Family planning catches up with Haryana panchayats

Family planning catches up with Haryana panchayats
CHITRA SUBRAMANYAM

BHIWANI (HARYANA), DECEMBER 18: In April this year, Dharambir got the leg-up he wanted in the village hierarchy: he was elected a member of panchayat of his Devrala village, around 40 km from Bhiwani in Haryana. But just seven months later, on November 7, Dharambir got a letter from the District Commissioner directing him to step down because he was allegedly a father of five children.

As per the rule book, Dharambir is on the wrong side of the street. Section 55 (iii) in the Haryana Panchayati Raj Rule Book clearly states that any resident of a village with more than two living children after April 22, 1995 cannot contest the panchayat elections. If he\she has children after being elected to the post of either sarpanch or panchayat member, he\she will be disqualified immediately.

But Dharambir points out that he has four, not five children. Moreover, he says he didn't know that the number of children he had would stand in his way. ``When I put in my papers of candidature before the elections, the polling officer told me that I could be eligible only if I didn't have a police case against me. He didn't say anything about children. If I had known about this beforehand, somebody else from my family could have contested the elections.''

It's a piquant situation across Haryana, where new approaches to family planning are clashing with old ways and structures. Vijendra Singh Parmar, from Karak Khurd village, says, ``My children are more important to me than the post of a sarpanch or panch. Which is why, when I got this letter, I stepped down.'' He says he wasn't informed about such a law when he had submitted his papers. ``When I told the polling officer about this rule, he told me that even he wasn't aware of it.'' There are other panchayat members who have more than two children, added Parmar.

According to figures available with Sant Kumar, District Commissioner (Bhiwani), six panchayat members from Bhiwani have been identified on the basis of complaints because they have more than two children. Four of them, including Dharambir, have already been disqualified. The fate of two others will be decided in January. Besides, in Yamunanagar district, three sarpanches and six panchayat members have been disqualifed on the same ground.

The clause is a perfect family planning tool, feels Sant Kumar. ``After all, each villager feels that a seat in the panchayat holds maximum power and wants to be part of it. Of course, there's nothing we can do about people who've already got six or seven children.''

Dharambir alleges that this clause is being used by political rivals to settle scores. ``There are people in this village who don't want a Jat to become a panchayat member. The one who told the District Commissioner about my children is Bana Ram, my rival during the elections.'' A feeling echoed by Parmar, who claimed that the complaint was filed against him by his rival right after Parmar took the oath to become a panchayat member.

However, says District Collector Kumar, ``This rule should be implemented. After all, population control should be started at the grass-root level. The damage has already been done. At least something can be done to control it now.''