Following the election of educated representatives in panchayati raj institutions in Haryana for the first time, the State Government has now decided that all these representatives would undergo a three-month certificate course in state universities from December 25 to make them competent and efficient to manage various development projects.
Haryana Development and Panchayats Minister, OP Dhankar on Monday said that they would undergo a three-month certificate course from December 25.
The Minister, while interacting with mediapersons in Gurgaon, said that while this time well-educated representatives had been elected, the State Government wanted to further empower them by enhancing their governance skills.
Therefore, the courses would be started on the occasion of birth anniversary of former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on December 25, he said. Notably, as per the new Panchayati Act, general-category candidates for panchayat polls were required to have a minimum qualification of completing class 10. Scheduled caste and women aspirants were required to clear class 8 while women from the SC category were eligible only if they have passed V class.
The Minister said that the present government was focusing on empowering the Panchayati Raj Institutions.
Replying to a question, he said that funds for carrying out development works would be released with the beginning of swarna jayanti celebrations of the state. Provisions for fund allocation have been amended this time, as the funds would be released to the institutions in two installations instead of four, he said. While zila parishads would be allocated 10 per cent of the total budget, block samitis would get 15 per cent and gram panachayats would get 75 per cent. Apart from this, the panchayati raj institutions would utilise locally available human resources, said the Minister.
He said that funds have already been allocated to the newly-elected panchayats under the 14th Finance Commission and these would be released on swarna jayanti of the state.
Swarna Jayanti ‘Gaurav Patt’ would be erected in the villages where names of freedom fighters, martyrs, and personalities from the world of sports, art, culture and literature would be inscribed. These ‘Gaurav Patt’ would highlight the special feature of a particular village, he added.