Panchayati Raj is the backbone of India, specifically Rural India. Panchs and Sarpanchs are above normal persons in rural area and no doubt they play the most important role in day to day affairs of their areas. Practically Rural India is the heart of India as such right from independence extra ordinary focus is to empower villages to stop exodus of population to cities. By all means efforts are put to develop rural areas also at par with modern cities and GoI has devised special incentives for establishing job oriented units by small entrepreneurs to generate employment in rural India itself. All this is possible only when infra is somewhat at par with cities. Each and every big industry brings so many auxiliary small units with it but all these things require resources to develop infra and moreover on spot decisions for quick setup to expedite things in rural India. GoI has special focus on Jammu and Kashmir as for the first time all three tiers of Panchayati Raj are in place on the pattern of rest of India. Importance of Panchayati Raj is more in present scenario in the absence of elected government. Panch/Sarpanch are the torch bearers of democracy in J&K. Earlier Gram Panchayat, BDC and DDC had limited powers, practically nothing. Lots of official delays result in inconvenience and in some cases shelving the whole project with the result despite Panchayti Raj System in place yet on ground very little development and things are not moving at the desired pace. J&K Govt is well versed with the problem as such latest order gave the financial powers to respective panchayats. Now quick sanctions can be granted without much delays and deliberations now. The sanctioned powers are Rs 5 lakh for Gram Panchayat, Rs 20 lakhs for BDC and Rs 1 crore for DDC. But ‘from own resources’ is the catch word as in Jammu and Kashmir Panchayats have virtually no powers to collect/generate revenue. Chairmen and members of different Panchayats are absolutely right in demanding waiving off the ‘self generated revenue’ clause.
Best course for both government and panchayats right now is to tread a midway path, LG administration guiding the panchayats and step by step giving them powers to generate and manage revenues. Instead of immediately assigning panchayats with mining or stamp duty let panchayats be first asked to go by baby steps one at a time. Immediate efforts should be to levy and collect household waste collection monthly fee. Usage tax should be imposed. Marriage banquet halls, water usage charges from canals/tube wells should be imposed and collected. There are so many small revenue generation options as such guiding, encouraging and pursuing Panchayats to go step by step is the need of the hour. Unilateral decisions with no practicality are not going to help anyone. It’s time for LG administration to sit with panchayat members, listen to their suggestions, convince them to bell the cat, start from somewhere, build revenue generation block by block. It’s not difficult task, just a question of focus and intent and government and panchayats can do it, after all its question of rural development.
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