Bhubaneswar, May 31: The Odisha government today announced that 500 new gram panchyats would be created before the rural polls to be held early next year.
In its 2014 poll manifesto, the BJD had promised to create a gram panchayat for every 10,000 voters.
"The process for reorganisation of gram panchayats is on and will be completed before the panchayat polls next year," said panchayati raj minister Arun Sahoo after his department's review meeting with chief minister Naveen Patnaik.
At present, the state has 6,234 gram panchayats. The demand for creation of new gram panchayats is significant because the state government has announced that each of them will get Rs 17.33-lakh grant every year. The move is aimed at empowering the local body to take charge of development works at the grassroots level.
Official sources said the state government had already started the process to reorganise the gram panchayats on the basis of the 2011 Census. Gram panchayats with a population of 10,000 or more will be bifurcated.
After the review meeting, Sahoo announced several sops such as construction of concrete roads in villages, setting up of community halls, mini theatres and installation of high mast lamps at panchayat headquarters.
On March 5, Naveen had announced the establishment of legal centres in each gram panchayat to provide legal assistance so that people could sort out disputes at the local level. These legal aid centres will function once in a week.
At another function during the day, Naveen dedicated 200 new hostels to tribal school students and distributed 20,000 forestland pattas to tribal people online.
The Congress's state unit president Prasad Harichandan said the BJD government was trying to hijack central schemes initiated by the UPA government. The previous regime had taken these decisions, he said.
"The biggest contribution of the UPA government to the rural masses was providing employment guarantee to rural job seekers for at least 100 days a year through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Now, the BJD government is trying to snatch the credit," said the Congress leader.
The BJP, too, criticised the BJD government, accusing it of misleading people.
BJP state vice-president Samir Mohanty said funds for the development of rural areas had been provided from the 14th Finance Commission grants.
"Central guidelines instruct that these funds should be utilized according to the decision of the palli sabha (village-level meetings) and not of panchayat officials or the state government. Or else the spirit of the panchayati raj will be diluted," he said.
