Three-tier panchayati raj system took a final shape with indirect election of new chairman and vice-chairman of Ranchi District Board on Friday at the board’s office. In an election conducted by the district administration, Sukra Singh Munda got elected as the new chairman of the board by defeating his nearest rival Rajesh Kachchhap with a good number of votes.
In an one-sided election, the 32-year-old new chairman of the Board bagged 26 votes whereas rivals Rajesh Kacchap and Arti Kujur could manage to win support of only seven and three members correspondingly. Parvati Devi was elected as the Vice-Chairperson of the Board.
Munda who owes his success to his political guru and AJSU party chief Sudesh Kumar Mahto humbly expressed that the chief of the political party has been his source of inspiration and a mentor who taught reading pulse of people, understanding aspirations and delivering on promises.
Emerging after the thumping victory, Munda enlisted goals that he would pursue during the five-year tenure as the head of the institution. Hailing from the hinterlands of Sonahatu West, the young chairman resolved to toil hard to make people earn what they deserve especially under the National Food Security Scheme (NFSA) which aims to end hunger of poor people concentrated mostly in rural areas.
“There have been large scale irregularities in the National Food Security Scheme. A lot of undeserving people have made their way into the list. I would have to sit with people, authorities and see that such people are removed and deserving people get what they entitled to,” said Munda.
After becoming part of the significant institution that scripts development of rural areas, the man from lupungdih in Sonahatu block vowed to motivate people to join the State government’s initiative—Yojna Banao Abhiyan—and acknowledged that the campaign empowers people in project planning process. The campaign includes organising meetings and activities at every 100 households to incorporate villagers’ priorities into development plans for rural areas.
“Yojna Banao Abhiyan is a very good programme of the State government. All one needs to do is to get associated with the programme to bring development in their village and my efforts would be in the direction of ensuring that people join this campaign in great numbers. This is certainly a very good scheme for rural areas,” maintained Munda.
The new Chairman tried to win confidence of rivals by assuring that there would not be any discrimination in the matters of the Board and growth would not fall victim to rural politics.