With the emphasis on women empowerment in the state, 58 per cent women representatives have made it to Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) in Himachal Pradesh.
The hill state had implemented 50 per cent reservation for women in PRIs several years ago, while other states in the country are still striving to give a minimum of 33 per cent reservation to women in PRIs.
An official spokesperson said a provision has been made to organise Mahila Gram Sabhas to exclusively discuss the issues relating to women, children and issues concerning overall development in Panchayats.
He said the government had given added priority to the strengthening of PRIs in the state to give a boost to rural development.
The spokesperson said in order to implement the Panchayati Raj System in an effective manner, the government has ensured infrastructural facilities and frequent training of staff members.
The gram Panchayats are facilitated with modern facilities like computers so that the functionaries can work effectively.
He said the Panchayati Raj department had completed the computerisation work of all PRIs, which has helped in ensuring transparency and accountability in the functioning of the department.
“Since various kinds of services are being made available through gram panchayats to the people, the government has filled up 400 vacant posts of Panchayat Sahayaks to ensure their availability in every Gram Panchayat,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the government has decided to fill up 200 more posts of Panchayat Sahayaks and 33 posts of various categories of Class 3 and Class 4 have been created in the PRIs. A sum of Rs 48.06 crore has been approved to undertake various activities under Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan.