Gram Panchayat

Kerala's 'Cancer free Kannapuram' programme gets recognised by WHO

From house-to-house drives to women-led navigation teams, this Kerala panchayat's model has transforming, with 96 percent women participation

Polling underway in 3,894 Gujarat gram panchayats under new OBC quota

As many as 3,894 gram panchayats went to polls in Gujarat on Sunday in the first such exercise after the state government announced 27 per cent reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the local bodies elections in 2023. The State Election Commission (SEC) said 81 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise to elect 3,656 sarpanchs and 16,224 panchayat members. People queued up in large numbers in rural Gujarat to cast their votes using ballot papers across 10,479 polling stations. Polling has been largely peaceful, with a few incidents of violence, and people turned up to vote despite the rains in parts of the state. In a village in Banaskantha district, a 95-year-old woman arrived to exercise her franchise with her grandson amid heavy rains. Police personnel assisted the elderly and differently-abled voters. Kheda MLA Arjunsinh Chauhan and former Tharad MLA Gujlabsinh Rajput were among the early voters. "Panchayat is an important pillar of democracy, so th

Panchayat poll candidates obligated to disclose info on pending cases: SC

The Supreme Court has upheld a decision of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, which said the candidates contesting panchayat elections were obligated to disclose information about the pending cases against them. A bench of justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh made the remarks while affirming the decision of the Himachal Pradesh High Court to uphold the dismissal of the 'pradhan' (head) of the Pangna village panchayat in Mandi district. The high court on October 16, 2024, held that the concealment of material facts by the petitioner amounted to "corrupt practice" under the provisions of Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, and was another valid ground to declare his election null and void. The top court said, "We fail to find any merit as far as the petitioner's challenge to the impugned order(s) and judgment(s) of the high court are concerned. We say so for the reason that the regulations framed by the State Election Commission have rightly been held by the high court to be

Gujarat, Tripura, Telangana shine in Panchayat index ranking, shows data

However, no panchayat across India could make the cut for the 'achiever' rank

BJP focuses on proactive governance that works at grassroot: Jitendra Singh

The BJP believes in proactive governance that works at the grassroots level and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government remains steadfast in resolving public issues at their doorsteps, Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Saturday. Singh was speaking at a public darbaar in the Hiaranagar town of Kathua district, which is part of his Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency. He met public delegations to personally listen to their concerns. Several issues were resolved on the spot, an official spokesperson said. The event, aimed at bringing government services directly to the people, was attended by various local representatives and district administration officials, led by Deputy Commissioner (Kathua) Rakesh Manhas, the spokesperson added. Singh interacted with several public delegations, addressing a wide range of concerns faced by the residents of Hiranagar and surrounding areas. "The government's approach has always been to bring solutions to the people rather than asking them t

Road to decentralisation: Rural local bodies need to be strengthened

Overall, devolution to rural local bodies increased from 39.9 per cent in 2013-14 to 43.9 per cent in 2021-22, said the govt report

Govt to hold workshops on making panchayats women-friendly on March 4-5

The government is set to hold workshops for women representatives from all three tiers of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), focused on developing at least one model women-friendly gram panchayat in each district, an official said. Ahead of International Women's Day on March 8, over 1,200 women panchayat leaders will attend the workshops on women-led local governance. The Panchayati Raj Ministry official said the workshops will be held on March 4-5. They are aimed at making PRIs more women-centric and strengthening grassroots democracy. The workshops will focus on the crucial role of women elected representatives (WERs) in rural local governance and discuss the strategic roadmap of the Panchayati Raj Ministry to enhance their leadership and ensure their active participation in decision-making. Outstanding women leaders in panchayats will be felicitated at the workshops. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has urged states and Union territories to include women officers in the delegati

Legalising land leasing across states continues to face multiple hurdles

While the Economic Survey last month hailed a Kerala model of land leasing, there exist multiple blocks to a comprehensive policy, in part due to differing state laws

