MAPUSA
The tussle for power saw several panchayat members staking a claim to the post of sarpanch and the deputy in Bardez in the five-year term which ends on June 15.
Stability eluded the self-governing bodies, as all the 33 panchayats witnessed election to the top two posts.
In a bid to wrest control, several panchayat members were elected to the post of sarpanch and deputy for a period of seven to nine months.
Party affiliations and an unwritten understanding among the members were the primary reasons for the change of guard in the panchayats.
Depending on the situation, some sarpanchas and likewise their deputies were either dethroned through the no-trust motion route while others voluntarily resigned from their posts.
The larger panchayats were worse hit with the instability bug.
The village panchayat of Aldona holds the dubious distinction of electing five sarpanchas and deputy sarpanchas each in the five-year term.
Calangute, one of the State’s richest panchayats, came a close second with sarpanchas and their deputies getting elected nine times in the five-year term.
Significantly, there was no need to bring a no-trust motion against any of the sarpanchas and deputies in Calangute as all of them resigned on their own on account of an unwritten pact among them.
Seven panchayat members took a shot at the chair of sarpanch or the deputy in the panchayats of Assagao, Pirna and Tivim.
The sarpanchas of Parra, Anjuna and Camurlim bucked the instability trend and remained in the saddle throughout the five-year term.
However, Parra Sarpanch, Delilah Lobo resigned from the post after she was elected as MLA.
Similarly, deputy sarpanchas of Arpora-Nagoa, Candolim, Nachinola, Nadora, Penha de Franca, Pilerne-Marra, Pomburpa, Sodiem-Siolim and Verla-Canca remained unchanged.
Most citizens feel that changing of sarpanchas affects the functioning of the panchayat and has a major impact on the development process of the village.
“These musical chairs should stop if you want stability and village development in the right direction. Most of the time, sarpanchas are changed not in the interest of the village but on account of the personal interest of the elected member,” said Premanand Diukar, a resident of Calangute and President of Calangute Constituency Forum.
“Every person has a different way of functioning. So if a sarpanch gets only nine months to be at the helm he would never get time to execute his plans for the village,” he added.
