GULBARGA: Members of the ruling Janata Dal (Secular)-BJP joined hands with the main opposition Congress in staging a walkout from the general body meeting of the Gulbarga Zilla Panchayat on Thursday to lodge their protest against the curtailing of powers of Panchayati Raj institutions and giving more role for legislators in all its development activities.

Except for the president Yellappa Kurkunde and vice-president Raja Hanumappa Naik, all the members walked out.

As the meeting began, Opposition leader Subash Rathod rose to make a submission of the repeated attempts by the State Government to curtail the powers of the zilla panchayat.

He cited several examples where the powers of selection of development works, to be taken up with the zilla panchayat funds, and selection of anganwadi workers were entrusted with the legislators overlooking ZP members.

While the Government spoke of decentralisation of powers to the Panchayati Raj institutions, Mr. Rathod pointed out that it was taking away the powers of the zilla panchayat. ZP members were not part of Task Forces headed by MLAs set up for deciding drinking water projects to be taken up with zilla panchayat funds. ZP members were not consulted while finalising the works, he said.

Members endorsed the views of Mr. Rathod and felt that the Government by transferring the powers of the zilla panchayat to the legislators was defeating the purpose for which the Panchayati Raj institutions were established.

Janata Dal (S) member Gurushant Pattedar said added to this, the Union Government had given the power to execute the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) to gram panchayats. Thus it had taken away the powers of the zilla panchayats which were finalising the works under the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana prior to the implementation of the NREGS.

Aggrieved lot

Taluk panchayat presidents, who were also ex-officio members of the zilla panchayat, accused the ZP of usurping the powers of taluk panchayats regarding purchase of computers and other materials for taluk panchayats and gram panchayats.

The government notification clearly stated that the taluk and gram panchayats were empowered to purchase them.

Violating the clause, the zilla panchayat made these purchases and sent them to the gram and taluk panchayats, they said.

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