A brainstorming session on June 18, inaugurated by the Karnataka chief minister and organised by the minister for rural development and panchayats and attended by more than 60 panchayati raj activists, governance experts and NGOs, was a good beginning to bring strength and recognition for these constitutional bodies.

The 73rd constitutional amendment was brought in almost 25 years  back but still these panchayats in many states are suffering from delegation problems because the MLAs and MPs in all states do not want to make them effective instruments of local governance. They need 3 Fs: funds, functionaries and functions, properly delegated from time to time. All 3 Fs are never delegated as a package. If functions are given functionaries will be missing. Karnataka was known for pioneering work by panchayats through the two-tier panchayati raj system called mandal panchayats and the zilla panchayats, which was replaced by the three-tier system – gram panchayats, taluk panchayats and the zilla panchayats as per the 73rd constitutional amendment.

Many issues came up for heated discussion and HK Patil, the panchayti raj minister, had patience and open mind to listen to all the activists who were vocal in demanding more powers for the panchayats and not stifling their 3 Fs.

The recent amendment to the State Panchayat Act to take action against the panchayat president/members if they fail to convene gram sabhas is a retrograde step. If parliament or the state assembly is not convened, do we take action against MPs and MLAs? The best option is to make the PDOs and the panchayat presidents to convene gram sabhas on four important national events, viz., independence day, republic day, Gandhi Jayanti and the Rajiv Gandhi memorial day. These four meetings of gram sabhas are adequate enough to know the particular problems and take steps for their solutions.

There are as many as 5,000 panchayats in Karnataka and the members need to be empowered with skills to manage as many as 29 functions entrusted to them. There is an urgent need to develop what is called ‘gram sabha information system’ (GSIS) so that every villager can know his/her eligibility to get benefits and entitlements and also get all the information needed about the village development programmes. Many programmes go on as parallel programs of the centre and the state governments without any convergence between them. The biggest programme, MNREGS, does not converge with many watershed programmes of the state and their convergence effects are not seen on the farms of the farmers. 

If MPs and MLAs can get their constituency development funds why not each gram panchayat president in Karnataka get at least Rs 5 lakh gram sabha development fund, so that they perform with a passion? Even electricity bills are not paid by them and they depend on the mercy of the panchayat department in Bangalore for running their dilapidated panchayat offices.

Karnataka is known for its global presence in the information technology field, but that technology spirit has not reached the gram panchayats in Karnataka. Minister HK Patil should take a team to visit Swiss cantons and see how local governance is practised in a country smaller in size than Karnataka! Kilchberg in Switzerland is a canton of 7,000 people. It raises its own income through property taxes etc, runs a school  for kids till the age of 16, appoint teachers, disburse old-age pension, runs its own fire brigade, maintains its police force, and does everything that Karnataka does! The government in Kilchberg consists of a seven-person council elected by 7,000 people which meets four times a year. And all decisions are vetted by the voters. Gram sabhas in our panchayats are no different from the Swiss cantonal meetings. Let us make the panchayats in Karnataka as effective as Swiss cantons.

Kulkarni is a former member of the governing board of IIMB.

manu.n.kulkarni@gmail.com