This story is from January 17, 2022

Odisha: Balangir sarpanch post 'auctioned' for Rs 44 lakh, govt initiates inquiry

A group of influential people from a remote gram panchayat in Balangir district auctioned the post of sarpanch days before the start of the nomination process for the panchayat elections, scheduled in February, making a mockery of the electoral process and inviting a probe from the district administration.
Odisha: Balangir sarpanch post 'auctioned' for Rs 44 lakh, govt initiates inquiry
Bilaisarda panchayat is made up of three villages - Bilaisarda, Bandanakanta and Kasurupali - consisting of 15 wards with a population of around 2000.
BALANGIR: A group of influential people from a remote gram panchayat in Balangir district auctioned the post of sarpanch days before the start of the nomination process for the panchayat elections, scheduled in February, making a mockery of the electoral process and inviting a probe from the district administration.
There were four bidders and the one who won the right to become the sarpanch, unopposed, did so by quoting Rs 44.10 lakh, a far cry from the Rs 2 lakh that the State Election Commission (SEC) had set as maximum spending limit in the polls.
Locals said the money will be utilized for the development of the Jagannath temple at Bilaisarda village.
Bilaisarda panchayat is made up of three villages - Bilaisarda, Bandanakanta and Kasurupali - consisting of 15 wards with a population of around 2000. In the forthcoming election, the post of sarpanch was notified as unreserved while the one for samiti member is reserved for a woman ST candidate.
"A meeting was held in the presence of prominent people from the three villages of Bilaisarda panchayat (under Puintala block of Balangir district) where they decided to auction the post of sarpanch. The amount will go to Jagannath temple committee fund," Bilaisarda resident Dinabandhu Gadtya said.
'Villagers have welcomed step'
Sushanta Chatria, who bid the highest, said the auction was an attempt to control the flow of cash. "To check the ill practice of excessive use of cash and other allurements in the panchayat election, we, the voters of the panchayat, unanimously took the decision to auction the post and ustilise the money in collective interest. Villagers welcomed the step and agreed to project me as the only candidate for the post of sarpanch," said Chatria, a small-time contractor who builds roads and bridges.

"Among four aspiring candidates, I bid the highest and was chosen as the unanimous candidate for the post. We are also trying to make the choice of samiti and ward members unanimous to save election expenditure and, hopefully, will be rewarded by the government," added Chatria.
Birendra Panda, a resident of Bilaisarda village, said the temple committee is governed by some powerful people from the panchayat and they take all the decisions on behalf of the villagers. "They are killing the voting rights of the citizens. I was present in the meeting and objected to the idea of auctioning the post of sarpanch. I told them that by doing so we are going to deprive people of their constitutional rights. They only laughed at me," Panda said.
Chanchal Rana, district collector Balangir, said the matter will be investigated. "I am not aware of the incident and I will surely examine the matter and will take appropriate action to conduct a free and fair election," Rana said. Election for Bilaisarda panchayat is scheduled on February 18.
Outgoing sarpanch Rita Badhia could not be contacted for her comment. She was also elected unopposed in the 2017 panchayat election.
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