MANCHERIAL: The Gram Panchayat of Vangarguda passed a resolution on Sunday to boycott the ensuing Panchayat elections. The village patel and Adivasi Sena president in erstwhile Adilabad district K Daulath Rao said that Vangarguda — a tribal hamlet that came under the Venkatapur Gram Panchayat — was allegedly turned into a separate Panchayat against the Tribal Rights and PESA Acts. On account of this, the people in the village have decided to forgo the polls.
The government usually turns thandas and gudems into Gram Panchayats in a bid to undertake developmental activities and bring the administration closer to the people. However, the people of Vangarguda seemed suspicious of the government’s intentions. Rao alleged that though the authorities were supposed hold Gram Sabhas and discuss the issue with the people of the village as per law, the government unilaterally went ahead with its decision of merger without consulting them.
Though the people in the village had met with officials to retract their decision, the latter, in turn, began forcibly collecting details of the residents for the polls.
Reservation for Panchayat seats
Adilabad: As per the court orders, BC, SC and ST communities are entitled to have 50% reservation for Panchayat seats. The MLA-elects from the recent Assembly polls are scouting for faces in their constituencies. In erstwhile Adilabad, the number of villages went up from 866 to 1,522 owing to the allotment of Panchayat status to tribal hamlets. EC is expected to announce notification after reservation process.