Every drop will be counted

Gram panchayats asked to install water meters in every house by March end

November 19, 2013 09:14 am | Updated 01:30 pm IST - MANGALORE:

Water meter fitted in a panchayat water tap . Photo: G. Karthikeyan

Water meter fitted in a panchayat water tap . Photo: G. Karthikeyan

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat Thulasi Maddineni on Monday instructed the executive officers of taluk panchayats to ensure that all gram panchayats attached meters to water supply connections to houses by the end of March.

Speaking at the monthly meeting of the Karnataka Development Programme Review Committee which reviews the progress of development works in the district, she said that of 203 gram panchayats in the district only 68 had 100 per cent metered connections. The remaining panchayats should go for metered connections by the end of this financial year. This will help prevent misuse and wastage of water and reduce the electricity bill of the panchayats.

Reduce power usage

When the president of the zilla panchayat K. Koragappa Naik pointed out that in the jurisdiction of many gram panchayats street lights were not being switched off during the day Ms. Maddineni said that the panchayats could identify some households which can be made responsible for switching them off. Mr. Naik said that the panchayats should reduce their electricity bills as these were consuming a major chunk of the grants given to the gram panchayats leaving little for development works. The president said that the tax collection by gram panchayats in 2012-13 were poor. The collection by the panchayats in Puttur taluk stood at 55 per cent, in Bantwal 48 per cent, in Mangalore 42 per cent, in Belthangady 41 per cent and in Sullia taluk 31 per cent. Panchayat development officers have been asked to take immediate measures to collect the dues.

Mr. Naik expressed displeasure over the slow progress in providing electricity connection to houses under Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana. He said not even 50 per cent progress had been achieved and instructed officials of Mangalore Electricity Supply Company Ltd. to speed up works.

Auditing panchayats

He instructed the CEO to get the accounts of all gram panchayats audited. The president said that the accounts of only 15 panchayats were audited for 2012-13. In 2011-12, the accounts of 168 panchayats were audited.

‘File police case against PDOs who took away office laptops’

President of Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat K. Koragappa Naik on Monday instructed the Chief Executive Officer of the panchayat Thulasi Maddineni to file police complaints against those panchayat development officers (PDOs) who have taken away the laptops given to them by the government. Instead of leaving them in their respective panchayats, these PDOs have taken the laptops with them while getting transferred. He told the Karnataka Development Programme Review Committeethat he knew eight such cases. The CEO said, “We will restore them.” But the president insisted that they should be punished .

The president also pointed out that an auxiliary nurse midwife at a primary health centre at Belalu, near Ujire, was drawing salary without attending duty for the past four years. But no decision was taken on whether the salary should be stopped.

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