New Delhi, Aug 25 (IANS) Parliament Wednesday approved a bill on holding panchayat elections in Jharkhand, which is currently under president’s rule, with the Rajya Sabha adopting the measure.
The Lok Sabha had last week passed the Jharkhand Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2010 that amends the Jharkhand Panchayat Act to reserve 50 percent of seats for women.
Replying to the debate on the bill, Panchayati Raj Minister C.P. Joshi assured the house that the elections will be held in the state as soon as possible.
‘We want to hold elections in the state as soon as possible, there will be no deficiency from the part of government,’ Joshi assured.
The minister, however, said that the money prescribed by the 11th and 12th finance commissions for panchayats may not be given now.
‘I cannot commit on the funds recommended by the 11th and 12th finance commissions, but more than giving money, there is need for utilising the money already alloted,’ Joshi said, replying to the demands of member.
The minister also stressed on enhancing the staff at the panchayats to enhance decentralisation of power.
‘We need dedicated staff for panchayats, we need buildings,’ he said, adding: ‘We also need experts in information technology for the panchayats.’
Earlier participating in the debates, members highlighted that panchayat elections have not been held for more than 30 years in the areas that now make up Jharkhand.
‘Even after formation of a separate state of Jharkhand, no election has been held in the past 10 years,’ Congress MP Mabel Rebello, who represents the state in the Rajya Sabha, said.
Mani Shankar Aiyar (Nominated) said that panchayat elections and decentralisation of power may actually lead to reduction of Maoist activities in the state. Aiyar is a former union panchayati raj minister.
Elections in the areas that make up Jharkhand were last held in 1971 when they were a part of Bihar. After the creation of Jharkhand in 2000, the state election commission issued a schedule for panchayat polls in 2002 and issued a notification for it in August 2005. However, the exercise was called off the very next month following an interim order of the Jharkhand High Court.
Backward communities, which constitute 40 percent of the state’s population, opposed the reservations for tribals in areas where their population was under 50 percent. Succumbing to the demand, the state government de-reserved some seats and the trials moved the high court against the government.
The Supreme Court cleared the cases earlier this year and directed the state to hold the polls at the earliest.
The state was placed under president’s rule after the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha government led by Shibu Soren was reduced to a minority after coalition partner Bhartiya Janata Party withdrew its support.
