Shri Giriraj Singh, Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj chaired a meeting in New Delhi held via video conference on 16^th March, 2023 to review the progress on ‘Project for Creating 250 Model Gram Panchayat Clusters across India’ and interacted with Young Fellows (YFs) of National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR), and State Project Coordinators (SPCs) of 250 Model Gram Panchayat Clusters. The meeting was attended by Shri Sunil Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Dr. G. Narendra Kumar, Director General NIRD&PR, Dr. Chandra Shekhar Kumar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, and Shri Vikas Anand, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj. More than 210 participants including Young Fellows from different parts of the country joined the meeting in virtual mode.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Giriraj Singh emphasized on developing Model Gram Panchayats ensuring holistic development of the Gram Panchayats covered under ‘Project for Creating 250 Model Gram Panchayat Clusters across India’. He stressed that Young Fellows working in remote areas should set an example with community participation to ensure that more children than ever receive quality education and students do not drop out of school. Young Fellows may play significant role in different thematic areas under Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) in Gram Panchayats. Union Minister underlined the need for working on strategy for achieving saturation mode of various schemes implemented in the Gram Panchayats in mission mode, with convergence of available resources and in coordination with all stakeholders for Poverty Reduction and Economic Empowerment of these Model Gram Panchayats. His direction to all YFs for achieving ‘Shiksha Yukt Panchayat’, ‘Gender Rozgar Yukt Panchayat’, ‘Swachhata Yukt Panchayat’, ‘Green Panchayat’, ‘Swasth Panchayat’, and ‘Self-sustainable Panchayat’ by ensuring and conducting 6 Gram Sabhas by direct involvement of the community. The NIRD&PR was suggested to convene a day-long national-level workshop with active participation of all YFs and develop a monitoring dashboard to review the progress and achievements in Gram Panchayats covered under this Project.

Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj also mentioned the importance of Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs) and encouraged the YFs to formulate an effective holistic plan using relevant parameters for all-round development of the Panchayats. Each Gram Panchayat must strive to achieve the saturation in one or more thematic areas under LSDGs, viz., Clean & Green Village, Healthy Village, Water Sufficient Village, Women-Friendly Village, Child-Friendly Village etc.

The highlight of the meeting was the discussion on future strategies and way forward to overcome the challenges and proper utilization of available resources towards creating Model Gram Panchayats across the country. At the outset, a detailed presentation on various aspects and progress made under ‘Project for Creating 250 Model Gram Panchayat Clusters across India’ was made by Dr. Anjan Kumar Bhanja, Faculty & Head, CPRDP&SSD, NIRD&PR. Some YFs viz., Ms. Poonam Khatri, Uttar Pradesh, Ms. Suman Khatik, Gujarat, Ms. Jyotismita Deka, Assam, Shri Aditya Ingle, Maharashtra, Ms. Chitranshi Dhami, Uttarakhand, Ms. Angita Kumari, Bihar, Ms. Richa Mitra, West Bengal, Ms. Sapna Sharma, Himachal Pradesh, Shri Krishna Madhhasiya, Madhya Pradesh and Shri Ganesh Singh, Uttarakhand shared their experiences at the grassroots level.

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