It was in the beginning of 2016 that the Panchayats elections were scheduled in Haryana. This five-yearly practice seemed to be very normal and the state saw it as a opportunity to elect the government of the villages.
while everything seemed to be normal, much had changed in the previous 12 months. The state government had come up with new laws regarding the election of panchayats. The law said:
'The grounds for disqualification from contesting polls under the Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2015 are failure to pay arrears to any primary agriculture co-operative society or agriculture co-operative banks, failure to pay electricity bill arrears and not having a functional toilet at home.
The “minimum” education required for eligibility to contest in a panchayat election is completion of matriculation in case of general candidates; completion of Class 8 for a woman candidate or a candidate belonging to Scheduled Caste; and completion of Class 5 pass for a Scheduled Caste woman candidate contesting for the post of ‘Panch’.'
The setting up minimum qualifications to fight the Panchayati elections drew flak from various political parties in the state. The decision was termed as anti-lower caste and some pressure groups asked the government to withdraw the new law. The government decided not to change its decision. These groups then went on to challenge the decision in the courts. The Supreme Court then in its judgment in the favor of the new law said:
“It is only education which gives a human being the power to discriminate between right and wrong, good and bad. Therefore, prescription of an educational qualification is not irrelevant for better administration ”
This gave a validation to the state government's stand and the notification for the election was released.
As the minimum qualification included things like paying one's electricity bills and clearing all other over dues with the co-operative banks, etc. the state electricity boards collected a hefty amount of money which acted as a pill for the ailing firms. The co-operative banks also recovered back their loans and various other departments of the state government also collected their rightful share from the people.
The Tribune on February 9, 2016, reported that the panchayats in Haryana were now more inclusive compared to 2010. The percentage of elected women is about 42,41,42 and 44 percent in panches, sarpanches, block samiti members(BSMs) and Zila Parishad members (ZPMs), as against 33 per cent reserved seats for women.The representation of Scheduled Castes for punches, sarpanches, BSMs and ZPMs is about 26, 23, 26 and 23 percent, respectively, against their average population of 20 percent in Haryana as per 2011 Census.
This change has brought in a new generation into the decision-making system and thus this young blood has started paying dividends in many parts of the state. The villages are now competing to improve the standards of living of it's dwellers and the state government too, is helping them out to with funds and technical support. The best practices from various villages are being implemented in others.
Most of the villages in Haryana now have a free public Wi-Fi network. The villages have LED street lights, new roads are being built and the electricity problem is also being taken care of. The education system has also improved and transparency has increased in the villages. The Swachh Bharat Mission is also showing it's results, Haryana was ranked amongst the cleanest states in the Swachh Survekshan( Rural). The improvement in the geneder ratio can also be attributed to the fact that these educated representatives have tried to change the mindset of the society towards the girl child.
All in all the functioning of the rural governments has improved a-lot and therefore has brought in change in the lives of the denizens of rural Haryana.
Sushma Bhadu one of the most talked about sarpanches in Haryana
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