With the results of the panchayat elections having been declared, it is now time for the various village panchayats to carry out the task at hand.
Several promises have been made by the candidates during the campaigning. It is now payback time and those elected as panchs need to keep the promises they made to the voters.
With most panchayats facing a cash crunch, the immediate challenge before the newly elected panchs will be execution of the development work it had promised during the campaign.
It is pertinent to note that during the budget of 2022-23 the state government had slashed grants-in aid to panchayats from Rs 18 crore to Rs 8 crore.
It is obvious that elected panchs will align with the ruling dispensation in a bid to get government funds in order to carry out development in their respective panchayats.
It is understood that the state government is expected to conduct a survey of the village panchayats to assess their financial status in order to provide assistance to the weaker panchayats to take up developmental work.
The panchayat elections may have not been fought on party lines, but several political bigwigs had put up their own panel and many MLAs and Ministers had fielded their family members.
Hence the results of these elections will, in a way, gauge the performance of the State government. On their part those in power will look to control the panchayats in their constituencies.
