A new bill is set to be introduced in the West Bengal Assembly to restrict the authority of village panchayat chiefs as “signatory authorities.” This bill aims to transfer the power of sanctioning funds for panchayat-related activities from the chiefs to government officials. The state’s Panchayat Affairs & Rural Development Minister, Dilip Ghosh, revealed this information during a discussion on budget allocations for his department.
The proposed bill is expected to be presented in the Assembly within the next two weeks. Currently, the majority of elected bodies in the state’s three-tier panchayat system are dominated by the Trinamool Congress, the previous ruling party. However, following the party’s significant defeat in the recent Assembly elections, many panchayat heads have either disappeared or become unreachable, leading to delays in crucial public service activities.
In preparation for the upcoming 2028 elections for the three-tier panchayat system, the decision to shift the authority of “signatory authorities” from elected panchayat heads to government officials is viewed as essential to ensure the smooth operation of rural civic services. In response to objections raised by opposition legislators regarding this move, Minister Ghosh emphasized the responsibility of elected panchayat heads to deliver services to the public. He warned that failure to fulfill their duties could result in arrests and enforced signing to prevent service disruptions.
