A RECENT decision of the Goa governmentto amend the Panchayat Raj Act,1993, has been opposed by civil societygroups. The Goa Panchayat Raj(Amendment) Bill 2009 empowers thepanchayat secretary, a governmentappointedofficial, to bypass the electedsarpanch and members of the gramsabha while executing governmentorders. This contravenes the very purposeof the law meant to devolve powerto the people, said the groups whodemanded the bill be withdrawn.
The bill, recommended by a committeeheaded by minister forPanchayati Raj, Babu Azgaonkar, waspassed during the monsoon session ofthe legislative assembly. Oppositionparties who are against the amendmenthad staged a walkout.
"There are instances when the stategovernment helped companies acquirevillage land for real estate projectscloaked under public purpose clause.The amendment bill will push such projectsthrough without any oppositionfrom the panchayat or the gram sabha,"said Sabina Martins of non-profit GoaBachao Abhiyaan (GBA). Soter d'Souza,director of the Centre for PanchayatiRaj, a non-profit, called the amendmentunconstitutional. The government doesnot want to devolve power; the amendmentwill allow government officers toexecute orders through the panchayatsecretary, which may not be in the interestof villagers, said d'Souza. OscarRebello, another member of GBA, said,"We'll fight to ensure the power of thegram sabha is not diluted."
The minister, however, claimed theproposed amendment would ensuredevelopment is not held to ransom. "Inmany cases people with genuine grievancesare suffering because of enmitywith panchayat members. This is wherethe amendment would be helpful,"Azgaonkar said. Civil society groupsand villagers' unions have alreadyformed a pressure group, All GoaPanchayat Forum, to force the governmentto withdraw the bill. "The governmentcannot play with the powers ofimportant local governance bodies likepanchayats," said Joseph Sequeira,sarpanch of Calangute panchayat.