The 73rd amendment to the Constitution brought about a comprehensive change in the field of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj system in the country paving the way for several reformative measures in the field, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs and Legislation H.K. Patil has said.
He was inaugurating a two-day national seminar on “Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj”, organised to mark three decades of the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution by the Karnataka State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj University in Gadag on Friday.
Mr. Patil said that late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was the pioneer in making efforts to materialise Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of gram swaraj and it was during the tenure of the late Prime Minister Narasimha Rao that the amendment was brought. The amendment brought about comprehensive changes in the field including implementation of reservation at the gram panchayat level and enabling members of Scheduled Castes and Tribes to become heads of gram panchayats, he said.
The Minister stressed the need for analysing the journey of three decades after the 73rd amendment. “Compared to the national level, the panchayats in the State are in a better position. Members of SC/ST, the poor and women have become presidents of the panchayats. Although social reformer Basavanna advocated equality and equal representation to women in all spheres of life back in the twelfth century, until the 73rd amendment was brought, it had not materialised. In the implementation of the amendment, Karnataka is at the forefront,” he said.
He said that the panchayat raj system had great potential to bring about change and the State government was taking steps to further empower the panchayat raj institutions, he said emphasising the need for more transparency in the functioning of these institutions.
Former Chief Secretary of the Karnataka government T.M. Vijaybhaskar recalled the days when KSRDPRU was set up and he commended the way the university was functioning to bring about a comprehensive change in rural development.
Despite several measures there were still need for effective mechanism to ensure strengthening of the panchayat raj institutions, he said.
Director of Panchayat Raj Commissionerate Ekanthappa said that there was need for gram panchayats playing effective role in monitoring the development works in their jurisdiction.
