The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : `Katta panchayat' system prevalent in 30% of villages

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Nov 24, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

`Katta panchayat' system prevalent in 30% of villages

Special Correspondent

It exists in villages lying close to the urban areas

HIGHLIGHTING PROBLEMS: M. Muniyandi, president of the Tamil Nadu Village Panchayat presidents' Federation (fourth from left), addressing the media in Chennai on Thursday. K.S.Sheik Muhammed, secretary of the federation (second from right), is also in the picture. — Photo: V.Ganesan

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Village Panchayat Presidents' Federation on Thursday pleaded for adequate powers to the local bodies at the grass-roots level to settle civil disputes among residents to end the notorious `katta panchayat' system.

M. Muniyandi and K.S. Sheik Muhammed, president and secretary of the federation respectively, told reporters here that the system prevailed in about 30 per cent of the 12,618 village panchayats. Katta panchayat existed in the villages lying close to the urban areas, they said, adding that most of the disputes had arisen from money transactions.

The worst victims of the katta panchayat were farm workers and brick-kiln labourers, who received money from the owners as `advance payment,' they pointed out.

If the panchayat presidents were given adequate powers to settle these disputes, these workers could be saved from being dragged to courts, where such cases had been piling up for the past several years, Mr.Muhammed said.

South zone president of the federation K.P. Ganesan stressed the need for a fresh survey of people below the poverty line (BPL).

Though in many villages in the southern districts, Namakkal, Dharmapuri and Perambalur, 90 per cent of the population belonged to the BPL group, the Government insisted that only 30 per cent should be enlisted under this category, he said, pleading for removal of names of persons belonging to above the poverty line group from the BPL list.

Spokesman of the forum V. Muthamizhselvan urged the Government to enhance the allocation of funds to the village panchayats from eight per cent to 40 per cent.

Stressing the need for decentralisation of powers to the panchayats, Mr. Muniyandi said the `grama sabha' meetings had become an `eyewash' as not even 10 per cent of the plan proposals evolved by the villagers were implemented by successive Governments.

Mr. Muhammed urged the Government to take necessary steps to ensure that the Revenue Department did not raise objections to removal of thorny bushes while desilting channels and tanks under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

The forum had commended the successful completion of the elections at Pappapatti and Keeripatti.

The forum would shortly submit a detailed memorandum to the Government, on providing more funds and powers to the local bodies, Mr. Muniyandi said.

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