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B S Nagaraj
NEW DELHI, JAN 28: The Ministry of Rural Areas and Employment has decided to execute its threat to stop hundreds of crores of funds to three States which have failed to hold elections to Panchayat Raj bodies.
As a first step towards stopping funds flow to the panchayats in Assam, Karnataka and Pondicherry, Minister of State for Rural Areas and Employment Babagouda Patil shot off letters to the Chief Ministers of these States on Monday, conveying his decision. ``You will kindly appreciate that in the circumstances it is not possible for us to continue to release funds to the State Government from this Ministry. It has been decided that with the exception of water supply, funds for the schemes of this department will not be released to such of the States as do not have panchayats. I have taken this decision after serious deliberation,'' he told Assam Chief Minister P K Mahanta.
Similarly, he told Pondicherry Chief Minister R V Janakiraman,``It appears to me that the Pondicherry administration has nottaken any serious steps for early elections and I regret, therefore, that we will not be able to release funds for schemes other than drinking water supply to Pondicherry administration. Funds will be released only when panchayats have been elected and are in position.'' In Karnataka's case, Patil told CM J H Patel,``As you are aware, elections to the State Assembly are due towards the end of this year and the possibility of panchayat elections being postponed indefinitely seems to loom large.'' He warned the State Government that in case the decision to postpone the elections was not reversed, funds for all schemes, other than drinking water supply, will not flow to the State.
The letters recall that in Assam, the panchayats were dissolved in April 1997 and fresh elections should have been held in October 1997. ``Elections are overdue in Assam by 15 months now. This is a gross violation of the Constitution and it is not within the powers of the Central Government to ignore this violation,'' Patil toldMahanta. He also recalled that 12 MPs had submitted a representation stating that, despite persistent popular demand, the Assam Government had failed to hold the elections.
The Minister reminded the Chief Ministers that the holding of regular elections to panchayats was a constitutional requirement under Article 243E which specifies that all panchayats, unless sooner dissolved, shall continue for five years and that fresh elections be held before the expiration of their duration, or before the expiration of a period of six months from the date of their dissolution.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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