Now the village head will not be able to spend money as per his wish! Big step of this state government, preparation to keep strict vigil on expenses Village heads will no longer be able to spend money at will! A major move by this state government—gearing up to keep a strict watch on expenditures.

A very big and historic step is being taken to bring transparency in rural development and Panchayati Raj system. Now the village head or sarpanch will not be able to spend government money as per their wish in the name of development works in gram panchayats. The state government is preparing to bring a new and very strict law with the aim of preventing misuse of government treasury and completely curbing corruption. As soon as this new law is implemented, there will be a major administrative change in the entire process of funds received by Gram Panchayats and their expenditure, which will directly curb the unlimited powers of the heads.

Digital and administrative maze will be created to monitor Panchayat fund

According to information received from administrative sources, under this new proposed law, the process of utilizing the budget of the Central and State Finance Commission received by the Gram Panchayats is being completely upgraded. Now before releasing funds for any development work, its administrative and technical approval will be mandatory. Along with this, the complete account of every penny spent will have to be entered on the online portal. Till now, it has been seen in many cases that the village head used to complete the development work on paper by giving work to his favorite contractors, but now without geo-tagging and physical verification by the officials, not even a single rupee will be paid to the vendors.

The interference of the general public and Gram Sabha will increase at the local level.

One of the biggest aspects of this new step of the government is that now the role of Gram Sabha and local villagers will be kept at the top while deciding the plan of development works. According to the new rules, the proposal for construction of any drain, drain, street light or community building will have to be first passed in front of the villagers in an open meeting. Only after this will it be sent for further approval. This geographical and local optimization will not only ensure real development of the villages, but will also completely stop factionalism and rigging at the local level.

Strictness in audit rules will increase the tension of heads

Under the new law, it is proposed to make it mandatory to conduct random third-party social audit of gram panchayats at the end of every financial year. If financial irregularities or use of substandard construction material is found in any work, the village head and the concerned secretary will be held directly responsible for it. Not only will government money be recovered from the culprits, but stringent provisions like imposing a lifetime ban on them from contesting elections can also be a part of this law. While on one hand there is happiness in the honest districts due to this strict stance of the government, on the other hand the heartbeats of the headmen who are arbitrary have increased.