Panaji, Sep 10 (Inditop.com) The Goa law commission will study the state government’s controversial amendment to the Goa Panchayati Raj Act, which has faced vehement opposition from civil society groups and panchayats throughout the state, an official said Thursday.
Commission chairman Ramakant Khalap told Inditop that prima facie the amendment’s ability to bypass the elected body of the panchayat, allowing a panchayat secretary to execute orders, warranted scrutiny.
“These aspects need to be examined thoroughly. We will study the matter which has been the subject of public debate of late and then submit our recommendations to the state government,” Khalap, a former union minister of state for law, said.
“We were not consulted when this amendment was made, but we have received representations from several NGOs and individuals asking us to take up the matter,” said Khalap, who heads the three-member commission appointed to vet and suggest modifications to laws applicable in the state.
The amendment to the Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1993, was passed during the monsoon session of the Goa legislative assembly amidst a walkout by the opposition.
Civil rights activists claim that the amendment by the Congress-led coalition government in the state was against the spirit of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s pet act.
“The government simply does not want to devolve powers to the panchayat. This amendment further wrests powers from the real grass root representatives of the people,” Soter D’souza, director of the Centre for Panchayati Raj, said.
Goa Bachao Abhiyaan, an umbrella organisation of various leading civil society groups, has called the amendment as a “tacit acknowledgment by the government of its inability to convince people”.
rounak