MARGAO
A delegation of NGOs has pointed out to the officials of the State Finance Commission that the financial powers of Zilla Panchayats and Village Panchayats have not been delegated to these Panchayat Raj Institutions as per the recommendations of 2nd Finance Commission headed by Dr Anil Couto.
In this respect, members of the NGOs demanded that the shortcomings of the previous commission should be fixed. A delegation of 17 members from various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) met with the officials of the State Finance Commission headed by Chairman, Daulat Hawaladar.
Adopting a proactive initiative to reach out to the Commission officials after learning about their meeting through social media, the delegation expressed their surprise that only a few stakeholders were invited to the session though there were many active NGOs working at the village level. They stressed that the Commission should have collected data from them during their visits to the villages, as financial inclusion is essential for a society to advance.
The NGO members raised issues such as agriculture, environment, education, sewage, water, etc. and suggested solutions based on their grassroots experience and expertise. They emphasized the need for having a database at the village level to monitor the production and consumption of resources and to identify the gaps and opportunities for improvement. They demanded transparency, accountability and participatory planning from the authorities and urged them to focus on the natural resource management of each village to ensure self-sufficiency. They also highlighted the role of youth and persons with disabilities in the development process.
They urged the commission to consider the unique characteristics and resources of each village for its economic development. They also asked the commission to address the issues of increasing unemployment, youth dissatisfaction, addiction and crime in its vision for youth development.
Chairman of the Finance Commission Daulat Hawaladar appreciated the inputs and feedback from the NGO members, pointing out that the Commission had visited all 191 panchayats in Goa and was looking for teamwork to come up with a better plan for the state.
When the Chairman claimed that some of the panchayats were not utilizing the funds properly, the NGOs urged the commission to hold Office staff and Sarpanch responsible for denying facilities to the public by returning funds allocated for the purpose of public utilities.
They suggested using the audit report to study the reasons for the underutilization of funds and to take necessary steps to rectify them.
