Bhubaneswar: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday released its manifesto ahead of the three-tier panchayat elections in the state.
In the 22-point charter, the party promises to abolish the alleged PC (percentage) culture in the state.
The BJP will not allow corrupt officials and leaders to extort bribes from beneficiaries under the PMAY and Swachh Bharat schemes, said the manifesto.
The party also promises to create Men Self Help Groups (MSHGs) in line with Women Self Help Groups (WSHGs). Moreover, WSHGs will be empowered with vocational training to their members.
At present, only five per cent of women in the WSHGs are given training, the manifesto stated.
The party declares to end the contentious centralised token system for paddy procurement and will streamline the purchase by opening market yards at the panchayat level under the leadership of sarpanchs.
State BJP president Samir Mohanty said his party will fight for a transparent paddy procurement system by ending the nexus between millers and middlemen.
“The system to send tokens to farmers from Bhubaneswar is delaying the procurement process. This will stop,” he said.
Various farmer organizations have been protesting the current system in which farmers can sell paddy only when they get centralized tokens generated at the state level and on pre-decided date and time allotted to them.
The manifesto said the party will ensure that farmers are able to sell their harvest, do away with an upper limits fixed for each of them depending on their land holding size at the minimum support price.
The BJP also promised to ensure that the cash incentives under PM KISAN reach the farmers.
The party said though the Union government gives Rs 6,000 per year in three instalments, a lion’s share goes to middlemen owing allegiance to the ruling party in Odisha.
The BJP said it is committed to strengthening panchayats as envisioned in the Constitution and ensure decentralized decision-making.
Gram Sabhas will be constituted to make village level development plans with the help of sarpanchs and ward members. The ward members and sarpanchs will directly spend money given to the panchayats.
The party will also ensure piped drinking water and LPG gas connection to each household.
The BJP said apart from further strengthening the women selfhelp groups, considered a major vote bank of the BJD, the party would form men self-help groups and extend similar benefits.
The BJP said it would ensure panchayat samitis work effectively without political and bureaucratic interference. It said the Zilla Parishads will be empowered to prepare and execute district level development plans.
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) works which are currently done using machines will be stopped so that needy workers get jobs, it said.
PNN
