Curbing corruption, transparency missing from manifestos: Survey

Candidates focus on basic education, health, roads, electricity

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, January 19

Social audit, monitoring of MGNREGA works, curbing corruption and bringing transparency in all works are the key issues of people during the ongoing panchayat elections but strangely these are missing from the manifestos of most of the candidates.

Most of the contestants have promised various facilities such as basic education, health, roads, electricity and structural development, besides playgrounds, sports gyms for the youth and the benefits of old-age pension schemes to attract aged people, according to an online survey conducted in 320 gram panchayats of 64 blocks in 12 districts of the state with 537 respondents from January 13 to 15.

The respondents comprised 20.6 per cent belonging to Scheduled Castes, 6.4 per cent to Scheduled Tribes and 2.9 per cent to OBCs while there were 62 per cent males and 38 per cent females.

However, a few candidates have in their manifestos given due place to ensuring people’s participation in development activities and honest, clean and transparent governance, said Dr Baldev Singh Negi, Project Officer-cum Faculty Rural Development in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Himachal Pradesh University (HPU). Negi conducted the study jointly with Dr Devender Sharma, Assistant Professor in Political Science at Government College, Sanjauli, Shimla.

Providing high-tech libraries for students in their villages, opening banks and providing ATM facilities, agricultural employment, trading arrangements, agriculture, play gardens for children and the installation of CCTV cameras are not mentioned in the manifestos of most of the candidates.

Besides, a few candidates have promised to extend the benefits of various welfare schemes of the government such as the Kisan Samman Nidhi, polyhouse subsidy for farmers, Old-Age Pension, Aayushman Bharat Yojana, Himcare, Single Women Pension Scheme, Chief Minister One Bigha Scheme for Women, Pension and Scholarship Insurance Scheme for Workers.

Further, not many contestants have not listed employment as an important issue but promised development of agriculture and horticulture, handicraft, tailoring courses, MGNREGA, eco-tourism and industrial development for employment generation. Women contestants have given importance to women empowerment but social audit to curb corruption in the Panchayati Raj Institutions is also missing from the manifestos.

Around 75.4 per cent of the respondents agreed that proper development plans with the participation of people in a transparent manner was the main issue while 76 per cent favoured curbing corruption and the promotion of transparency in all developmental works. Around 65.6 per cent respondents were of the view that the implementation of welfare schemes and bringing the needy people under the fold of these schemes was important while 65.9 per cent of them said that the gram sabhas should be strengthened by increasing the participation of members.