JAGATSINGHPUR: Alleging irregularities in the draft reservation list for the three-tier Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), members of the BJP staged a sit-in dharna in front of the Naugaon block office on Friday. The protestors submitted a memorandum to the BDO stating that the draft list for the rural polls is influenced by biases of the ruling party leaders.
As per provision, 50 per cent seats of total panchayats should be reserved for women candidates. But this has been violated in Naugaon where out of 16 panchayats in the block, sarpanch posts should be reserved for women in 8 instead of 7. On the other hand, post of panchayat samiti member has been reserved for women ST candidate in Jamugaon panchayat which reportedly has no scheduled tribe members.
In Erasama block, percentage of SC population is more than 50 per cent of the total population in ZP zone 2 but no preference has been given for reservation of SC category. This zone has been reserved for ST women. Interestingly, there are only 20 to 30 ST homestead families in the zone but none of them has received residential and other certificates despite fighting for it for over three years now. Similarly, none of the four ZP zones of Balikuda block reserved from 2017 to 2022 has seats reserved for the SC/ST category.
BJP leader Pratap Mishra, who led the protest, informed that the party had sought Naugaon block development officer’s intervention regarding the ST population and their names in Jamugaon panchyat through Right to Information Act. While the BDO had given information that there are 10 ST persons in the said area, he could not furnish their names and other details. Making similar allegations, president of Dalit Bikash Parishad, Sankar Das said they will intensify the stir as their appeals to higher authorities went unheard.
Contacted, Naugaon BDO Rashmirekha Mallick said she will forward the memorandum to the administration to consider the case.