It’s good news for the women’s community of Odisha. The presence of women in civic bodies, otherwise also
known as panchayats has been further strengthened. The Govt. of Odisha
has declared that a minimum of 50 % of all the posts in the Panchayati Raj system would be reserved for women.
Incidentally, it was in Odisha for the first time in the country that the system of reservation of seats in the panchayats was introduced, when in 1991 the then chief minister Mr. Biju Patnaik declared
reservation of 33 % of seats for women. Afterwards some other states also followed
suit and increased presence of women in the civic bodies of their states. The present chief minister of Odisha, Mr. Naveen
Patnaik has provided another fillip in this direction by increasing the quota to 50 %.
The three tiers of Panchayati Raj system (the panchayats, panchayat samitis and zilla parishads)
serve as an ideal manifestation of local self government that is essential for improving the quality of our civic life. A
wide range of local services such as public sanitation, drainage, lane maintenance and illumination of roads call for considerable
improvement in standards and only an effective functioning of our Panchayati Raj system could ensure
the same. Now being at a better position to control our civic bodies women are in a position to demonstrate that when it comes
to meeting the responsibilities of a public office they do not lag behind in proving their mettle.
This being the theoretical expectation behind the government’s move to increase the presence of women in civic bodies,
the reality however remains pathetically otherwise. Ever since the provision of one-third seats in civic bodies was implemented
in Odisha it has been found that in certain instances women have allowed their name, signature and authority to be used by
their husbands, brothers or sons for exercising authority in local self government . In other words, male functionaries
in our society have been using the proxy of the female members in their families to gain entry into positions of power.
We of course do not mean to say that it is happening everywhere in all panchayats of Odisha. But this sorry state
of affairs exists in a considerable number of instances. This trend needs to be curbed effectively if the true spirit behind
handing over management of our civic bodies to the women’s community is to be realised.
The next panchayat election in Odisha is scheduled to be held in February 2012, when the new provision of
reservation of 50 % seats for women will be implemented for the first time. Now it is the duty of all the talented and efficient
women in our community with an inclination to serve the society to come forward and share the responsibilities of managing
our civic bodies and prove that we could discharge our duties in a better manner as compared with the report card of
the male functionaries so far in this regard.
