Arunachal Pradesh Wins National Award For Devolution of Power To Panchayats
High-Five: Arunachal Pradesh Wins National Award For Devolution of Power To Panchayats
The North Eastern states of our nation are known for their lush greenery and unique cultures. The North Eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh has just been chosen for a national award for devolution of powers to the panchayat as well. For the North Eastern states, technology and commerce are still to reach the peak they deserve to be at. Even infrastructure in the North East is yet to develop. For now, Arunachal Pradesh as a reason to smile though.
The national award has been given to Arunachal Pradesh for the devolution of powers to the 3-tier panchayati raj system under the RGPSA or Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashastikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) for 2 consecutive years namely 2013 and 2014.
The award was announced by the Union Ministry of Panchayat Raj the RGPSA division. The award equals an amount of one crore. The following states were given the award: Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh. The North Eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh was the fifth to be given the award, according to the official release as quoted by the media.
The initiation of the process was done by CM Nabam Ruki in the month of February last year. He deleted functions of 25 from the 29 departments to the panchayats."This is in tune with the party's commitment to the masses to fulfill former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's dream to hand over power to the people to for self-governance and speedy development," APCC President Padi Richo has been quoted by the media as saying.
The APCC President also added that more aims and promises will be fulfilled in the coming months. Arunachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Coordination Committee Secretary General Sangha Tagik also offered his congratulations for the initiative and the award.
The North Eastern states still have a long way to go as far as development and decentralisation of power are concerned. Efforts are being made to improve infrastructure and communications network in the 8 states, but much remains to be done.
With border skirmishes against China serving as a reminder of the threat to our North Eastern states, the government needs to be more proactive in fulfilling promises and caring for the needs of the people.
Another area where the North East still has to make significant gains is healthcare. The villages across many North Eastern states lack connectivity to the major cities, hospitals and healthcare centres. With cases of diseases such as malaria on the rise, and huge number of fatalities due to this reason, more needs to be done in this area as well to better the lot of the people.
Devolution of the power to the panchayats is a good step. Schemes such as RGPSA respect the right of the local people to be decision makers. This is critical because it is they who have the best understanding of local conditions and limitations as against experts from outside who may possess technical knowledge, but lack the understanding needed to deliberate on local matters.
