Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A woman sarpanch has allegedly handed over her rights to a man by signing an agreement on a Rs 500 stamp paper in Madhya Pradesh's Neemuch district, an official said on Saturday.
Authorities served a notice to Kailashi Bai Kachhawa, sarpanch of Daata village panchayat under Manasa Janpad, on Friday, the official said.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of District Panchayat Aman Vaishnav told reporters that he received a complaint that Kailashi Bai handed over her rights as sarpanch to a man named Suresh.
Vaishnav said, "A notice has been issued to remove the sarpanch under section 40 of the Panchayati Raj Act and told to submit the reply on Saturday. The secretary of the village panchayat has been served a show cause notice to clarify. After receiving the replies, further action will be taken as per the law." The CEO said he received a photocopy of the signed stamp paper, but action would be taken after getting a reply.
As per the agreement signed on January 24, sarpanch Kailashi Bai Kachhawa gave consent to hand over her rights to one Suresh Garasiya, also a resident of Daata village.
The agreement, which is doing rounds on social media, stated that Garasiya will carry out all the duties of a sarpanch, besides handling works of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, watershed mission, etc., till Kailashi Bai holds this post.
She will not intervene and will sign documents as directed by Garasiya, it stated.
The document, signed by two witnesses, also stated that the person who violated the agreement would have to pay four times the damages (the amount was not mentioned in the agreement).
