The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu conferred the National Panchayat Awards upon 45 awardees, selected across various categories, recognizing their exemplary contributions to the themes of sustainable and inclusive development, in New Delhi on December 11, 2024.
The President congratulated all the winners of the 'National Panchayat Awards'. She said that this award is testimony of their dedication and efforts. She expressed confidence that this honour will encourage them to do even better work and inspire other Gram Panchayats to make meaningful efforts towards village development.
The President said that 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 urged them to discharge their duties as elected representatives in the Panchayats fearlessly and with all their efficiency. She highlighted that the tendency of family members of women Panchayat representatives performing their duties, still exists at a few places. She told women representatives to eradicate such practices and establish themselves as independent leaders.
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that about 64 percent of the population of our country lives in villages. Therefore, the development and empowerment of villages and villagers is important to make India a developed nation. She was happy to note that in the past one decade the government has made serious efforts for empowerment of panchayats, which aims to achieve concrete results.
The President said that 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.
The President said that elections make the public representatives responsible towards the people. Therefore, it is very important that Panchayat elections take place timely and fairly. She pointed towards the instances of electoral violence during and even after the elections. She said that the election process should always be conducted 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 that the objective of the Panchayati Raj system is to make the public representatives and officials accountable and to increase transparency in the administration. She said that voters choose their representatives with great trust. Therefore, it is the duty of the elected representatives to maintain this trust through their conduct and actions.
The President said that across the country most of the disputes in villages are such that they can be resolved at the local level. Going to court not only wastes their money and time but also increases unnecessary pressure on the court and the administration. She urged all the elected representatives to make efforts to resolve the disputes among the villagers at the Panchayat level itself. She said that they have the right to do this and it is their duty too.
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.