By IANS,
Panaji : Legislators and politicians are letting down Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals by trying to “unconstitutionally control” grass-root organisations like village and district panchayats, Goa’s influential Catholic Church lamented Tuesday, on the occasion his birth anniversary.
The Council of Social Justice and Peace (CSJP), the Roman Catholic Church’s social arm here, also criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition government for not following the doctrine of “devolution” of power.
Village panchayats are rural level, elected local councils and zilla panchayats are district level supervisory organisations, forming the third tier of governance.
“It was the dream of Mahatma Gandhi for promoting self-sustained and self-reliant village republics in India that led to the (passing of) 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution of India…,” CSJP executive secretary Fr Savio Fernandes told reporters on the occasion of Gandhi’s birth anniversary.
“The CSJP expresses grave concern that even after 20 years since the constitutional amendment, the village panchayats in Goa continue to reel under the unjust and unconstitutional control of the local MLAs and the state’s executive machinery,” Fernandes said.
The CSJP, which articulates the social concerns of the church, also said that the influence of legislators on grass-roots levels organisations, resulted in projects being foisted on villages, by paying scant respect to the decisions of the Gram Sabha (village committees), thereby destroying the environment, culture and livelihood of the local inhabitants.
“As Goa grapples with several problems like environmental degradation, corruption, dacoities, loss of traditional livelihoods and societal peace, the council would like to remind the government that it is only by putting into practice the ideals of the Mahatma that our villages would experience the lasting fruits of independence,” Fernandes said.
With over 25 per cent of the population in Goa being Christian, the Catholic Church has a considerable influence in the state.