Sambalpur: The Sambalpur Zilla Parishad (ZP) meeting was held Friday at the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) conference hall amidst hue and cry as it took place seven months after the previous one.
DRDA Project Director Jyoti Kumar Lakra convened the meeting while ZP president Radheshyam Barik presided. One minute of silence was observed to condole with farmers, who had lost their lives recently.
Kuchinda MLA Rabinarayan Naik, welcoming the participants, said farmers’ interest must be given top priority in planning and its implementation in the district. He regretted that ZP meetings are not taking place in time, as the present meeting was held about seven months after the previous one; whereas it must be held quarterly.
The MLA added that such a gap of seven months had deprived them of participation in the planning and development process taking place in the district, although the members are accountable to their voters in the villages.
Many members raised questions about the absence of BDOs at the meeting and demanded to make their participation must in all future ZP meetings in the district.
Collector Samarth Verma, as ZP chairman, clarified that most of the members had already participated in the district planning and coordination meeting almost 3 months ago. So he took the liberty to skip the last scheduled meeting.
He further clarified that no BDO was invited to the Friday meeting as none of them is a ZP member. They participated in the last meeting as special invitees and they may participate in future if ZP members desire so.
He added that any proposal from members must be approved at the concerned village meetings (pallisabha) before its implementation, although members may put forth their proposals at ZP meetings. Some of the members earlier alleged that their proposals for development works in their concerned areas are not placed in the final development plan of the district. PNN
