Agartala, Sep 1 (IANS) Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Monday said the state ranked 7th in the country in the Panchayat Devolution Index announced by the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj, up from 13th in 2015.

Addressing the two-day Panchayati Raj Capacity Building Programme at the State Panchayat Resource Centre in Arundhuti Nagar, near Agartala, the Chief Minister informed that under the Panchayat Advancement Index, 42 Panchayats of the state achieved Grade-A, while not a single one from Tripura received Grade-D.

He also urged all Gram Panchayat representatives to work with accountability to further strengthen the Panchayats.

“In the Panchayat Advancement Index, the Panchayats in Tripura have secured good ratings, 42 achieved Grade-A, 728 Panchayats secured Grade-B, and the remaining 406 Panchayats obtained Grade-C, while no Panchayat from Tripura fell under Grade-D,” Saha said.

The Report titled “Status of Devolution to Panchayats in States – An Indicative Evidence Based Ranking” was unveiled earlier in Delhi by Union Minister of State, S.P. Singh Baghel, Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

Among the 10 states across the country, Tripura is the only state in Northeast found place (7th position) in Panchayat Devolution Index.

The Chief Minister said that rural governance, if strengthened, would strengthen the state government.

“Panchayats are an important pillar of democracy. The three-tier Panchayat system is the base. If this is strong, then we can progress further. A strengthened three-tier Panchayat will also strengthen the country. The state and central governments have many schemes, and Panchayats are solely responsible for implementing them; otherwise, a country or state cannot be strengthened,” he said.

CM Saha added that transparency is the biggest weapon, and everyone must work with transparency.

“We have seen what happened during the previous Left regime. Panchayats turned into hubs of politics. We have moved beyond that situation. We have been elected for the common people, and we must work for them by implementing various schemes through Panchayats,” he stated.

The Chief Minister said that around 60 to 70 per cent of people live in rural areas.

The GSDP and per capita income depend on rural economic development, and the Government has been working on this, he said, adding: “We have to develop villages in an overall way. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government came to power, our government has been working for rural development, starting from drinking water, education, health, and other basic sectors.”

Panchayat Minister Kishor Barman, Panchayat Department Secretary Abhishek Singh, Director Prasun Dey and other dignitaries were present at the event.

–IANS

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