Women panchayat presidents from the region on Thursday sought sufficient leverage for meaningful functioning through repeal of enormous power vested with the Inspector of Panchayats and the District Collector.
As in many of the other States, they wanted strengthening of district panchayats and providing them the monitoring authority over the functioning of panchayat unions and village panchayats.
They resented the enormous powers vested with the Inspector of Panchaayts including subjects such as taxation, licensing, formation of panchayat villages and establishment of panchayats, power to suspend or cancel resolution, removal of presidents, selection of panchayat reservation, and inspection of documents.
The consultation organised by Sathyamangalam-based READ, Home Trust (Namakkal), VRDP (Salem), DEEPS (Dharmapuri), SNEHA (Nagapattinam), Law Trust (Nagapattinam), SIRD (Madurai), HRF (Chennai) and SASY (Villupuram) envisaged sensitising the women panchayat presidents to the national-level campaign for constitutional amendment to create List IV in the Seventh Schedule (Local Government List).
They said the separate list was necessary through Constitutional amendment to 73rd and 74th Articles for proper devolution of power. The participants expressed concern over Tamil Nadu Government’s hesitance to delegate power to panchayats recommended in the 73rd and 74th amendment, and sought power to remove encroachments in panchayat common lands, have control over resources, and to select list of beneficiaries under government schemes.
Several panchayat presidents representing villages in Erode, Tirupur, Namakkal, Salem, Dharmapuri, and Krishnagiri districts who took part in the zonal level consultation organised by Non-Government Organisations to finalise election manifesto for 2016 election resolved to detach themselves from political parties and break free from influence exerted by men members in their families. They received posters on model code of conduct, voters’ rights, qualification for candidature and rights of candidates, and aspects for monitoring in the election next year that will witness selection of 12,500 village panchayat presidents and one lakh ward members to the village panchayat, panchayat union and district panchayat councils.
