PARADIP: The Orissa High Court directed Jagatsinghpur collector J Sonal to conduct a special gram sabha in Dhinkia panchayat within two weeks.
The earlier gram sabha had been postponed by Erasama BDO as per the order of the sub-divisional magistrate of Jagatsinghpur under section 163 of the BNSS.
Sources said that a special gram sabha was scheduled on October 28 across all panchayats of Odisha to prepare the Comprehensive Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) in line with the Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) for 2026-27. However, in Dhinkia, the meeting was postponed following the SDM’s order.
Earlier, the BDO had issued a notification to conduct this special gram sabha, but it was not held. Villagers later sent representations to the collector by post, but with no action taken, a group led by Ajay Kumar Das filed a writ petition in the high court last month. The petition named multiple state and district officials, seeking a direction to conduct the gram sabha.
After hearing the case, Justice RK Pattnaik directed the collector to take a decision on the villagers’ representation to conduct gram sabha preferably within two weeks from the receipt of the court order, which was issued on Wednesday.
Dhinkia sarpanch Pinki Das stated that postponing the special gram sabha was a serious violation of Panchayat rules, as it would delay approval of important development projects requiring villagers’ consent. She said the high court’s directive had brought relief.
Following the high court’s directive, collector, accompanied by SP Ankit Kumar Verma, visited Dhinkia, and interacted with villagers on Saturday. They visited the local Anganwadi centre to assess various concerns, including reasons for the low participation of some villagers in mainstream development activities.
The collector assured them that all necessary facilities would be provided, including skill development training for youth and a mega health camp.