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Haryana Congress demands rollback of e-tendering of panchayat works
The Congress leaders said that the state government should hold dialogue with the protesting village sarpanches instead of resorting to strong-arm tactics.
Demanding a rollback of the newly introduced e-tendering system for execution of development works by village panchayats, a delegation of Haryana Congress led by former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Monday submitted a memorandum to governor Bandaru Dattatreya. The BJP-led state government has introduced a system where a village sarpanch can get up to ₹2 lakh developmental works done at their level. But any project worth more than ₹ 2 lakh will be done through online tenders. The Congress memorandum condemned the lathi charge on the village heads who had assembled in Panchkula for holding a protest to press for their demands.
The Congress leaders said that the state government should hold dialogue with the protesting village sarpanches instead of resorting to strong-arm tactics.
“First the pensioners, who are pressing for restoration of old pension scheme (OPS), were lathi-charged and then the village sarpanches. Both were holding peaceful demonstrations. We demand that cases registered against them should be taken back,’’ Hooda said. The former chief minister maintained that the rules are very clear and elected village panchayat representatives have a complete right with regard to panchayat funds. “ No official or contractor can usurp those powers. So such unconstitutional provisions should be discontinued,” Hooda added.
