NT NETWORK
PANAJI
Panchayat Minister Rajendra Arlekar, on Friday, refuted the allegations that there was rampant corruption in the village panchayats (VPs), and said that the department is reorganising itself to e-governance.
Speaking during the demands for grants for 2016-17, legislators led by the Leader of Opposition Pratapsingh Rane alleged corruption in the village panchayats due to ambivalence about the rules of granting house numbers and house tax collection.
Responding to the allegations, Arlekar said that the department has issued new circular to the panchayats alongwith draft affidavit to be submitted by the households to obtain the house numbers. “Every house will be given token number but with this number the house will not be regularised. They will be able to get the required facilities like power and water supply,” he added.
He further said that to streamline the functioning of the panchayats, the department has decided to go for e-governance for all the services sought at the panchayats.
“In two-three months, we will completely go for e-governance with the help from the Union Ministry of Panchayats,” he said. He said that the panchayats and the block development office (BDO) will be connected to the directorate office in Panaji with the help of ITG (Info Tech Corporation of Goa Ltd).
To Rane’s claim that gram sevaks are being appointed as secretary and many secretaries are untrained, Arlekar responded saying that the newly recruited panchayat secretaries have undergone one and half month’s training at the Goa Institute of Public Administration and Rural Development (GIPARD).
He further said that orientation of some other secretaries has also been done, and some are yet to be trained.
“10 new panchayat secretaries will be appointed, and I will ensure that no panchayat is without a secretary and no secretary is given additional charge,” he added.
Arlekar informed the legislators that the department provides Rs 350 per day for garbage collection to the panchayats.
He further said that under the Deen Dayal Infrastructure Development Scheme, the limit has been enhanced from Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 2 crore, and there are 45 projects in progress under the scheme in various panchayats in the state.
