Jamshedpur, April 24: Effective utilisation of funds and implementation of need-based projects for all-round growth have set these panchayats apart from the rest, making them eligible for various awards distributed during the National Panchayati Raj Day function held at JRD Tata Sports Complex in Jamshedpur today.
Chandurthi gram panchayat in Karimnagar district of Telangana was one of the rural bodies that won Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha (RGGS) Puraskar for outstanding performance.
"I stress on the importance of discussions on development issues at monthly gram sabha meetings. And it is mandatory for every member to attend at least five meetings (out of 12) and discuss problems of his or her village," said G. Prabhakar (48), the sarpanch of Chandurthi gram panchayat.
Through these meetings and follow-ups, he added, they had found solution to the drinking water crisis. "We have made wells and connected them to an overhead service reservoir, and set up a reverse osmosis plant to supply piped water to all houses in the panchayat having a population of 4,000," he added.
Also, rigorous campaign through gram sabha members have helped the panchayat become 100 per cent open defecation-free (ODF) in 2014. "All houses have individual toilets and in 2015, we ensured that all the villages are linked with each other through concrete roads. Instead of depending on government funds for everything, we also generate our own resources by collecting taxes. This helps us construct roads," said Prabhakar.
Kaina gram panchayat of Kozhikode district is also an example of innovation and transparency that have helped it win the best panchayat award in Kerala for three years in succession. It has been selected for RGGS puraskar this year.
"We have been utilising 100 per cent of government funds. And projects are allocated at gram sabha meetings with a fixed deadline. We follow them up at every meeting to ensure that the deadlines are met - be it construction of toilets, roads or digging of wells and ponds. From 2015, we have started constructing houses for widows facing financial problem with funds from the Kerala government as well as our own resources (building tax)," said N. Padmaja, head of Kaina gram sabha.
Bangalore urban zilla parishad from Karnataka won the Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar (PSP).
Manju Shree (42), chief executive officer of the zilla parishad, target-oriented action plan, monthly review and punitive action against lax officials had paved the way for development at the grassroots level. "We have used nearly Rs 200 crore in planned heads in 2015-16," Manju added.
