Assam: 18 Panchayats in Bokakhat constituency without secretaries

A CORRESPONDENT

BOKAKHAT: In the Bokakhat Legislative Assembly Constituency of Golaghat district, the functioning of 18 village panchayats is currently continuing without appointed secretaries. As the State Government has failed for a long time to appoint permanent secretaries in the panchayats, officials and staff of the Golaghat West Development Block and the Anchalik Panchayat have been given the charge of acting secretaries as an alternative arrangement.

What is particularly significant is that despite Bokakhat being the home constituency of senior Cabinet Minister Atul Bora, no serious initiative regarding the appointment of panchayat secretaries has been observed, leading to widespread dissatisfaction among the local people. Due to the absence of secretaries, many developmental works of the village panchayats remain stalled.

Moreover, owing to an acute shortage of officers and staff in the department, a single official holding the charge of acting secretary has been assigned responsibility for the work of two to three panchayats at a time. As a result, common people who come to the development block or Anchalik Panchayat for official work often return without getting their work done due to the unavailability of officers and staff.

On the other hand, while Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma has been providing large-scale recruitment in various departments, the shortage of secretaries and related staff in a crucial sector like rural development has raised several questions. Since the role of a secretary is central to keeping the panchayat system functional, villagers have remarked that panchayat development had slowed to a snail’s pace. In this context, the conscious citizens of the area have demanded the immediate appointment of permanent secretaries and recruitment to necessary posts in the panchayats of the Bokakhat constituency to speed up local development works.

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