Kolkata: The West Bengal government has been contemplating amendment to the present Panchayat Act, 1973, to remove some lacunae in it. “We think there are some lacunae in the present Act and in view of this, we are considering amendment to the Panchayat Act, 1973,” state’s Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee told reporters at Writers’ Buildings.
Incidentally, Mukherjee was the Panchayat minister in the SS Ray cabinet in 1973 when the Act was passed by the state assembly.
Mukherjee said that under the present Panchayat Act, if the state government dissolves any Panchayat or Zila Parishad, then election has to be completed there within six months. The general member ceases to function, but office-bearers continue to remain till the end of their term under the present Act, he added.
The minister said he would elaborate on this issue with the party and also with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the end of the current budget session of the state Assembly.
He evaded a reply when asked if the state government was considering preponing the Panchayat election slated next year.
The government has already issued a notification empowering district magistrates of North 24-Parganas, Murshidabad and Nadia with running the CPI(M) run zilla parishads instead of the zilla sabhadhipatis.
Mukherjee said that the Centre had informed the state government of its decision to hike the wage for 100-day work from Rs 100 to Rs 136.
He said he would leave for Delhi on Thursday to meet the Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh to demand that the wage of 100-day work be raised to Rs 200.
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