State Finance Commission Chairman A G Kodgi has stated that the decision of the Gram Panchayat President is final in preparing the BPL list.

Addressing a face-to-face programme organised by Udupi Taluk Panchayat Raj Okkuta here on Wednesday, he said the GP President should finalise the list and send the same to the Deputy Commissioner. He should also have the responsibility of dropping the non-deserving people from the list, Mr Kodgi added.

Panchayat Raj system has the responsibility of implementing each and every scheme of the government. But the GP representatives are wriggling out of the situations by imposing the responsibility on the officials. The functioning of GP members is not satisfactory, he said.

The basic idea behind the Panchayat Raj system is to guarantee that the miseries of the public draws the attention of the government. Chief Minister or a minister does not come across such problems. But a GP member has a clear idea regarding the village-level problems. He should bring them to the attention of the government and strive for progress. But what is happening is completely different, Mr Kodgi commented.

He said the GP members have the complete right to enquire about the quality of any development projects under their purview. They have the ultimate power in this regard.

He advised the GP chief to prepare and send the budget in specified time and conduct jama bandhi madatorily. He also asked him to send a list of siteless residents and distribute the sites properly.

Illegal structures

The issue whether tax should be levied for giving electricity connections to illegal buildings caused hot discussions in the meeting. “Those who have constructed illegal buildings benefit in two ways: On the one hand, they do not pay tax and on the other they are encouraged further to build more illegal structures,” Mr Kodgi apprehended.

Replying to this, Deputy Commissioner Ponnuraj said both giving electricity connection to illegal structures and receiving tax from them are against the law. Actions can be initiated upon an official if he permits such moves. Hence, we have cancelled levying tax, he clarified.

Commenting on the issue, District-in-Charge Minister Dr V S Acharya said there is no use in dropping taxes being received from the illegal building owners.

After prolonged discussions, the meet resolved to give power to the Gram Panchayat to issue conditional certificate for power connections to the illegal structures and levy taxes.

ZP President B N Shankar Poojary, Vice President Sharada Bijuru and CEO Hemalatha, Panchayat Raj Okkuta President Deviprasad Shetty among others were present.