A double post-graduate science degree holder, Shivanand K., who had won the election to the Aranthodu Gram Panchayat in Sullia taluk, Dakshina Kannada, five years ago and became panchayat vice-president later, is trying his hand at a second stint in the gram panchayat elections this time.
He filed his nomination papers for the December 27 elections from Aranthodu Ward II on Tuesday.
Mr. Shivanand, who had obtained his M.Tech in Materials Engineering from the National Institute of Technology-Karnataka (NIT-K), Surathkal, and M.Sc in Materials Science from Mangalore University more than one-and-half-decades ago, later became a full-time agriculturist.
“Getting higher education definitely makes a difference in panchayatraj administration, especially in gram panchayat level. All political parties should motivate candidates with higher education to contest elections to the rural local bodies,” he told The Hindu. Graduates and post-graduates too should not shy away from contesting the elections to gram panchayats to make a difference, he said.
Mr. Shivanand said that with the gram panchayat administration and services now depending on Information Technology tools, basic knowledge in Information Technology came in handy in managing the rural body.
“If there is good coordination between the gram panchayat officials and the elected representatives, the panchayats can really do better works with the available funds,” he said.
The science post-graduate said that Aranthodu Gram Panchayat won the first prize from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) for the best solid waste management (SWM) among the gram panchayats in Dakshina Kannada for 2019. He said: “We missed the district level Gandhi Grama Puraskar this time by just a few points.”
Mr. Shivanand said that panchayats could explore self-revenue-generating opportunities. For example, he said, his panchayat planted cashew saplings in the available space in a crematorium about three years ago and the trees of these saplings have started yielding now. The trees are spread over an acre now, he added.
In addition to him, the last elected body of the panchayat comprised three more graduates. It also had a member who had studied up to Class II.
