Odisha CM Naveen Felicitates National Panchayat Awardees

Bhubaneswar:28/6/23: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today announced that the Panchayati Raj Institution which will win first place at the national level will be awarded by the state government six times the amount of money given by the central government.

Similarly, the Panchayati Raj institutions that win the second place will be awarded 3 times more and the institutions that win the third place will be awarded 2 times more.

The Odisha Chief Minister said that there must be healthy competition between Panchayati Raj institutions for development. It is worth noting that since Odisha’s panchayat institutions won the awards, Panchayati Raj institutions of other states are widely requesting Odisha for the experience.

According to the announcement, Ganjam District Council, which stood first at the national level, was awarded a prize of Rs. 30 crores, while Hinjilicut panchayat which secured the first position was awarded Rs 12 crore. Similarly, Kanchuru Panchayat of Hinjilicut block, Kulada Panchayat of Bhanjanagar block, Sasan Ambgaon of Hinjilikatu block and Ankuli Panchayat of Patrapur block who won the second position were awarded Rs 2.25 crore each. Boneigarh Panchayat of Sundergarh’s Bonei Block, which won the third position, was awarded a prize of Rs 1 crore. A total of Rs 52 crore was awarded to 7 Panchayati Raj institutions.

Congratulating the awardee Panchayati Raj Institutions, the Chief Minister welcomed the PRIs addressing then as “Gaon Ra Sarkar”. He said that our work is our identity. Panchayati Raj Institutions of Odisha have become the pioneers of the entire country in various parameters of development today. The Chief Minister advised the panchayat bodies to maintain the trust of the people.

On this occasion, the Chief Minister made several new announcements to further the success of Panchayat institutions. The Chief Minister said that 2 Panchayats will be identified in each district of the state and 60 Panchayat Learning Centers will be established. As a knowledge resource center it will help in capacity building of panchayat institutions.

A Local Champion Training Program will be conducted to encourage healthy competition among Panchayats. This will be done by the State Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Institute. Satellite Interactive Terminal will be installed in 70 blocks of the scheduled area and distance education communication will be arranged.

State-of-the-art infrastructure will be created at the State Institute for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (SIRD & PR). A hostel with 300 beds, a conference room with 250 seats and a satellite based studio will be installed in it.

On this occasion, the Chief Minister launched a website of Odisha Society for Social Audit, Accountability and Transparency and ‘Ama Panchayat Seva’ portal. This portal will help to bring more transparency and efficiency in the working of panchayats.