New Delhi || 12-12-2024
“About 64% of the population of our country lives in villages. Therefore, the development and empowerment of villages and villagers is important to make India a developed nation”. The President of India, Droupadi Murmu said this, conferring the National Panchayat Awards upon 45 awardees, selected across various categories, recognizing their exemplary contributions to the themes of sustainable and inclusive development, in New Delhi on Wednesday.
She was happy to note that in the past one decade the government has made serious efforts for empowerment of panchayats, which aims to achieve concrete results.
The President congratulated all the winners of the ‘National Panchayat Awards’. She said that this award is testimony of their dedication and efforts. She expressed confidence that this honour will encourage them to do even better work and inspire other Gram Panchayats to make meaningful efforts towards village development.
The President said that Panchayati Raj institutions are empowering women politically. It is a matter of happiness that women representatives are playing an important role in bringing about positive changes at the grassroots level.
She urged them to discharge their duties as elected representatives in the Panchayats fearlessly and with all their efficiency. She highlighted that the tendency of family members of women Panchayat representatives performing their duties, still exists at a few places. She told women representatives to eradicate such practices and establish themselves as independent leaders.
The President said that the foundation of a developed India could be laid only on the basis of self-reliant and capable local bodies. Panchayats should try to become self-reliant by developing their own sources of revenue. This self-reliance will provide self-confidence to the Gram Sabhas and strength to the country.
The President said that elections make the public representatives responsible towards the people. Therefore, it is very important that Panchayat elections take place timely and fairly.
Photograph by Dusmanta Behera
The National Panchayat Awards 2024 include categories such as the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar, Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar, Gram Urja Swaraj Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar, Carbon Neutral Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar, and Panchayat Kshamta Nirmaan Sarvottam Sansthan Puraskar. These awards aim to recognise and encourage Panchayats for their efforts in poverty alleviation, health, child welfare, water conservation, sanitation, infrastructure, social justice, governance, and women empowerment.
Union Minister of Panchayatiraj, Rajiv Ranjan Singh, MoS, Ministry of Panchayatiraj Prof S. P. Singh Baghel and Secretary of Ministry of Panchayatiraj Vivek Bhardwaj were also present on the occasion.
