Task Force favours Panchayat polls on non-party basis

New Delhi, Aug 7 (UNI) The Task Force, constituted to draw up Panchayati Raj jurisprudence, has recommended that Panchayat elections at all the three tiers should not be held on a party basis.

Non-party elections would be conducive to stability and development in the Panchayat framework, the Task Force headed by Dr V S Ramadevi, former Governor of Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, said in its report submitted to Minister for Panchayati Raj Mani Shanakar Aiyar .

The Task Force was constituted by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj on August 16, 2005 to review the differing decisions of the various courts and their interpretations on laws relating to Panchayati Raj so as to prepare a list of jurisprudential points to remove ambiguity in their interpretations.

''Though party politics has become institutionalised at the Panchayat level, we strongly recommend that Panchayat elections at all the three tiers should not be held on a party basis,'' the Task Force recommended.

This would automatically take out the need for whip and defection provisions from the statutes. Further, it would also avoid the rift between the state government and the Panchayat administrations, especially if different parties are in power, according to the Task Force.

The Task Force felt that the disqualification for violation of party whip was totally antithetical to the concept of Panchayati Raj. It was believed that that Panchayats would not suffer from party-based politics.

The Task Force recommended that Panchayats should be given greater autonomy and there should be minimum interference by executive authorities. The resolutions passed by Panchayats should be made non-reversible. All the welfare projects should be executed through Panchayats, it suggested.

UNI YS RL GC1427