NEW DELHI — Noting that 64 per cent of the country's population resides in
rural areas, President Droupadi Murmu said on Wednesday that the development of
villages is important to make India a developed nation.
Conferring the National Panchayat Awards upon 45
panchayats, she said the government has made serious efforts in the past decade
for the empowerment of panchayats with an aim to achieve concrete results.
"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," Murmu said.
According to a statement, the President said about 64 per
cent of the country's population lives in villages. "Therefore, the
development and empowerment of villages and villagers is important to make
India a developed nation," she said.
National Panchayat Awards were conferred upon 45
panchayats -- 17 of which are led by women -- in recognition of their exemplary
efforts in driving inclusive and sustainable development at the grassroots
level.
Murmu congratulated all awardees and said this award is a
testimony to their dedication and efforts. She expressed confidence that the
honour will encourage them to do even better work and inspire other gram
panchayats to make meaningful efforts towards village development.
The President said the 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 said.
She urged them to discharge their duties as elected
representatives in the Panchayats fearlessly and with all their efficiency.
Elections make public representatives responsible towards
the people and therefore, it is very important that panchayat elections take
place timely and fairly, the president said.
Pointing towards the instances of violence during polls
and even afterwards, Murmu said elections should always be held in a cordial
atmosphere. "It should be remembered that the villagers are choosing their
own representatives from among themselves, for their own good."
The President said the objective of the Panchayati Raj
system is to make public representatives and officials accountable and to
increase transparency in the administration.
Most of the disputes in villages are such that they can
be resolved at the local level, she said and urged all elected representatives
to try to resolve the disputes among the villagers at the panchayat level
itself.
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.
