PUNJAB ORDINANCE REVOKES PANCHS' POWER TO REMOVE SARPANCH

Chandigarh December 16: The Punjab Government has issued an Ordinance, omitting section 19 in the Punjab Panchayati Raj Act 1994, in order to revoke the power of Panchs to remove Sarpanch. An official spokesman today said the ordinance, issued yesterday, paved way for more harmonious functioning in the Panchayati Raj institutions and giving a boost to the developmental process in the rural areas. With this amendment, now the Panchs in the Gram Panchayats would not be able remove the Sarpanch through ' no confidence motion' and also could not hold any meeting with such motive. The spokesman said the government had taken this step in the larger public interest as the right granted under section 19 was misused in some Gram Sabhas. It may be recalled that section 19 of the Punjab Panchayati Raj Act 1994 extended the right to Panches in the Gram Panchayats to remove the Sarpanch through no confidence motion after two years of Panchayat Elections. This practice had led to groupism in villages, besides creating hurdles in the completion of development works.