Hisar, January 20: The SUCI Communist party has termed the mandatory 40 percent attendance requirement for Gram Sabha meetings, introduced through an amendment to the Haryana Panchayati Raj Institutions Act, as impractical in every respect, stating that this government decision is essentially a conspiracy to cripple the Panchayati Raj system. SUCI Communist State Secretary Comrade Rajendra Singh Advocate and State Secretariat member Mehar Singh Bangar said that this decision of the government will dismantle the Panchayati Raj system.
This will halt development work. No opinion was sought from the Panch and Sarpanches of the state before this amendment. Gram Sabha meetings have been held before, and development work has been carried out. The government's amendment states that if there is not 40 percent attendance in the first Gram Sabha meeting, then 30 percent attendance is required in the next meeting, and if there is not 30 percent attendance, then 20 percent attendance is required.
All this is nothing but a way to put development work and the grants sanctioned for development work on hold, and to keep the villagers entangled in unnecessary procedures. The government has not yet explained how the previous rules for convening Gram Sabha meetings were hindering development work.
The SUCI leaders have demanded that the government immediately withdraw this arbitrary order in the public interest and have appealed to the villagers to oppose this rule that is hindering rural development. They urged the Panchayats of the state to come forward in protest against this.