'Earmark ` one cr to GPs'

Karnataka State Gram Panchayat Employees Association state president Maruthi Manpade has said the government should release a grant of Rs one crore, to each gram panchayat to take up development work.

Replying to the felicitation at a programme organised by the Karnataka State Gram Panchayat Employees Association on Saturday, he said “The gram panchayats work amid people in rural areas.

There is a need to increase the budgetary allocations to the gram panchayats. A sum of Rs seven lakh released to each gram panchayat is not sufficient to pay electricity bills and wages of the employees.” The government should release funds for the salary of the employees separately and not through Zilla Panchayat.

He said there was a need to fight for increasing the wages of bill collectors and for the appointment of five assistant directors in every taluk to look into the affairs of panchayat raj system.

All attempts are made to take away the power of the gram panchayats. The institution of gram panchayat was created for the decentralisation of administration.

The outsourcing of gram panchayat secretary and assistant accountant should be stopped. The services of those who have been serving in the gram panchayat as daily wage labourers should be considered while making appointments to the gram panchayats.

He said about 2,000 gram panchayat employees have been promoted in the state. This includes 56 from Dakshina Kannada.

Manpade accused the government of forgetting the welfare of the poor people. CITU district secretary B Madhava said that the minimum wages of daily wage labourers in various sectors should be increased to Rs 10,000.