EMN
Dimapur, April 29
A program marking “block level Panchayati Raj Day” was conducted in Tamlu of Longleng district on April 20, also coinciding with the 125th birth anniversary of Dr.BR Ambedkar. The event was conducted “with an aim to strengthen Panchayati Raj and through it, boost social harmony in the villages, promote rural development, foster the welfare and livelihoods of the poor, and also to highlight the schemes run by the government to promote social equity.”
Government officials of departments under Tamlu, members of village councils and village development boards, church leaders and members of self-help groups attended the event.
Speaking as the chairperson of the program, block development officer of the Tamlu rural development block, S Samuel Phom, briefly spoke about the life of Dr. Ambedkar. He was a noted scholar, eminent jurist, economist, professor, writer, lawyer, politician and a social reformer who championed the cause of social and economic empowerment of the downtrodden and other socially backward classes. He is also called the father of the Indian constitution and the nation’s first law minister after India’s independence.
Phom also highlighted the activities of the MGNREGA/IAY in Longleng district, while also emphasizing on the importance of maintaining signboards for completed works to avoid duplication; Social Audit to ensure transparency and accountability. Success stories in flexi banner were exhibited in the hall during the event.
The extra additional commissioner of Tamlu, Tokavi N Sumi, also spoke about the concept of the Panchayati Raj and how the village council plays a pivotal role in the decision making process of the government, development of villages, maintenance of law and order in villages, and ‘safeguard customary laws and customs.’
Also, speaking about the activities on the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, State Program Manager Imonenla Phom highlighted the achievements of the mission in Nagaland. She reiterated “NRLM is committed to putting the rural poor at the centre of development. Its support includes all round capacity building of the rural women to ensure the emergence of strong Self Help Groups and their federations as self-managed, self-governed and sustainable community institutions capable of accessing and delivering financial and livelihoods services resulting in significant improvement in the quality of life and wellbeing of the rural poor.”
The NRLM also provide skill development of the rural youth to take up self employment, she explained. She urged the participants to foster active participation and ownership in the mission towards a sustainable change in the community.
Phom also spoke about the Swachh Bharat Mission- India’s universal sanitation initiative and its goal to achieve an ‘open-defecation free’ India by 2019, where in rural areas, the emphasis is on strengthening implementation and delivery mechanisms down to the village level. On neither litter, nor let others litter, she shared about the SHGs under NSRLM “a sense of ownership and responsibility has been evoked among the SHGs members of NSRLM, and their active participation in cleanliness activities within their villages have intensified”.
On that note, Phom urged the participants to ‘advocate a clean and hygienic village.’
