“It is imperative that the elected women in panchayat should leave no stone unturned in the fulfillment of their duties towards good Self-governance in Uttarakhand”

          These were the words of Hon’ble Mr. Justice S.B Sinha, Judge, Supreme Court of India echoing the emotions of Elected Women Representatives of Panchayat at the valedictory session of the 10th Open Forum organized jointly by RLEK, PRAGATI and THP.

          The Open Forum a two-day unique annual initiative aims to bring to the forefront significant issues in the arena of local-self governance by EWRs. The Forum provides a platform for EWRs to engage in deliberations with policy makers and other stakeholders to cull out viable solutions to bring affirmative action for enhanced development at the grass-root level. More than 900 EWRs who had congregated at the Open Forum on day two deliberated on issues regarding the Role of Media in Panchayats and formed the new Women State Forum for EWRs in Panchayats, which aims to establish a network and collectively voice the concerns, problems and issue of women in governance.

          The Forum also witnessed the adoption and ratification of The Doon Declaration, which is the voice of the EWRs against the existing anomalies in governance. The Declaration was handed over to Hon’ble Mr. Justice S.B Sinha by the EWRs and demanded the enactment of a separate Panchayat Raj Act for the Ut

tarakhand, appointment of the Panchayat Secretary as the Public Information Officer and the Pradhan as the appellate authority under the Right to Information Act, 2005 direct elections to be held for Zila Parishad Adhyaksh and Block Pramukh, immediate establishment of District Planning Committees, denouncing the practice of administering the Oath of office to elected representatives by Government Officials etc.

          Ms. Narayani Ganesh, Assistant Editor, Times of India chaired the session on Role of media in Panchayats and the panelist included Ms. Sonal Kellogg, The Asian Age, Ms. Bishakha De Sarkar, The Telegraph and Ms. Sangeeta Baruah, The Hindu.

          The day two of the forum saw a solidarity procession of the EWRs towards their cause from Gandhi Park to Parade Ground fervently expressing “Apna Panchayat Act Banao, Uttarakhand Ki Pehchaan Badao…”. The women representatives from the far unreached 13 districts of Uttarakhand held a rally to draw attention to the bottlenecks in the smooth functioning of the Panchayat affairs, the enthusiasm displayed was extremely heartening.

          Ms. Sarojini Kainthura, former Zilla Panchayat Adhyaksh, Pauri, stated that she has overcome the initial hesitation and developed self-confidence and self-respect through attending the Open Forum since the last 10 years.

          In memory of late Natho Begum an exemplary leader in Panchayat an award was given by RLEK and PRAGATI to Ms. Radha Devi, Pradhan, Meethi Beri, for her exceptional accomplishments during her tenures. Late Natho Begum inspite of being shackled with a poor economic status, illiteracy and a minority group status, broke mindsets and stereotypes similarly Radha Devi, an inspiring dedicated worker has overcome patriarchal pressures to successfully win three times from an unreserved seat.