There is a ray of hope for more than 40,000 ward members of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in the State as Minister Chandra Shekhar Dubey on Saturday assured them to take up the issue of granting honorarium in the next Cabinet meeting.
Dubey asked the officials of the department to prepare a draft on the honorarium in the next 15 days. “I have asked Deputy Development Commissioners of all districts to decide the quantum of honorarium for a ward representative. They can do it in a week or a fortnight,” said the Panchayati Raj Minister. Dubey was holding a review meeting with the officials of the Panchayti Raj department and DDCs of all districts.
Under the prevailing system, positions below Mukhiya in a panchayat are not paid for the services rendered. Notably, a Mukhiya gets a meagre amount of Rs 1,000 as honorarium from the Government’s kitty. “I will put the proposal in the Cabinet meeting,” assured Dubey. Significantly, Dubey also assured that the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) will be released by the Centre soon.
Incidentally, BRGF covers two types of schemes - development and capacity building. While the development fund is used for constructing bridges, culverts, health sub center, Anganwadi Centres, Panchayat Bhawan funds for capacity building is used for creating infrastructures to support transition of businesses at the grass-root level. “Computerisation of panchayats will be done very soon,” added Dubey.
Earlier, the Panchayati Raj minister instructed the department officials to expedite construction of Panchayat Bhawans and complete the buildings within three months. Notably, the Minister also promised that PRIs will get all rights which they are entitled for and soon the remaining rights will be delegated to the representatives.
Interestingly, Dubey made no bones about his views on treating a panchayat representative with respect and bringing them on board while inaugurating any social sector scheme. The Mukhiyas have been complaining of getting cold shouldered at public functions in their respective constituencies. “The administration should invite representatives in every official function,” maintained Dubey.