Bhubaneswar: Odisha received eight awards under National Panchayat Awards 2022 which is amongst the highest for a state.
President Droupadi Murmu will present the awards April 17 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
Ganjam Zilla Parishad as well as Hinjilicut block scored first rank in the country on the basis of the performance of respective Gram Panchayats of the district and the performance of all the Gram Panchayats of the block.
Both were awarded under the category Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikash Puraskar.
In addition, 6 other GPs have also received National Awards under various themes.
The awards also carry cash prizes and accordingly Ganjam will receive Rs 5 Crore and Hinjilicut block will receive Rs 2 Crore.
Gram Panchayats will also receive Rs 50-75 lakhs cash prizes.
The award scheme was instituted by the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj, to recognize the good work being done by Panchayati Raj Institutions as well as to encourage them to perform better.
Under this scheme, ‘National Panchayat Awards’ are given to the best performing Panchayats (Zilla Parishads, Panchayat Samitiesand Gram Panchayat) in recognition of their good work for improving the delivery services and public goods under various priority sectors focusing on nine identified themes under Localization of SDGs LSDGs for achieving the SDG goals by 2030.
The Nine Localization of Sustainable Development Goals themes are —Poverty free and enhanced livelihoods, Healthy, 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 Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar were also instituted.
After a detailed evaluation based on 113 parameters under 9 themes of LSDGs as well as field verification, the awards were finalized.
UNI
