* G * O * A * N * E * T C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S *
Enjoy your holiday in Goa. Stay at THE GARCA BRANCA from November to May
There is no better, value for money, guest house.
Confirm your bookings early or miss-out
Visit http://www.garcabranca.com for details/booking/confirmation.
What's wrong with Goa's panchayats and their gram sabhas?
---
The Functioning of Gram Sabhas in Goa
Ms Seema Fernandes
Goa Institute of Rural Development Administration
Ela, Old Goa
No date mentioned. 107pp.
---
There's so much being written on Goa, but because it's not
widely catalogued or uploaded to cyberspace, it's difficult
to keep track of what all is being said. Here's a book one
came across because of a chance visit to the Goa Institute of
Rural Development Administration at Ela, Old Goa, in a
wholly different context.
Seema Fernandes' conclusions: Goa's overall panchayati raj
(rural governance) system needs improvement. Most people are
ignorant about the entire working of local self government
in Goa. Some didn't know that ordinary meetings and special
'gram sabha' (village council) meetings are convened in the
panchayat.
Most women said their husbands attended meetings, but very
rarely discussed matters at home. Others were ignorant about
the quorum needed to conduct gram sabhas. Most had never
attended a gram sabha meeting in their life -- they don't
feel the need to attend, or see it as a male dominated meeting.
And check this out: The people did not attend meetings
because they feel that the Panchayat (village council) is not
working for the village. They have selfish motives and due to
(their) affiliation with political bodies, only promises are
made but hardly fulfilled.
Other issues raised include:
* Elected women representatives do not address women's issues
at the gram sabha meetings.
* At meetings, people appear least bothered to hear the
minutes of the earlier meeting, and are not bothered on
other crucial issues like the expenditure of the outlay of
previous years.
* Some issues dominate the meets: issues pertaining to the
grant of NOCs for constructions, water connections, which
gutter or road or culvert has to be built or re-constructed,
why a particular person was given a construction license, or
illegal houses.
* Meetings tend to lack decorum in conduct, aggravated by the
fact that no time is given for the discussion of agenda
items. This leads to a lack of interest in meetings, boredom,
and walk-outs. Many a times, discussions get heated and
uncontrollable by the presiding officer; people would gherao
the elected representatives over issues affecting them, says
the study.
Ms Fernandes stresses the role of gram sabhas in rural
socio-economic development. But she says it can be a
meaninfgul institution only when a majority of the people are
involved. In reality, attendance is very thin. Average
attendance is around 30-50 people, except in rare cases. So,
the majority is absent when decisions are taken.
In the first place, the majority of the people are quite
ignorant of the role and importance of the gram sabha, says
the study.
It adds: People have expectations from the panchayat and
this hampers the participation at gram sabhas... Lack of
sound financial resources, adequate staff, instability of the
sarpanchas, interference at all levels are some of the
reasons hampering the success of the panchayat.
Ironically, though decisions are binding on the panchayat,
it remains only on paper. Participation in Goa's gram
sabhas is selective and therefore it can be called as a
group of people who have vested interests in attending the
meeting, and as such it can be called an autocracy.
This 94-page report (plus annexures) comes with seven
chapters. An introduction, another on the efforts towards
strengthening gram sabhas, a brief overview of literature on
gram sabhas in India, the Goa panchayati raj act, people's
participation, an analysis and conclusions.
Interesting issues for those wanting to understand this issue
of vital relevance to today's rural Goa. But it's not printed
as a book (yet) or available for sale. Such work needs to be
widely disseminated and discussed, if Goa's panchayats are to
have a future beyond window-dressing.
REVIEWS AT: http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com
--
--
Frederick Noronha http://fn.goa-india.org 9822122436 +91-832-240-9490
http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/
___
Goanet mailing list
Goanet@lists.goanet.org