Farooq Abdullah asks NC workers to prepare for panchayat elections

National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah on Monday called upon party workers to start preparing for the upcoming panchayat elections, emphasizing the need for unity to "rebuild" Jammu and Kashmir. The development comes after the Jammu and Kashmir Election Commission on Monday concluded annual revision of panchayat electoral rolls and said more than 70 lakh voters, including over 34 lakh women, are eligible to vote in the upcoming panchayat elections. Prepare for elections. Whenever elections are held, be ready from today, he said, addressing a gathering of party workers here. He urged NC workers to choose candidates who genuinely want to serve the people and emphasized the need for honesty and unity to "rebuild" Jammu and Kashmir. Together, we can overcome these challenges and bring our region back on the path of progress, he said. Recalling the 2024 assembly elections, Abdullah said, In previous elections, many believed it wouldn't happen, but they were eventually ...

PM Modi to distribute 6.5 million SVAMITVA property cards on Jan 19

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Saturday distribute more than 65 lakh property cards under the SVAMITVA Scheme, the Panchayati Raj Ministry said. According to senior officials of the ministry, beneficiaries from more than 50,000 villages in 10 states -- Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh -- and two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh -- will receive the cards. SVAMITVA, a scheme of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, provides a Record of Rights' to village household owners with the issuance of legal ownership cards to the property owners by mapping land parcels using drone technology, it said. The prime minister will preside over the event through videoconferencing, where he will interact with selected beneficiaries and also deliver a nationwide address, the ministry said in a statement. This event will mark a major milestone of crossing more than 2.24 crore property cards ...

Panchayati Raj has played key role in empowering women: President Murmu

President Droupadi Murmu on Monday said the Panchayati Raj Institutions, which provide a platform for governance and community development at the grassroots level, have played an important role in the empowerment of women. Addressing an event here, the president advised the women representatives to discharge their responsibilities fearlessly as elected representatives in the panchayats. She said that as a panchayat representative, they have the right to resolve mutual disputes among the villagers. "They should use this right appropriately and try to resolve disputes among the villagers at the panchayat level itself. This will not only save people's resources and time but will also increase mutual harmony," Murmu was quoted as having said in a statement issued by her office. She was addressing a group of Scheduled Tribe women representatives of the Panchayati Raj Institutions, who had called on her at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre here. The group is in Delhi under the ...

Important to have developed panchayats for developed India: Pradhan

He further emphasized that the strengthening of the Panchayati Raj system in Sambalpur aligns with the larger vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to promote decentralized development

Panchayati Ministry in 2024: Focus on more buildings, internet connectivity

Bridging infrastructure gaps in panchayats, the grassroots democratic bodies pivotal to the implementation of government schemes in villages, remained in focus for the Panchayati Raj Ministry in 2024, with funds being sanctioned for the construction of more than 4,000 Panchayat Bhawans. According to a senior official, the Panchayati Raj Ministry sanctioned funds for the construction of Gram Panchayat (GP) Bhawans in 4,604 locations. Once these buildings are constructed, all GPs having a population of more than 3,000 will have an office of its own. India has over 2.6 lakh GPs, with approximately 65 per cent of its population living in rural areas. Panchayats have been at the forefront of the implementation of sustainable development goals, and ensuring the reach of government programmes to people. The ministry sanctioned 661 Panchayat Bhawans for Arunachal Pradesh, 617 for Andhra Pradesh, 612 for Uttarakhand, 568 for Maharashtra, 500 each for Haryana and Punjab, 412 for Gujarat, 258

Several measures undertaken to address 'Sarpanch Pati' practice: Govt

The Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj is undertaking several measures, including the use of community radio, to spread awareness against the "Sarpanch Pati" system, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. The "Sarpanch Pati" system is a practice in which the husband of an elected woman sarpanch wields the actual power. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj SP Singh Baghel said various modes of information, education and communication activities, media engagement, conferences, seminars, training programmes, screening of public service awareness films, broadcasting of programmes through community radio were being done to spread awareness on issues such as the "Sarpanch Pati" system. Programmes such as "Jan Jan Tak Jankari" are being broadcast through 15 community radio stations in Bihar, Karnataka and Maharashtra on a pilot basis to create awareness about the practice of proxy-sarpanch, Baghel said. The ministry i

