Karnataka - Gulbarga   

Strengthen panchayati raj bodies, says finance panel

Special Correspondent

Protecting their powers and rights favoured

Gathering views: Members of the Third State Finance Commission holding a session in Gulbarga on Thursday.

GULBARGA: The Third State Finance Commission will come out with a wide range of recommendations for strengthening panchayati raj bodies and protecting the executive powers of the panchayati raj institutions enshrined in the Act.

Presiding over the sitting of the Commission here on Thursday, commission chairman A.G. Kodgi said the commission would also come out with recommendations for implementation of the suggestions of the high power Committee for Redressal of the Regional Imbalances headed by the late D.M. Nanjundappa.

The commission, which had held sittings in 14 districts, would submit its report to Governor T.N. Chaturvedi after covering the remaining districts. Retired IAS official T. Thimmegowda, member of the commission, and Member Secretary K.S. Shashidar were present during the sitting along with Gulbarga Deputy Commissioner Pankajkumar Pandey and Chief Executive Officer of the zilla panchayat P.C. Jaffer.

Referring to the complaints aired by elected representatives of panchayati raj institutions, Mr. Kodgi said that the commission was in favour of protecting the powers and rights of the panchayati raj bodies and would recommend to the Government to strengthen them.

The speakers at the sitting, including Sedam MLA Sharanaprakash Patil, Opposition leader in the zilla panchayat Subash Rathod, Janata Dal (Secular) Zilla Panchayat members Gurushant Pattedar, Nagireddy Patil and others said that the panchayati raj institutions had become toothless with all its executive powers usurped by the State Government and transferred to legislators.

They alleged that the panchayats had become mere figure heads and it was the MLAs who decided on the works to be taken up with the funds allocated to panchayati raj institutions.

Mr. Thimmegowda voiced his concern over the large amount of funds remaining unspent by panchayati raj institutions in the district and also the huge gap in the demand and collection of the taxes by gram panchayats.

He said that panchayati raj institutions should not depend on the funds released by the Government for taking up development activities. The panchayats, which had powers to collect taxes, should step up their collection drive and use the funds for development activities.

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