Minister asks local body representatives to fight for powers

Hyderabad, Jan 29 (UNI) Union Minister for Panchayat Raj, Youth Affairs and Sports Mani Shankar Aiyer today called upon the people's representatives in local bodies to fight for their powers as they had the right to do so as per the Constitution.

Participating in a valedictory function of State Panchayat Mahila and Yuva Shakti Abhiyan, organised jointly by the Centre, state Government and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, here, Mr Aiyer said 'the powers would not be given by any others. The representatives should fight and get the powers enshrined in the Constitution'.

Urging the state government to accept the charter of demands prepared during the two-day Abhiyan and transfer the powers to the local bodies, he said ''the representatives do not need to beg for powers to any government''.

The major challenges before the local bodies were to conquer the powers unitedly, Mr Aiyer said adding that the representatives were more powerful than the local MLAs and MPs.

More than 12-lakh women were elected to the local bodies in the country and around 77-crore youth, out of country's 100 crore population, were the backborne of the nation's development, he added.

Mr Aiyer said he submitted a status report on the implementation of transfer of powers to local bodies to the Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy as per the MoU signed between the state Government and Union Ministry of Panchayat Raj last year.

State Higher Education Minister D Srinivas Rao and Rural Water Supply Minister P Venkateswara Rao were also present.

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