Moodubelle: Villagers narrate grievances and place demands in largely attended Grama Sabha

By Prakash Katapadi
Pictures by Anil Alva
Bellevision Media Network

Moodubelle, 18 August 2010: The Grama Sabha of Belle Grama Panchayat, covering the villages of Moodubelle, Kattingeri and Padubelle was held on Tuesday, August 17, 2010 from 10.30 am to 1.15 pm in the Belle Grama Panchayat premises. Being the weekly market day, a large number of villagers attended the meeting and put forward their grievances and demands before the panchayat administration and various government department officials.

The Grama Sabha meeting was presided over by Mrs. Jacintha Aranaha, president of the Belle Grama Panchayat. The elected members of the panchayat including Mrs. Sujatha Suvarna, the vice president and Mr. Gerald Fernandes, the president of the Social Justice Committee of Udupi Zilla Panchayat were present. The representatives from various government departments such as Mescom, Agricultural Department, Health Department, Veterinary Doctor, officer in charge of the National Rural Employment Scheme, and others associated with village affairs were also present for the Grama Sabha.

Mr. Harish Shetty, panchayat member from Padubelle compeered the programme. In the beginning, the secretary of the panchayat, Mr. Ramappa Hitthalmani read out the statement of income from various sources and also the expenditure under different heads. Thereafter, Mr. Harish Shetty gave a report of the various ward meetings held prior to the Grama Sabha in different wards and also read out the list of various developmental work that the panchayat administration should take up in each ward.

Representatives from different government departments made the villagers aware of the various government schemes that are available for the villagers and appealed them to avail these facilities. They tried to clear the doubt raised by some of the villagers.

The villagers had a number of grievances to be narrated before the panchayat members. The residents of Rakshapura in Padubelle pointed out that though they possess ration cards and voter ID cards and in spite of submitting application five years ago they have not yet received title deed for their residences. Some members complained about the delay in getting the loan sanctioned under the Ashray Yojana. The residents of Padubelle wanted the dump- yard to be shifted elsewhere as its presence in their locality was causing anxiety among them about their health. On this issue, Mrs. Jacintha Aranha, the president of the Belle Grama Panchayat assured the villagers that arrangements would be made to shift the dump-yard elsewhere.

There were complaints about the substandard construction work of the community hall being built in Padubelle at the cost of Rs. 16 lakhs. On this issue the members of the panchayat assured the villagers that in case of any substandard construction work the bills of the contractors would not be cleared by the panchayat.

Mr. Gerald Fernandes asked the secretary of the panchayat as to why there are no applications under the Basava Indira Programme and also why the bills under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme have not been cleared in spite of the balance of Rs. 1.80 lakhs on the pass-book.

Another issue taken up in the meeting was the incomplete work on the Moodubelle-Kattingeri Road costing around Rs.96 lakhs under the NABARD programme. On this issue Mr. Gerald Fernandes suggested that the PWD should be advised to place the names of such contractors in black list for unnecessarily delaying work on public utility projects.

The villagers had attended the Grama Sabha in large number in spite of incessant rain and put forward their grievances and demands without any hesitation. The grievances included bad conditions of the road and demanded their improvement, new connecting roads and bridges, drinking water facility, improved drainage system, etc.

However, this reporter noticed that a lot of time was spent in arguments and counter arguments between the members of the panchayat and the Zilla Panchayat member to prove their own point of view. However, the villagers should be appreciated for attending the Grama Sabha meeting in large numbers in spite of rains and for boldly pointing out the lapses on the part of the panchayat administration, narrating their grievances and placing their various demands. This shows that democracy at the grass root level is gradually taking root in Belle Grama Panchayat.