The chairpersons of five Panchayat Samitis of Nuapada district are at loggerheads with the district administration over selection of projects under the Gopabandhu Gramin Yojana (GGY).
The Chairpersons, in a joint written statement submitted to the district Collector, have expressed that there is gross violation of the Government guidelines in the identification and approval of projects under the GGY.
“While approving the project list, the competent authority has not adhered to the guidelines. As per provisions, the Panchayat Samitis would compile the list of works (Action Plan) and send that to the district Collector, who in turn will place that before the District Planning Committee (DPC) for consideration and approval. But the Action Plan approved by the DPC for the year 2017-18 does not include a single work proposed by the Panchayat Samitis. The procedures have not been complied with, which is a gross violation of the Government order,” said Balkrishna Sabar, Chairman of the Khariar Panchayat Samiti.
Sabar has further stated that the DPC has acted according to the diktat of the district Collector. “In case of disagreement with the recommendation of the Panchayat Samiti, the DPC should have selected other projects from the list of projects finalised by the Palli Sabha giving sufficient justification. But instead of adhering to this procedure, the DPC has approved projects suggested by the Collector,” added Sabar.
The Chairpersons have also drawn the attention of other higher authorities including the Panchayati Raj (PR) Minister and the PR Commissioner-cum-Secretary in this regard.