Bill to give more muscle to panchayat bodies in State

The State government on Wednesday introduced a comprehensive amendment bill in the Assembly, seeking to strengthen the panchayat system by delegating greater administrative and financial powers to them.

The bill, introduced by Rural development and Panchyat Raj Minister H K Patil, has proposed to rename the existing Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act, 1993 as the Karnataka Grama Swaraj and Panchayat Raj Act.

A majority of the recommendations of the K R Ramesh Kumar committee set up to bring in reforms in the panchayat system in the State have been incorporated in the bill, including giving minister of state rank status to zilla panchayat presidents. The bill into runs into 138 pages.

All three-tier panchayat bodies – gram panchayats, taluk panchayats and zilla panchayats – will have powers to prepare their own development plan under bottom-to-top approach.

Planning committee

A district-level planning committee is proposed to be set up to consolidate plan documents prepared by taluk and gram panchayats, monitor the progress and ensure quality in implementation. Panchayats will get powers to prepare their own bye-laws. But the government will have the power to either modify any bye-law or annul it. The bill has proposed to delegate a large number of powers as far as development activities are concerned.

 Panchayats will have powers to prepare their annual budget, provide relief in natural calamities and remove encroachments of public properties. Most of the powers are now concentrated in zilla panchayats.

Panchayat bodies will also get a lot of financial powers if the bill is implemented. The bill not only provides for devolution of funds based on the recommendations of State Finance Commission, but stipulates that not less than 20 per cent of it should be untied grants.

Besides, panchayat bodies will be empowered to mobilise their own resources. They will have powers to collect property tax, levy fee on entertainment, vehicle parking, markets and registration of cattle.

Several amendments have been proposed to empower the State Election Commission to conduct free and fair elections to panchayat bodies.