Cap on gram panchayat, BDC poll expenditure suggested

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 5

The State Election Commission has made a recommendation to the Panchayati Raj Department regarding an expenditure limit for the elections of gram panchayat pradhans and members of Block Development Committees (BDC). However, a provision for fixing the expenditure limit can only be made after amending the Panchayati Raj Act during the winter session of the Vidhan Sabha in Dharamsala in December. The Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) elections are due next year.

It has been learnt that the Election Department studied the electoral system in other states before making the recommendation.Though an expenditure limit is already in place for the zila parishad, municipal council and nagar panchayat elections, there is no such restriction in case of gram panchayats and BDCs. The limit for the election of a zila parishad member is Rs 1 lakh, for a municipal council member, it is Rs 75,000, while only Rs 50,000 can be spent in case of a nagar panchayat member.

The Election Commission has also made some changes in the model code of conduct for the Panchayati Raj Urban Local Body elections, which were notified yesterday. These changes have been made on the pattern of the system being followed in Punjab, Haryana and Uttarakhand. The new model code of conduct will be named as the Himachal Pradesh Panchayats and Municipalities Model Code of Conduct, 2019. It shall apply to the elections of Panchayati Raj Institutions and municipalities in the state.

As per the code, if family members of a public servant are contesting the elections, he or she shall not proceed on leave and leave the headquarters till the election process is over. This has been done to ensure that the family members of the candidate do not indulge in political activities of any kind. It has also been specified that the public servant shall remain neutral/ impartial during the elections and not take part in any election campaign, activity or work for or against any contesting candidate or party.

Even though all government employees are completely barred from being politically associated with any party or the elections, it is often seen that many of them get closely associated with a political party or candidates, which is against the norms.

Panchayati Raj Act needs to be amended first 

• The State Election Commission has made the recommendation to the Panchayati Raj Dept. 
• A provision for fixing the expenditure limit can only be made after amending the Panchayati Raj Act during the winter session of the Vidhan Sabha in Dharamsala in December. 
• The Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) elections are due next year.
• Though the expenditure limit is already fixed for the zila parishad, municipal council and nagar panchayat elections, there is no such restriction in case of gram panchayats and BDCs.