Grama Panchayat Initiatives

Gram Panchayat Development Plan

The XIVth Finance Commission award has created an enormous opportunity for responsive local governance at the cutting edge institutional level of the Gram Panchayats. The guidelines issued by M/O Finance for the release and utilization of the local bodies grant stipulate that proper plans are to be prepared by the Gram Panchayats for the basic services within the functions devolved to them as per State laws before incurring expenditure under the FFC award.

The Gram Panchayats are also constitutionally mandated for preparation of Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDP) for economic development and social justice utilizing resources available with them. The Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) should be comprehensive and based on participatory process involving the community particularly Gram Sabha, and will be in convergence with schemes of all related Central Ministries / Line Departments related to 29 subjects listed in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution. The convergence assumes greater significance in view of the fact that Panchayats can play an important role for effective implementation of flagship schemes on subjects of National Importance for transformation of rural India.

Gangaram village - a source of inspiration for other villages 

On the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day 2020, Gangaram village of Kataram Mandal of Jayashankar Bhupalpally won the ‘Gram Panchayat Development Plan’ award with a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh.

The village also received the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar (DDUPSP) with a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh from Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India (GoI), in recognition of its work in improving the delivery of services to the public like sanitation, natural resource management, maintaining records and others.

The village has ensured that all its 612 houses have Individual Sanitary Latrine (ISL). Drinking water pipeline was laid for each house in the village under the Mission Bhagiratha scheme, and the villagers are now getting potable water every day. The village has got CC roads in all the 10 wards laid at a cost of Rs 50 lakh. The village also got the street lights in all the lanes and bylanes. Rainwater harvesting pits have been constructed in the village.

Other accomplishments include

• 100 per cent tax collection at the village amounting to about Rs 1.1 lakh.
• Construction of Gram Panchayat office building with Rs 13 lakh under the MGNREGS. The land for the office has been donated by the Village Sarpanch.
• The health sub-centre in the  village has been converted into a wellness centre where the villagers can also do physical exercises, physiotherapy and mediation.
• A tractor has been procured for the Gram Panchayat to shift the garbage in the village. A total of 10 sanitary workers are working with the GP.
• The Gram Panchayat is also maintaining a nursery in half acre of land and nearly 20,000 saplings are raised at the nursery. A total of 40,000 saplings were planted during the ‘Haritha Haram’ programme in 2018-19.
• The dumping yard and graveyard are under construction at the village.
• Nearly 300 families are cultivating vegetables and selling them at Manthani and Bhupalpally towns.