Men should not interfere in work of women sarpanches: Maha minister

Maharashtra industries minister Subhash Desai said that the state government was planning to bring a rule mandating senior officials to visit gram panchayats and explain new schemes to members.

Maharashtra industries minister Subhash Desai on Monday said men should not interfere in the work of women sarpanches and let them learn through experience.

Maharashtra industries minister Subhash Desai. (HT Photo)

Delivering a valedictory speech at the conference of woman sarpanches, organised by the Aurangabad Zilla Parishad Aurangabad and MLCs Ambadas Danve and Manisha Kayande, the minister said the representation of women in local governing bodies is going up. "This representation is more than 50 per cent in Aurangabad as far as the number of women sarpanches is concerned. This means villagers have shown more faith in women. If a woman is backed for a good cause, there will be no need to search women candidates during elections," the Shiv Sena leader said.

He said men should less interfere in the work of women sarpanches and they be allowed to learn by experience. Desai said the state government was planning to bring a rule mandating senior officials to visit gram panchayats and explain new schemes to members.

He said women sarpanches should visit their offices and go through letters and resolutions issued by the government. Minister of employment guarantee scheme Sandipan Bhumre said the government is giving a good amount of funds to build roads up to farms in rural areas. "The Employment Guarantee scheme is the only portfolio which didn't see any cut in funds amid the pandemic. Now leaders in western Maharashtra are giving examples of infrastructure development in the Marathwada region," he said.

Speaking on the occasion, a woman sarpanch said the mistakes of computer operators lead to exclusion of the needy from various schemes of the government. "Sarpanches should be given the authority to deposit the salary of these operators instead of doing it through their appointing agency," Sarpanch Varsha Jadhav said.

She said members of gram panchayats should also be trained. "The disbursement of funds by gram panchayats is done online. But there is a fear about the possible misuse of digital signatures. I feel the work of gram panchayats should be allowed in offline mode to some extent," she said.

Vanmala Nikam, the sarpanch of Gondegaon, said her village boasts of the first air-conditioned bus stop in Maharashtra. Vahegaon sarpanch Vaishali Shinde underlined the issues of growing addiction among youth and child marriage. "More schools are needed to stop marriages of underage girls," she added.