'Own-source' revenue of panchayats remains at Rs 59 per capita in 2017-22

Own Source Revenue (OSR) generation for panchayats remains low, with the income through tax collected by the rural local governance bodies on an average being just Rs 59 per capita between 2017 and 2022, according to government data. Even as the generation of OSR for panchayats has come into focus to give these rural bodies more financial autonomy, according to the data compiled by the Panchayati Raj ministry, between 2017 and 2022, only an amount of Rs 5,118.98 crore was raised as OSR by the panchayats. This comes down to Rs 59 per capita and Rs 2.27 lakh per panchayat over the five-year period for 2.25 lakh gram panchayats across the country. The total population coming under these panchayats was more than 86.95 crore in the said period. Among the states, Gujarat collected the highest amount as OSR at Rs 829.75 crore, while Kerala came second collecting Rs 802.95 crore. Andhra Pradesh, which raised Rs 791.93 crore, occupied the third position, followed by Karnataka (Rs 627.56 ...

Punjab Cong seeks postponement of panchayat polls amid irregularities

The Punjab Congress has sought postponement of the panchayat polls slated for Tuesday, alleging irregularities in the nomination process and also apprehending irregularities during the counting of votes. A delegation of the Congress, led by leader of opposition in the Punjab Assembly and senior party leader Partap Singh Bajwa, on Monday met the Punjab State Election Commissioner here and urged that the polls be deferred by three weeks. Elections to 13,229 gram panchayats are slated to be held on October 15. Speaking to reporters after the meeting here, Bajwa said the delegation has requested the state election commissioner to postpone the panchayat elections by three weeks. He alleged that "massive irregularities" were committed during the nomination process as nominations of many opposition-back candidates were "wrongfully" rejected. Many candidates were not given no-objection certificates (NOC) required during the nominations filing, he alleged. Many people, whose nominations w

Panchayati Raj Ministry to hold conference in Sept for PESA implementation

The Panchayati Raj Ministry has come up with specialized training modules for effective implementation of the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act and is likely to hold a national conference later this month to discuss and advance the implementation of the law. The PESA Act of 1996 gives special powers to gram sabhas in a state's scheduled areas, especially for the management of natural resources. It is aimed at recognizing, empowering and promoting the social, economic, cultural and political way of life of the Scheduled Tribes. The ministry is likely to hold a national conference in Delhi on September 26 that will bring together policymakers, senior officers, panchayat representatives and other key stakeholders from the 10 PESA states to discuss and advance the implementation of the Act, an official said. The 10 states under the PESA Act are Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana. Th

Women panchayat heads, 'lakhpati didis' to be special guests at I-Day event

Around 400 women representatives from Panchayati Raj Institutions have been invited as special guests to the 78th Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj said in a statement on Tuesday. According to officials from the rural development ministry, around 45 "Lakhpati Didis" and around 30 "Drone Didis" have also been invited as special guests to attend the Independence Day celebrations. They will be felicitated by Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday. The Namo Drone Didi and Lakhpati Didi schemes are among the important initiatives of the government for fostering economic empowerment and financial autonomy among women in rural areas. Under the Namo Drone Didi scheme, subsidies are provided to women self-help groups (SHGs) on the purchase of drones. A "Lakhpati Didi" is an SHG member whose annual income is Rs 1 lakh or more. The women Panchayati Raj representatives will be facilitated by Minister of Panchayati Raj Rajiv Ran

National Panchayati Raj Day 2024: History, importance, Wishes, Quotes

Mahatma Gandhi was a strong supporter of the Panchayati system because he believed that residents should be able to choose for themselves the best path for village development

Irdai to deploy Bima Vahak in every Gram Panchayat before end of 2024

The objective of Bima Vahak continues to be a women-centric, dedicated distribution channel that will ensure accessibility and availability of insurance in every nook and corner of the country