Elders demand strengthening of Panchayati Raj institutions

New Delhi, Mar 18 (UNI) Members of the Rajya Sabha today demanded strengthening of Panchayati Raj institutions and village bodies to remove the gap between urban and rural areas and fulfil Mahatma Gandhi's vision of ''village republics.'' Initiating a discussion on the 'Working of Panchayati Raj Institutions and the Rural Development Ministry', Mr Mangani Lal Mandal (RJD) said self-help groups should be encouraged and a target given to them for bringing about development in rural areas.

Drawing a parallel between India and China, he said while China had fixed the target of 2010 for bringing the BPL to zero, there was no such plan in India.

Regretting that Mahatma Gandhi's vision of ''village republics'' had not been fulfilled, he said although the government had launched poverty alleviation schemes from time to time, these were not of much use since there was no proper implementation and monitoring.

Earlier, before the discussion started, Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyer said the annual report of the Ministry was not available. He apologised to the House, saying he was open if the House wanted to postpone the discussion till the members got copies of the report.

While some members agreed to postpone the debate, some said the House could take up the discussion and add to it after the report was received. The House later took up the discussion.

Mr V Narayanswami (Congress) demanded that Panchayati Raj institutions be given more powers, more financial autonomy and freedom to implement various schemes. He said the powers of Panchayati Raj institutions had been taken over by state governments in some cases.

He alleged that funds were disbursed by various state governments on political affiliations and there was no proper monitoring system of the schemes. The funds did not reach the needy, he said.

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