Chennai, Sept 8:
Makkal Needhi Maiam president and Rajya Sabha MP Kamal Haasan has written to Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay seeking a series of reforms to strengthen Gram Sabhas and turn them into more effective institutions of grassroots democracy.
In his letter dated September 5, Haasan suggested that village panchayat representatives should receive higher honorariums and that Gram Sabhas should have a decisive say in matters concerning local TASMAC liquor outlets.
He proposed raising the monthly honorarium to Rs 16,000 for village panchayat presidents, Rs 10,000 for vice-presidents and Rs 8,000 for ward members, arguing that the existing amounts do not adequately reflect their responsibilities.
Kamal Haasan also called for Gram Sabha consent before new TASMAC outlets are opened in villages. Where a properly convened Gram Sabha repeatedly opposes an existing outlet, he suggested creating a mechanism under which the resolution could effectively prevent its continued operation, subject to appropriate safeguards.
He urged the government to undertake sustained awareness campaigns to increase public participation in Gram Sabha meetings and suggested that exemplary meetings could be telecast live to encourage better participation elsewhere.
Kamal Haasan also stressed that resolutions passed by Gram Sabhas should not remain on paper. He called for time-bound implementation and publication of action-taken reports so that residents could monitor the progress of decisions taken at previous meetings.
He suggested that citizens should be given a greater role in deciding the agenda for Gram Sabha meetings instead of allowing the agenda to be driven entirely by government departments.
The MNM leader further called for greater research, training and capacity-building in local governance and said village development plans should be genuinely participatory, with residents identifying and prioritising their own requirements relating to water, sanitation, roads, livelihoods, education, health and welfare.
Invoking Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Gram Swaraj, Haasan said empowered villages and participatory democracy were central to that vision and urged Tamil Nadu to emerge as a model State for village governance.