Regional commissioners to inquire graft charges against GP members

An increasing number of corruption complaints against elected members of gram panchayats has forced the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department to rope in more officials to conduct inquiries into these cases.

While as per the procedure until now, all the complaints came before the Principal Secretary of the RDPR department, the government has now amended the Panchayat Raj Act, 1993, allowing the four regional commissioners in the state to hear cases on behalf of the principal secretary. This, owing to the rising number of complaints against gram panchayat members, presidents and vice-presidents, according to a government notification in this regard.

According to officials in the RDPR department, having identified this problem, the government had earlier made use of an existing section in the Act, allowing regional commissioners to take up inquiries. “The existing legislation states that the government can ‘cause an inquiry’. This provision was interpreted to rope in regional commissioners. However, we have now amended the Act authorising them to conduct inquiries,” according to a senior official in the RDPR department.

Prakash R, former vice president, Bannerghatta Panchayat was among those who welcomed the government’s move. “In many instances, even if there is a false complaint filed against a member, they have to wait for years together to get it resolved. Now that the regional commissioners have been given power, it will serve the larger good of the members,” he said.

However, Nandana Reddy, Convenor of the Karnataka Gram Panchayat Hakkothaya Andolana had a word of caution. Roping in government officials to inquire into complaints against panchayat members is against the spirit of local self governance. There is a possibility of officials misusing this provision to intimidate panchayat members, she pointed out. Moreover, in many instances, government officials are involved in the irregularities and the complaints cannot be looked at in isolation, she added.