If you see officials of a village panchayat politely encouraging visitors to call them by their name or designation instead of the usual salutations like ‘sir’ and ‘madam,’ don’t be amused. A village panchayat in Mathur village of north Kerala has decided to ban the use of formal titles of praise from its office premises, with the aim of bridging the gap between the people, civic officials and elected representatives and thus strengthening the bond of trust and love between them.
As a result, Mathur has become the first civic body in the country to ban such salutations, setting a unique reformation model for other civic bodies. During its recent meeting, the panchayat council unanimously adopted the new rule and began implementing it. Despite political differences, seven CPI(M) nominees and one BJP member of the 16-member Congress-ruled village panchayat voted in favor of the resolution earlier this week. In a statement, P R Prasad, vice president of the Mathur Panchayat, said that, ‘the concept is to bridge the gap between common people, who come to panchayat offices with their problems and representatives for the people’.
‘Across politics, everyone in our panchayat cares about creating a friendly and warm environment in the office. All of us had a feeling that calling people by the wrong title created a barrier between us and their concerns,’ he told PTI. Moreover, the panchayat members felt that these honorifics were remnants of colonial times.
‘In a democracy, the people are the masters, and the representatives and officials are there to serve them. They do not need to ask us for anything, but they are free to demand service as it is their right,’ he said. Having banned the salutations, the civic body displayed a notice outside the office telling people that if they are denied services as a result, they can lodge a complaint directly with the panchayat president or secretary.
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An official of the panchayat would place a board displaying his or her name on their tables. Furthermore, they asked the Official Language Department to provide them with alternative words for the terms ‘Sir’ and ‘Madam’. According to him, so far, those who feel uncomfortable calling elderly officials by their names can use friendly terms like ‘chechi’ (elder sister) or ‘chettan’ (elder brother) in Malayalam.
The Mathur Panchayat authorities decided to issue ‘avakasha pathrikas’ (rights certificates) in place of the present ‘apeksha forms’ (application forms) to ensure the supremacy of citizens in a democracy. In local parlance, ‘Apeksha’ means ‘request.
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