If social workers active in rural Surat -- one of the seven districts scheduled to go in for tribal self-rule -- are to be believed, well-entrenched gram sarpanches are determined to give a quiet burial to the proposal. ``They are discouraging people keen to convene gram sabha meetings to discuss issues related to village development'', they allege.

It was with precisely this end that the Centre passed the Panchayat Provisions (Extensions to Scheduled Areas) Act for tribal-dominated areas in 1996 on the basis of the Bhuria Committee recommendations. In 1998, the State Assembly passed the Gujarat Panchayat (Amendment) Act.

Applicable to 15 per cent of the population of the State, spread across 33 talukas of seven districts, the Act envisages gram sabhas -- comprising all villagers of voting age -- that will approve plans, programmes and projects for social and economic development.

``We are facing fierce resistance to the Act from gram sarpanches'', says social worker Mahindra Padvi of Nizar taluka. ``No sarpanch is willing to convene the bi-yearly gram sabha meeting.''

The gram sabha has not been convened in the Saila group gram panchayat, Nizar taluka, for three years. When a couple of social activists demanded that the meeting be convened, the sarpanch and the talati reportedly turned down the request, claiming that the people could turn violent.

The root of the resistance allegedly lies in the sarpanchs' shameless capitalisation of the various schemes for tribal development. ``All tribal sarpanchs own decent houses, vehicles, tractors. "They are most unwilling to explain their wealth or part with it'', allege social workers.

``Most sarpanches do not want to convene gram sabhas because they do not want to let the people know about the sources and resources available to them or let them play an active social role'', says J Stanny, director of the Legal Aid Centre.

On May 25 when villagers assembled for the gram sabha at Balda village: the sarpanch, apprehensive about uncomfortable questions, played truant, according to Induben, who works with the NGO Legal Aid and Human Rights Centre.

In some villages, alleges Induben, her colleagues have been threatened ``for instigating people to pressure convention of the gram sabha''. Nonetheless, the meeting was held at Umarpada; the 15 (of 17) panchayat members who attended passed a no-confidence motion against the sarpanch. ``The resolution's been sent to the taluka development officer, who's yet to take cognisance of it'', says Induben. The first step towards implementation of the Act, perhaps, would be recognising that resolution.