Eat biryani and don't worry. There will be no inquiry: UP's rural development officer tells Gram Pradhans

These were the words spoken by Uttar Pradesh's rural development minister Rajendra Pratap Singh. He also gave a clean chit to the state's gram pradhans by adding, "Eat biryani and don't worry for their will be no inquiry."

State capital Lucknow hosted an All India Prandhan Association's meet recently where the rural development minister Rajendra Pratap Singh had been present as the chief guest.

From the past few days, it was rumoured that the administration is to initiate a probe into the personal assets and workings of the gram pradhans. The news created a massive stir. Villages were rife with talks of pradhans' scrutiny.

In view of this, Jitendra Singh, national head of the All India Pradhan Association, had entreated the rural development minister to not to conduct such an enquiry. Following this, the rural development minister had addressed the gram pradhans. "No pradhan will be scrutinized before or after elections because each and every work takes place under the eye of the team of Rozgar Sevak, Panchayat Sevak, assistant development officer and panchayat officer. The responsibility of a pradhan is limited to making work plans, so the question of an inquiry doesn't arise," he said.

He added: "The matter of investigating the pradhans' property has been raised in the social media. This doesn't concern the government. I want to end your fear, be assured that no chief development officer (CDO) has the audacity to scrutinize peoples' representative to save gram panchayat officer and block development officer. I would simply not allow that to happen."

Yogeshwar Singh, the pradhan of Pilibhit's Madhav Tanda panchayat, said after the reassurance: "Every meet of gram sabha is held in accordance with the Panchayat Raj Act. Thereafter in the meeting, villagers' work proposals are taken. Few of these proposals are accepted by gram panchayat officers. After due sanctions gram pradhan and secretary work together upon them. Despite doing this much, gram pradhan are always blamed. Before us these officials should be scrutinized. The minister's reassurance has provided us great relief."

At the same time, Santosh Yadav, pradhan of Lucknow's Kurauni Gram Sabha, said: "The mantri jee has reassured that no pradhan would be scrutinized. This is a good thing. He clarified that the talks of scrutiny were bogus. "No work takes place without secretary's approval then why only the pradhan to be scrutinized?" he asked.

Pradeep Kumar Maurya, pradhan of Sant Kabir Nagar's Azampur, also seems elated with the minister's reassurance. He said: "Pradhans are exploited by the district official with the threats of an inquiry. Should there be a scrutiny, the officials must also be scrutinized. A pradhan cannot make money on his own, everyone from the secretary, ADO, BDO remain involved so everyone should be accounted for."

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