Haryana CM hikes expenditure limit for Gram Panchayats; Sarpanch association terms it “misleading”

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on July 2 increased the expenditure limit for the Gram Panchayats from ₹5 lakh to ₹21 lakh for carrying out development works in villages without floating e-tenders. The Sarpanches across Haryana have been up in arms against the State government for more than a year accusing it of curtailing the rights of Gram Panchayats and had opposed the Bharatiya Janata Party during the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls.

Addressing the Gram Panchayat representatives at a State-level programme in Kurukshetra, Mr. Saini also announced that Sarpanches could claim travel expenses at a rate of ₹16 per kilometer for using their car or taxi for Panchayat work.

Haryana Sarpanch Association president Ranbir Singh Samain, however, termed the announcements “misleading” and added that the association would go ahead with its earlier decision to convene a meeting on July 7 to discuss the future course of action.

Mr. Samain told The Hindu over the phone that increasing the expenditure limit meant little without removing the 50% cap on the expenditure by the Gram Panchayats to their total funds. Also, he added, that the major demands to scrap e-tendering and restore the rights of Gram Panchayats were not addressed.

Leading the Sarpanches agitation, the association, which claims to represent a majority of 6,000-odd panchayats in the State, seeks the implementation of 29 functional items for the Panchayats under the 11th Schedule added as part of 73rd amendment to the Constitution, the withdrawal of the “Right to Recall” Act, scrapping of e-tendering process for development works in villages and stopping the interference of the MLAs into the functioning of the Panchayats.

At a meeting in Jind last month, the association had given ultimatum to the State government to accept their its demands till July 7 threatening to take tough decisions after the three-week deadline.