Haryana Likely To Give Villagers Right To Recall Elected Panchayat Heads

Haryana will likely become the first state where villagers will have the power to recall panchayat members who are not doing their duties, Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala said a day before leaders sit for the monsoon session of the assembly. He said they will work to ensure every second village has a woman as the sarpanch.

Two bills will be presented in the assembly to bring these changes, he said.

"It was the dream of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal that people should have the right to recall a representative of the public if he or she loses confidence of people," Mr Chautala told reporters on Tuesday.

Mr Chautala said some village heads have been accused of misusing their posts and a right-to-recall law will help rural voters remove such village heads.

A bill to reserve 50 per cent posts in Haryana's panchayat system for women will also be presented in the house, he said.

"Once this bill is passed, not only will it open new doors for women in rural areas in politics, they will also get a platform to prove themselves," Mr Chautala said.

A bill to provide 8 per cent reservation to backward classes (A category) in panchayats, and another to give 75 per cent reservation to young people from the state in the private sector will be presented in the house, the Deputy Chief Minister said.

He said online booking for land registration in urban areas started on Monday and work on registration will begin next week. A website has been launched where people can get no-objection certificate from the urban local bodies and the town and country planning department, Mr Chautala said, adding this move will ensure the revenue department works with transparency.