KOCHI: Uproarious scenes at council meeting of local bodies will soon be a thing of the past if all goes as per the plan of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). ICSI has come up with a 'Model governance code for the meetings of gram panchayats', which will prescribe a set of principles for convening and conducting such meetings.
“The fundamental principles with respect to governance of gram panchayat meetings are laid down in the respective state laws. The model code aims to facilitate compliance with the said principles by trying to provide clarity where there is ambiguity and establishing a benchmark to harmonise prevalent diverse practices,” ICSI president Shyam Agrawal told reporters at the release of the model code book on Wednesday. He said the model code did not seek to substitute or supplant any existing law, but strived to supplement such laws for promoting better governance in the functioning of gram panchayats.
“Gram panchayats functioning under different state governments are free to adopt the provision of this model code,” he said. Agrawal said by implementing the code, local bodies can focus more on project implementation. ICSI has approached the government and the Kochi Corporation to implement the model code in council meetings.
“The corporation has agreed to implement the code at the meeting. A training in this regard will be provided to officers and councillors. Talks at the governmentlevel are on to implement the code in all local bodies,” he said.