Home Dehradun Orders of merger of VPDO and VDO posts put on hold after Maharaj’s intervention

Orders of merger of VPDO and VDO posts put on hold after Maharaj’s intervention

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By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 25 Jan: Orders of functional merger of the posts of Village Panchayat Development Officer, and Village Development Officer have been put on hold after the intervention of Panchayati Raj Minister Satpal Maharaj. The Gram Panchayat Development officers (VPDO) have welcomed the latest development.
In a statement issued today, Maharaj asserted that it was not appropriate for officers to promote a culture where decisions are taken without the approval of the minister concerned. Ostensibly, the orders of functional merger of the two posts VPDO and VDO was taken without prior approval of the minister at the bureaucratic level itself and as result, Maharaj had to intervene in order to put the decision on hold.
Panchayati Raj Minister Maharaj said that without his and his department’s permission, a decision was taken to functionally merge both the posts by deputing one of the Gram Panchayat Development Officer or Village Development Officer in each Gram Panchayat. This had forced him to intervene and after his intervention, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami took cognisance of the matter. The orders have now been put on hold. Maharaj said that he was grateful to CM Dhami for the prompt action in this regard following his (Maharaj’s) request.
Panchayati Raj Minister Satpal Maharaj said that both the orders issued earlier regarding the merger were in violation of the provisions of the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution under which 29 subjects had been transferred to the Panchayats. He also reminded that the decision had led to the boycott of the work by the Panchayati Raj officials. Now these orders have been put on hold.

Maharaj said that he had objected to the fact that neither he nor his ministry was consulted in this regard. He stressed that such decisions ought to be taken in consultation of the minister concerned. He added that officers taking such decisions on their own was not a good sign and it was for this reason that he had been asking for the authority to write the ACRs of the officers under him.