Panchayats lose power to issue Non Agriculture certificates: Gujarat government

Gujarat government has transferred the powers of panchayat bodies to issue Non Agriculture (NA) permissions to district collectors. The state's Revenue Department issued a Government Resolution (GR) to this effect on Friday.

"The decision has been taken to speed up the NA permission issuance process," said Revenue minister Kaushik Patel, adding, "The government has also decided to implement the online NA permission and therefore, it was required to bring the entire process under a single authority. As the collector working under the Revenue department has an infrastructure for this, the decision has been taken, following the Chief Minister's instructions." Patel said the decision was taken following "many representations from common people" asking the government to speed up the NA process. "This decision will make the process more transparent, speedy and just," Patel said. Turn to P4

"An online process has already been implemented in urban areas, and with this decision, the process for rural areas also will go online."

The decision may have been influenced by the political and administrative concern of the BJP-led state government, a senior government official said.

"Many panchayat bodies are ruled by Congress at present," he pointed out, "giving the party's leaders the upper hand in rural areas in this regard. Moreover, the mechanism could have become a source to beef up party funds, which will stop now."

Reacting to the move, state Congress spokesperson Dr Manish Doshi said, "Twenty district panchayats and 146 taluka panchayats in Gujarat are ruled by Congress. The BJP government is trying to snatch the powers from the party-ruled bodies by going against constitutional provisions. This is how they are trying to keep the Congress from serving the poor rural population of the state."

Another Congress party worker says that the government kept the NA permission process pending for a long time by ensuring that no resolution was passed in the general board meeting for a long time. "Many business houses, interested in investing in Gujarat, had voiced this concern to during our roadshows in different nations and states," he added.

WHO COULD ISSUE NA PERMISSION

• Collector: For land in municipal corporations
   
• Territory (prant) officers: C and D municipalities
   
• Taluka panchayat: Land area up to 2 acres in villages with a population of less than 5,000, as per latest census
   
• District panchayat: In all other rural areas