After legislators, ZP members want iPads

Instrument wins over members’ unity, unlike civic issues, at general body meeting.

Shunning their political differences, members of the Chikkaballapur Zilla Panchayat on Friday requested the authorities to provide them i-pads costing Rs 40,000.

At the general body meeting of the Zilla Panchayat, members hurled accusations against one another. They complained to the ZP President C R Narasimha Murthy that officials were not respecting the words of the elected representatives and, many of their demands were yet to materialise.

One voice

However, when it came to the issue of providing iPads, the members at once forgot their differences and unanimously urged the authorities to get them the flashy gadget out of the funds granted to the ZP. They also demanded that their demand for iPads be recorded in the proceedings of of the meeting.

When Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer B S Shekarappa asked the members whether there was a provision to provide them iPads using the funds granted for development works, the members remained silent.

When official opinion was sought, a senior official opined that the members can be given iPads as MLAs, MLCs and corpoartors in Bangalore have been provided the same gadget.

Earlier, members P N Keshava Reddy and P V Raghavendra Hanuman brought to the notice of the authorities that officials were quoting several rules and laws to make payments to those who had worked under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gaurantee Act. This redtapisism has caused hardship to the workers, they alleged.

Responding to various complaints by the members, Shekarappa and Narasimha Murthy said that steps would be taken to adresss these problems in a fortnight.

Incidentally, this was the first general meeting of the ZP after Narasimha Murthy and N. Ashwathappa were elected president and vice president respectively.