INVC,
Delhi,
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurated the National conference to celebrate the National Panchayati Raj Day here today. On the occasion, annual awards under “Panchayat Empowerment and Accountability Incentive Scheme” (PEAIS) and “Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar” (RGGSP)) were conferred upon the best performing States and Panchayats. 18 top ranking Gram Panchayats were awarded with “Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Purskar. 193 Panchayats were also received awards for best performance. The Panchayat Strengthening Index Awards (PSI) were given to States this year. Under the Cumulative PSI Awards 1st Prize is won by Maharashtra, while 2nd Prize is bagged by Karnataka, 3rd Prize Kerala and 4th Prize Tripura. Under the Incremental PSI Awards 1st Prize is won by Karnataka, 2nd Prize Rajasthan, 3rd Prize Maharashtra and 4th Prize is won by Odisha. The prize money for “Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar” award is Rs. 10 lakhs. The Award money will be utilized by the Panchayats for public purposes such as augmentation of civic services like primary education, primary health care, safe drinking water, public utilities; provision rural infrastructure in the Panchayat jurisdiction. In his address, V. Kishore Chandra Deo, Minister of Panchayati Raj and Tribal Affairs said that Gram Sabha is central as well as integral to local self-governance and very essential for the transparent and accountable functioning of gram Panchayats. It is a forum that ensures direct and participative democracy offering equal opportunity for discussion issues to all citizens. He said that flagship programme of the Ministry Panchayati of Raj for the 12th Five Year Plan period is the “Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Shashaktikaran Abhiyan.” This is a uniquely designed programme which emphasizes the collaborative effort of State and Union Government to strengthen the capacity and effective functioning of Panchayats and Gram Sabhas. Through Five Year State Perspective Plan and State Annual Plans, States will identify the priorities and targeted achievements for strengthening Panchayats, keeping in mind the local context. Central Government will support these efforts in the ratio of 75:25 for all states and 90:10 for NE States subject to adherence to other conditions as prescribed in the guidelines.
