At the end of the day, once again the ball has been brought to the court of the Union government. This time the issue is who will provide finances for the security and remuneration to the Panchs and Sarpanchs, an institution whose creation was doggedly pursued by the Chief Minister over a long period of time. The matter has come up after State Rural Development Minister Ali Muhammad Sagar wrote a letter to the Union Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, saying that “there was resentment among the Panchs and Sarpanchs for not being paid remuneration”. He has reiterated that considering the special circumstances of the State, financial package for the purpose of supporting Panchayati raj would “go a long way in building confidence of the people in these grass roots level institutions”. The State Rural Development Minister has asked for the package of 75 crore rupees annually for this head of expenditure.
Union Rural Development Minister has not wasted time. He has written to the Prime Minister endorsing the views of the State Rural Development Minister. The Union Government is well versed with the fact that the situation in the border State has adversely affected its economy and development. As such the Union Minister for Rural Development has strongly endorsed the demand of the State Minister and forwarded the letter for “personal” attention of the Prime Minister. A copy of the memorandum of the State Government has also been passed on to the Vice President of Congress. Thus a strong case has bee made for financial package in regard to meeting the expenditures on security and remuneration for the Panchs and Sarpanchs.
Threats to the life of the elected grass roots level bodies are real and not imaginary, and it is the duty of the state to provide them security and also facilitate their functionality by empowering them theoretically and financially. However, as they are elected people, it is expected that they will exert considerable influence with the electorate and that would offset the problem of their personal security. The point is that they need to galvanize their influence into action and induce their voters to keep an eye on Government functionaries and developmental activities in their respective areas. This is what the State Government should report to the Union Government to strengthen the case for regular annual package for the Panchs and Sarpanchs.
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