NATIONAL MEET ON ‘YOUNG GRAM PRADHAN OR SARPANCH’

‘Transforming India through Local Self Government’

Gandhiji had aptly remarked that independence must begin at the bottom. And it is to emphasise that women’s empowerment should also start from the villages, the grass-root level units.

The PRIs by design has many positive features viz social inclusion, participatory governance, accountability and responsiveness, due to its proximity to voters, and functional transparency. These positive parameters can be collectively channelled to enable the PRIs to overcome functional limitations and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals with an incremental leap. What is important in the whole process is the empowerment of these grassroots level democratic institutions through building capacities of elected representatives who are at the seats of decision making and their functionaries who act as the backbone of PRIs.