the goan I network
PANAJI
The Government of Goa has sought to make amendments to the Goa Panchayats (Gram Sabha Meetings) Rules, 1996 and has published the draft amendments “for the purpose of people likely to be affected by these rules.”
Significant among these changes is the change in the rules which disallows the gram sabha to discuss any matter unless it is placed on the agenda as approved.
According to the new rules, Section 7 will be amended to read as “The notice of an ordinary meeting of the gram sabha shall be given at least seven clear days before the date of such meeting and in case of an extraordinary meeting, at least four days before the date of such meeting, along with the agenda to be placed before the meeting. No subject shall be discussed in such meetings besides the agenda as approved by the gram sabha.”
Earlier the rules only specified that “The notice of an ordinary meeting of the gram sabha shall be given at least seven clear days before the date of such meeting and in the case of an extraordinary meeting, at least four days before the date of such meeting.”
Other changes include when the gram sabha meetings can be held. The now amended rule 4 reads as “The meeting of the gram sabha shall be held on any Sunday of January, April, July and October, of every year. Such meetings shall be convened by the Sarpanch.” Earlier the rule mandated that the first meeting of the gram sabha shall be held on the first Sunday of the month of May and the second meeting shall be held on the first Sunday of the month of November, of every year. In 2016, the government had also amended the gram sabha rules to make it mandatory for all gram sabha proceedings to be video recorded. The new rules will be “taken into consideration by the Government after the expiry of a period of fifteen days.”
