Modi government's commitment towards strengthening local governance

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in National Panchayati Raj Day celebrations at Madhya Pradesh's Rewa on Monday.
Over the years, the Modi government has taken various steps to strengthen governance at the grassroot level. In a historic move, the Modi government, following the 14th Finance Commission recommendations, increased the devolution to local bodies. The total grants to local bodies as recommended by the 15th Finance Commission will be Rs 4.36 lakh crore which is almost twice as given by the previous finance commission.

The e-gram Swaraj portal that was launched in 2020 by the Prime Minister has resulted in the digitisation of gram panchayats across the country. It serves as the single platform for all digital needs of gram panchayats. Over 2.5 lakh panchayats have uploaded their development plan. Over Rs 1.35 lakh crore payments made online to date. Nearly Rs 50,000 crore was spent online by panchayats in 2022-23 financial year.
eGramSwaraj and Government e-Marketplace (GeM) Integration has been boosting the rural economy by enabling panchayats to procure goods through the Government e-Marketplace. It will Increase transparency and create encouragement for local vendors, self-help groups (SHGs) and cooperatives.

SVAMITVA scheme was launched by PM Modi on April 24, 2021. It is a reformative step towards the establishment of clear ownership of property in rural areas, by mapping land parcels using drone technology and providing a 'Record of Rights' to village household owners with the issuance of property cards/title deeds. Over 1.25 crore property cards have been prepared, empowering the people.

The government has developed mActionSoft - a mobile-based solution for geo-tagging assets and capturing photos with geo-tagging. It provides a repository of information on all works and assets related to natural resource management, water harvesting, drought-proofing, sanitation, agriculture etc.

In pursuance of the Prime Minister's commitment towards addressing climate change, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has started the Gram Urja Swaraj initiative, to promote the adoption of renewable energy at the gram panchayat level. Through this initiative, it is envisaged that gram panchayat would evolve as self-sufficient in terms of energy and become producers of energy instead of only being consumers. Further, widespread adoption of renewable energy applications in rural areas would enable the gram panchayats to develop their own sources of revenue and employment opportunities for the local youth of the villages. (ANI)