Few Oct gram sabhas held in Tiswadi, BDO issues notices

Panaji: The block development officer (BDO) of Tiswadi has issued a notice to panchayats in the jurisdiction to conduct gram sabhas after it was found that 16 of the 19 panchayats failed to hold gram sabhas in Oct.Under Section 5(1) of the Goa Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, it is mandatory for every panchayat to hold a gram sabha on any Sunday of Jan, April, July, and Oct every year. The village panchayats of Batim, Sao Matias and St Andre failed to hold gram sabhas, an official of the directorate of panchayats said.“Many panchayats do not conduct gram sabhas with consistency. They will conduct a gram sabha one month, and they won’t conduct it the next, and they do it for a reason,” the official said.Sometimes, the official said, gram sabhas are not fixed as it could be inconvenient to the panchayat concerned, or because the people may question the members of the panchayat concerned on any project they think is likely to meet with opposition.While the panchayats of Azossim-Mandur, Cumbharjua, Corlim, and Goltim-Navelim were asked to convene gram sabhas on Nov 9, gram sabhas of the panchayats of Chodan-Madel, Santa Cruz, Siridao-Palem, and Se-Old Goa have been scheduled for Nov 16. On Nov 23, St Estevam, Merces, Neura, and Carambolim will conduct gram sabhas, and on Nov 30, St Lawrence (Agasaim), Chimbel, Taleigao, and Curca-Bambolim-Talaulim will hold theirs.