Experts at Odisha Vikash Conclave underscore strengthening of gram panchayats

Bhubaneswar: Experts on Wednesday called for strengthening the gram panchayats frameworks in Odisha for holistic development of the state.

Participating at the Odisha Vikash Conclave 2023, the experts drawn from international bodies, the Union government and state government, pointed out that the gram panchayats play a pivotal role in advancing the human development agenda of the Union and state government’s at the village level.

“The level of development in a village is evident through the facilities that it provides to enrich human life and sustain the surrounding environment,” said noted social scientist and founder of Centre for Youth and Social Development, a leading development organisation.

Surendra Nath Tripathi, director general, Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), Government of India, said gram panchayats, as institutions of self-government, need to be developed as institutions of local self- governance as was the case before The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act.

He underlined the need for an inclusive approach in the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) system to ensure that the last-mile individuals are covered under social security.

Emphasising on the need to check distressed migration to ensure rural prosperity, Anshuman Karol, Lead Governance and Climate Action, Society for Participatory Research In Asia (PRIA), stated that Panchayats play a pivotal role in planning and structuring employment in villages to reduce migration.

The formulation of Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDP) presents a unique opportunity for panchayats to align their strategies with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), said CYSD programme director Basant Kumar Nayak.

Itishree Kanungo, another expert, stressed on the need of women empowerment, mostly in rural pockets to tackle the challenges posed by the changing demographic pattern.

Karunakar Patnaik, a retired Indian Administrative Officer, shed light on the role of panchayats in allocating land to the landless and preventing the fraudulent practices in the sale of tribal land.

Sarpanches and people's representatives from 73 panchayats in backward districts such as Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Balangir, Bargarh, and Malkangiri discussed the challenges faced by people in their respective villages.

These challenges encompass poverty, lack of access to healthcare facilities, absence of universal health coverage, poor road connectivity, exclusion of eligible individuals from government social security schemes, insufficient irrigation and drinking water facilities, inadequate sanitation, absence of essential documents, and faulty documents hindering access to government benefits, said maintained. They also formulated strategies to address these challenges.