Following protest from Sarpanches (elected village heads) against the government’s decision of introducing e-Panchayat system in the state, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has decided to meet the agitating Sarpanches.
An official spokesperson said that Khattar has invited all the Sarpanches who were protesting against e-Panchayat, for a dialogue, on 4 April in Panchayat Bhawan located in Chandigarh.
All their problems would be heard and redressed, the spokesperson added.
With an aim to increase transparency and check corruption in the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), the government has decided to implement e-Panchayat project in Haryana under which maximum development works in Gram Panchayats would go online.
As per the official information, once e-Panchayat is fully implemented, anybody, anywhere can see the status of financial resources, the physical and financial progress of the development works in any Gram Panchayat at any time.
This will not only facilitate grievance redressal, reduce audit objections and disciplinary actions against Sarpanches and Gram Sachivs but would also help in better financial management of the Gram Panchayats.
According to the Haryana government, 3,638 Gram Panchayats out of 6204 in the state are onboard in e-Panchayat and are at different stages of data entry and progress.
However, many of Sarpanches, Panches and Gram Sachivs have
expressed resentment over the implementation of e-Panchayat project alleging that the Panchayats did not have computers, operators and internet
connections.
Staging protests, the agitating PRIs members have sought that the government should have first provided the Panchayats required mechanism before implementing the e-Panchayat system.