TEAM TNV

Panaji (Goa)

The state government has directed village panchayats to hold special gram sabhas on the constitution of Biodiversity Mining Committee (BMC) on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti on October 2.

The composition of BMC of the village panchayats being a statutory body will be constituted /reconstituted at the gram sabhas, each having a total of seven members including the panchayat secretary as BMC’s secretary. An official of the Directorate of Panchayats said that six other members should be compulsory residents of the village panchayat with voter IDs of the same village panchayat whereas two women members are compulsory and one member should be either of Scheduled Caste (SC), Schedule Tribe (ST) or Other Backward Class (OBC) community. The chairperson of the BMC should be elected from among these six members, he said.

He also explained that functions of the BMC would be conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the biological use of resources, and associated traditional knowledge.

Meanwhile, the state is observing “Swachhta Hi Seva” as a part of all Indian campaign initiated by Prime Minister Narendra  Modi from September 15 to October 2, 2017.