Now, GPs too will have standing committees

Hyderabad: With a view to improve the participation of people in the administration of villages and ensure transparency, the Panchayat Raj Department has been planning to constitute standing committees in Gram Panchayats. The department has issued guidelines to elect the standing committees recently. They have been issued in tune with Section 49 of the Panchayat Raj Act of the State.

Each Gram Panchayat would have four standing committees and each one would have 15 members. The standing committees should discuss the issues being faced in the villages and should make recommendations for making resolutions in Gram Sabhas.

The Gram Sabha of the village would discuss them and would adopt resolutions. The resolutions would be implemented by the officials of the Gram Panchayat with the funds available with them.

Each committee would have a convener and members of the committee should be voters of that GP as per the guidelines. The standing committee members should not be ward members or should not be member of any other village level committees.

The guidelines say that those who have knowledge in the subject being allotted to the particular standing committee should be the member. All sections of the village should be provided with equal participation in the committees.

The standing committees should take the permission of the village committees to elect the convener. The GP should hold a special meeting to elect the members of the standing committees and the conveners. The sarpanch, panchayat secretary and extension officers would be held responsible for the failure in election of the standing committees.

Out of the four committees, one would be elected to look after sanitation, dumping yard and the burial ground. Whereas maintenance of the streetlights would be given to another standing committee. Growing plants would be given to one standing committee. And the fourth one would deal with the markets.

According to officials the standing committees would help the sarpanch and ward members to deal with the issues of the village effectively. The election of standing committees would ensure transparency in the working of the panchayats.