In March this year, the Gujarat government passed a small tweak to the Gujarat Panchayats Act, 1993. But this amendment to Section 55 of the Act was strong enough to reduce or jeopardise the financial autonomy of panchayats. Many of the elected representatives of the self-governance body only found out about this change as far back as a few weeks – as orders by Taluka Development Officers started reaching them. On June 13, around 51 sarpanchs of Sanand Taluka, of Ahmedabad district, submitted a memorandum against the government order to the Mamlatdar office. They claimed that this amendment will undermine their position by making their authority in financial matters irrelevant.

“The local and elected representatives of gram panchayats had the authority to take the call on development works,” said Narendrasinh Barad, sarpanch of Bol village of Sanand Taluka. He added, “But the new order given by the government has given these powers to the secretary, that is, Talati.”  According to the sarpanchs, the secretaries were supposed to coordinate and guide them and work according to the direction of the elected representatives but the ultimate decision lay with the sarpanchs as they had a greater understanding of the necessity of the project.

But now with the new amendment in place, the secretaries will have the final say in these matters. “In certain panchayats, representatives from different panels [political leanings] get elected. In this case, Talati can take advantage of the difference between the parties and do things according to their wishes,” said Barad. He also pointed at the larger danger to the Panchayati Raj system.  “Rajya sarkar gaon ka koi bhi vyavhaar sidhe kar sakti hai, authority par pressure kar ke kyunki wo to sarkar ka banda hai. (The state government will have direct intervention in village administration. It can put pressure on us through the Talati – as he is a government employee.)”

While a similar memorandum was submitted in Surendranagar district of the coastal state, sarpanchs from Mehsana district are also expected to file one this week.

What are the changes?

Panchayats in Gujarat have their own funds earmarked for development work in the village, including those coming up on an emergent basis. These funds were utilised only after the permission of the sarpanch or any elected member of the panchayat. Section 55 of the GPA 1993 lays down the executive powers of the elected representatives of villages. Subsection four specifies the financial powers as:

No money shall be withdrawn from the fund of the panchayat except with the signature of the Sarpanch and any one of the two other members of the panchayat authorised in that behalf by the panchayat.

But one of the four amendments brought in the GPA 1993, which came into effect on April 12, takes away the financial autonomy of sarpanchs. Subsection four of Section 55, now makes the signature of the secretary, a government employee, compulsory for withdrawing such funds. And, according to the new law, the sarpanch or any other member of the elected body, authorised by the panchayat, needs this signature to withdraw any funds.

The dilution in the law is noteworthy. Not only it has taken away the autonomy of panchayats in financial matters but has also undermined the position of the sarpanchs, making them subservient to the secretary. Varshaben Thakor pointed out, that the “Talati (secretary) is a government employee, while I am elected representative. India has a Loksahi system,” Thakor is the sarpanch of Tholagram of Kodi Taluka, Mehsana district. She added that a Talati has at least four villages under him and hence would not be in a position to give more than an hour or two of his or her time to the concerns of a village. This could mean an improper or simplistic understanding of the needs of the village as compared to the sarpanch.

Sagar Rabari, the secretary of Gujarat Khedut Samaj, told Newslaundry that these amendments will not only “delay, but also dictate” the development work in the villages. Through this amendment, the governing party or their members can use the Talati to arm-twist sarpanchs who don’t toe the line or support them. “Suppose if sarpanch doesn’t follow the instruction of the ruling party, refuses to gather the crowd for their political functions, the local MLA or party’s members will pressurise him through Talati. These officials will either keep delaying or altogether not clear the fund required for the development works in the villages.” In such case development would come to a halt.

The Gujarat government has said that the amendments were brought to reduce corruption in uses of gram panchayat funds. The Minister of Panchayat, Rural Housing and Rural Development Department, Jayantibhai Ramjibhai Kavadiya in a conversation with Newslaundry said that the state government was receiving several complaints about misappropriation of funds and corruption under sarpanchs.

“Sarpanch to panch saal mein retire ho jata hai, agar iske upar action leve to kis par leve. iske liye sarkar ka jo patwari hai usko bhi liya hai. Uski naukari bahot lambi hoti hai (the sarpanch’s tenure is limited to five years. Even if the government wants to take action against irregularities, who should it act upon? The secretary is a government employee,)” Kavadiya said. He also claimed that the amendment is aimed at making someone accountable for the irregularities.

We asked Kavadiya about claims that the government is trying to circumvent the Panchayati Raj system by making a government employee supreme authority in financial matters. The Panchayati Raj minister countered with, “representatives at Taluka level have not been given such authority …Zila Panchayat heads, which have much larger jurisdiction, don’t have an authority to sign cheques either.”

Additionally, according to the government, those opposing the amendments might be a small percentage – two to five – who could be “politically motivated”.

Meanwhile, activists such as Rabari debunk the government’s claim that the changes will reduce corruption. “This argument is flawed at its basic level. Come to Gujarat and you will get to know about several complaints of corruption against Talatis,” he said. He added, “they even charge money for signing small certificates for villagers.”

The author can be contacted on Twitter @tweets_amit.