MARGAO
Call the trip a study tour or simply pleasure jaunt, members of the South Goa Zilla Panchayat are bracing up for their annual sojourn, this time to the picturesque Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh in North India.
The seven day trip will take 20-plus Zilla Panchayat members, besides Zilla officials to the hilly state of Himachal Pradesh, besides Chandigarh, all under the guise of studying the pattern and functioning of the Zilla Panchayats, the devolution of powers, funds and functions for the district Panchayat bodies.
Take note, the entire week-long exercise will cost the state exchequer nothing less than Rs 15 lakh. The government had a year ago funded a similar tour at a cost of around Rs 15-18 lakh to ferry the ZP members to the country's east.
Director of Panchayats, Sandhya Kamat confirmed to The Goan on Monday that the government has accorded approval for the study tour to the South Goa Zilla Panchayat. "The government has approved the study tour. The government will bear the expenses estimated in the region of Rs 12-15 lakh", she said. The Panchayat Director went to the extent of saying that the Zilla panchayat members are entitled for study tours. She, however, has no reply when it was pointed out whether study tours undertaken by the Zilla panchayat had helped to devolve more powers, functions and funds to the two district Panchayat bodies in the state.
Incidentally, this is not the first time that South Goa Zilla Panchayat members are heading for a tour to study the Zilla panchayat pattern in other states. In fact, since the Zilla Panchayats were established in the state in 2000 as per the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, there's been no dearth of study tours undertaken by members of these district Zilla Panchayat body.
Take the case of the present South Goa Zilla body. Elected in early 2015, the
HIMACHAL
CALLING
WHO: Over 20 Zilla Panchayat members & officials
WHAT: To study pattern, functioning of ZPs, devolution of powers, funds and functions
WHEN: Beginning this week
WHERE: Picturesque Himachal Pradesh & Chandigarh
