Chandigarh. In the “auction” held for the post of Sarpanch in Gurdaspur village of Punjab, a person bid Rs 2 crore for this post. Many politicians have condemned it. Gram Panchayat elections in Punjab will be held on October 15. Bidding for the auction held in Hardowal Kalan village started at Rs 50 lakh and local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Atma Singh bid Rs 2 crore.
The leader, who made the payment through check after the bidding process, said that the villagers have decided to elect a sarpanch who will give the maximum amount of money to the village. He said that the auction amount will be spent on the development of the village. Atma Singh said that a committee of villagers will decide on fund allocation. Singh’s father has also been the sarpanch of the village. Hardowal Kalan is one of the largest villages in Gurdaspur district and has about 350 acres of panchayat land. This is not the only district where such an incident has happened. A similar auction was held for the post of Sarpanch in Ghari Buttar village of Bathinda.
An aspirant for the post had bid Rs 60 lakh, but a final financial decision could not be reached.
Congress leader Pratap Singh Bajwa has condemned the auction and demanded jail sentence for those organizing it.
The leader of the opposition in the Punjab Assembly said, “This is open corruption. This is wrong. I want the Vigilance Bureau to take action against whoever has offered Rs 2 crore.” Elections for the posts of 13,237 ‘Sarpanch’ and 83,437 ‘Panches’ in Punjab will be held through ballot papers on October 15.
According to the election schedule, the last date for filing nominations is October 4. Nomination papers will be scrutinized on October 5 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 7. Counting of votes will take place only on the day of voting.