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Panchayat members seeking more financial powers protest outside Punjab CM Capt Amarinder’s Patiala residence
Protesters also ask Amarinder government to increase monthly salary of sarpanches from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000. Ravinder Singh, secretary of the union that staged the protest near CM’s house, said they have handed over their demand charter to the Patiala district administration which has fixed their meeting with the Punjab Mandi Board chairman on Thursday
Members of panchayats, including sarpanches, demanding more financial powers to execute development works at village level on Wednesday staged a protest outside the Patiala residence of chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh.
The protesters, drawn from across Punjab, said they faced obstacles in getting basic works done for want of financial powers.
Gurmeet Singh, state president of the panchayat members’ union, said the villages are backbone of the state’s economy but the government had completely ignored them. “We have to bank on the government to carry even the smallest works. According to the existing rules, the panchayats are allowed to utilise funds to the tune of ₹25,000 for development purposes on their own. We need the panchayat secretary to sign on the cheque to sanction ₹1 lakh. We want government to allow sarpanchs to use ₹1 lakh on their own,” he said.
The union also asked the government to increase the monthly salary of sarpanches from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000.
Gurmeet Singh said the government should fix certain deadline for making payments of work carried under the MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) and should allow them to use 40% of the funds allocated under the scheme.
They also demand an insurance cover of ₹50 lakh and ₹20 lakh for sarpanchs and panchayat members.
Ravinder Singh, secretary of the union, said they have handed over their demand charter to the district administration which has fixed their meeting with the Punjab Mandi Board chairman on Thursday.
