Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Monday announced a special grant of Rs 5 lakh to the unanimously elected panchayats under "Mukh Mantri Pind Ekta Sanman".
He said the state government has announced to extend the special grant to villages which will elect sarpanches and panches unanimously during the forthcoming panchayat polls.
Mann said this decision will set the trend to elect local representatives unanimously across the state "and root out the political acrimony from the grassroots level", according to an official statement. He said it is "better" if sarpanches and panches are unanimously elected as it fosters brotherhood in villages.
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The panchayat elections are mainly related to the development of villages and these should not be used as the tool to settle the political grudge against the opponents, the chief minister said. Mann urged the people to put aside their political differences and elect their panchayat representatives unanimously in the coming elections so that the ethos of brotherhood and harmony could be further strengthened.
He said every possible effort will be made to keep these elections free from political influence. Mann claimed that the successive governments used these elections as the tool to create factionalism among villagers to gain political mileage. Elections to gram panchayats in the state will be held by December 31 this year.
