e- GramSwaraj portal and Swamitva Scheme on National Panchayats Day on 24th April

e- GramSwaraj portal and Swamitva Scheme on National Panchayats Day on 24th April

Part of: GS-II- Governance (PT-MAINS-PERSONALITY TEST)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address village panchayats across the country to mark the National Panchayati Raj Day. Mr Modi will also interact with various participants through video conferencing in view of lockdown.

Imp Points

1. The Prime Minister will launch a unified e-GramSwaraj Portal and Mobile App on the occasion.
2. The Unified Portal is a new initiative of Panchayati Raj Ministry which will provide the Gram Panchayats with a single interface to prepare and implement their development plan.
3. Mr. Modi will also launch the Swamitva Scheme which provides for an integrated property validation solution for rural India.
4. Every year, on this occasion, Panchayati Raj Ministry has been awarding the best performing Panchayats, States and UTs across the country for their good work in improving delivery of services and public goods.
   Through the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act- 1992 , the Panchayati Raj had come into force on 24th April, 1993 marking a defining moment in the history of decentralization of power to the grassroots in the country.

Every year, on this occasion, Ministry of Panchayati Raj has been awarding the best performing Panchayats/States/UTs across the country under the Incentivization of Panchayats in recognition of their good work for improving delivery of services and public goods. This year three such awards viz. Nanaji Deshmukh Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar (NDRGGSP), Child-friendly Gram Panchayat Award (CFGPA) and Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) Award have been finalized which will be shared with the concerned States/ UT.

e-GramSwaraj Portal: E Gram Swaraj portal & app is simplified work-based accounting application for Panchayati Raj. The portal & App will strengthen e-Governance in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) across the country. Ministry of Panchayati Raj has launched e Gram Swaraj Portal, a user-friendly web-based portal. Gram swaraj aims to bring in better transparency in the decentralised planning, progress reporting and work-based accounting. The Unified Portal is a new initiative of Ministry of Panchayati Raj which will provide the Gram Panchayats with a single interface to prepare and implement their Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP).

Swamitva Scheme: The scheme provides for an integrated property validation solution for rural India; the demarcation of inhabited land in rural areas would be done by the use of latest surveying methods – Drone’s technology with the collaborated efforts of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, State Panchayati Raj Department, State Revenue Department and Survey of India.

National Panchayati Raj Day

The Constitution of India recognizes Panchayats as 'Institutions of self government'. There are 2.51 lakh Panchayats in our country, which include 2.39 lakh Gram Panchayats, 6904 Block Panchayats and 589 District Panchayats. There are more than 29 lakh Panchayat representatives. Under the 14^th Finance Commission for the period 2015-20, more than 2 lakh crore Rupees is being allocated to Gram Panchayats for 5 years to undertake physical and social infrastructure projects in the villages.

Background

Though the Panchayati Raj Institutions have been in existence for a long time, it has been observed that these institutions have not been able to acquire the status and dignity of viable and responsive people's bodies due to a number of reasons including absence of regular elections, prolonged super sessions, insufficient representation of weaker sections like Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women, inadequate devolution of powers and lack of financial resources.

The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 that came into force with effect from 24^th April, 1993 has vested constitutional status on Panchayati Raj institutions. This date thus marks a defining moment in the history of decentralization of political power to the grassroots level. The impact of the 73rd Amendment in rural India is very visible as it has changed power equations irreversibly. Accordingly, the Government of India decided in consultation with the States to celebrate 24th April as National Panchayati Raj Day. The commemoration is being anchored by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. The National Panchayati Raj Day (NPRD) is being celebrated on 24 April since 2010.

National Panchayati Raj Day 2020

Ministry of Panchayati Raj commemorates the National Panchayati Raj Day on 24th April 2020. During the National Panchayat Raj Day event, the following awards were given to the best performing Panchayats.

• Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar (DDUPSP) in General and Thematic categories for all three levels of Panchayats.
• Nanaji Deshmukh Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar (NDRGGSP) to Gram Panchayats for outstanding performance of Gram Sabha.
• Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) Award: To be conferred upon three best performing Gram Panchayats across the country.
• e-Panchayat Puraskar
• Child-friendly Gram Panchayat Award