JUNE 2006
Elected Women Issue Demands to the Uttarakhand Government
Open Forum, 31st May – 1st June 2006 - Pauri Elected Women Representatives, Uttarakhand
More than 300 Elected Women Representatives from all three tiers of Panchayati Raj of Pauri and Haridwar districts of Uttarakhand participated in the ‘Khula Manch’ Open Forum on 31st May – 1st June 2006. The Open Forum was organised by RLEK, PRAGATI and The Hunger Project in Kotdwar, Uttarakhad.In a long standing tradition, RLEK & PRAGATI, partners of The Hunger Project have been organizing Open Forums in the state to provide elected women representatives in Uttarakhad a platform to come together to share their experiences, meet the local bureaucrats, question them, air their grievances, voice their demands, raise their understanding and learn from each other.
Last year, the same collaboration had organized an Open Forum for EWRs from all 13 districts of Uttarakhad. More than 750 EWRs had attended the Forum resulting in the Doon Declaration presented to the Minister of Panchayati Raj, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyer.
At the Open Forum sessions were held on a wide variety of issues like Health, Legal Rights, Education, Panchayats, Animal Husbandry etc. – issues critical for the development of their villages. The highlight of the sessions was that the participants as well as the resource persons were all women.
Welcoming the chief guests, Ms Sarojini Kainthora, Zilla Adhyaksha, Pauri District explained how in the last three years women leaders have been empowered through several trainings held by PRAGATI and The Hunger Project. She said that elected representatives are now working for the development of their constituencies and are struggling everyday to bring water, electricity, roads, schools and health facilities. She also said that women leaders in Uttarakhad district are articulate and vociferous and are an inspiration to other women in the communities. In the last three years, more and more women have started to participate in the Gram Sabhas.
Inaugurating the open forum, chief guest, Mr John Coonrod, Vice President Global, The Hunger Project congratulated the elected women representatives and said that their work in their Panchayats was the most important work in the world. Addressing the elected women representatives Mr Coonrod said
that every day all over the world women leaders like them were fighting for a better life in their villages and that only by exercising their leadership the women in the villages can find a solution to their struggles. He reiterated that The Hunger Project is committed to find ways to strengthen their hands and voice and support the process of changing 5000 years of discrimination of women.
The Hunger Project Country Director, Ms Rita Sarin felicitated the elected women representatives and said that even though 14 years have passed since the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution reserving 33% seats for the women in Panchayati Raj, there exists still a school of thought which believes that women leaders are stupid, illiterate and useless. She said that on the other hand our experience in The Hunger Project has proven that whenever their leadership is strengthened women leaders fight for food security, better health and education facilities and better sanitation in their villages. They not only try to provide a better life for their families they do not allow their neighbours children to sleep hungry at night. She encouraged the women present and asked them to carry on with their path breaking work and put and end to gender and class discrimination in their constituencies.
Question Hour
Bureaucrats from the district government Pauri and Haridwar faced the elected
women representatives of both the districts and answered some tough questions
raised by the women leaders.
Panchayat Pradhan, Sunita Devi from Jairikhal Block of Pauri raised the issue of people under the poverty line not receiving the benefits that are due to them. She said that
Urmila Devi, Gram Pradhan of Ekeshwar Block in Haridwar
District raised the issue of mid day meals provided by the government and said
that the attention of both the teachers and children remained n the meal and
not on the studies. She said that the mid day meals should either be delinked
from the learning or totally scrapped.
The women also raised the issue of corruption and commission
and said that they did not approve of giving commission to any government
employee and that they would fight corruption in the bureaucracy.
The women from Dwarikhal block raised the question of why a widow’s pension should be stopped when her son turns 18 years of age. She said that in this day and age a widow should be able to live a life of dignity without being dependant on anybody.
The mayor of Uttarakhad, Ms Manorama Sharma addressing the forum along with Zilla Adhyaksha Ms Madhu Bisht
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The Pauri Declaration
It is being increasingly recognized that the bureaucrats and some politicians of Uttarakhad are creating numerous obstacles in the smooth functioning of the Elected Women Panchayat Raj Functionaries by asserting their powers on them and creating hurdles in the way of any development initiative. We condemn these undemocratic and unfair practices and declare that if the bureaucrats and politicians do not mend their ways immediately, we shall oppose them in the strongest terms possible. If need be, we resolve to launch a mass campaign against them.
It reflects very poorly on the government of Uttarakhad that even after five and half years of being carved out as an separate state, we still do not have Uttarakhad Panchayati Raj Act whereas Chattisgarh and Jharkhand that were formed along with Uttarakhad, already have their Panchayati Raj Acts in proper shape. This shows utter lack of interest on the part of the Uttarakhad Government in decentralizing governance. We call for immediate enactment of the Act.
We demand that the access and control on natural resources on which our livelihood depends should be restored, that are still under the control of the government, and the management, supervision and monitoring should be handed over to the elected panchayats.
Even after magnanimous promises and declarations by the government, the panchayats are still bereft of the 3F’s i.e. Funds, Functions and Functionaries regarding the 29 departments that had to be devolved to them. We strongly condemn this violation of the constitution in letter and spirit and aggressively demand that the provisions be right away implemented .Any delay now shall lead to strong movement by the panchayat functionaries against the government.
To throttle any development initiative by the women in panchayats, the block authorities demand commission. We strongly criticize this shameful and corrupt practice and want to warn the authorities that any delay in redressal will call for a mass campaign against them and the names of such corrupt officers will be made public.
While Pradhan, block pramukhs and zilla panchayat Adhyaksha are being given honorarium and other facilities but the members of all the three levels are being deprived even their actual travel allowances. The sanction of the honorarium will ensure a proper recognition and acknowledgement of their designation and contribution in the panchayats.
We demand an immediate inquiry into the unfair distribution of land in Uttarakhad to outsiders. We would like to bring the government’s attention to the fact that only 7% of the land in Uttarakhad is cultivable and if this miniscule percentage is squandered away to outsiders, what will be left for the natives of Uttarakhad? The land is being donated by the government to outside NGOs as well as to some so called sadhus, babas on token money. We want Uttarakhad government to make public the names, quantum of land and the terms of transfer even if required under the Right To Information Act.
The government is still following the data of a highly irregular and outdated BPL survey conducted in 1991. We demand for a fresh BPL Survey as soon as possible.
The MV form that is filled in for any developmental activity is beyond the understanding of the EWRs, owing to its technical language. We demand that the form be simplified to increase the involvement of panchayat functionaries in various activities.
We strongly recommend that there should be proper supervision and monitoring of the mid-day meal scheme as well as the meals provided under ICDS.