Union Minister for Urban development and Parliamentary Affairs M. Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said that elections to local bodies ought to be conducted once every five years to usher in true democracy in the country.
“I personally feel that holding elections to local bodies every five years should be made mandatory and there should be no discretion or scope for the States to either postpone or advance them,” said Mr Venkaiah Naidu, speaking at the gram sabha of the Vengalamma Cheruvu of the Puttaparthy mandal today.
Mr.Naidu, who visited Puttaparthy before the event at Vengalamma Cheruvu village along with the IT Minister Palle Raghunatha Reddy, paid his respects at the Maha Samadhi of Sathya Sai Baba at Prasanthi Nilayam.
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Saying that while the mandatory provisions of the Constitution were largely being implemented by all States, the progress remained highly uneven when it came to the devolution of functions and empowerement of panchayats, the Union Minister said.
“The funds allocated to the local bodies should go into the accounts of panchayats, municipalities and corporations and should be spent in accordance with the resolutions of the respective bodies and not by any other agencies,” said Mr Venkaiah Naidu. He said that over 45 per cent of elected representatives from local bodies were women and added that the Central government decided to provide grants to the tune of over Rs. 2 lakh crore.