Bhubaneswar/New Delhi: Odisha’s Ganjam Zilla Parishad (ZP) was on Monday conferred with the prestigious National Panchayat Awards for 2023 as the best district panchayat in the country.
The award was presented by President Droupadi Murmu at an event held at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.
Apart from Ganjam Zilla Parishad, Hinjilicut block of the south Odisha district also received Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikash Puraskar for performance of panchayats.
Both ZP and block secured first position in the country in the category of the award. Besides, 6 other gram panchayats (GPs) have received the national award under various themes. In all, Odisha has bagged 8 awards under National Panchayat Awards.
While Ganjam ZP received Rs 5 crore as part of the award, Hinjilicut block got Rs 2 crore and the GPs Rs 50-75 lakh as prize money.
Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) are mandated for functioning as effective and efficient institutions for local self governance in rural areas. They also play a significant role in effective implementation of flagship schemes. In the context of commitment to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, 3 tier PRIs play an important role.
In order to recognise the good work being done by PRIs and encourage them to perform better, the award scheme has been instituted by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
Under this scheme, National Panchayat Awards are given to the best performing panchayats (Zilla Parishads, Panchayat Samitis and Gram Panchayats) in recognition of their contribution towards improving delivery of services and public goods.
The performance focuses on 9 themes under localisation of SDGs (LSDGs) for achieving the SDG goals by 2030. The LSDG themes include poverty-free and enhanced livelihood, health, child friendly, water sufficient, clean and green panchayat, self-sufficient infrastructure, socially secured, good governance and women-friendly. In addition, Special Category Awards for carbon neutral and Gram Urja Swaraj Puraskaar for panchayats were also instituted.
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