'Gram swaraj' is to be empowered in Bihar

Patna, Jun 17: Mahatma Gandhi's concept of 'Gram swarajya' is yet to be implemented because the Hindi heartland has failed to grab the opportunity of ''Good governance'' despite the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments decades ago.

This view was unanimously voiced here yesterday by a panel of speakers at a discussion on the ''Problems of Governance in Hindi Heartland States''.

Even after five decades of independence a number of states continued to lag behind other states where social reforms had inspired social revolution, they emphasised.

The panel discussion was organised under the aegis of Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI).

Intitiating the discussion, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh alleged that only about 15 per cent of the Central grants could ultimately reach the grass roots level people on an average, while the rest was swallowed by the middlemen in between the delivery mechanism.

Stating that gradual shift in trade from land to sea routes since the 15th century had boosted the economy of coastal regions, Mr Singh said the things took a worse turn, when criminals were given respect on social platforms, who in turn masterminded politics.

Moderating the discussion, Mr Harish Khare, Senior Associate Editor of the Hindu, felt that politicians should form as a link between the people and the administration for better governance.

Rajasthan state Election Commissioner Indrajeet Khanna said de-centralisation of power, existence of civil society, harmony between politicians and civil servants and checks on red-tapism were all necessary for good governance.

Former Chief Justice of Patna High Court, who had given the landmark verdict in favour of holding panchayat elections in Bihar, Justice Dhawan said failure of respective state governments in Hindi heartland to transfer power to local self governments had created problem in governance.

This had made the local government non-functional and funds provided by the Centre for micro-level development were usually returned unutilised.

Earlier, introducing the theme, ADRI member secretary Shaibal Gupta said the developmental bottle-necks in the Hindi heartland comprising Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan were considered to be a drain on the national exchequer.

UNI