Panchayati ‘raj’ in Delhi this December

Two and a half lakh panchayat leaders, from across the country, will converge in the Capital in the first government-sponsored rally of its kind, reports Aloke Tikku.

Two and a half lakh panchayat leaders, from across the country, will converge in the Capital in December in the first government-sponsored rally of its kind.

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The rally is slated for December 23, but a day before that there will be a convention of chairpersons of municipalities and zila parishads.

“We believe that the rally will promote greater awareness about national programmes of the UPA government among the elected representatives,” Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar wrote to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit last week.

Officials fear that hosting the rally would be a logistical nightmare. “Making arrangements for transportation, stay and food for 2.5 lakh people is no joke…. Not when more than one-third of the panchayat leaders are women,” an official said.

The government is yet to decide the venue for the rally. The police are worried about the possibility of traffic bottlenecks and law and order problems.