BHUBANESWAR: In a politically significant move with eye on panchayat elections scheduled next year, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday approved Rs 56.55 crore for payment of six months’ honorarium to sarpanches and naib sarpanches in the state.
The release of honorarium is being seen as an outreach by the Mohan Majhi government to the panchayat representatives. Sarpanches and naib sarpanches form a powerful grassroots network. They play a decisive role in shaping rural public opinion and implementing government schemes at the ground level.
At a time when both the BJP and BJD seem to be strengthening their grassroots presence, the move by the Chief Minister is likely to give a positive push for the ruling party.
Sarpanches have been demanding timely disbursal of honorarium for long. The honorarium will cover the six-month period from April 1 to September 30 this year. Each sarpanch will receive an honorarium of `10,000 per month, while each naib sarpanch will be paid `4,000 per month. The decision will benefit thousands of elected representatives across 6,794 gram panchayats in Odisha.
The CMO said the decision is aimed at ensuring timely payment to grassroots representatives who play an important role in local governance and rural development. The state government has already initiated measures to enhance financial powers of panchayats and ensure greater transparency in rural development schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission.
Meanwhile, BJP general secretary Biranchi Narayan Tripathy on Friday asserted that the party will sweep the panchayat elections next year. Tripathy said many developmental works have been undertaken by the double-engine government of the Centre and the state with special emphasis on rural development, welfare of poor and upliftment of youth. “This will give positive results for the BJP in the rural polls,” he said.