Itanagar, Aug 4 (IANS) Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to decentralisation, citing that 10 per cent of the state’s own revenue is earmarked for Panchayati Raj institutions.

Inaugurating the two-day state-level workshop on Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) 2.0 here, the Chief Minister also released the PAI 2.0 booklet for the participants. The PAI is a multi-domain and multi-sectoral index that is intended to be used to assess the overall holistic development, performance and progress of panchayats.

The Panchayat Advancement Index takes into account various socio-economic indicators and parameters to gauge the well-being and development status of the local communities within the jurisdiction of a panchayat.

Khandu highlighted the importance of PAI 2.0 as a scientific and data-driven framework introduced by the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj to assess development at the Gram Panchayat level.

He emphasised that the index serves as a critical tool for bottom-up planning, helping identify local needs and progress on key rural development indicators.

The Chief Minister acknowledged the formation of multi-tier committees at the state, district, and block levels for the effective implementation and validation of PAI data.

He reiterated that Arunachal Pradesh remains largely rural, and therefore, the success of such real-time evidence-based planning tools is crucial. Informing that the state has also institutionalised the SPICE model (Sustainable, Participatory, Inclusive, Comprehensive Empowerment) to empower grassroots democracy, Khandu further emphasised the need to align PAI 2.0 with the broader Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Localised SDG (LSDG) themes assigned to Panchayats.

“Achieving SDG targets by 2030 requires robust local planning and coordination across departments,” he said.

Emphasising the importance of continuous training and capacity building, Khandu termed it as the backbone for quality delivery of schemes and programmes at the grassroots level.

He lauded the efforts of SIRD & PR for having trained 15,819 personnel in the last financial year on thematic areas such as governance, planning, and implementation.

Addressing Deputy Commissioners present from across the state, the Chief Minister stated that DCs play a pivotal role in grassroots development and service delivery. The government has empowered DCs with significant administrative authority, including the power to suspend erring officers, and urged them to lead with dedication and integrity.

The Chief Minister congratulated the top-performing gram panchayats, circles, blocks, and districts that were felicitated at the event for their performance under PAI for the year 2022-2023. He stressed the importance of fostering healthy competition among local bodies to improve governance and to strive for national-level excellence.

Present on the occasion were Ojing Tasing, Minister (Panchayati Raj), Tanya Soki, Advisor to the Minister, Manish Kumar Gupta, Chief Secretary, Sonal Swaroop, Secretary (PR), and resource persons from the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj and YASHADA.

The workshop, aimed at strengthening evidence-based planning and decentralised governance, is being organised by the Department of Panchayati Raj and SIRD in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj and YASHADA, Pune

–IANS

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