Kolkata, July 20 — A new bill will be placed on the floor of the West Bengal Assembly soon to curb the current powers of village panchayat chiefs in the state as “signatory authorities.”
Once the Bill is passed, the chiefs will no longer be the “signatory authorities” for sanctioning funds for panchayat-related activities. Instead, the same powers will be transferred to government officials, Panchayat Affairs & Rural Development Minister Dilip Ghosh informed the House while participating in a debate on budgetary allocations for his department on the opening day of the extended budget session.
He also said the new Bill will be tabled within the next two weeks.
Currently, most elected bodies under the three-tier panchayat system in the state are controlled by the previous ruling party, the Trinamool Congress. However, since Trinamool’s landslide defeat in the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly polls, many panchayat heads have gone missing or become incommunicado, causing inconvenience in processing important sanctions for crucial public service activities.
With the next elections for the three-tier panchayat system scheduled in 2028, the decision to shift “signatory authorities” from elected panchayat heads to government officials is seen as necessary to keep rural civic services running.
Ghosh also responded to objections raised by opposition legislators Sabina Yasmin, Samir Jana and Bina Mondal regarding the curbing of “signatory authorities” for elected panchayat heads.
He said it was the duty of elected panchayat heads to provide services to the common people. “Either come to office and perform your duties or resign. If you do neither, we will be left with no option but to have you arrested, bring you to your offices, and make you sign. People cannot be deprived of services,” Ghosh remarked.