A Dehradun district Panchayat meeting was held in Raipur on Thursday with district Panchayat members having unanimously passed a resolution condemning the Central Government for withdrawing funds meant for the Panchayats under 14th Finance Commission.
A large number of district Panchayat members had attended the meet. The district panchayat president Chaman Singh presided over the meeting held at the auditorium of Raipur block development office in Dehradun.
Its beginning was marked with a ruckus created by the district Panchayat member and former district Panchayat chairperson Madhu Chauhan who alleged that several proposals submitted by some of the district Panchayat members are not being included in the district plan over the past one year.
The session started with Chaman Singh asking the members to raise their proposals or public concerns to be included in the district plan. Chauhan stood up and said that some of the members of district Panchayat are not being given the importance they deserve. "It seems to be so, given the fact that the proposals they earlier submitted based on public demands have not been included in the district plan," she said. Pandemonium ensued as some other members opposed her.
Unfazed by the noise, Chauhan said she had waited for a year, hoping that the members' proposals would be included in the district plan. "But the hope proved a delusion," she lamented. The names of the members whose proposals have not figured in the district plan as cited by her are the following- Jhulo Devi from Maletha (Chakrata), Radha Bharti from Bhangroli (Kalsi), Sushila Devi from Kachra (Kalsi), Kesar Singh from Vysanhari (Kalsi), Surat Singh from Jayankhata (Vikasnagar), Madhu Chauhan from Rasulpur (Vikasnagar), Arjun Singh from Ambari (Vikasnagar), Sandhya Thapa from Johri (Sahaspur) and Pushpa Barthwal from Chamtunwala, Doiwala.
However, noise subsided after around 10 minutes and the session continued smoothly with the Panchayat members raising public concerns of their respective areas.
The administrative officers were seen fumbling while being battered by queries thrown by the public representatives during the session.
Reacting to Mudhu Chauhan's accusation, Chaman Singh said that everyone should raise his or her concerns peacefully. "It is unfortunate that Chauhan despite being the former chairman has dishonored norms," he said, affirming that all the proposals submitted by the members would be included in the district plan.
Among those present were vice -chairperson Dabral Singh Bhandari, DM Ravinath Rama, CDO AK Pandey, SP Rural GC Dhyani, district education officer SP Khali, district Panchayat officer MM Khan, Upper Mukhya Adhikari Bharat Singh, Raipur Block Pramukh Beena Bahuguna and Sahaspur Block Pramukh Ranjeeta Tomar aside from hundreds of district Panchayat members and district officers.