With lok Sabha elections round the corner, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav offered sops to the members of various panchayat bodies by increasing their honorarium and promising better work culture in the three-tier system.

The honorarium of gram pradhans has been increased to Rs 2,500 per month from the existing Rs 700. 

The block pramukhs will get Rs 7,000 and zila panchayat chiefs Rs 10,000 monthly honorarium. 

Besides, the BDC members will get Rs 500 per day for the meetings and the district panchayat members a daily allowance of Rs 1,000.

“The Samajwadi Party believes in democracy. It (democracy) can only be strengthened through a strong Panchayati Raj system. Therefore, our Government has taken a decision to increase the honorarium of members of panchayat bodies,” the Chief Minister announced at a function held in Saifai on Monday.

“The state will progress only if villages become prosperous. The gram panchayats are the backbone of democracy and we cannot ignore them Until we strengthen the gram panchayats economically we cannot think about the progress of villages,” the Chief Minister said in the function attended by over 20,000 representatives of panchayats and co-operative bodies.

The Chief Minister said the state was marching on the path of progress. “It is true that Uttar Pradesh is facing power crisis. The problem will be solved by 2014 when power projects in lalitpur and Allahabad will become operational,” he said.

Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was also present at the function, said that it had come to his notice that some officers were not performing their duties diligently. 

He said the Chief Minister should identify such officers and take action against them. 

“Action should also be taken against erring district magistrates and district police chiefs,” he added.

Talking about politics, Yadav Senior said that no party could ignore the Samajwadi Party post-lok Sabha election. He said a new political dispensation would be possible only with the support of the SP. 

“People have already rejected Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party. The only option before them is a Third Front,” he said.

Exhorting the representatives of panchayats, Yadav Sr. asked them to identify their might because they had the power to change the fortune of the country. 

“Think positively and unitedly about your goal because you play a decisive role in the victory of a candidate,” he added.

The SP supremo also asked the state ministers and senior leaders of the party to go to people and build rapport with them. 

“If a leader loses contact with masses it is end of his or her political career,” he said.