REVOKE AMENDMENTS TO PANCHAYATI ACT ,REITERATES GBA

The Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA) has reiterated its demand to revoke the amendment to the Panchayati Raj Act which gives the panchayat secretary powers to bypass the elected panchayat.
The controversial Bill was passed by the Legislative Assembly and returned by the Governor in response to the objections raised by the people recently.The GBA wants the Government to pay heed to the demands of the people to appoint an Ombudsman to settle disputes related to the panchayat. The system has been working efficiently in Kerala under the Panchayati Raj Act, according to the GBA.
“In a democracy, there is no place for a bureaucrat over a democratically elected body. Only the judiciary can decide over matters concerning the elected members,” Sabina Martins, convener of GBA, said.
The GBA has found faults with the report of the Goa Law Commission which has suggested the Directorate of Panchayats as the first appellate authority and the Panchayat Tribunal as the second appellate authority to resolve the controversy over the Bill.
This suggestion was deficient as it had not referred to the Model Panchayat and Gram Swaraj Act which had been circulated to State Governments by the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj, which had proposed the concept of Ombudsman to settle disputes arising in panchayat affairs, the GBA said.
“Instead of looking holistically at the Act ,the Law Commission has made selective recommendation to make the Directorate of Panchayats as the first appellate authority and the Panchayat Tribunal as the second appellate authority, which the Government proposes to introduce in the Assembly this week,” said the GBA convener.
The GBA states that the Law Commission should work towards incorporating all the powers given to the panchayats under the 73rd and 74th Amendments of the Constitution at the earliest instead of divesting the powers of the elected bodies.