(GIST OF KURUKSHETRA) Towards Making Villages Self-reliant Role of Ministry of Panchayati Raj

(DECEMBER-2023)

Currently, approximately 68% of India resides in rural areas, and 51% of our work force engages in the agrarian economy. Village empowerment in this context equates to national empowerment. The steps taken by the Government of India in the last decade towards making villages selfreliant are historic and far-reaching.

Own Source Revenue (OSR) plays a crucial role in empowering PRIs to make independent decisions. Strengthening the Own Source Revenue (OSR) of Panchayats is crucial, involving initiatives to increase revenue generation from local sources like property taxes, fees, fines, and other levies. This can be achieved through improved tax compliance, economic activities, and leveraging local resources effectively.

Digitisation and Information Technology has reshaped the ‘Global Village’ and Panchayats are not far behind in integrating themselves with the mainstream decision-making channels. This has scripted ambitious chapters to the self-reliant Panchayat stories.
Under the National e-Governance Plan (NEGP), e-Panchayat is a meaningful and far-reaching mission made to develop more transparent, accountable, and effective self-governance with greater public participation through technology in Panchayati Raj institutions.
The objective of this project is to automate the internal work processes of more than 2.5 lakh Panchayats across the country. There are multiple e-Governance initiatives launched by the Ministry to make the Panchayats self-reliant.

Self-reliance in the field of energy is the need of the hour. Keeping in view the huge potential of renewable energy in India, the Ministry of Panchayat Raj has made efforts to promote the vision of ‘Gram Urja Swaraj’ in the rural areas of the country.
This vision of ‘Gram Urja Swaraj’ is an attempt to accommodate and address the social, economic, environmental, and health concerns of the rural population, along with promoting renewable energy.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched the SVAMITVA scheme on 24 April 2020, bringing a new level of self-confidence and self-reliance to rural India.
The SVAMITVA scheme aims to provide the ‘record of rights’ to village household owners possessing houses in inhabited rural areas and issuance of property cards to the property owners that are backed by State Revenue or Panchayati Raj Acts, This would facilitate monetisation of rural residential assets for credit and other financial services.
Many rural youth of the country have started their own employment by taking loan from the bank on the basis of property card. Along with this, the value of rural property is also increasing, which is also leading to economic empowerment.
The high-resolution maps (5 cm accuracy) generated through drone survey and CORS technology under the SVAMITVA scheme are of immense value to Panchayats because they can be used to update property registers and get accurate and up-to-date information of properties thereby, providing a faster and accurate way to assess property tax potential by Panchayats. Panchayats can become self-sufficient through property tax collection, which is the most effective own source of revenue for them.

Well-planned village development has also been made possible via the SVAMITVA initiative. Panchayats are using the maps of the SVAMITVA in making their Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP). So far, 1.61 crore property cards have been generated for more than one lakh villages in the country, and drone flying work has been completed in 2.87 lakh villages.