BHUBANESWAR: The BJD on Thursday strongly opposed the state government’s decision to increase the powers of the block development officers (BDOs) to pass bills up to Rs 10 lakh without counter signature by the panchayat samiti chairpersons.
Terming the decision as unconstitutional and undemocratic, senior leaders Arun Sahoo and Pratap Jena threatened a statewide agitation over the issue unless the government withdrew it immediately.
Addressing a media conference here, the leaders alleged that the government’s decision is a direct assault on the Panchayati Raj institutions and grassroots democracy, as it has shrunk the power of the elected representatives.
Since most of the posts of the panchayat samiti chairpersons in the state are held by the BJD, the decision has been taken to curtail their powers. Earlier, if a bill of more than Rs 2 lakh was received, it required the signature of the panchayat samiti chairperson. Now this limit has been increased to `10 lakh.
Stating that there is a pattern to the anti-democratic decisions of this government, the BJD leaders said earlier under the Bikashita Gaon, Bikashita Odisha Yojana, collectors were given authority to reject decisions of the gram panchayats while MLAs were allowed to recommend only 40 per cent of the proposals.
“This makes it abundantly clear that the BJP government is systematically centralising power, weakening grassroots institutions and depriving elected representatives of their rightful authority,” they added.