Representative image showing an application form.
Credit: iStock Photo
Thiruvananthapuram: Upholding the spirit of democracy, a panchayat in Kerala has decided to do away with the age-old practice of people 'requesting' for any services, instead the panchayat asks people to 'demand' for services.
The Kollam district panchayat in south Kerala, formally, made the decision to replace 'requests' with 'demands', which will be implemented from July 1. All application forms of the panchayat and institutions under the panchayat will be replaced with 'demand' forms.
District panchayat president P K Gopan of the CPI(M) told DH that in democracy people need to be considered as masters as they elect the governing bodies of the panchayat. Hence, they need not 'request' to the members elected by them for any official services from the panchayat.
Moreover, the practice of people requesting the members elected by them for any services was a residue of the colonial system. These thoughts prompted the panchayat to do away with 'applications' and 'requests' and instead introduce 'demand forms', he added.
The panchayat governing body formally passed the suggestion in this regard and decided to implement it from July 1.