common market place to sell agricultural produces. There was also the need to maintain a check on mining activities, preventing the depletion and pollution of groundwater, and to create new minor irrigation systems and renovate the old ones.

The vice-president of the Sangam, M.P. Gurusamy, stressed the need to promote women leadership at the panchayat level. He also pointed out the lack of awareness among the rural people in strengthening the panchayat system. He emphasised the need for people's participation in planning and implementing development programmes for the panchayats.

The secretary of CRUSADE, Jothi Ramalingam, sought delegation of more powers to the panchayats and also called for the preparation of a model Panchayat Act for the State.

Thirunavukkarasu of Gandhigram Rural University requested the panchayat presidents to concentrate on planning development programmes at the panchayat level in consultation with members of the Grama Sabha. Ivan Nut Brown of Action Village India stressed the need for providing proper training to the panchayat presidents.

The panchayat chiefs who deliberated on the issues confronting them adopted resolutions, including those regarding calling on the government to provide proper training to presidents and members of panchayats in micro-level planning, authorisation of gram sabhas to select families below the poverty line and to allot group houses, to give priority to programmes decided by gram sabhas and demand the levy of domestic supply tariff for power consumed for drinking water supply.

K. Arumugam, field worker for Panchayat Programmes of the Inba Seva Sangam proposed a vote of thanks.

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