India is an agricultural country. Although many new cities have come up and towns have slowly changed into metros, there is still a large part of the country which continues to be the rural area. These people living at the grassroots level have the right over development similar to what the citizens living in urban areas enjoy. To ensure that such privileges reach the people in rural areas Panchayat System was implemented in India.
Since the country has a wide range of localities and terrains each having unique properties it is important that the development of the country should be considered as a whole and all the myriad communities, groups, and people benefit from it.
The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act led to the formation of the Panchayati Raj System in 1993 and ever since then National Panchayati Raj Day has been celebrated on April 24, every year. This system aims to expand the reach of democracy and implementation of development at every corner of the country.
Things to know about National Panchayati Raj Day
After gaining independence in 1947, the first National Development Council came into existence. In the early 1950s, it recommended that a governance body that would enable reaching a democratic system at the grassroots level should be formed. Even though this recommendation was made just a couple of years after independence the actual act took a long time to come into existence.
It was only in 1993 that through the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, the Panchayat system became a reality. Since its implementation, the government has been taking the system quite seriously.
Recently the Press Information Bureau on its official website announced, “The Ministry of Panchayati Raj is organizing a National Colloquium on - Governance at the Grassroots after Three Decades of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment - on 24th April, 2024, at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi in observance of National Panchayati Raj Day. Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj Shri Vivek Bharadwaj and Secretary, Department of Rural Development Shri Shailesh Kumar Singh will inaugurate the National Colloquium in the presence of Additional Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj Dr. Chandra Shekhar Kumar and other senior officials."
Over the years the Panchayati Raj system has uplifted many people in rural areas by providing them a platform to share their opinions and plights so that government can help them overcome hurdles in their day-to-day lives.