Panchayats soul of rural development: CM Adityanath

Lucknow, Oct 14 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday emphasised encouraging innovations and technological interventions to make village panchayats economically self-reliant and "a symbol of service and cleanliness." In a review meeting of the Panchayati Raj Department held on Tuesday, Adityanath said, "Panchayats are not merely administrative units, but the soul of rural development." To make these units self-reliant, special attention should be paid to transparency, technology and the optimal use of local resources, the Uttar Pradesh government said in a statement.

According to details presented in the meeting, various reform measures are being taken to increase the self-funding of panchayats. The process of collecting local taxes and user charges has been made online. Work is underway on various innovations to increase panchayats' income.

The chief minister said that transparency and the use of technology should ensure improvements in both revenue collection and the quality of public services provided by village panchayats.

He also said that, in addition to development authorities, zila (district) panchayats should have skilled human resources available for building map approval in areas under their jurisdiction. For this, arrangements should be made to deploy a civil engineer or an architect in each district panchayat to ensure quality and transparency in local construction work.

Adityanath also directed the opening of Aadhaar centres in village secretariats to increase the income of gram panchayats.

He said that this facility should be made available for Aadhaar card creation, modification, biometric upgradation, etc, to provide convenience to citizens and increase the income of gram panchayats from the fees collected.

It was also informed at the meeting that the Panchayati Raj Department is working on a pond listing and utilisation policy.

The chief minister directed that ponds under village panchayats and zila panchayats be leased out in a timely manner and the proceeds should be used only for tap water supply to every household, water conservation and rural welfare activities. PTI NAV APL APL MNK MNK