I wish to draw public and administrative attention to a critical issue undermining transparency and governance at the grassroots level. The web portal developed by the Directorate of Panchayats, intended to streamline public services such as the renewal of trade licences and online fee payments, remains non-functional to this day. A web portal, by definition, is supposed to be a centralized gateway offering seamless access to services and information. Unfortunately, this promise remains unfulfilled, leaving citizens and businesses at the mercy of manual processes. Due to the absence of a functional digital system, several village panchayat secretaries are allegedly indulging in corrupt practices, including extortion and intimidation of business owners during licence renewals and fee collections. This not only creates a hostile environment for entrepreneurs but also significantly dents the vision of “ease of doing business”. Regrettably, these pressing issues did not find any mention in the recent Budget speech delivered by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. I urge immediate action from the Minister for Panchayats to operationalize the web portal and initiate strict oversight mechanisms to curb the misuse of authority at the village level.
