Nagaland Voluntary Consumers’ Organization (NVCO) has opposed the order of the Kohima Deputy Commissioner (DC) which nullifies the normal authority of the Village Council Chairman (VCC) and Secretary of Village Development Board’s (VDB) joint signatures, to operate the bank account of the village funds. A press release issued by NVCO media cell, called attention to the representation submitted to the Chief Secretary to the Govt. of Nagaland by the Angami Village Council Chairman Association (AVCCA) under the subject – ‘Representation of all the Village Council Chairman under Kohima District against the nullification of joint signatures of the VCC on cheques for VDB withdrawals vide Order No. SDR/DCK/VC/42/2011 (Pt-1)// 2282 dated Kohima, the nil April 2016 issued by the Deputy Commissioner, Kohima, Nagaland’.
The representation had stated that the Kohima district village council chairmen were aggrieved by the order of the DC, on April 2016, nullifying the joint signatures of the VCC on cheques for VDB withdrawals, and that the order is in gross violation of the various provisions of law and also amounts to discrimination; the release said.
It had said that the AVCCA had submitted another representation to the DC earlier to review the order as the signatures of the VCC and the VDB secretary on the cheque were necessary “to avoid deduction/mobilization.” Without any positive response from the DC, the representation was seeking intervention from “the concerned authority” to re-examine the order and revoke it in the interests of the village council, the representation had also said.
According to the representation, the order was issued referring to the provisions of Para 15 of the preamble and Section 9 of the VDB Model Rules of 1980. The Village Council Chairman in response to the reference stated that the aforesaid order is illegal as VDB Model Rules, 1980 has been modified and stood amended by notification dated 21st November 1989 issued by the Department of Rural Development, Nagaland. Concerning these, NVCO president, Adv. Kezhokhoto Savi said that “the main purpose of providing funds to the village level is for the enhancement of livelihood security of the people and to develop rural areas with the expectancy of transparency in financial management.”
The release said that any financial management without the knowledge of the village council was unreasonable function in the running of village affairs and recalled that there have been instances of mismanagement of village funds because of lack of a checks-and-balances system at the village level. The NVCO opined that the village council was indispensible in operating the village bank account “jointly by VDB Secretary and VCC”. It also questioned the Kohima DC as to why this system was applied only in Kohima.
The NVCO said that it would be pertinent to examine the April 2016 order of the DC and revoke in the interests of the village councils.